What are development charges

Municipalities in Ontario use development charges to recover certain costs associated with growth. Development charges support the construction of infrastructure like water and wastewater pipes, roads and transportation infrastructure, community centres, parks, trails, fire stations, paramedics, and police facilities.

The City estimates what new services will be needed to accommodate Guelph’s growing population, and uses this information to update its development charge Bylaw and development charge rates. This update must be done at least once every ten years as required under the Ontario’s Development Charges Act.

In 2021, the City passed an update to the development charges bylaw in response to legislative changes that came into effect after the 2018 by-law update was approved. The 2018 study was the last comprehensive development charge study completed prior to the current ongoing study.