This month, Norfolk County Council approved the continuation of exemptions on development charges for the following types of development:
- Industrial development (related to research or development, manufacturing, production, processing, storage or distribution, including a commercial greenhouse that is not a farm business)
- Roofed accommodation (hotels, motels, lodges, bed and breakfast establishments, time-share cottages and condominiums targeting and promoting overnight tourist rentals) – savings of $125,000 to the developer on a 2,200 m2 building.
- Temporary Structures
- Farm help house development
- Farming business development (related to research or development, grading, processing, manufacturing and production, produce storage or distribution, sampling and sales, including farm markets, wineries and farm gate sales) – savings of $180,000 to the developer on a 16,000 m2 building in a rural area.
- Affordable housing which receives funding from the County under its social housing program, provided the development charge liabilities of the affordable housing project are not eligible for funding by senior levels of government
- A parking garage exclusively devoted to parking, including the construction of an outdoor parking lot at grade, or the construction of a parking garage above or below grade
- Development which is or would be classified under the Assessment Act as exempt from taxation for realty taxes as a place of worship
- All development within the boundaries of the “Central Business Districts” as defined within the County’s official plan or official plans of the predecessor municipalities
Savings could be considerable. For example, on a major industrial development measuring 25,000 square meters, the developer could save $1.5 million in exempted development charges. A new $2,200-square-meter hotel development could see $125,000 in charges exempted.
