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www.independentfreepress.com MacSween plaque is back where it belongs 50 cents (+GST) ACTON FREE PRESS I Shop Local special section Page 3 Vol. 130 No. 24 8-Pages Wednesday, August 29, 2007 44 Pages Circulation 21,220 Halton Hills' award-winning newspaper INSIDE Development fees to climb Sept. 1 CYNTHIA GAMBLE Staff Writer Houses will get a lot more expensive to build-- and eventually buy-- in Halton Hills starting on September 1, but it will be cheaper to build an industrial building. New development charges rates for the Town of Halton Hills will go into effect on September 1 with fees rising between 5 and 90 per cent. Council approved its new Development Charges bylaw at its recent August meeting. Development charges (DCs) are levies that municipalities impose on developers to help pay for the additional growth. Without DCs tax rates would have to rise substantially just to pay for new and expanded facilities and services. Over the next nine years, the Town will spend $8.3 million in capital projects specifically on growth-related roads-- only $5.3 million will be covered by DCs and taxpayers will have to pay $2.7 million. The new development charge for a single or semidetached home will go up 43.9 per cent from $8,381 to $12,063. DCs are usually added onto the price of a house. The same home in Milton would only be charged a $8,204 DC, $9,729 in Burlington, $12,185 in Oakville, $9,978 in Mississauga, $16,214 in Brampton and $13,624 in Caledon. A three-bedroom townhouse home development charge will go up 36.4 per cent to $10,118 while a one-two bedroom townhouse will go up only 4.9 per cent to $6,226. DCs for an apartment with two or more bedrooms will go up 24.2 per cent or $5,837 while an apartment with less than two bedrooms will see a 33.2 per cent increase ($4,281). DCs for a special care/needs apartment will rise 57.4 per cent ($3,891). On the non-residential side, DCs for industrial buildings will drop 23.4 per cent from $30.10 per sq. metre to $23.06 per sq. metre. But other non-industrial development charges will go up 89.8 per cent from $30.10 per sq. metre to $57.12 per sq. metre. Industrial DCs in Milton are $34.27, $30.90 in Burlington, $58.41 in Oakville, $35.90 in Mississauga, $39.16 in Brampton and $18.43 in Caledon. Factors figuring into the increase of rates include higher construction costs, increased service levels particularly in recreation and fire protection, lack of grants and subsidies from other levels of government, the plan to move to a full recovery of all growth-related costs and a new allowable charge for parking. For every DC collected for a single family home: $1,115 goes to library services, $669 to fire protection, $5,051 to recreation and parks, $741 to public works, $277 to parking, $423 to general government, $3,681 to roads and related, and $107 to stormwater management. The town revises its DC bylaw every five years. REFINANCING? PURCHASING? Honouring the Warriors Page 7 Underhill recalls time in Georgetown Page 16 Editorial 6 Brides 10, 11 Sports 16, 17 Entertainment 18 Classifieds 19-22 Calendar 22 FRIDAY... Meg, a terrier mix, is one lucky canine. Find out how this Acton pooch escaped a tragic ending in Friday's Independent & Free Press. For breaking news go to: www.independentfreepress.com All aboard! It's a bit scary for a little girl to board a school bus for the first time but four-yearold Dakota Bodin had her mom Amanda backing her up during Saturday's School Bus Orientation Day organized by the Halton School Bus Safety Committee. Photo by Jon Borgstrom GEORGETOWN VOTED #1 FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE 2007 CHEVROLET AVEO SEDAN 2007 KIA SPECTRA CALL THE GEORGETOWN 1-866-364-0697 or HEADQUARTERS 905-877-7818 0 % FINANCE 1.6 Litre DOHC, 5 Speed Transmission, AM/FM/CD/MPS, P185 14", Front & Rear Floor Mats. Stk #065260 *Frt., admin., taxes & license fee extra ** Lease based upon 48 mo., 80,000 free km, frt., 1st, admin., taxes, lic. fee due on signing $ 12995* yes $19700** yes 46 MPG excludes frt per month No Money Down per gallon --2.6% Variable Rate Prime BOB WOODS Mortgage Specialist *Rate subject to change GEORGETOWN CHEVROLET 33 MOUNTAINVIEW, GEORGETOWN (JUST NORTH OF HWY. #7 ON MOUNTAINVIEW) 905-877-6944 (905) 360 Guelph St., Georgetown 877-1490