On April 10, 2024 the…

On April 10, 2024 the Province of Ontario released a package of proposed Provincial legislation with the announcement of the Cutting Red Tape to Build More Homes Act, 2024 (Bill 185), proposing amendments to 15 Acts, including the Planning Act, Development Charges Act, and Municipal Act. The Province has also indicated intention to amend various regulations, and released an updated proposed Provincial Planning Statement (PPS), following previous consultation in 2023 (ERO 019-6813).

The City is supportive of the stated goals and has been continuously working to ensure St. Catharines is well situated to support infill, intensification, and growth within the built boundary and will continue to do so. Staff have concerns that the proposed policies related to growth are not adequate to guide appropriate development and land use planning in the Province and policies related to pre-submission consultation and appeal rights will lead to processes and developments that are unsustainable and will have detrimental effects in the long term.

Detailed comments are provided in Appendix 1 and have been organized into the following themes:
• Housing Supply and Growth
• Settlement Areas and Boundary Expansions
• Expediting Timelines
• Appeals and Public Process
• Municipal Responsibilities
• Previous draft new PPS Comments

The City of St. Catharines has been assigned an aggressive growth target of 11,000 housing units by 2031 which exceeds the City’s historical growth rates. The City is committed to making every effort within its control to accelerate the construction of housing units to meet this target. The City has undertaken many progressive policy, process, and technology investments to position St. Catharines to be able to accommodate the processing of development applications to assist the Province in meeting its housing goals.

If you have any questions, please contact Taya Devlin, Senior Planner at tdevlin@stcatharines.ca or 905.688.5601 extension 1709.