Bill 98 is a step backwards…

Bill 98 is a step backwards in time. It does not recognize the emergency of Climate Change. Ontario is not providing any leadership in leading the way to addressing Climate Change. Quite the opposite.

Bill 98 once again aims to kill the Toronto Green Standard, undermining efforts to control operating costs and standardize efficient ways of building and servicing new homes.
By requiring that municipalities limit their Official Plan designations to only 12 options (which it prescribes), Bill 98 might spell the end of Toronto’s apartment neighbourhoods designation, which has historically been used to provide greater housing flexibility.
Bill 98 would strip municipalities of the power to use site plan control to promote “sustainable” (and thus, often, more efficient) design.
Rather than prohibiting municipalities from requiring parking in general for midrise and multiplex apartment buildings, as recommended in the Midrise Manual, Bill 98 would selectively deprive municipalities of the power to require that at least some of the parking developers do include is equipped to accommodate electric vehicles. It’s not electrical details, but rather the expensive construction, and wasted space inherent in including parking that stands in the way of efficient, low-cost homes.
Bill 98 would even restrict the ability of municipalities to include Official Plan chapter and section headings that address challenges or opportunities peculiar to their circumstances.
Bill 98 would limit the power of municipalities to set their own fares, which could get in the way of municipal transit fare programs, like farecapping in Toronto, that make it easier to market and build housing without parking.