The City applies a Development Charge to applicable development / redevelopment applications under the Development Charges Act. Development Charges ensure sufficient funds are available to provide the infrastructure and services related to growth.
What Are Development Charges
Development Charges are charges on lands located in the municipality under development/redevelopment to pay for the increased capital costs of services arising from development (such as new sewers and water mains). In short, development charges help ensure growth pays for growth, rather than all those costs being borne by taxpayers. They are imposed when a new or expanded building increases use on a piece of land.
Development Charges are imposed on all lands, buildings or structures that are developed for residential or non-residential uses when use is expanded and one of the following is required:
- The passing of a Zoning By-Law or of an amendment to a Zoning By-Law
- The approval of a minor variance
- A conveyance of land to which a by-law passed under subsection 50(7) of the Planning Act applies
- The approval of a plan of subdivision
- A consent under section 53 of the Planning Act
- The approval of a description under section 50 of the Condominium Act, R.S.O. 1990
- The issuing of a permit under the Building Code Act in relation to a building or structure
Exemptions
The Development Charge By-law applies to all lands in the City of Sarnia, whether or not the lands or use is exempt from taxation under Section 3 of the Assessment Act. The by-law does not apply to land that is owned by and used for the purpose of a municipality, local board or board of education.
Where the redevelopment involves the replacement of one or more buildings or structures, a credit may be available.
Development Charges may not be imposed, subject to conditions for:
- All building permits resulting in the creation of a second or third residential unit, accessory to a house (ARU)
- Non-profit housing development
- A non-residential farm building or structure used for agricultural purposes
- A use of land that does not involve a building structure, such as playing fields, ball diamonds and other similar outdoor recreation facilities
- Development in the Sarnia 402 Business Park and Sarnia Business and Research Park
- The enlargement of the gross floor area of an “existing industrial building” by 50 per cent or less
- Temporary buildings and structures
- Institutional uses
- Non-serviced industrial buildings and structures used exclusively for storage.
Services supported by Development Charges
The categories of services for which development charges are imposed in Sarnia are as follows:
- Services related to a highway
- Public works
- Fire protection services
- Police services
- Parks services
- Growth studies
- Storm drainage and control services
- Wastewater services
- Water
- Parking services
When are Development Charges Calculated?
Development Charges are calculated upon the issuance of a Building Permit. Where Planning Applications under Section 34 (Zoning By-law Amendment) or 51 (Site Plan Control) of the Planning Act are submitted, Development Charges are frozen up to 18 months from the date of application.
When are Development Charges Payable?
Development Charges are payable on the day a permit is issued under the Building Code Act, with the exception of rental housing, institutional development and non-rental residential developments where an agreement or deferral has been made.
Rental Housing, Institutional Development, and Other Agreements
If you are considering a deferred Development Charge payment or other Agreement, the building department must be notified at the time of your application. Agreements are subject to Council Approval.
Development Charges shall be paid at the time of permit issuance or in equal annual instalments beginning on the earlier of:
- the date of the issuance of an occupancy permit under the Building Code Act; or
- the date the building is first occupied
Development charge payments continue on the following five anniversaries of that date, including interest. A development charge may be paid before the day it is payable.
Non-rental Residential Development
The Development Charges Act, 1997, (DCA) has been amended to allow for payment of the development charges for non-rental residential developments to be deferred from building permit issuance to either:
- before issuance of an Occupancy Permit, or
- before first occupancy of the building.
No other permit-related fees, other than development charges for non-rental residential developments, can be deferred. A development charge may be paid before the day it is payable.
How to defer charges
For non-rental residential, the owner must elect the deferral option on the Development Review form at the time of the building permit application; deferral cannot be requested after permit issuance. Alternatively, the full development charges can be paid at the time of permit issuance.
Eligibility
Builders can choose to defer municipal DCs for all nonrental residential buildings:
- Non-rental residential (or in other words, ownership) buildings where the applicant has selected the deferral.
- In mixed-use projects, the requirement applies to the portion of the building containing the non-rental residential units for which DCs are deferred. There are no changes to existing residential rental deferred DCs.
Payment (accordion)
‘Payment’ means full remittance of the deferred DCs owing for the non-rental residential portion. The payment must be paid in full and validated before Occupancy can be granted. Applicants are encouraged to coordinate payment timing (i.e. clearing of cheques/payments) with City staff to avoid construction delays.
Please allow for approximately 30 days for cheques to be cleared. Consider paying with Certified Cheque or Bank Draft for faster turn around, allowing for only administration time.
For projects where a valid deferral is selected, the building cannot be occupied until an occupancy permit is issued, and the CBO must withhold the occupancy permit until the municipality confirms full payment of all deferred municipal DCs. The City will not grant Occupancy in any capacity where the full Development Charges have not been paid and validated.
Indexing
The Development Charges imposed under this By-law index annually on January 1 in accordance with the Statistics Canada Quarterly, Non-Residential Building Construction Price Index for the most recent year-over-year period.