Mississauga moves to ensure money will be there for parks and services as city grows
Published June 22, 2022 at 3:45 pm
Mississauga City council has approved a set of bylaws to ensure enough parks, services and other infrastructure are provided in the coming years as the city continues to grow.
The Development Charges (DC), Community Benefits Charge and Park Conveyance/Cash-in-Lieu bylaws adopted today (June 22) ensure adequate growth funding will be there down the road as more developments sprout up across Mississauga.
The new bylaws take effect on Thursday (June 23).
The money helps the City “plan and build complete communities and maintain a high quality of life for our residents,” Mississauga officials say, adding such growth funding charges are governed by provincial legislation and require municipalities to enact supporting bylaws.
“As our city continues to grow and intensify, our parkland bylaw ensures we have a way to deliver vibrant parks and recreational spaces for everyone to enjoy,” said Jodi Robillos, the City’s commissioner of community services. “Parks add so much to our quality of life; that’s why it’s essential they be prioritized, well-planned and consistently funded.”
In addition to parkland, the fees collected from developers when they build new projects help ensure the City can deliver roads, trails, bridges, community centres and more.
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“Developers are required to pay their fair share. However, these charges alone are not enough to cover the many costs to support our growing city,” said Shari Lichterman, the City’s commissioner of corporate services and chief financial officer. “The City is not immune to high construction costs, increasing land values and inflation. We have very few funding sources to meet our growing list of demands. When building new infrastructure like libraries, transit, overpasses, bike lanes and roads, we must also look to property taxes and funding from higher levels of government to close the gap.”
While the City aims to ensure “growth pays for growth whenever possible,” officials say they are also committed to supporting affordable housing providers and non-profit developments.
Two recently announced grant programs will offer eligible affordable rental housing developments and non-profit organizations who provide long-term care homes, hospices, shelters and transitional housing financial help to offset the City’s portion of development charges.
DCs are paid by developers and help pay for infrastructure needed to accommodate the growth.
The Community Benefits Charge is new this year. It’s a financial contribution paid to the municipality when land is being developed and is used to fund a service or facility that will benefit the community, the new development and the incoming population.
It’s capped at four per cent of the land value.
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