It’s no accident that Chatham-Kent has among the very lowest development charges in Ontario, said Mayor Randy Hope.
“We keep charges as low as possible as part of our economic development strategy,” he said. “We have a strong belief that one way to build a community is to make it as easy as possible for people and businesses to locate here. It’s one more tool in the tool box to attract investment.”
According to the BMA Management Consulting report, Chatham-Kent’s development charge for a single-family home is $3,708, while the average across Ontario is $27,613.
Chatham-Kent’s fee consists of $2,103 in wastewater services and $1,605 for supplying water service.
Fees in other area municipalities include Windsor ($23,821), London ($28,633), Sarnia ($7,428) and St. Thomas ($10,080). Only Tillsonburg ($3,564) and Leamington, which has no development charges whatsoever, are lower than Chatham Kent in Southwestern Ontario.
The news is even better for non-residential development as Chatham-Kent has waived all charges for industrial properties and has a $2.52 per square foot for commercial development.
Bruce, McAllister, Chatham-Kent’s director of planning services, said under provincial legislation, municipalities have the ability to levy development charges in a variety of categories including roads, transit, recreation services, libraries, social housing and parking, however, the municipality has chosen the cost recovery method alone on residential properties.
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