Gravenhurst Council held their public meeting as another step towards a new Development Charges By-law, in the October 23, 2024, special meeting.

Two representatives of Loon Call Development Group (LCDG), affordable housing developers, and one Bracebridge resident attended the meeting.

LCDG requested that Council develop a tiered DC framework like the Town of Bracebridge recently approved, so they can continue to build affordable homes. Otherwise, they’ll have to apply DCs to their housing, which will reflect in their prices.

LCDG representative, Suresh Singh, said they’ve built 126 homes in Gravenhurst “at price point that are far, far lower than the market price,” and they will sell another 131. He said that if Council lowered the DC rates for them and other affordable home builders “it would reflect in the prices” like it did in 2014-2015.

Singh added, “We’re in a building housing crisis in the province, Canada, and regionally,” and suggested that renters be given the opportunity of prices that will help them move into ownership.

He said, “Muskoka should be inspiring home ownership as much as possible,” which having a separate schedule for building affordable homes would help with.

LCDG representative, Angus Knowles, indicated that their approach is to help Council understand and support their efforts to build attainable housing so they can continue to do so. He asked for permission to work with staff to develop an attainable housing framework prior to the upcoming meeting.

Bracebridge resident, Bob List, supported the request by LCDG. He said that one of the issues with DCs is that it’s based on service delivery rather than the cost of the home. For instance, a $2 million home will be charged the same DCs as a $300,000 home.

List suggested that Council meet with other municipalities in Muskoka to review various options for fees.

He added that studies “don’t deal with how to incentivize what we as a community are trying to achieve.”

Councillor, Jo Morphy, suggested the Bracebridge framework “seems rather complicated,” and inquired about whether they can “grandfather or freeze DCs in the Town.”

Hemson Consultant, Andrew Mirabella, advised that “rates already frozen wouldn’t be subject to new rates,” and suggested that they can enter into prepaid agreement relief, depending on the applications.

Councillor, Randy Jorgensen, inquired about how they handle situations where there is lesser or greater development than anticipated.

Mirabella advised that this is why a 5-year By-law is fitting, so they can make adjustments based on trends.

Council members discussed the potential of a sliding scale or incentives for more affordable homes.

CAO, Scott Lucas, said staff will evaluate different incentives and will include the options in the upcoming DC By-law proposal for consideration.

As Mayor, Heidi Lorenz, concluded the public meeting she said staff are open to ongoing questions as they develop the proposal, which will be presented to Council next month.