Development charges are increasing in The Nation Municipality, and are being added for new, non-residential properties. Council approved a bylaw containing the changes on April 3.
A new development charges study for the municipality was completed in 2022. A public meeting on the study was held in October of that year. Due to the municipal election that same month, the former council chose to delay adoption of an updated development charges bylaw and allow the new council to make the decision. Development charges are collected by municipalities from developers of new residential and non-residential projects to cover the cost of infrastructure and services.
Second dwelling units in new residential developments will remain exempt from development charges.
As of 2022, The Nation was charging $4,120.66 per new single-detached residential dwelling. The updated bylaw adopted on April 3 increases the rate to $5,143.11. The Nation’s residential development charge per single-detached dwelling remains the lowest in the central and western part of the United Counties of Prescott and Russell. The next highest rate, according to the 2022 study, is $6,374 per single-detached residential dwelling in Casselman, followed by $11,887 per single-detached dwelling in Russell Township, and $19,053 per single-detached dwelling in the City of Clarence-Rockland.
For new, semi-detached dwellings in The Nation, the development charge is increasing by $902.16 to $4,538.04 per unit. The charge is increasing by $781.87 to $3,932.97 per unit for row houses or townhouses, and the new rate for apartments is $2,777.27, an increase of $595.74.
The new development charge for non-residential developments in The Nation is two dollars per square foot. It is the second-lowest non-residential development charge in central and western Prescott-Russell. The lowest per square foot non-residential charge is $1.39 per square foot in Russell Township, followed by $2.93 per square foot in Casselman, and $8.27 per square foot in Clarence-Rockland.
The specific areas of municipal services development charges in The Nation are intended to finance under the bylaw are administration, the public library, recreation, roads, and fire protection.
“When compared to other municipalities, it is very competitive,” remarked Planner Guylain Laflèche when explaining the new rates to council.
“When I look at the other comparables, we’re still not as expensive as the others,” said Mayor Francis Brière.
Time has arrived
He said the time has arrived for non-residential development charges in The Nation, including the Innovation business park near Highway 417.
“I think we’re at that point. I’ve been at this long enough to know that if someone’s looking at your project in Innovation and it’s not the two dollars per square foot that’s going to have them come or not come. We’re at a fork in the road where I think we have a development that we have to pay for,” Brière said.
He said development charges will help pay for the new Nation Recreation Complex in Limoges which cost $14,549,557 and did not receive any grant funding.
“That complex is not cheap,” Brière remarked.
“It’s time to start collecting because we have to pay that off. And, we have lots of infrastructure that’s going to be built in the next little while due to growth. So, I think it’s time,” he added.
Ward 2 Councillor Alain Mainville agreed, noting the cost of municipal infrastructure and services.
