2026 Town of Kingsville Municipal Election - Questions for Town Staff

The decision of the Court is a public document and can be found here: Evers v. The Town of Kingsville, 2026 ONSC 4204 (CanLII), <https://canlii.ca/t/km572>

In 2008, the Town of Kingsville sold all its shares in ELK Energy to the Town of Essex. News reports in July 2026 indicate that the Town of Essex recently received $21.9 million in net proceeds from the sale of the company to ENWIN Utilities. The Town of Kingsville will not receive any compensation or any portion of the proceeds from this sale.

- John Norton, Chief Administrative Officer

Thank you for the question. The Town issued a building permit for the relocation of the house at 183 Main Street East in July of 2024. The permit included the construction of a new foundation, the relocation of the house, and the reconstruction of the sewer and water services. As with all building permits in Ontario, this permit is subject to the Ontario Building Code regulations established by the Province of Ontario. The Building Code does not prescribe specific construction timelines; therefore, the owner and contractor are not required to complete the work within a set timeframe under the Building Code. 

The Town of Kingsville Building Department has a process in place to address dormant or inactive building permits. This project has not yet met the legislated threshold to be considered inactive, but we will take action should that timeline expire.

- Robert Frias, Chief Building Official

In 2018, Council gave approval for this location (adjacent to the Kingsville Golf and Country Club) to have two six-storey condominiums, each with 48 units, and additionally a low-rise hotel.

In 2023, the developers applied for approval for a scaled down development – 26 semi-detached condominium units instead of the two six-storey condos and hotel. Though the proposed development changed, the semi-detached dwellings still fit within the official plan and zoning regulations, so no additional approvals by Council were required. 

At around the same time, in 2022, the Province passed Bill 109, the More Homes for Everyone Act, 2022, which required Councils to delegate approval of Site Plan Control to staff. This meant that Site Plan Control applications were no longer presented to Council for discussion or approval and are now reviewed and approved at the Administrative level. The Town has set up internal review teams to ensure that servicing, stormwater, and other planning issues are still addressed prior to approval. 

Planning services did require the developer to host a Public Information Centre in July 2023 to share the revised proposal with the community and hear any issues or concerns that we can then capture in the Site Plan Agreement. For example, the Site Plan Agreement requires that the developer install construction fencing and screening, manage dust during construction, uses the Golf Course entrance as their primary construction access after servicing and stormwater management has been completed among other requirements. 

During construction, residents can raise concerns or issues with the Town at Requests@Kingsville.ca, which will flag concerns that staff can investigate, work with the developer to correct as needed, and report back to the resident. It has been a useful tool to help us minimize construction impacts on the community. 

A municipal-wide prohibition on overnight on-street parking is not well suited to the Town. Kingsville’s streets and neighbourhoods have unique layouts and landscapes. Many subdivisions have homes with limited space for parking on private property, but there is space for on-street parking. 

There are procedures in place to clear cars parked on streets that impede traffic or hinder the Town's ability to complete municipal operations. For example, on-street parking prohibitions are announced for snow removal or community events in accordance with Town By-laws, or residents can contact the OPP to report parked cars that are blocking traffic.

Residents may request parking prohibitions for their street. Public Works and Engineering review each request using site evaluations, best practices, and technical standards to determine if the request is appropriate. If the request is supported by objective data, the prohibition is recommended to Council for incorporation into the Town’s Traffic By-law and enforced by the OPP and By-law officers.

Administration believes it is important to take an objective case-by-case approach to on-street parking, rather than imposing town-wide restrictions. Ultimately the elected Council makes the final decisions in these matters.

Thank you for this additional question. This response should be considered in conjunction with the previous question and answer provided on this topic.

With respect to the extent to which greenhouse operations impact costs borne by other ratepayers, including investments in water and wastewater infrastructure, road networks, and other municipal services, it is difficult to quantify these costs with precision. However, it is clear that greenhouse operations place significant demands on municipal infrastructure and available service capacity. These operations consume substantial volumes of treated water, generate the most wastewater discharges, and contribute considerable heavy truck traffic on roads that were not originally designed to accommodate such sustained levels of truck transport. As a result, new infrastructure needs to be built and existing infrastructure needs more frequent maintenance, representing costs that amount to tens of millions of dollars.

As noted previously, the agricultural property class, which includes greenhouse operations, only contributes approximately 7% of total municipal property tax revenue. This places a significantly greater share of the municipal tax burden on the residential, commercial and other industrial sectors. Many residents view this as inequitable, particularly given that other industrial properties are taxed at more than double the residential tax rate, while farms and greenhouses are taxed at a rate that is capped at just one quarter of the residential rate.

The Town has raised this concern with provincial officials on numerous occasions. This advocacy has included two formal resolutions presented at municipal conferences, in addition to ongoing discussions and direct conversations with government representatives. Additional conversations and advocacy will continue as opportunities arise.

The Town has tried to address increased costs by asking greenhouses to pay more for wastewater discharge into the over-capacity sewers in Ruthven. The Town is currently involved in legal proceedings commenced by the greenhouse sector regarding these increases to wastewater rates. As these matters remain before the courts, the Town is awaiting judicial direction on the extent to which these measures are authorized and enforceable. If the courts determine that these costs cannot be recovered through increased wastewater rates for greenhouse operations, the resulting costs would need to be funded from other available revenue sources, such as residential taxpayers.

