Ontario – The Planning Statute Law Amendment Act, 2023 would, if passed, reverse provincial changes made in November 2022 and April 2023 to official plans and official plan amendments in 12 municipalities: the cities of Barrie, Belleville, Guelph, Hamilton, Ottawa, and Peterborough, Wellington County, and the regional municipalities of Halton, Niagara, Peel, Waterloo and York. The reversal includes changes to urban boundaries while maintaining protections for the Greenbelt. The reversal of the official plan decisions made by the province would be retroactive to the original date that they were made (either November 4, 2022 or April 11, 2023).
Construction that has already received a building permit would be able to continue. Applications already in-progress seeking planning permissions (e.g., zoning by-law amendments, plans of subdivision) would continue to be processed and would be required to conform to the municipality’s official plan as approved under the Planning Statute Law Amendment Act, 2023.
Opportunity for municipal feedback
Recognizing that in some cases more than a year has passed since the plans were first approved, the affected municipalities have been given until December 7, 2023 to submit information about circumstances or projects that are already underway and on any changes that the municipality would like to see made to the official plan based on the original modifications.
Proposed changes might include, for example, modifications that help boost housing supply or support priority projects such as a long-term care home or a transit-oriented community.
Following the December 7th deadline, the province would review any proposed changes and explore, in consultation with municipalities, the most effective way to implement – through further legislative solutions or other tools – any changes to the official plans that municipalities would like to keep.
Prioritizing environmental and public health protections
Through the province’s review of the official plans, a limited number of provincial changes are proposed to be maintained under the legislation. These instances include changes the province made to protect the Greenbelt, protect public health and safety and to align with existing provincial legislation and regulations.
Below is a summary of the key provincial changes being maintained in official plans through the proposed legislation. More detail on the provincial changes to be kept under the proposed legislation can be found on the Environmental Registry of Ontario, where the Planning Statute Law Amendment Act, 2023, has been posted for 30 days for public input.
Protecting the Greenbelt
For the cities of Hamilton and Belleville, the regions of York, Niagara and Peel and the County of Wellington.
Provincial changes to be retained in official plans address instances where elements of a municipally-adopted official plan would have been in conflict with Greenbelt policies. For example, an urban boundary may encroach into the Greenbelt, or an official plan might permit the extraction of sand or gravel, or a waste disposal site in a particular area, when in fact it is part of the Greenbelt and these activities are prohibited under the Greenbelt Plan. Maintaining these provincial changes will ensure those activities will continue to be prohibited.
Strengthening Indigenous relations
For Hamilton, Belleville and the County of Wellington.
Provincial changes to be retained in official plans include ensuring that where a marked or unmarked cemetery or burial place is found, Indigenous communities with a known interest in the area are notified. Provincial changes are also being kept to ensure that planning approval authorities coordinate and engage with Indigenous communities with Aboriginal and treaty rights regarding cultural heritage and archaeological resources.
Sharing built-up areas – compatible land uses
For the cities of Hamilton and Peterborough and the regions of York and Niagara Region.
Provincial policies set out rules for how sensitive land uses, such as for homes or long-term care facilities, and other uses such as industrial lands or sewage treatments facilities should be planned for when in proximity to each other.
Several provincial changes that would be retained in official plans in this category ensure these uses are appropriately separated to avoid any negative impacts from odour, noise and other contaminants.
Safe drinking water
For the regions of Peel and York and the cities of Barrie, Belleville and Peterborough.
To protect drinking water, the province has rules that prohibit certain land uses and activities surrounding drinking water sources. Provincial changes ensure these rules are reflected in municipal official plans.
Preparing for Highway 413
For Halton and Peel regions.
Major infrastructure projects such as Highway 413 require years of planning, which includes important environmental assessments. Once potential future corridors are identified, they need to be considered in official plans as it would be unwise, for example, to permit new housing or industrial development on a tract of land being considered for a new highway.
The province made certain changes to both the Peel Region and Halton Region official plans for the protection of the Highway 413 corridor.
Legal protections
The proposed legislation would introduce immunity provisions to help mitigate legal risk for municipalities and the province resulting from this legislation. The legislation would also amend the Planning Act to introduce immunity provisions related to the making, amending or revoking of minister’s zoning orders (MZOs). While no specific changes to MZOs are currently being made, this provision would help mitigate risk should revocations be necessary as the ministry reviews a use it or lose it policy.