The city council is ready to make a bold move by lowering the fees it charges for home construction in Windsor if it can secure significant funding from higher levels of government through a new grant initiative.
The city’s request under this federal-provincial program seeks funds for five key projects and promises to reduce residential development charges by 70 percent over the next three years.
These fees help cover costs for road, sewer, and water treatment projects in the city.
This plan would decrease the fee for a newly built single-family home by $31,500.
“We believe our application is very ambitious,” said Mayor Drew Dilkens, “and we think it demonstrates that the City of Windsor is fully committed to tackling the affordability challenges we see in the housing market.”
If their application for the Development Charge Reduction Program isn’t approved, there won’t be any changes made to these development charges.
New housing units constructed within a large area of the city between Tecumseh Road, Pillette Road, and Prince Road would still be exempt from these charges.
Homebuilders Praise the Initiative
Homebuilders have expressed that all levels of government need to lower expenses in order to increase housing availability amid today’s affordability crisis.
“The dream of owning a home has been fading because people just can’t afford it,” said Norbert Bulger, chair of the Windsor Essex Home Builders Association.
Bulger noted that if Windsor’s application gets approved, it will be a “tremendous” step toward making homes more affordable.
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Norbert Bolger is the chair of the Windsor Essex Home Builders Association. He said the latest funding plan could significantly cut costs of new homes for first-time buyers (Dalson Chen/CBC)
A report submitted to council indicated that many developments in Windsor are stalled due to financial issues.
“It really makes a difference,” Bulger told .
He stated that reducing development charges along with Ontario’s previously announced HST rebate on new homes should encourage further development.
Windsor’s suggested 70 percent reduction exceeds what many other applicants have promised according to publicly available data; applicants needed at least a 30 percent reduction to qualify.
Mississauga, London, and Essex opted for 50 percent cuts.
Aiming to Revive Housing Market
Council members were informed that cutting these charges could actually lead to an increase in revenue collected by the city since it would lower costs preventing projects from getting started.
<p"Historically we've had low numbers due to pauses in development," said city treasurer Janice Guthrie.
Staff mentioned there are over 4,000 housing units deep into planning that could start during this period.
However , the report gives a conservative estimate of 2,933 new homes being built over three years.
Council was advised that Windsor would collect $62.7 million less than if those new units were charged full development fees.
Nonetheless , the city expects close to $50 million from federal and provincial grants aimed at major projects within its borders.
“We want to reduce development charges temporarily so we can unlock housing that’s currently stuck,” said Dilkens.
Without changes , there are worries about continued delays in development.
