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DEVELOPMENT CHARGES PAMPHLET
By-law No. 2026-02
PURPOSE
This pamphlet sets out the County of Essex's development charges (DCs) imposed by by-
law as of February 4, 2026.
The information contained herein is intended only as a guide. Interested parties should
review the by-laws, the Development Charges Act, and consult with County staff to
determine the exact development charges that apply to specific development proposals.
BACKGROUND
The County of Essex's by-law imposes charges on all lands in the County except for those that are
exempt under the Development Charge Act, 1997 and as identified in the by-law. A copy of the DC By-
law is available from the Clerk's Department and at:
www.countyofessex.ca/doing-business/planning-and-development/development-charges-initiative/
GENERAL PURPOSE OF DEVELOPMENT CHARGES
Development charges are collected to pay for increased capital costs required because of increased
needs for services arising from development. The charges in By-law 2026-02 apply uniformly across
the entire County.
INDEXING OF DEVELOPMENT CHARGES
The development charges will be indexed annually on January 1st, beginning on January 1, 2028,
without amendment to the by-law, in accordance with the most recent annual change in the
Statistics Canada Quarterly, Construction Price Statistics (catalogue number 62-007).
SERVICES INCLUDED
County-wide development charges are imposed for the following services:
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Library Services
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Ambulance Services
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Waste Diversion
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Development-Related Studies
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Land Acquisition
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Services Related to a Highway
TREASURER'S STATEMENT
The Treasurer for the County will present before Council each year, a financial statement relating to
the development charges by-law and its reserve funds. The statement will include, for each reserve
fund, a description of the service, opening and closing balances, details of any credit transactions,
details of any borrowing from the reserve fund that may have occurred, the amount spent on growth
related projects, the portion of each project that is funded from the reserve fund and the portion funded
from other sources of financing.
A copy of the Treasurer's statement can be viewed by the public at the County's offices upon request
during regular office hours, Monday to Friday, between 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
COUNTY-WIDE DEVELOPMENT CHARGES
County-wide charges are levied on a per residential unit basis and per square metre of non-residential
building space as follows:
CALCULATION OF CHARGE
The development charge payable is the charge that would be determined under the by-law, with
applicable interest, on:
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the day of application for site plan control; or, if not applicable
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the day of application for rezoning; or, if both not applicable
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the day set out in the by-law.
TIMING OF PAYMENT
Development charges are payable, with applicable interest, in equal annual installments for rental
housing and institutional development. The installments are payable in 6 installments commencing with
the first installment payable on the date of occupancy, and each subsequent installment, including
interest, payable on the anniversary date each year thereafter. Development charges for residential
development, excluding rental housing, shall be payable in full on the earlier of the day a building permit
is issued authorizing occupation of the building and the day the building is first occupied.
For all other development, the default timing of payment is the day the date the first building permit is
issued for the development. Council may enter into an agreement with any person who has negotiated
to pay a development charge providing for all or part of the development charge to be paid before or
after the time it would otherwise be payable.
EXEMPTIONS & DISCOUNTS
Development charges are payable on all new residential and non-residential development and
redevelopment unless the By-law or the Act provides an exemption. Exemptions include:
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when an existing dwelling unit is enlarged
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additional residential units in existing homes/residential lots (combination of no more
than 3 units on the lot) in accordance with section 2 (3.2) of the Development Charges
Act
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additional units in new residential buildings (combination of no more than 3 units on the
lot) in accordance with section 2 (3.3) of the Development Charges Act
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additional residential units in existing rental residential buildings with more than 4
residential units (one unit or 1% of existing residential units) in accordance with section 2
(3.1) of the Development Charges Act
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discount for rental housing development with 4 or more units, all intended for rental
based on the number of bedrooms:
o 3 or more bedrooms 25% discount
o 2 bedrooms 20% discount
o 1 bedroom or studio 15% discount
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enlargement of existing industrial buildings up to a maximum of 50% the original gross
floor area of the structure that existed before the date the Development Charges By-law
took effect
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long-term care homes
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hospitals
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places of worship, cemetery or burial ground
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buildings or structures owned by and used for the purposes of a college of applied arts
and technology
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buildings or structures owned by and used for the purposes of a university
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farm buildings that are part of a bona fide farm operation
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affordable residential units
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attainable residential units
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not-profit housing development
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any institutional use
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temporary buildings or structures, with conditions
For a complete list of exemptions and discounts please review the Development Charges Act and
associated Regulations (which do change from time to time), the By-law or contact County staff.
FURTHER INFORMATION
Please visit our website at www.countyofessex.ca/dci to obtain the most current development
charges information as it is subject to change.
For further information, please email [email protected].