On Monday, February 9, I live-streamed Burlington’s Committee of the Whole meeting. At least four delegations urged the City Council to reduce or defer development charges for new housing.
Council was eventually persuaded to move to the next step in granting a two-year freeze. The justifications were familiar: softer housing demand, unsold condos across the GTHA, economic uncertainty, affordability concerns, and potential layoffs in the skilled trades.
Focus Burlington recently wrote about the problems in the condo market here:
I found myself asking a simple question: why was there only one councillor aggressively challenging these arguments? Ontario law requires that development charges (DCs) be paid into the development charges reserve fund. If the purchaser of a new home doesn’t pay the DCs, the city will have to use either debt or general tax revenue to contribute to the reserve fund. The mayor was asked at least twice to clarify where the money for the DC reserve fund will come from, but did not provide a specific answer. The mayor is hoping that either the province or the federal government will provide funding; no agreement or program is in place, and this is nothing more than a hope.
Mississauga is the only city to come close to eliminating DCs.
Burlington’s approved motion is an across-the-board elimination of DCs, including multi-million dollar homes.
So Much for a Free-Market Economy
Developers have perfected the art of ideological shape-shifting.
When the market was overheated pre-COVID, they demanded deregulation, faster approvals, and less government interference. Now that the market has cooled, those same voices are calling for government relief, reduced charges, and public support.
One can admire the intellectual fluidity, but let’s call it what it is: hypocrisy. You can’t champion the free market when profits are rolling in and demand government intervention when they aren’t.
I listened carefully to the case for reducing and deferring development charges. Here’s why I oppose it—and why I’m disappointed Council didn’t raise these points.
A Chronic Failure to Read the Room
First, the condo slowdown didn’t arrive suddenly. It’s been building for years. Many of these units are tiny—often under 500 square feet—and overwhelmingly one-bedroom. They don’t work for families or multi-generational households. Demand didn’t disappear; it was misjudged.
Second, Ottawa signalled reduced immigration targets in 2023. Less immigration means less housing demand. The development industry either missed or ignored that signal.
Third, the reduction in the development charge is trivial. It’s roughly $11,000 on a 1-bedroom condo and $21,000 on a single-family home —a rounding error in the cost of a new home. I find it hard to believe this money will meaningfully result in more employment for tradespeople.
Fourth, the alarmism about layoffs rings hollow. Skilled trades are in chronic shortage. Talk to any renovator or contractor. Carpenters, electricians, bricklayers—these workers are mobile and in demand. Long-term unemployment is not the norm in this sector.
Fifth, a major supply shift is already underway. Baby Boomers are downsizing due to retirement, relocation, or death. Burlington has a disproportionately large 65+ population, and single-family homes—especially in south Burlington—are coming onto the market. This is exactly the housing young families want, yet it’s rarely factored into demand forecasts.
Finally, many residents warned for years that high-rise, investor-oriented condos were the wrong product. We urged developers to pivot toward housing people actually need. They didn’t listen.
I raised this with my councillor years ago and was dismissed. I’m not clairvoyant. I was just reading the market and paying attention to the macro-economic trends unfolding around me.
Exhibit A: Lakeside Plaza
Lakeside Plaza was once a thriving mall. For two decades, it was deliberately neglected, reportedly for tax advantages.
Since 2015, three redevelopment proposals have been brought forward. In public meetings in 2016, 2018, and 2023, residents were clear: affordable housing, low- to mid-rise buildings, and less density.
Each proposal ignored that feedback, offering instead a wall of high-rise condos along Lakeshore Road, with units barely fit for storage, let alone living.
More details here:
https://www.burlington.ca/en/news/current-development-projects/lakeside-plaza.aspx
Sorry, Not Sorry
Council has now approved what is effectively a bailout. How much revenue will be lost? According to an article in Burlington Today, the shortfall could be anywhere from $7.1 to $41.3 million.
Who fills the gap? And how much will it cost taxpayers in the future, who are already facing a 4.49% increase in their total tax bill—double the inflation rate (with Burlington’s portion of the bill increasing at a much higher 5.8%)?
I don’t feel sorry for developers. They helped create this problem. They were warned. They chose not to adapt.
If a manufacturer can’t sell cars or appliances because consumers don’t want them, they redesign, reduce prices, or retool. If small business owners hit hard times, they cut costs, delay investments, and sometimes lay off staff. That’s the reality of a free-market economy.
The real estate industry is not entitled to government-sponsored relief simply because it misread demand.
