At the March 9, 2026 Planning and Development Committee meeting, Clarington Council approved report PDS-013-26 – Planning Act Application Fee Review and User Fee Bylaw Amendment.  Once the new bylaw is approved by Council at the March 23, 2026 council meeting, the new application and user fees will come into effect.

Clarington staff brought their initial review and report to DRHBA for feedback.  Upon review, DRHBA raised concerns that the municipality was using part of the fees to create a reserve fund to be able to fund the planning and development department during down times.  Given that the housing industry is currently struggling, DRHBA felt that increasing fees to create this fund would create another barrier to building and add to the existing affordability crisis.  Through several meetings and collaboration between DRHBA representatives and Clarington staff, the municipality agreed to remove this portion of the fees, effectively reducing the proposed fees by approximately 33%.

Given the current economic climate, this is a big win for members as DRHBA was able to reduce the proposed increase substantially, while the municipality is still able to provide appropriate staffing levels to process applications in a timely manner.