To help fund needed infrastructure and accommodate growth, Chatham-Kent councilors voted to move ahead with staff recommendations for development charges Monday night.
To help fund needed infrastructure and accommodate growth, Chatham-Kent councilors voted to move ahead with staff recommendations for development charges Monday night.
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But, they also accepted an amendment to form a municipal staff working group and invite the greenhouse industry, senior government politicians and area utilities to help address challenges and opportunities within the sector.
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The development charge process began last October, with the draft bylaw released in January.
Under Ontario’s Development Charges Act, growth-related costs of certain services – water, wastewater, roads, police and fire – may be fully funded by the charges. The act has been amended in recent years.
Council originally passed the water and wastewater development charge by law in 2004, updating in 2009, 2014 and 2019.
But the new proposal had drawn fire, particularly from greenhouses, whose owners argued increased charges could bring development to a halt.
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West Kent Coun. Lauren Anderson, who entered the working group amendment, said she wanted to help strike a balance, noting residential ratepayers can’t shoulder the burden.
“We now have significant infrastructure upgrades that are needed to accommodate growth that citizens can’t possibly afford, nor can the municipality,” she said. “I don’t think there’s an option to not accept these (development charges). I think that we’ve gone back and forth, and back and forth.”
But it’s crucial to bring industry stakeholders to the table to see how any obstacles could be addressed, she added.
There were no public deputations on the matter Monday. They were heard at council’s March 4 meeting.
At that time, Truly Green Farms president Greg Devries said higher development charges would hinder future growth, noting the benefits of the industry to the community.
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He said his company has bank approval to move ahead with a 30-acre (12-hectare) build at its Cedarline location, set for completion in 2026.
“In our budget, we have $274,440 allocated to development fees, and $1.4 million to bring the actual water line to our site,” he had said. “Two years from now, our $274,000 development charges will go to $2,835,750.”
According to a staff report, the municipality and public utilities commission plan to spend more than $590 million over the life of the bylaw, of which a net $389 million – about $60 million from residential development, $329 million from non-residential – is recoverable from development charges.
On Monday, Wallaceburg Coun. Carmen McGregor, who also chairs the public utilities commission, credited staff for their work and said it was important to move ahead.
“There’s a lot of people within our community, in all areas and all walks of life, that have to be considered in this decision that’s being made,” she said.
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