Planning & Development

Development Charges

Page Overview

Resources

Development charges are one-time fees imposed by the Municipality and County from developers, home builders and institutions when they develop or build on land. The fees are intended to offset the cost of increased municipal services and infrastructure required due to growth in the municipality.

Development Charges Projects

You may be required to pay development charges for land development or redevelopment projects, if you are:

  • Constructing a new building
  • Making an addition or alteration to an existing building that increases the number of residential units or the non-residential gross floor area
  • Redeveloping a property or making interior alterations that result in a change of use to all or part of a building
  • For a fulsome list of exemptions, reference should be made to the bylaw

Please note that Development Charges for the County of Grey apply only to new residential development.

Fees can be found in the fees and charges By-law 2024-48 – Development Charges for the Municipality of Meaford.

Development Charges have been indexed as of January 1, 2026, as per By-law 2024-48.

Appeals

Any person or organization may appeal the by-law to the Ontario Land Tribunal under section 14 of the Act by filing with the clerk of the municipality a notice of appeal setting out the objection to the by-law and the reasons supporting the objection. Details about the deadline for an appeal will be included in a future notice to the public about the passing of the new Development Charges By-law. For information on how to appeal, including forms and fees, see the Ontario Land Tribunal Website.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where development charges apply, a building permit will only be issues once the development charges have been paid in full.

Development Charges will be calculated when you apply for a building permit. If you are looking to pre-plan your project, you may use the Development Charges Brochure or rates sheet posted.

Development charges help pay for growth-related capital costs for the following municipal services:

Public library, fire protection services, parks and recreation, services related to a highway: public works, development studies, water, sewer, stormwater

If you are not fronting the water or wastewater system you will only pay the Municipal Wide Charge and not the water/wastewater charge.

The Development Charges Act does allow for some exemptions. Examples include:

  • Affordable, Attainable and Non-profit housing (as defined by the province)
  • Enlargement of 50 percent or less of an existing industrial building

Yes, development charges rates are different for residential.

Unlike Development charges which are applied to all new development (unless specifically exempted), community benefits charges may only be collected on higher density developments of at least five storeys and more than 10 units, as outlined in the Planning Act section 37. Meaford currently does not have a community benefits charges by-law in place and does not collect community benefits charges.

Once a by-law is passed by the Council, development charges are active for a 10 year period.

Resources