Bill 108: Understanding the impacts for Kawartha Lakes

Kawartha Lakes - On June 6 2019, the Provincial Legislature passed Bill 108: More Homes, More Choice Act into law. This Bill introduces a number of changes to municipal governance, including adjustments to 13 Acts.

The most impactful changes involve:

• Development Charges (DC) Act: Removed “soft charges” from current development charges which no longer allows a municipality to charge developers for certain services, such as libraries and parks. This places more pressure on municipalities and ratepayers to pay for these community services.

• Development Charges (DC) Act: Secondary residential units, such as basement apartments and granny suites, are now exempt from development charges.   
• Planning Act: A new “community based charge” could assist with subsidizing the loss of “soft-charges” to developers through the DC Act.

“I don’t believe the soft development charges should be part of growth development charges. That should focus more on infrastructure,” stated Mayor Letham. “I like the concept, but it is difficult to comment on until we know what the community fee charges will be. If we don’t collect enough, the shortfall passes to the tax base, which is already under extreme pressure.”

Under the Minister of Environment, Conservation and Parks, Bill 108 outlines changes to the Endangered Species Act that impacts land where endangered or threatened species may inhabit. Agreements have been put in place that now allow activities on land that used to be prohibited, as long as the party responsible participates in an action that assists with the protection or recovery of one or more species.  

“These changes bring the potential for encroachment onto sensitive lands, where development would otherwise undergo a comprehensive regulatory review and be subject to restrictions or prohibitions. Development that is expedited into protected areas could benefit existing land owners, but may be at the expense of our wildlife, ecology, natural heritage systems and drinking watersheds,” stated Leah Barrie, Policy Planning Supervisor for Kawartha Lakes.

As more information becomes available through provincial updates, staff will inform Council of the anticipated financial implications of the new Bill. With the 2020 budget discussions occurring later this year, Bill 108 will play a factor in determining how to best incorporate the changes to amendments with respect to the City’s Long-Term Financial Plan.

A Task Force is currently reviewing development charges as the City’s By-law expires this year.

- 30 -

Media Inquiries