A study on how much services cost based on density and settlement patterns could be in the cards in Windsor.
That's if Ward 4 Councillor Chris Holt gets support from his colleagues on the Development and Heritage Standing Committee Monday.
Holt says he brought attention to a study from Halifax that showed the cost to service low-density areas is far greater than high-density areas.
He says he raised the question in his very first council meeting in 2014 and now a report has returned to council on the viability of the study.
"I'm pretty excited about that because this opens the door to a discussion that I felt was very important to have here in the City of Windsor and that's what it costs taxpayers to provide services to different forms of settlement patterns or neighbourhoods," he says.
Holt says there's a lot that can be learned from tying service costs to development density.
"Which are roads, sewers, watermains, but also include transit and emergency services as well as libraries and community centres," he says. "I feel it's very important for a municipality to understand this."
He says the results will be a great planning tool.
"Council keeps on putting forward, at every budget time, that we want to reduce the budget in each department by 10 per cent," Holt said.
Holt plans to bring a motion forward to have city council discuss a study in Windsor.
The Development and Heritage Standing Committee gets underway Monday, September 13 at 4:30 p.m.