Barrie, ON – Barrie City Council has approved a recommendation to lower Development Charge (DC) rates to help lower the cost of building homes in Barrie.
On June 21, 2023 Council approved the DC-CBC Background Study and Bylaw. In August 2023, the City received four appeals to the DC bylaw. By approving the lower DC rates, the City will help to resolve outstanding Development Charge by-law appeals. The mediated settlement led by the Ontario Land Tribunal will result in a 12% reduction in DC rates.
“The settlement achieves a balance of fiscal responsibility while supporting Council’s housing target pledge and goal of creating more affordable places to live,” said Mayor Alex Nuttall. “The reduction in DC rates will lower the cost of building homes, which will aim to make home ownership in Barrie more attainable.”
On November 28, 2022, the More Homes Built Faster Act, 2022, (Bill 23) was passed. This made several changes to the Development Charges Act, most notably that there was to be a five-year mandatory phase-in of the calculated DC rates beginning with a 20% reduction in Year 1, decreasing by 5% annually until Year 5. On June 6, 2024, the province passed Bill 185 (Cutting Red Tape to Build More Homes Act), which repealed Bill 23 and allowed municipalities to increase DC rates.
Staff worked with the development community to reach a mediated settlement led by the Ontario Land Tribunal and the City will be asking the Ontario Land Tribunal to approve the reduction and resolve the outstanding appeals.