By Joe Gaetan
February 17th, 2026
BURLINGTON, ON
On February 11, 2026, Mayor Marianne Meed Ward issued a directive requiring the City’s Chief Financial Officer to provide detailed financial analysis tied to the temporary elimination of Development Charges. That report will appear on the February 17 Council agenda. On its surface, this is a request for numbers and forecasts. In substance, it could signal a turning point in Burlington’s housing strategy.
When the Province introduced Strong Mayor Powers, the justification was: municipalities were not building homes fast enough. The solution was to concentrate certain authorities in the hands of the Mayor/Head of Council so housing-related decisions could move more decisively.
Burlington has not met the Province’s housing targets and, as a result, has missed out on grant dollars tied to performance. The City then created a permit-to-pipeline committee in an effort to streamline approvals and accelerate development, yet completions have not materialized at a pace sufficient to unlock funding.
The directive asks staff to lay out the assumptions behind an estimated Development Charge exposure ranging from $16 million to $42 million. Development Charges exist to fund growth-related infrastructure – roads, parks, community facilities. Forgoing that revenue, even temporarily, shifts financial pressures elsewhere. The question Council will face is whether that risk is justified if it stimulates construction activity and, in turn, improves Burlington’s ability to access provincial housing funds.
The Mayor’s direction is also requesting a realistic forecast of 2026 residential completions, informed by CMHC data and local trends. If projections show the City is unlikely to meet provincial, the case for intervention strengthens. If the forecast suggests targets remain out of reach regardless of incentives, the fiscal gamble becomes harder to defend.
Exploring an alternative to amending the Development Charges by-law outright is also significant. Instead of changing the by-law and risking unintended rate-locking or statutory complications, Council is being asked to consider whether a time-limited Development Charge grant program could achieve similar results. Such a program could provide a grant equivalent to the charge payable at construction, while preserving the integrity of the existing by-law framework.
This kind of development is never going to get the city to the 29,000 units by 2031
One politically sensitive aspect may be the eligibility criteria. The Mayor has asked whether a grant program could be limited to residential units below a defined value threshold, excluding luxury homes. A blanket elimination of Development Charges risks being characterized as a broad subsidy to developers, including high-end projects. A targeted program, focused on more attainable housing, reframes the initiative as an affordability measure rather than a universal concession.
Strong Mayor Powers are based on housing supply tied to provincial priorities. The Mayor’s directive sets the analytical groundwork for an important decision. Supporters may see this as leadership – using the tools provided to unlock funding opportunities. Critics may view it as concentrating financial risk in fewer hands and compressing Council’s role in voting on a mayoral decision.
Development Charges are one of the few growth-related funding mechanisms municipalities control. If more homes are built, assessment rises. If assessment rises, tax capacity grows. If provincial thresholds are met, grant dollars follow. But if the anticipated acceleration does not materialize, the City absorbs the shortfall.
The February 17 meeting may not answer every question, but it will show the trade-offs. Burlington residents deserve to see how their elected officials will weigh the pros and cons of the directive.
Strong Mayor Powers were introduced with the promise that homes would follow. Burlington is now positioned to test whether that promise holds.
For those concerned about housing affordability, municipal finance, or the evolving balance of governance at City Hall, this is a meeting worth watching unfold in real time.
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Once again our Mayor and Council are looking for a band-aid solution that will come back to bite us in the behind.
They don’t seem to care what is being built as long as they try to meet their targets. Guess it doesn’t matter if these units are not sold or a worse scenario when construction starts and then stops because potential buyers step away.
I remember asking Karina Gould a few years ago what would happen if Municipalities did not meet their housing targets. Her response was ” I don’t know”