The new community benefits charge would complement development charges by giving municipalities the flexibility to fund growth-related capital infrastructure costs of other community services. For example, funds generated through community benefits charges could be used to support community priorities such as acquiring land for parks, supporting affordable housing or building child care facilities which will be needed due to growth.

A municipality is required to have a community benefit strategy before passing a community benefits charges bylaw. The community benefit strategy has to comply with all of the prescribed requirements. It is important to note that community benefits charge authority has not been proclaimed and is not in effect at this time. In addition the province has not released information about additional announced changes. The charge will be assessed as a percentage of land value which will be determined immediately before a building permit is issued (with new zoning in place). The maximum charge is capped at 15% of land value for a single-tier municipality like Windsor.

In addition to the services specified by the regulations, the 15% charge is also expected to pay for parkland acquisition, meaning that if a municipality has a community benefits charge by-law in place it cannot also apply the basic parkland dedication provisions found in the Planning Act. Community priorities like affordable housing, child care, land for parks, and other services can also be funded through a new Community Benefit Charge; however, they will all be competing for the same pot of money.

Since the Community Benefit Charge is identified as a potential funding source for a number of growth-related capital infrastructure costs and community services, the appropriate allocation of funding for affordable housing should be determined as part of the required Community Benefit Strategy.

Also, to help reduce the costs to build certain types of development that are in high demand, amendments to the Planning Act provides for the Minister to prescribe that a community benefits charge cannot be imposed on certain types of development or redevelopment. Currently, the Minister is proposing that the certain types of developments be exempt from charges for community benefits under the Planning Act including Non-profit housing.

Reduced Parking Requirements

The minimum parking requirements for residential developments contained within the City’s Comprehensive Zoning Bylaw aim to ensure that new residents have a dedicated place for their vehicles without creating negative spillover effects on the surrounding area. Parking requirements affect the affordability of developing housing because they increase the land area required for development.

Since lower-income households tend to own fewer cars than higher income households, it may be forcing developers to provide and develop parking facilities that may not bePage 11 of 17