Niagara Region appreciates…

Niagara Region appreciates the opportunity to comment on Bill 97. With a focus on Regional implications, recommendations and potential solutions, on behalf of Niagara Region, staff submit the following comments:

Regulation-Making Authority for Site Plan Control for 10 Units or Less

Staff are supportive of new regulation-making authority to prescribe specific circumstances where site plan control would be used for residential developments of 10 units or less.

RECOMMENDATIONS
• The proposed regulation should define “shoreline” and “railway line” to clarify how the exemption would be applied.
• Staff also recommend the inclusion of other circumstances where additional development considerations are required, such as in proximity to airports, the MTO 400-series highways, hydro corridors and pipeline infrastructure.

New Authority for Minister’s Zoning Orders

The new authority may limit the ability to achieve growth management objectives of the provincially-approved Niagara Official Plan (2022). This includes details relating infrastructure and phasing which may impact fiscal planning processes at the Region. In addition, it is unclear how the proposed provision would interact with applicable law under the Building Code. Therefore, Regional staff do not support the proposed change.

RECOMMENDATIONS
• If the proposed revision is retained, staff recommend adding a requirement that the Minister consult with affected municipalities (including both upper-tier and lower-tier municipalities) prior to making an order that would provide that an official plan does not apply to subsequent planning approvals. This would allow municipalities to identify technical matters that are critical to ensuring the proposed development can be implemented. This is consistent with Recommendation 11 from the Auditor General’s Value-for-Money Audit: Land-Use Planning in the Greater Golden Horseshoe (December 2021).

• In addition, staff recommend imposing a time limit on orders where official plans do not apply to subsequent planning approvals. If the proposal permitted by the order does not get constructed, the lands should not be exempt from an official plan in perpetuity.

Ministerial Authority to Require Development Agreements

Regional staff note that it may be challenging for “upper-tier municipalities without planning responsibility” to participate in the creation of development agreements assigned to the Provincial Land and Development Facilitator. This may preclude the Region from being able to collect capital contributions (beyond Planning Act and Development Charges Act requirements) to construct infrastructure that will be required to allow development to proceed, such as water and wastewater.

RECOMMENDATION
• Region staff recommend adding a provision that would ensure that “upper-tier municipalities without planning responsibilities” are able to participate in development agreements, where there is regional interest in securing a matter.

Changes to Definition of “Area of Employment”

Regional staff have concerns about the proposed change. The ability to secure and protect a wide range of employment uses is critical to creating complete communities and support a healthy regional economy. The revision has the potential to remove approximately 46 percent of the Region’s land designated for Employment Areas – specifically “Dynamic” and “Knowledge and Innovation” Employment Areas currently designated in the Niagara Official Plan.

The Proposed Approach to Implementation document accompanying the proposed Provincial Policy Statement (PPS) states that 2051 forecasts will continue to be used by the Region and incorporated into Local Official Plans. However, it will be difficult to protect the required land to accommodate forecasted employment growth to 2051 and achieve minimum density targets under the revised definition of “area of employment” and associated PPS changes.

RECOMMENDATION
• Should the revised definition be retained, staff recommend that the Province consult on updates to the D-6 Guidelines (Compatibility between Industrial Facilities) to minimize land use compatibility issues where employment area conversions are concerned. Region staff request to be included in those consultations.

It is recognized that Bill 97 includes transition provisions that would allow employment areas to be maintained if the official plan has been updated to explicitly authorize the site-specific permissions of existing uses that do not align with the new definition. Staff note that an official plan amendment would need to be adopted by Council before the new Provincial Planning Statement and associated Bill 97 definition revision come into effect (anticipated in Fall 2023) in order to provide continuous protection for employment areas over the long-term.

RECOMMENDATION
• In order to facilitate timely official plan amendments to implement the Bill 97 transition provision for employments area, staff recommend that such amendments not be subject to appeals to the Ontario Land Tribunal.

Institutional use is a defined term in the PPS, but only for the purpose of preventing these uses in areas prone to flooding, given that vulnerable populations visit or reside in institutional uses. Given that institutional uses are excluded from employment areas and there is no corresponding definition for the purposes of employment area policies, this will lead to multiple and potentially inconsistent interpretations of institutional uses.

RECOMMENDATIONS
• It is recommended that the existing institutional use definition be added to the uses excluded from employment areas.

• If the existing institutional use definition is not applied to employment areas, then it is recommended that municipalities should be required to define institutional uses in their official plans with respect to employment areas.

Thank you for the opportunity to provide comment. Niagara Region looks forward to ongoing engagement and discussion on the proposed amendments.