Essex County adopts DCs, max dropped from $12.5k to $8.5K for new single-family home

by Sylene Argent, Local Journalism Initiative

The County of Essex has adopted a Development Charges (DCs) By-Law that will impose an $8,589 fee on developers for new, single-family dwelling homes built when the program is implemented to the fullest extent over a five-year phase-in. The program will kick-in a year later than originally planned, with a start date of January 1, 2028.

  In addition, the DC charge for new rowhouses and other multi-dwelling residences at its fullest will be $5,200, apartments will be $4,569, and the non-residential charge per square metre of gross floor area will be $31.41.

  This is a fee charged to developers to help pay for growth-related capital costs to new home or commercial builds for County services, such as roads and related infrastructure, EMS, libraries, and waste diversion.

  The seven local municipalities that make-up the County of Essex already have their own DCs, while the upper-tier level of government – the County of Essex – has never had one.

  Regional decision-makers have been split on the file since discussions began around two-years ago, with some expressing the need for it, while others noted now is not the time to add to the cost of new homes. The same arguments for and opposed to the program were reiterated at the February 4 meeting, where the discussion on this file extended an hour-and-a-half

  Ultimately, County Council learned Provincial Bill 60 – Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act, 2025 received royal assent on November 27, 2025, and is now enacted. It had an impact on the maximum allowable amount the County could impose. Initially the DC for a single-family home was $12,500 and it was reduced to $8,500. Affordable Housing is exempt from the charges.

  Melissa Ryan, Director of Financial Services, explained that Under Bill 60, municipalities, including upper-tier municipalities, are required to have a Local Service Policy (LSP) for each service that has a local service component. For the County, this requirement is expected to apply to roads. The policy must identify works or classes of works that are a direct developer responsibility, and a DC cannot be imposed for any service with a local component unless a LSP is in place.

  Administration is set to start the LSP within the legislated transition period to ensure continued compliance with Bill 60 and alignment with the local municipalities.

  It was also noted Bill 60 will allow the County to use DC to fund for land acquisition, but does not allow land to be used to establish the service level calculations and funding caps, which is why the overall roads charge came down after the Bill was passed. 

  Ryan further explained long-term care was removed from the scope of the By-Law at this time, as the County does not yet have full Council direction regarding future growth of Sun Parlor Home. There is a feasibility study ongoing.

  To ensure compliance with the enacted legislation, the County also removed land acquisition costs from eligible DCs.

  She warned for an average residential property assessed at $350,000, not passing a DC policy this could mean an additional $200 or more per year in property taxes to offset growth-related capital costs, an amount that would increase as new infrastructure needs and costs rise.

  The County retained Hemson Consulting Ltd. to complete a comprehensive Development Charges Background Study, which was presented to County Council previously. The study establishes growth forecasts, reviews service levels, and identifies eligible costs for County-wide services including roads, waste diversion, land ambulance, and libraries, Ryan noted.

  Administration presented County Council with two options last week, adopted the DC program over a five-year phase-in period, where the first-year would start at 0%, and would progress with 25% yearly increments. The second was over a ten-year-period, with smaller yearly increments. The ten-year phase-in option was presented for the first time that evening, based on County Council’s feedback in the past, Ryan said.

  Both programs were set to start on January 1, 2027.

  Ryan noted if DCs were implemented at the full rate with no phase-in, it was estimated to generate $124M over ten-years. Under the five-year phase-in, the revenue is reduced by approximately $30M over the same period. Under the ten-year phase-in, the revenue is reduced by approximately $61M.

  “From a levy perspective, the longer the phase-in, the longer existing taxpayers continue to carry the costs of growth-related infrastructure,” Ryan stated.

  Tecumseh Deputy Mayor/Deputy Warden of the County, Joe Bachetti, was in favour of the five-year phase-in. He spoke of how the County of Essex is one of the only upper-tier municipalities in the province that does not have a DC, and if it had been implemented 15-years ago, there would be a formal funding stream in place already to pay for road infrastructure.

  He also spoke of how when the County approaches the province for grants, it is often asked what is being done to bring in funds to pay for projects, and that County residents are subsidizing growth without it.

  Kingsville Mayor Dennis Rogers, however, added an amendment to have the program start January 1, 2028, a year later than targeted. He confirmed that the DC study done, which was needed to enact the By-Law, expires in April. If it lapses, a new study would need to come forward. The original cost of the study was $60,000. There were additional costs that brought the total to $75,000.

  To him, affordability starts at local policy-making to provide more options.

  He hoped the additional year would provide time to look at the economy, and hopefully, Canada will be closer to decision-making with the US.

  Both Bachetti’s motion and Rogers’s amendment were adopted by Essex County Council with majority votes.

  Bachetti’s motion for the five-year phase-in was passed, with Essex Deputy Mayor Rob Shepley, and Lakeshore Mayor Tracey Bailey and Deputy Mayor Kirk Walstedt opposed.

