The significant changes…

The significant changes proposed to the Development Charges Act, 1997, substantially limit the
ability of municipalities to generate the revenue needed to support the development and growth
of complete communities. Municipalities and the Provincial government will need to work
collaboratively to identify additional tools, resources and appropriate funding sources to address
this gap.

There is no evidence to suggest that reducing development related fees improves housing
affordability. The reduction in revenue that supports growth related infrastructure will rather,
increase the burden on existing taxpayers resulting in increases to the cost of housing ownership
and subsequently housing affordability. The proposed changes to the Planning Act will result in
the City’s Park provisioning levels to drop considerably.

The proposed definition of Affordable residential units (both ownership and rental) in the DCA
relies solely on market conditions to determine affordability and not household income. This
disconnects housing affordability from the real incomes of Ontarians and will result in the exclusion
of low and middle income residents from ownership and rental markets. Consider using the
definition in the Provincial Policy Statement (PPS) for consistency across municipalities and clarity
across policy frameworks. This will ensure that household income informs the definition of what
is truly affordable for residents.

The reduction of development related fees historically shouldered by the for-profit housing sector
will result in significant impacts to the funding of municipal services, in the absence of other
funding sources such as funding support from the Provincial government, the cost must then be
passed on to tax-payers, increasing their cost of living. Municipalities will require significant support from the Province in order to find locally appropriate, innovative ways to build more homes faster, that are affordable and attainable for Burlington’s residents.

Detailed comments are provided in the attached letter.