Development Charges (DC’s) have great value to Saugeen Shores and to many communities. They were put in place in 2008 to help pay for necessary infrastructure that would serve new residents and also to pay for infrastructure in the long term.
Given the COVID-19 pandemic impact on construction, Saugeen Shores contemplated deferring DCs and, at Monday night’s Committee of the Whole meeting, Council agreed with the recommendation to authorize the CAO, or designate, to defer DCs collection.
The By-law and Development Charges Act gives Council the authority to enter into agreements to allow the collection of the Development Charge to take place either prior to, or after the building permit stage. The deferment was to help companies with cash-flow rather than paying the DCs up-front at the time of applying for a building permit and to help with economic recovery.
At Monday’s meeting, staff recommended deferral of all DC’s until the end of this year (2020). Existing DC reserves will pay for ongoing capital works and the required DC’s will be collected following this short-term relief. The person/developer applying for the permit however, agrees to pay all DC’s prior to obtaining occupancy approval.