Settlement Areas Expansion…

Settlement Areas Expansion and Appeals

Tay Valley Township currently has eight (8) Rural Settlement Areas (Hamlets) – Balderson, Bolingbroke, Brooke, Dewitts Corners, Fallbrook, Glen Tay, Maberly, and Stanleyville. Currently, a municipality can only identify a settlement area expansion or new settlement area following a Comprehensive Review of the Official Plan.

The Planning Act also provides that an applicant cannot appeal a decision by Council on an official plan amendment or a zoning by-law amendment application that would expand or alter an in-force settlement area boundary.

Bill 185 proposes to reverse the situation and allow settlement area expansion anytime and only allow appeals by the developer and public agencies, not the public.

This represents a significant expansion of appeal rights by lifting a prohibition which has been in place since the Planning and Conservation Land Statute Law Amendment Act came into force in 2006.

This appeal power would remove local and provincial input from important decisions on settlement area boundary expansions. Such decisions would be made by the Ontario Land Tribunal instead, upon appeal. In addition, the criteria for a settlement area expansion have been watered down from “shall include” to “should include” in the proposed 2024 Provincial Planning Statement.

The Township does not support these changes because they have the potential to disrupt the orderly management of growth by municipalities in the public interest by companies whose bottom line is profit, not public good.

Pre-Consultation

Currently under the Planning Act, municipalities have the right to require pre-consultation on an application for official plan amendments, zoning by-law amendments, site plan approval and draft plans of subdivision. And after a municipality has deemed a planning application to be incomplete, the applicant had 30 days to make a motion to the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) to dispute the determination.

Bill 185 proposes to remove the municipal authority’s ability to require pre-consultation and instead would allow applicants to bring a motion to the OLT to determine the requirements for a complete application at any time after the application fee has been paid or pre-consultation has begun.

The Township does not support these changes because they have the potential to disrupt the orderly management of growth by municipalities. Also, small municipalities may be forced to make poor decisions for their communities if they cannot afford to defend themselves at the OLT.

Upper Tier Municipalities

Regional planning authority is being removed from Halton, Peel and York Regions as of July 1, 2024. The dates for Simcoe, Durham, Niagara and Waterloo Regions have not been set (but the intention is for the end of 2024).

The removal of regional planning undermines the efficient, effective and equitable planning the province has stated it wants. Many land use decisions are better managed regionally as communities cross multiple municipal boundaries and effective services can only be achieved at a regional scale (e.g., transit, health care, schools, parks, housing, etc.)

The Township does not support this proposal because planning decisions made by the lower tier municipalities individually will not add up to effective planning.

Exemptions from the Planning Act for Universities and Community Facilities

Bill 185 proposes a new section 62.0.2 of the Planning Act to exempt publicly assisted universities and colleges from the Planning Act (rezoning and site plan, etc.) for student housing on and off campus.

Bill 185 also proposes a new section 62.0.3 of the Planning Act to authorize regulations that would exempt schools, hospitals and long-term care homes from the Planning Act.

The Township does not support this proposal because, while possibly speeding up construction, locating these facilities and student housing without considering their impacts on surrounding uses (traffic, parking, etc.) could result in poorly designed communities.

Ministers Zoning Orders (MZOs) Revoked

Bill 185 repeals six MZOs and repeals the Community Infrastructure Housing Accelerator (a type of MZO). The province has developed new guidelines for MZOs requiring a demonstration of why the normal municipal process cannot be used as well as information on Indigenous engagement and public consultation.

The Township supports these changes as they appear to return more land use planning input to the local municipality and with clearer criteria for the use of an MZO, remove the influence of developers on the province to reward political donations.

Fee Refunds Revoked
Bill 185 repeals the refund mechanisms introduced by Bill 23 to the Planning Act relating to zoning by-law amendment applications and site plan applications whereby if applications were not processed within very tight timeframes set by the province, municipalities would have to return the application fees.

The Township supports this proposal because if refunds had continued to be required, planners would have been working on complex development approvals for free, with taxpayers subsidizing their costs on behalf of the developer applicants.

Use it or Lose It

Bill 185 introduces a provision for approval authorities to set a mandatory lapse date for draft subdivision approvals. (The County of Lanark already has a 5-year lapse date.) In addition, subdivisions with draft approval before March 27,1995 will automatically lapse within three years of Bill 185 passing.

Bill 185 also proposes lapsing dates as an option for Site Plan Control Agreements. (Tay Valley Township already has a 3-year lapse date to match the Building Permit expiry.) A municipality may also provide for lapsing of previous approvals, subject to notice to the owner of the land.

Bill 185 proposes a new section 86.1 to Part III (Specific Municipal Powers) of the Municipal Act, 2001 to track water supply and sewage capacity, and to set criteria for when an approved development can have their allocation withdrawn and reallocated.

The Township supports these changes because they have the potential to increase the supply of houses as developers may lose their draft approvals if they do not proceed to construction in a timely manner. Reallocation of servicing capacity is appropriate under those circumstances.

Parking Minimums

Bill 185 proposes to remove requirements for a minimum number of parking spaces in major transit station areas, as well as in areas where minimum densities are required by official plans or provincial policies.
The Township supports this proposal as it supports transit use and reduces greenhouse gas emissions.

Exempt Standardized Housing Designs

Bill 185 proposes to exempt standardized (modular) housing designs from the zoning sections of the Planning Act.

The Township supports this proposal in Rural Settlement Areas because it will allow more homes to be constructed more quickly. However, the Township does not support this proposal in Rural Lands as exemption from the provisions of the zoning by-law could result in strip development that does not preserve the rural landscape.