Councillors defer proposed planning fee increases to August
July 21, 2026 at 4:29 AM
A decision to significantly increase planning development fees in the new year has been put off until the town hears back on its application for the provincial development charge reduction program.
While consultants pointed out that the proposed increases would only have a small impact on the overall cost to develop in Fort Erie, several councillors were uneasy with increases that in many cases would triple the fees for developers.
“It seems like every council meeting, or at least once a month, we’re adding something to the list that people have to pay for, that the developer has to pay for,” said Councillor Ann-Marie Noyes.
Fort Erie Radio reported on the proposed increases earlier this month.
Consultants and municipal staff blamed the need for the significant increases largely on the fact the town hadn’t conducted a review of its planning fees for quite some time.
“The purpose of that review was to identify opportunities for full cost recovery,” said Mark Iamarino, manager of development approvals. “As far as I can tell there hasn’t been a review of the planning fees for at least 15 years.”
Still, despite the lengthy time between reviews and the relatively low overall impact, the proposed increases caught the eye of several councillors.
Proposed increases included seeing official plan amendments rise to $29,400 from the current $9,708, major site plan applications climb to $29,600 from the current $9,371, and non-routine minor variances go to $3,432 from the current $1,494.
To lessen the blow to the building community, staff proposed three options. The first would simply have the increases come into effect on January 1, while the other two would see them rolled out through through two or three phases over a year.
Councillor Nick Dubanow supported some kind of phasing.
“I don’t think this is something that can be implemented all at once,” he said.
According to consultant Sean-Michael Stephen, the cost to the municipality for planning application fees is roughly $2.8 million a year.
“The current fees are recovering just $1 million, about 36 per cent of those costs,” he said. The balance is paid for by the general property taxpayer.
Approving the proposed fees would see Fort Erie move from the bottom of the list when compared to Niagara municipalities toward the top. However, it would remain below comparators outside the Niagara region, Stephen said.
The increases would also do little to the overall building costs. Stephen used a 65-unit subdivision as an example. In that scenario, planning application fees would double to $1,623 per unit, but would still only represent two per cent of the overall costs.
It was because of those other costs that councillors deferred a decision.
Councillor Tom Lewis made the deferral motion, saying a successful application to the Development Charge Reduction Program–which sees Queen’s Park provide funding for municipalities that reduce their development charges–could change the calculus for increasing planning application fees.
Staff expect to hear back about their application to the program around the Association of the Municipalities of Ontario conference next month, and councillors deferred a decision until the first meeting thereafter.
Delayed Derby development decision ultimately gets approved
Annual council remuneration report released
Council delays formally requesting Niagara Health resignations
About The Author
Luke Edwards
Luke Edwards is a longtime Niagara community journalist who has covered a variety of beats, including business, agriculture, the wine industry and politics. When not writing, there's a good chance he can be found at a baseball diamond or curling rink.
Stay Informed