Community Benefits Charges

Community Benefits Charges (CBC) is a funding tool enacted under the Planning Act, section 37. This funding source helps municipalities pay for growth-related capital investment in facilities and services due to development or redevelopment in the area.  

Community Benefits Charges Strategy and By-law

Before collecting fees the City is required to enact a CBC by-law supported by a CBC Strategy. 

• The City of Niagara Falls Community Benefits Charges By-law came into force on September 12, 2022. This By-law applies to land within the municipality of the City of Niagara Falls.
• City of Niagara Falls Community Benefits Charges Strategy was presented at the municipal council meeting on July 12, 2022

Developers pay Community Benefits Charges as a one-time fee during the building permit process.

The CBC applies to higher-density developments with 5 or more stories and 10 or more residential units.  In Niagara Falls, the CBC is set at 4% of the land value the day before the first building permit is issued for the project.

The land values do not include:

• any existing residential units that are not demolished on the subject land; and
• any existing non-residential use that is not demolished or converted to residential use on the subject land.

Exemptions

Certain developments do not have to pay Community Benefit Charges under O. Reg. 509/20:

1. Long-term care homes 
2. Retirement homes 
3. Universities, Colleges and Indigenous Institutes
4. Memorial homes, clubhouses or athletic grounds by an Ontario branch of the Royal Canadian Legion
5. Hospices intended to provide end-of-life care
6. Non-profit housing

Discounts and exemptions for affordable housing

Discounts are available under inclusionary bylaws per section 37 (32.1) of the Planning Act.

• Affordable and attainable residential units. The city calculates the CBC based on the project's total floor area but does not charge for the space used for these units. The units must remain affordable and attainable for 25 years.

The City of Niagara Falls also offers an extra exemption:

• 100% credit for Attainable Housing as defined in the City of Niagara Falls Housing Directions Strategy.  Developers can receive the credit if they sign a legal agreement with the City to keep the housing attainable for at least 20 years.

Resources

• City of Niagara Falls Community Benefits Strategy
• City of Niagara Falls Housing Directions Strategy – Let’s Talk
• Council Report PBD-2022-18 – Housing Directions Study Phase 2: Housing Strategy
• Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.P.13, under Part V, Section 37
• O.Reg. 509/20: Community Benefits Charges and Parkland