The Municipality of Grey Highlands is proposing increases and decreases to its development charges.
On Jan. 16, Grey Highlands held a special development charges public consultation meeting. With the municipality’s current development charges bylaw set to expire in February, the municipality has completed an updated development charges background study in order to pass a new bylaw.
The new study proposes $21,540 in local development charges for a single-detached or semi-detached residential dwelling. This is the rate charged for a unit in an area where water and/or wastewater services are available. The charge for units in areas of the municipality without water/wastewater services is approximately half the full rate. This is an increase of $167. The charge for row- or other multiple-unit housing would be $16,762. The charge for apartments would be $11,734.
On the non-residential side, the development charge would decrease from $92.46 per square metre to $70.94.
The study, prepared by Hemson Consulting, forecasts that Grey Highlands will see 300 new homes and a population increase of 500 people over the next 10 years. The anticipated growth numbers were formulated using Grey County data as well as looking at future development that has been approved in the municipality.
Hemson consultant Stefan Krezeczunowicz said the rates remaining relatively stable or going down are a result of anticipated future infrastructure investments in the municipality’s water and wastewater systems being pushed out past the ten-year timeframe of the study.
At the meeting, several members of the public questioned the growth forecasts in the background study. A number of speakers mentioned possible growth in the Kimberley area, with a project at the former Talisman lands anticipated to come forward in the future. In addition, Markdale is expected to see growth in the near future.
Krezeczunowicz said they used developments that have been approved in the growth numbers found in the report.
“The growth anticipated in the study is associated with the approved developments in Markdale. There is very little approved outside of Markdale,” he said. “It is difficult to pinpoint when growth suddenly takes off in a relatively small place.”
Krezeczunowicz said if Grey Highlands experiences a significant increase in growth and development in a short period of time, that could trigger council deciding to reopen and amend the development charges to recognize that kind of reality.
CAO Karen Govan also noted that the proposed charges had to be justifiable based on realistic growth projections.
“It has to be defensible. We can’t prepare the study based on speculation,” Govan said.
A public meeting about the proposed development charges bylaw will be held on Wednesday, Jan. 17 at 10 a.m. prior to council’s regular meeting that day.
