Section 2 of the Planning…

Section 2 of the Planning Act requires Municipalities, to have regard for matters of Provincial interest in carrying out their responsibilities under the Planning Act. Bill 17 proposes to limit the scope of permitted studies associated with applications under the Planning Act, some of which are directly related to matters of Provincial interest under the Planning Act. Bill 17 is considering more studies for removal but is only initially proposing the exclusion of Sun/Shadow studies, Wind studies, Urban Design reports, and Lighting reports from development applications; all of which are part of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) and directly relate to a municipalities responsibility to have regard to: the promotion of a built form that (i) is well-designed, (ii) encourages a sense of place, and (iii) provides for public spaces that are of high quality, safe, accessible, attractive, and vibrant (Planning Act s. 2(r)).

Where studies are being removed from complete applications, there is concern that the County will not be able to meet their municipal responsibility to have regard for matters of Provincial interest under the Planning Act. There is also concern that removing supporting studies also removes the right, and ability, for staff and council to consider compatibility measures on a local and area specific context.

Currently, when the County accepts a planning application and planning staff are not experts in the field of which a study or report was written, the County can ask for a peer review to be undertaken to ensure the study or report includes the appropriate information required to justify the development. Under Bill 17, County staff may be limited in their ability to ask for such a review, nor would the County be able to provide comment on a study or report in which they are experts in (e.g. a Planning Justification Report). Planning staff understands the time constraints that developers are working under and that reviews and resubmission requests may extend timelines. However, the resubmission requests and comments provided by staff on planning applications are frequently a result of errors or missing information, which is relevant to matters of Provincial interest that the County shall have regard to when making decisions on an application.

There is concern from planning staff that the County will not be able to meet their municipal responsibility to have regard for matters of Provincial interest if information is omitted from professional reports. Further, if omitted information in a professional report is required for planning staff to provide a recommendation to Council, it is possible that staff will have to recommend denial of an application due to insufficient information.