And if bailouts are on the table, where’s the relief for small businesses—or for taxpayers absorbing yet another tax hike?
The day I see repo trucks hauling off luxury BMWs from developer’s driveways is the day I’ll shed a tear. Until then—sorry, not sorry.
Council is going to vote on a by-law change on February 17th, 2026.
Email your councilor and let them know what you think before the meeting.
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This, and previous councils have destroyed the waterfront. High rise buildings with mainly super small units and less than 1 parking spot per unit have been approved by this council. Why? Because when they had a chance to protect this particular area they chose not to.
Designating the John Street Bus Terminal as an MTSA and including the area as an Urban Growth Centre was ridiculous. It took ECoB and then MPP Jane McKenna to indicate that this area could be undesignated. It took Council months to do this. By that time it was too late.
Developers appealed at what is now the OLT and the city failed to defend itself. They also did not protect the area known as the “football” between Old Lakeshore Road and Lakeshore Road.
This area will be towers of high rises and hotel rooms with insufficient parking spaces leading an already horrendous traffic situation to become worse.
In their wisdom Council also eliminates one lane of traffic on Lakeshore Road for outdoor patios that sit empty for most of the time from May-October.
I have no faith in this council.
Ms Hersh
You forever criticize how council dealt with the tsunami of high rise building applications. You never ever say what you would have done in their place. At the end of the day it didn’t matter what anybody in Burlington did or said because the Ford appointed and directed OLT rode roughshod over this City’s zoning bylaws and the wishes of the City’s residents. We all need to move on because what he’s done is done. No point in moaning about it anymore because that will not turn the clock back.
In your commentary, you did not specifically address the question of eliminating development charges for a 2-year. I would guess you are against it. Hopefully my guess is correct.
I would urge you attend and delegate at the special council meeting to be held in a couple of weeks to discuss and vote on this topic. Ranting in an online blog is passive opposition.
I think I have a right to criticize how things transpired. For the past 2 election cycles our Mayor has indicated that if elected she would stop the overdevelopment of the waterfront and we all drank the Kool-Aid. It was only after the last election did I realize that as you say the Provincial Government controls what is happening in relation to development in the Municipalities. This was not common knowledge.
Do you ever wonder how Oakville has not allowed this to happen in their city? One of the reasons is that they refused to tie their development to funding provided by the Province. No strong mayor powers in Oakville.
You are correct I am not in favor of a freeze on development charges. Why should the taxpayer be responsible to fund anything for the developers who have deep pockets. We are told that this freeze on development fees will provide “affordable” housing. I ask what is “affordable”. Many people confuse “affordable” to mean subsidized which is very different. There is no guarantee that these will be rentals.
Are you aware that many developers register their units as condominiums even though they offer them as rentals. Did you know that when this is done the owner of the building can at any time tell the renters that they want to sell the units and they have the right of first refusal.
In the Mayor’s statement to residents there was the suggestion that the Provincial and Federal Governments should be providing funding for this initiative, Who ends up paying for the funding? We, the taxpayers do.
The reason the developers can’t sell their units is because they have built small, expensive units at about $1,000.00 per square foot. Why would anyone purchase a 2 bedroom unit that is 792 square feet at $1,000.00 per square foot.
I would like to clarify that while I never delegate, I along with a handful of residents formed ECoB ( Engaged Citizens of Burlington) and organized 7 debates before the 2018 election. Hundreds of citizens attended these debates and we managed to elect five (5) new councillors and a mayor. We held 2 town halls prior to the debates and invited residents to attend. The 2018 election had the largest turnout of votes recorded in years., something that has not been replicated since then.
What, may I ask, have you done?
Good morning
Yes, let me first day I agree with you that you and any resident has the right to criticize. You now acknowledge that no matter what council or anyone might have done the Province through the OLT controlled it all. So why continue to gripe at Council?
I believe Oakville was able to fend off the developers in the downtown by making it a heritage district. I do not know that for sure but I have been told that by a few people. Oakville is now experiencing OLT negative decisions as respects mid-town development.
You are correct should the provincial or federal governments fund an elimination of development charges that cost then falls to the provincial taxpayer. The difference is the cost is spread over a much larger tax base than available to the City of Burlington.
ECoB is no longer. So please in person step up to the lectern and express that you are opposed to the motion.
What do I do, you ask? I delegate in person. I create discussion on forums like this, Reddit and Facebook? Through the discussions I try to make people aware of what is going on and get them to go in person to council meetings to voice their opinions.
Have a great Saturday?
And this Mayor was a big proponent of Save The Lakeshore.!!