The bell is about to ring for a second round in the development charges fight.
The first round ended last year following a battle with developers and homebuilders that eventually saw residential development charges more than double to about $30,000.
Those increases are meant to help the town pay for “hard services” such as water and sewer.
This time, Innisfil council is considering another increase of about $2,840 on new homes to pay for “soft services” such as libraries, recreation facilities as well as police and fire services.
The proposed hike represents a 41 per cent increase over the current soft service development charge on residential properties.
Commercial properties would also see their soft service rates increase to $18 a square metre for a 32 per cent increase.
A public meeting will be held June 24 at 7 p.m. at the Town Hall in Barclay.
Councillors expect another round of criticism from the building industry, especially since the housing market is struggling.
Development charges are passed on to new homebuyers and those who lease commercial properties.
“We’ll be told that these are too high and we need to bring them down to help the economy,” Coun. Lynn Dollin said. “But if we do that, we’ll just fall behind and taxpayers will pay.”
Municipalities use development charges in an attempt to offset the cost of growth.
The soft service hikes would see the residential development charges increase by about 10 per cent in Alcona to about $32,000. Lefroy would see its total residential development charge hit $35,500 for a 8.7 per cent increase.
Innisfil will see its charges become some of the highest in the area if the new increases are approved, said Craig Binning of Hemson Consulting.
When the $4,000 Simcoe County portion is added to the charges, Alcona will have a $35,675 development charge, while Lefroy’s would jump to $39,500.
Barrie’s development charge, which does not include the $4,000 county portion, sits at about $28,000. Bradford West Gwillimbury’s fee, which includes the county charge, is $35,400.
“Your charges are clearly climbing up there,” said Binning, who prepared the report. “This will put you there in the higher end of charges in Simcoe County.”
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