Proposed changes to Building, Engineering, Planning and Board of Variance fees were proposed as part of an omnibus bylaw change that went forward to Council in May and received final adoption on June 10, 2025. A further amendment will be brought to Council in July 2025 to bring the new fees into effect on September 1, 2025.
The City is committed to principles of transparency and equity in our fees, recognizing that residents have different levels of ability to manage fee increases. Some services are more heavily subsidized because they encourage behaviours that increase quality of life for the community as a whole (e.g., admission fees for recreation services) and some are more focused on recovering a higher percentage of costs where service users benefit more directly from the service the city offers (e.g., permit fees).
The City is working on a OneCity model for fees and charges to increase consistency of approach across departments and is committed to at least annual reviews of fees to keep them current with changing conditions. Consolidation of the fees in a single bylaw also makes it easier for service users to see all costs in one place rather than searching across multiple bylaws. Additional schedules will be added to the bylaw over time to continue this transparency.