Development projects are about to get a bit cheaper in downtown St. John’s.

The city has decided to waive development fees for projects in the downtown. The vote came down at last night’s city council meeting.

The idea to do this piggybacks off the Envision St. John’s Municipal Plan, where the fees are waived in eight “intensification areas.” These are areas with a lot of undeveloped or underutilized land.

While downtown doesn’t quite fit the bill as an intensification area as it is already quite developed, the city wanted to waive the fees to make future developments in the downtown more desirable.

Mayor Danny Breen says the removal of these fees will help ease the burden on developers.

He says this won’t be the deciding factor on a lot of projects, but it certainly helps.