Development charges (DCs) are one-time fees collected from new development to help pay for new infrastructure that is related to growth, such as roads, transit, community centres, libraries, fire stations and parks. The Province of Ontario enacted the Development Charges Act which gives municipalities the ability to create DC By-laws, but also limits the types of infrastructure costs DCs can fund.
To review the DC Act please click here.
Development charges are payable to the City (Brampton) and the Region (Peel), and also the Boards of Education. Most municipalities in Ontario use development charges to ensure that the cost of providing infrastructure to service new development is not borne by existing residents and businesses in the form of higher property taxes.
The
Development Charges By-laws and associated DC rates were established through the preparation of the 2024 Development Charge Background Study.
2024 Development Charges Study and By-law Update
The draft Background Study and By-laws, with technical amendments, were approved by Council on July 10, 2024. Links to the staff report, the updated Background Study and By-laws are provided below.
Public Meeting and Stakeholder consultations
The draft 2024 DC Background Study and By-law were presented at a Statutory Public Meeting on May 29, 2024 for feedback and comments. Follow the links below for the associated corporate report and presentation.
Development Charge Rates
The City uses current rates, based on these criteria, to calculate development charges:
- In the case of residential development or the residential portion of a mixed-use development, based upon the number and type of dwelling units;
- In the case of non-residential development or the non-residential portion of a mixed-use development, based upon the total floor area of such development; or
- In the case of non-residential development or the non-residential portion of a mixed-use development containing industrial and non-industrial components, based upon the total floor area of the industrial component and the total floor area of the non-industrial component.
The by-laws may provide for credits, exemptions and special provisions for residential and non-residential development. Institutional exemptions may include land, building or structures intended for hospital, government, education, colleges, universities or religious purposes.
Building permits are only issued after receipt of the DC payment.
Indexing of Development Charge Rates
The rates are subject to indexing and are adjusted on February 1st and August 1st of each year using the Statistics Canada Quarterly, Non-Residential Building Construction Price Index, as prescribed by the
Development Charges Act.
Treasurer's Annual Statement
The
Development Charges Act requires the Treasurer of the municipality to annually provide City Council a statement about each Reserve Fund established under the Act. The statement reflects the opening and closing balances of each year, the current year's distribution of the DC proceeds, any financing transfers and the interest earned on the fund. A detail of the financing transfer to specific projects/accounts accompanies the statement.
The Treasurer’s Annual Statement, identifying opening and closing balances and DC reserve fund transactions, may found at the
Annual Report or in the offices of the City Clerk at 2 Wellington Street West, Brampton, Ontario, during regular business hours.
