MORRISBURG – A development charges background study which suggests adding up to $10,523 to the cost of building a new home in South Dundas drew surprisingly few people to a public meeting held last Tuesday to gather public feedback.
The public portion of the meeting was attended by only one member of the public.
After hearing the study presented, John Allison commented: “That’s quite an impact. We need growth and we’re getting growth. I suspect this may put a damper on it.”
While this portion of the meeting failed to attract a crowd, the stakeholders meeting held earlier in the day attracted key players in ongoing residential developments currently taking place in South Dundas.
Dutch Meadows developers Swank Construction and Merkley Oaks developers Valecraft both had multiple representatives at the meeting.
Melanie Swank, speaking on behalf of Swank Construction, explained that presently with water, sewer, and building permits, the upfront cost before breaking ground on a single family home are about $13,000 and about $26,000 for a semi detached home.
If the new development charges are implemented at the level suggested by the study those numbers would double.
“While we do recognize the need to recover those incurred costs associated with infrastructure, we were still surprised at the significant amount suggested by the study,” said Swank.
“This new fee could have a really significant impact on the affordability of new homes in South Dundas,” she added.
That along with the challenges the construction industry has already faced and the uncertainty of tariffs, have already made it increasingly difficult for home buyers to plan for their future.
Having already seen declining interest in new home builds, “we suggest a cost increase does feel like we’re taking a bit of a step back,” said Swank.
“We respectfully ask that council carefully consider the impact that this view will have, not only on builders like us, but families, young professionals and retirees that we would all like to welcome to South Dundas. We hope a solution can be reached that balances municipal needs without placing further financial strain on new home buyers and builders alike.”
Frank Nieuwkoop of Valecraft Homes said that the lack of development charges was part of the attraction of their Iroquois development, but they knew that there would likely be charges coming because they understand the infrastructure needs. Like Swank, he too said that the starting point is high. “If you are going to do something, you need to phase it in,” suggested Nieuwkoop. He added that the phase in would allow them as developers to plan for the increases.
Diane Brunet of Valecraft pointed out that the suggested development charges on two bedroom apartments of $7,249. “We’ve got a 16-unit building, times $7,200. That adds up, right? It’s a rental and we want to make sure that it’s affordable.” She pointed out that communities want affordable rental units, “So we need to really look at that and say, does it make sense?”
Nieuwkoop also suggested that commercial opportunities will be coming and that they need to remain attractive to those opportunities.
Council plans to meet in late June to further discuss development charges and consider the input received. July 26 is the earliest possible implementation date, but the amount of the charges and timing of implementation beyond that is at the discretion of council.
“Ultimately, we’re the ones who are going to make this decision,” South Dundas Deputy Mayor Marc St. Pierre told the group in attendance. “Your voices have been heard in the past and will continue to be heard moving forward.”
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