Article content continued

Continue reading …

[/np_storybar]

Staff are calling for an across-the-board hike on development charges levied on different-sized residential units, so that the fee to build a large apartment with two or more bedrooms would jump 86%, to $23,036 from $12,412 by next July.

Development charges are one-time fees that are meant to help pay for new or revamped infrastructure necessary to accommodate the burgeoning population. The city has $12-billion worth of development-related infrastructure projects it plans to undertake over the next 10 years, on everything from transit to libraries, police and parks.

Toronto has the lowest development charges in the Greater Toronto Area, with most municipalities demanding rates double that of the city. Even so, Toronto made about $150-million from development charges in 2012.

Staff recommend phasing the increase over two steps, so that a large apartment rate would jump to $17,724 in February, if approved, before settling on the final amount.

One-bedroom and bachelor apartments would go up to $12,192 a unit from $8,356 in February and $16,027 in July 2014, according to the proposed bylaw.

The city also proposed increasing the non-residential development charges, which are slapped on street level retail, by 32% per square metre. The city currently doesn’t charge for office buildings or large scale industrial.

The Development Charges Act is very prescriptive in how you calculate a development charge

Roberto Rossini, the chief financial officer, was unable to comment on the report on Monday, but he alluded to increases in a recent interview with the National Post.