Screenshot of the meeting via the Prince Edward County Youtube Channel on November 10, 2026.
Prince Edward County senior staff helped rein in a very engaged, jolly, and motivated Prince Edward County Council at the final meeting of the current term, Tuesday night.
Councillors Roberts and Branderhorst pitched the idea of having certain agricultural buildings exempt from paying development charges. The pair stressed that agriculture is deeply rooted in Prince Edward County, and in order for that to continue, farmers need a break. Data presented to Council indicated that agriculture adds roughly $260 million into the local economy and creates 1,800 jobs.
County staff repeatedly stressed to Council, that they simply need more time to look into what buildings could be exempt, edit the by-law to reflect that, and figure out how that will impact the other areas under the development charges as a whole. Staff also added that if Council chose to make the change to help farmers, that the development charge break would apply to registered farmers who have farm businesses, and not just folks who happen to have an old barn for a retail purpose.
During the public comment portion of the meeting, a third-generation dairy farmer came forward to Council. David Prinzen started his own venture in 2020, got through the start of the pandemic, had some good and bad years. The Prince Edward County native added that this year he’s got back on his feet and then has been hit with development charges with building a new barn.
He stated that the development fee he has to pay for building the new barn is $33,000.
Prinzen added that the manure pit on his farm, also had a development fee of $1,800.
“We don’t get benefit at all from these fees, us as farmers. I understand development fees, because it’s not fair to charge the local population for growth, but that is exactly what you are doing. You are charging the local population for development that I won’t use. My cows won’t use it. They are not going to go to a library or school. The fees that I got from the barn and the manure pit, cost more than what I made last year,” said Prinzen to Council.
Along with Prinzen, fellow speaker Don Williams also advocated that Council make a decision Tuesday, so farmers who have plans can start building without having to pay the development fee. The seventh-generation dairy farmer from Bloomfield appeared before Council as the second vice-president of the Prince Edward Federation of Agriculture.
Williams reminded Council that back when the development charges for barns was put in place, the PEFA was not consulted. He called the move a clerical error.
Williams added there are four or five farmers he is aware of that are looking to put barns up this summer. He added that several projects are already underway and the development charge bills are coming in.
Five services are supported by development charges in Prince Edward County – ambulance, road, fire, parks/recreation, library.
In the end, Prince Edward County Council and staff spent 40 minutes of their two-hour council meeting on the issue. Councillors struggled with the realization that under a Lame Duck Council, they could not make any sort of financial commitment or unbudgeted move that goes over $50,000.
Therefore, they could not go ahead with ideas around the horseshoe that included placing a pause on the development fees for farm buildings, pause now collect payment later, or vote on eliminating them altogether.
Staff repeatedly cautioned a very anxious Council to let them come back with a report in the first quarter of 2027. Staff added that by making changes to one development charge stream, it could impact the breakdown of the other development charge streams. County staff stressed that they wish to reach out to the legal team overall, citing that if Council chooses to remove the charge for eligible farm building, the refund process for people have already paid would be very complex.
The move could impact seven by-laws. Staff were unsure as to the monetary value of a proposed suspension of the development charges, therefore were against all decisions on Tuesday to move ahead without a full analysis.
Councillor Pennell pointed out that right now in Ontario, Prince Edward County is the only municipality charging a development fee on farm buildings. Pennell was with the majority of Councillors wanting a pause on development charges this week, with a report to come back later.
Staff noted that the Ontario Federation of Agriculture position is that municipalities should not charge development fees on agricultural buildings on farms.
Outgoing Mayor Steve Ferguson, who stressed due diligence at the start, ended up getting more councillors on his side. The move to have a report done by the first quarter of next year was carried and work by staff will go ahead.