  Warden/Leamington Mayor Hilda MacDonald, Bachetti, and Tecumseh Councillor Brian Houston (who sat in for Mayor Gary McNamara) were the ones opposed to Rogers’s January 1, 2028 date.

  Kingsville Deputy Mayor Kim DeYong had questions about the growth and if it is progressing as projected or if it has slowed. Ryan noted the study was formed based on the Growth Management report that was created as part of the first phase of the Official Plan review process. This includes from the current 199,100 individuals to grow between 268,100 - 315,000; the current 71,000 households to grow between 101,2000-124,200; and the current 72,300 jobs to grow between 107,900-124,200.

  Ryan said there is growth but not at the rate projected.

  DeYong didn’t want the background study to expire, but liked the idea to postpone implementation to ensure growth is paying for growth and not contributing to stagnating it.

  Lakeshore Mayor Bailey did not want the program to move forward at all.

  “This is the wrong policy choice for this Council to be making this evening. Our community simply can’t afford it. We look at our food banks, they have tripled in use. We look at the cost being transitioned over to our seniors who are trying to downsize into housing and our children who are trying to get out of basements and buy houses,” Bailey said. “We see costs going up everywhere, we see taxation all over the place. And communities can’t do any more of this.”

  Lakeshore Deputy Mayor Walstedt agreed, noting he has spoken to developers who noted building has basically come to a standstill. He also spoke of the current Canadian economy.

  Bailey put a motion forward to cease discussion on the file, which did not get enough support to move forward and failed 9-4, with herself, Walstedt, Essex Deputy Mayor Rob Shepley, and Leamington Deputy Mayor Larry Verbeke in favour.

  Shepley also put a motion forward that the County defer consideration of the DC By-Law until the LSP required under Bill 60 are completed and brought forward to Council. He wanted there to be full understanding of rules, responsibility, and allocations before adopting the By-Law. It failed three-10, with Bailey, Walstedt, and Shepley in favour.

  Councillors voiced concern of the background study expiring if this were to be the method.  

  Shepley said he has had concerns about the DC By-Law from the beginning.

  Essex Mayor Sherry Bondy does believe that growth should pay for growth, but development seems stagnant currently. She wanted to support a delayed transition.

  Amherstburg Deputy Mayor Chris Gibb asked about the affordability of those who already own a home, who will be asked to put more money into infrastructure caused by new development without a DC By-Law.

  Before making the decision, County Council heard from Windsor-Essex County Association of Realtors (WECAR) President-Elect, Alyssa Ismail, who said realtors see first-hand how families, young professionals, and retirees struggle to access safe, stable, and affordable housing in the region.

  “The decision that you will make on Development Charge By-Laws will have real consequences. It will shape whether new housing gets built, who can afford it, and how our economy grows,” she warned.

  Ismail believed that the DC charges will flow through to buyers via higher prices, suppress housing demand, and further constrain an already fragile housing market. It was her group’s opinion that adopting the DC was not the right choice.

The region’s prosperity depends on keeping housing affordable, and also supports the local construction industry in creating jobs and building the homes the community needs.

  Lakeshore Councillor Ryan McNamara also appeared as a delegate on the matter as a resident of the County. He supported DCs as growth should pay for growth, but had concerns about the economic climate, due to what he said was due in relation to the US and how it has affected the local and provincial economies.

  McNamara spoke of how there is a need to diversify the housing stock and build homes people can afford, such as starter homes. He suggested deferring this two-years into the future, when there could be some stability in the economy.

County DC Background:

• In May of 2024, Members of Essex County Council approved funding a Development Charges Study by utilizing up to a max of $60,000 from the Rate Stabilization Reserve.

• In June of 2024, Town of Essex’s Administration was directed to return with a report on the impact and opportunities to the Town of Essex resulting from the proposed County of Essex DCs, once a formal implementation plan was presented.

• In November 2024, Council for the County of Essex received an update on the County’s first DC Background Study.

• In April of 2025, Members of Essex County Council received a DC report as information, which provided a study, draft data table, and outlined the next steps in the process of implementing a DC By-Law. County Council also supported Essex Mayor Sherry Bondy’s motion to host public consultations in each of the seven municipalities, in addition to Kingsville Mayor Dennis Rogers’s amendment to include Chatham-Kent DC rates for residential and non-residential as a comparator.

• In May-June 2025, the County hosted open houses on the DC By-Law with the seven local municipalities.

• In August of 2025, a majority of Essex County Council voted to move forward with drafting a DC By-Law, but it didn’t move forward without some Councillors voicing concerns or flat-out opposition.  

• In October of 2025, the first draft of the DC By-Law was presented. The County of Essex Council received a report outlining the details of the Draft County Development Charges By-law as information.

• In November of 2025, Council for the County of Essex deferred the final consideration of the proposed County Development Charges (DC) By-Law until January 21, 2026.