Comment
The Unionville Residents Association is one of Markham’s largest and most active RAs. While we have a great many concerns with many of the provisions in Bill 23, we will limit our comments in this submission to one item – appeals of planning matters.
The Bill limits 3rd party appeals for all planning matters to “key participants (applicant, Province, public bodies, utility providers)”, which appears to not include RAs. We strongly oppose this. Our association has been involved in about 10 appeals to the Ontario Land Tribunal or its predecessor agencies in the past 10 years. We’ve always behaved respectfully, never missed deadlines and never delayed proceedings. Almost all of the appeals have settled. Our organization has added value by boosting participatory democracy and increasing citizen buy-in of these settlements. The very fact of having the appeal as an option has also in many cases expedited settlement prior to reaching the OLT.
Please ensure that accredited citizen groups and resident associations can continue to have a voice in appealing planning matters.
Submitted November 20, 2022 11:28 AM
Comment on
Proposed Planning Act and City of Toronto Act Changes (Schedules 9 and 1 of Bill 23 - the proposed More Homes Built Faster Act, 2022)
ERO number
019-6163
Comment ID
70643
Commenting on behalf of
Comment status