The Province has passed several pieces of legislation to address the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on municipalities. On April 14, 2020, the Coronavirus Support and Protection Act, 2020 was passed which allowed for certain regulations to be created under the Planning Act (discussed here) while also amending the Development Charges Act, 1997 (“DCA”) to ensure that expiring development charge by-laws remain in force.
Specifically, a new section has been added to the DCA that stipulates that development charge by-laws that expired on or after March 17, 2020 and before April 14, 2020 are deemed not to have expired. Further, the section provides that development charge by-laws that are due to expire on or after April 14, 2020 shall remain in force. The amendment dictates that these by-laws will remain in force until the earlier of the day the by-law is repealed or six months after the emergency declared on March 17, 2020 under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act is lifted.
It should be noted that this section does not apply to development charge by-laws subject to Section 9.1 of the DCA which pertains to transitional matters respecting community benefits under the Planning Act.
The impact of COVID-19 on municipalities continues to evolve and navigating the various legislative changes can be challenging.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or we can be of assistance in any way.
