kingston updates development charges on new builds
kingston city council updates development charges bylaw last approved in 2019.
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the city of kingston approved an update to its development charges on new construction in kingston, ont. on tuesday, may 20, 2025.
elliot ferguson
/
the whig-standard
kingston — city council approved updates to the fees developers pay when building new residential and commercial projects.
development charges are collected when building permits are issued and help pay for infrastructure and services, such as roads, public works, fire and police services, transit, parks, libraries and in urban areas water and sewer, in new developments.
the charges were last set in 2019 are by law have to be reviewed once every 10 years.
the updated development charge bylaw includes increases based on what kind of development is being built.
single detached and semi-detached homes saw the smallest increase of 2.2 per cent. apartments with two or more bedrooms are to see a four-per-cent increase in development charges.
bachelor and one-bedroom apartments are to see the highest increase in development charges of more than 15 per cent.
industrial developments are to see a 35-per-cent decrease in development charges.
on a single detached house, development charges could account for almost $33,000 and more than $22,000 for an apartment with two or more bedrooms.
kingston’s updated development charges place the city in the bottom third in ontario for cost.
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many of the municipalities close to kingston’s amount are smaller and have seen less growth, added chief administrative officer lanie hurdle.
“the municipalities that we’re talking about are generally much smaller than kingston, many of them would be townships, but definitely much smaller population and not as much growth as what kingston is experiencing,” she said.
“any municipality of the size of kingston with the kind of growth that we’ve been seeing would be at a much higher rate than what we are proposing.”
although the increases in the new bylaw were not as large as initially proposed, robert howe of the kingston home builders association said the organization still has “significant concerns” with the updated rates.
since the city had until 2029 to review the charges, howe sought a deferral for the bylaw until it could be discussed more.
“the impact of development charges on housing affordability is at the forefront of khba’s concerns,” howe told council.
“put very simply, every increase in development charges — which is a tax on new housing — will, in turn, increase the price of a new house,” he added.
“particularly in the current housing market, it is essential that the development charge be correctly determined to ensure that development charges don’t place an unwarranted financial burden on new homes,” howe said.
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the city could use some of the $27 million it received last year from the federal housing accelerator fund to establish a grant program to offset the cost of development charges on residential construction.
“we’re proposing using some of the housing accelerator fund monies to cover the incremental difference in the fees for the residential category,” explained city treasurer desiree kennedy.
“so, whatever the increase is with these proposed rates that difference would be covered by funding from the housing accelerator fund,” she added. “we’re estimating we probably have a good year, maybe a little bit more, in terms of just what we’re estimating in terms of development in those areas. the funding should cover at least at least a year with that.”
the city’s review was complicated by nine recent provincial acts, including the covid-19 economic recovery act, the more homes built faster act and the cutting red tape to build more homes act, that included changes to the development charges act.
the city’s own growth projections were also considered but the review did not look at the impact of any potential urban boundary expansion.
another review is expected in three or four years to incorporate the effects of an such boundary changes.
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elferguson@postmedia.com
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