Hamilton committee backs scrapping residential development charges for three years to unlock $572 million in federal-provincial funding

What the committee approved

Hamilton's Audit, Finance and Administration Committee voted 8–0 on October 1, 2026 to recommend an amendment to the City's Development Charges By-law 24-072 that would eliminate residential development charges for building permits issued between March 30, 2026 and March 29, 2029. The exemption is conditional on the City executing a Transfer Payment Agreement under the Development Charges Reduction Program (DCRP).

What the funding program requires

Staff Report FCS26074 describes the DCRP as a cost-shared federal-provincial program providing a combined $8.8 billion over 10 years to municipalities that commit to lowering development charges on residential development. It says the Province has announced Hamilton will be eligible for $572 million, contingent on the agreement, which will require the City to eliminate development charges on all residential developments for three years retroactive to March 30, 2026, to accept that program funding may not exceed 90 per cent of eligible project costs, and to fund project costs the program does not cover, including costs of cancelled or delayed projects.

When the report was written, staff had not yet received a draft of the agreement and said its specific contents remained unknown. A 10 per cent municipal contribution is required; the report says the program is anticipated to be net neutral to taxpayers, but that a financing plan will assess impacts on reserves, water and wastewater rates and the tax levy, and will come to Council in a separate report.

Which permits would qualify

The report gives examples. A single-family home whose building permit is issued on or after March 30, 2026 would qualify. A development whose foundation permit, the point at which charges are ordinarily payable, was issued before March 30, 2026 would not, even if a later above-grade permit falls inside the window. A permit issued before March 30, 2026, revoked and then reissued during the window would also not qualify. A foundation permit issued inside the window can still qualify if the above-grade permit follows within 24 months.

Projects the money is tied to

At its October 2 meeting, the Public Works Committee voted 8–0 to set up a Major Projects Delivery Team to advance the infrastructure in the City's approved DCRP applications. The motion lists the Barton Street and Lewis Road improvements, Rymal Road and Garner Road improvements, Greenhill Pumping Station upgrades and Woodward Avenue Wastewater Treatment Plant upgrades, and states that the funding is conditional on those projects proceeding within the timelines the City committed to.

What happens next

The committee's recommendation and the amending by-law, listed as Bill 182 to amend the 2024 Development Charges By-law, were on the agenda for Council's October 7, 2026 meeting. The committee also approved adding a Senior Financial Analyst position, at about $142,000 for 2027, funded from the Building Permit Revenue Stabilization Reserve, to handle the added development charge administration.