Ontario Initiates Three-Way Overhaul of Development Process

28 mai 2019

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Some old, some new and not much borrowed from Bill 139

Écrit par Andrew L. Jeanrie

The Ontario Government has presented its "Action Plan" to address the "housing crisis", with significant changes to the process for development approvals and appeals. The changes will also benefit commercial and industrial development.

On May 2, 2019, Ontario’s Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing announced its comprehensive housing initiative, entitled More Homes, More Choice: Ontario’s Housing Supply Action Plan. Second Reading was given on May 14, 2019. To date, the implementing regulations have not been released.

The strategy of the Action Plan changes involve a combination of planning initiatives and a wide range of legislation being amended. The overall thrust appears focused on enhancing the procedural rights of applicants, imposing some restrictions on costs, and increasing flexibility and certainty for developers.

Under the Action Plan, the Minister is proposing amendments to 13 statutes:

  1. The Planning Act
  2. The Local Planning Appeal Tribunal Act, 2017
  3. The Development Charges Act, 1997
  4. The Ontario Heritage Act
  5. The Education Act
  6. Conservation Authorities Act
  7. Environmental Assessment Act
  8. Environmental Protection Act
  9. Endangered Species Act
  10. Occupational Health and Safety Act
  11. Workplace Safety and Insurance Act
  12. Cannabis Control Act
  13. Labour Relations Act

It is beyond the scope of this article to go into details on the changes to each of these Acts, and, as such, this article will focus on some of the key changes for developers and land owners.

Changes to the Planning Act (Schedule 12)

The strategy behind the Planning Act changes appears to be a return to the pre-Bill 139 (the LPAT Bill) planning processes along with new controls on the costs imposed on developers in bringing new projects to market. Some key amendments include:

Changes to the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal Act, 2017 and Appeals Process (Schedule 9)

Additional Actions

Changes to the Development Charges Act (Schedule 3)

The Minister is proposing changes to the Development Charges Act, including:

Changes to the Building Code

The Minister is proposing changes to the Building Code, such as:

Changes to the Ontario Heritage Act (Schedule 11)

The Minister is proposing changes to the Ontario Heritage Act, including:

Changes to the Education Act (Schedule 4)

The Minister is proposing changes including the following:

With respect to the Education Act, it is proposed that the Province will have greater oversight of School Boards proposed expropriations for school sites or any other land.

Changes to the Environmental Assessment Act (Schedule 6) and the Environmental Protection Act (Schedule 7)

The Minister is proposing changes to both the Environmental Assessment Act and the Environmental Protection Act, including:

Changes to the Conservation Authorities Act (Schedule 2)

The Minister is proposing changes to the Conservation Authorities Act:

Changes to the Endangered Species Act, 2007 (Schedule 5)

Proposed changes to the Endangered Species Act, 2007, include:

 

As proposed these amendments will result in a dramatically different land use planning regime in Ontario than the one that exists today. Bennett Jones will continue to monitor these amendments (which are expected to be approved in June 2019) and provide updates as the final legislation and the regulations (as well as the critically important transition provisions) come into place.

Given the comprehensive nature of these changes, the impact that they will have on any development applications, and the Provinces stated goal of increasing housing supply, we would expect that the Province will be bringing this legislation (or at least large parts of it) into force in relatively short order.

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