Windsor's mayor has hit the brakes on a plan to waive development charges for new apartment buildings this year. The pause, Drew Dilkens said, comes as the city awaits more information from senior levels of government about a new $8.8-billion fund aimed at reducing home prices.
Municipalities that maintain lower build fees and charges are expected to have access to funding for housing-related infrastructure. But so far, cities are short on details.
"We have no details on what that looks like," Dilkens told reporters following a meeting of city council on Monday. Dilkens said it's "prudent" for the city to align any decisions it makes around development charges with the federal-provincial program, "so we don't leave a penny on the table."
Development charges are fees the city collects from developers and builders to pay for municipal infrastructure (roads, sewers, water lines, etc.) and services (libraries, public transit, and emergency services) to support growing neighbourhoods. Otherwise, existing taxpayers would bear those new costs.
Through a mayoral directive on March 3, Dilkens asked city staff to investigate partially or fully exempting development charges for any multi-unit, purpose-built housing projects that pull building permits in 2026. His goal, he said at the time, was to spur housing in hopes of achieving provincial housing targets tied to grant funding, which would more than make up for any revenues lost through waived development charges.
Dilkens told the Star at the time he'd heard from several developers who own land and have received zoning approval to build apartments in Windsor, but with the cost of labour, building materials, and development charges, the projects weren't economically viable.
On March 30, Prime Minister Mark Carney and Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced the Canada-Ontario Partnership to Build, which includes joint funding over 10 years to support "housing-enabling" infrastructure in municipalities, and to reduce and maintain lower development charges.
At the time, upper levels of government said the majority of the funding would "offset much of the financial impact" development charge reductions would have on municipalities that reduce their building fees by up to 50 per cent. Municipalities, a news release from the province said, "will also be expected to support DC reductions, so that all three levels of government are supporting increased housing supply and affordability."
This week, Dilkens said he expects to have details about the new funding program by June. "That will give administration enough time for the first (council) meeting in July, to come back and spell it out for city council. We can act very quickly on our end, as long as we know what the rules of engagement are with the federal and provincial governments."
