Community Benefits Charges Strategy

The City of Hamilton has begun work to establish a new Community Benefits Charge (CBC) Strategy and By-law under the Planning Act.

What is a CBC?

A CBC is a new growth-funding tool under the Planning Act that allows municipalities to levy a charge against buildings or structures with five storeys or more and with 10 or more residential units. The CBC provisions replace the former Section 37 height and density bonusing in the Act.

Municipalities can use CBCs to fund a wide-range of new growth-related capital costs, if those costs are not already recovered from development charges and parkland provisions.

The prescribed maximum CBC rate (as per O. Reg. 509/20) is 4% of the property’s land value prior to the day of building permit issuance.

CBC Strategy

To set a community benefits charge, the City of Hamilton must:

• develop a community benefits charge strategy that identifies the facilities, services, and matters that will be funded with CBCs and comply with prescribed requirements.
• pass a by-law

The proposed Community Benefits Charge Strategy and By-law will be presented in June 2022 for consideration and must be passed by City Council prior to the end of the statutory transition period on September 18, 2022.

Project Update

The draft bylaw was approved at City Council on June 22, 2022 and comes into effect at 12:01 am on September 18, 2022.
By-law No. 22-158 Being a By-law Respecting Community Benefits Charges on Lands within the City of Hamilton