Trustees with Hamilton, Ont.’s, public school board have opted to hold steady on the way it collects development charges they receive on affordable housing projects across the city.
Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB) executives had been considering a pitch from the Hamilton is Home Alliance, a local affordable housing coalition, to lower education development charges, or EDCs to stimulate construction.
Graham Cubitt, chair of Hamilton is Home and director of projects with the non-profit Indwell, told Global News in May the idea was to create savings and potentially spur on more affordable housing projects to make a dent in a social housing waitlist that has some 6,000 applicants.
“Right now, all developments are charged the same per unit rate. We don’t believe that is equitable or as fair as it should be,” Cubitt explained.
“We think there’s a better way of doing a differentiated rate so that you can reflect the social value that comes from building where someone can move out of a shelter or move out of a tent and into housing.
Cubitt says Hamilton is Home has been working with the city’s school boards over the last 10 years to create a “differentiated rate” instead of a uniform flat fee, currently no different for a small apartment build or large house development.
However, the board approved its current “single rate” model for all types of new units Monday, citing they needed more time to gather the affordable housing data to develop any “differentiated rate.”
“We weren’t able to implement our differentiated rate for affordable housing bylaw by the renewal deadline,” HWDSB trustee Todd White explained.
“Instead of abandoning the concept, trustees directed staff to work with the city and the coalition to collect the needed housing data on a go-forward basis.”
The HWDSB will now collect $1,873 per residential unit between July and June 2025 with increases to $2,040 per unit approved over the next four years for similar periods.
The board expects the charges will bring in some $145 million over the next 15 years.
Trustees requested an update in 2026 to monitor the success of the data collection.
At that time, trustees could potentially amend the bylaw and thus rates, according to White.
The HWDSB has also written to the Ministry of Education expressing interest in an edict that would allow boards to amend EDC’s and apply different rates for not-for-profit builders without penalties.