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The passage of Bill 124 (Building Code Statute Law Amendment Act) introduced significant changes for Ontario municipalities regarding Development Application Approval Process (DAAP) user fees. DAAP reflects the administration, review, approval and enforcement services provided by municipalities with respect to development applications under the legislative jurisdiction of the Planning Act and Building Code Act.
The new changes include:
- new cost justification requirements for building permit fees, limiting them to the “anticipated reasonable costs” of administration and the enforcement under the Building Code Act;
- fees imposed under the Building Code Act will have to be reported annually, including the amount of fees collected, direct and indirect costs of service delivery and reserve fund balances;
- public notification and process required for change or introduction of new fees under the Act.
As a result of these changes, any surplus revenues previously generated from building permit fees will no longer be available to fund other municipal services, including Planning Act applications (e.g. subdivisions, site plans, etc.). This potential revenue loss to non-Building Code Act services creates the need to re-examine the quantum of DAAP fees under both Acts to ensure that an appropriate level of cost recovery is being realized from the service users.
Watson & Associates has both the knowledge and experience to assist your municipality in developing an activity-based cost justification and reserve fund policy to comply with Bill 124, while minimizing the negative financial implications. To date, we have assisted numerous municipalities, ranging from small communities to large urban cities, thus providing a broad perspective on the challenges facing all communities.
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