• John Norton, Chief Administrative Officer

This is a great question, and we thank you for asking it.

The Town does not build housing or have influence over how fast it gets built. In many cases, home builders within approved subdivisions await home buyers willing to purchase a new home. As the economy and housing market have changed, fewer homes are being built compared to a few years ago because there are fewer buyers.

You have made a good point that if homes are not being built quickly, maybe we should not allow new subdivisions to be approved.

This is a complex question and not fully within the Town’s control.

The Town participates in a planning process for new subdivisions that involves policies created by the provincial government, the County government, and private sector developers and builders. The provincial government has made new housing one of its provincial priorities and amended legislation in a manner that restricts the Town’s ability to slow approval of new subdivisions. Additionally, private sector developers and builders have the right to approval of new subdivisions where they meet requirements. In these instances, if the Town rejects a subdivision, the private developer can appeal to the Ontario Land Tribunal and likely win approval.

The Town is using its tools to ensure that plan approval results in new homes constructed. We have implemented a “use it or lose it” approach to subdivisions so that existing Town infrastructure, such as sewer and water capacity, are not tied up in a project that is never built. That said, construction of housing in a subdivision is a many-year process, and it is difficult to remove approvals from developers who have invested their own money and meet requirements for approval.

We agree that new subdivisions should not be approved anywhere and everywhere. The Town is just now completing a review of the boundaries of residential lands, in contrast with agricultural lands, which are to be protected for agricultural uses. This process involves ensuring there is an adequate supply of lands for residential development for the coming decades so that we can plan for infrastructure, such as roads and sewers, to support those new developments. This is a multi-decade planning approach. The goal is to have enough lands for development but not too much lands – trying to find the right balance between having enough and not having enough.

- Richard Wyma, Director of Planning and Development Services

The Town understands the concern being raised. Property tax classification for greenhouse operations has been a long-standing issue for municipalities in this region.

In Kingsville, “Farms” contribute only 7.3% to the property tax revenues. Greenhouses are included in this percentage. Some buildings associated with greenhouses, such as head offices, are taxed differently and so not included in this percentage.

The Town agrees that 7.3% seems low given the large impact greenhouse operations have on infrastructure and the community. Kingsville and Leamington are unique in Ontario in this regard.

The percentage paid by the agricultural industry is determined by the province and cannot be adjusted by Town Council. Previously, the Town has advocated to the Province on this issue through a delegation to the Ministry of Finance at the 2021 Rural Ontario Municipal Association (ROMA) Conference and a joint delegation with the County of Essex and the Municipality of Leamington at the 2022 Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) Conference. The response from the Province has been that they will not change the percentage paid by the agricultural industry.

Additionally, but connected, the greenhouse sector is consuming more sewer capacity than they have been allocated, causing a real risk of sewer backup flooding in homes in Ruthven. As a result, there is now little or no capacity in many sewer transmission pipes and at the sewage treatment plant. In 2025, the Town of Kingsville passed a By-law to require greenhouses to discharge no more into the sewers than they have been originally allocated and to contribute higher fees to help regulate and address this problem. To date, the Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers (OGVG), representing this industry as a group, has challenged the Town in the Courts over these steps.

At the same time, the Town recognizes that the greenhouse sector is a significant part of Kingsville’s local economy. The industry supports direct and indirect employment, local investment, and a broader network of commercial and industrial businesses that also contribute to the municipal tax base.

Thank you for your interest in the Town's organizational structure and staffing model.

We are not certain what information or data was used to form the impression that we have large numbers of managerial staff to front line staff, but we are pleased to provide some additional context and clarification regarding the Town's staffing structure.

The Town’s organizational structure supports a wide range of municipal services. As municipal responsibilities evolve, the Town's organizational structure is reviewed and adjusted to ensure services are delivered efficiently, safely, and in compliance with applicable legislation.

A review of staffing levels in 2024 showed that the Town of Kingsville had the fewest number of employees among comparable municipalities in Essex County. This was having a direct impact on the Town’s ability to provide services.

During the 2023 to 2026 Council term, a total of 17 full time and 2 part time new positions have been added, which equate to about 4 to 5 positions per year. All these new positions are frontline positions and provide direct services to residents. For example, they are positions such as Parks & Rec Employees, Water/Wastewater Operator, Public Works Employee, Fire Education Officer, Building Inspector, Utility Locator, and Customer Service Office Support.

These new positions have increased the ability of the Town to provide services expected by residents and reflects the growth that is happening in the community.

Historically, Kingsville has had fewer management positions compared to its neighbouring municipalities. Although titles and responsibilities have been adjusted by evolving responsibilities, there are no more additional management positions now than there were prior to this term of Council. For example, the title of Manager of Parks & Rec was changed to Director of Parks & Rec but this did not add any new positions or increase in number of managerial staff. All managers and directors have operational responsibilities, in addition to responsibilities to provide oversight of employees.

A copy of the Town's current organizational chart has been attached for your information. https://haveyoursaykingsville.ca/52098/widgets/223973/documents/170571

Answer by Jennifer Galea, Manager of Human Resources