Thank you for the…

Thank you for the opportunity to provide comments on the Protect Ontario by Building Faster and Smarter Act Proposed Planning Act and City of Toronto Act, 2006 changes. Halton Hills Town staff understand that due to current economic challenges, including those pertaining to international trade, and the current housing crisis, it is important that the Province of Ontario strives toward making it faster to build new homes and infrastructure like transit, roads, and water and wastewater systems. Town staff offer the following comments for the proposed changes to the Act:

General Comments:

Staff have great concerns regarding the potential limitations imposed on the Town’s ability to request additional studies beyond those explicitly listed in the Official Plan and potential future limitations imposed through regulations to request critical studies listed in the Official Plan. In addition, the Town has expressed concern with the proposed regulation-making authority that could provide for variations to zoning by-laws to be permitted “as of right” if a proposal is within a prescribed percentage of the required setback. Comments on these two proposals have been provided through ERO postings 025-0462 and 025-0463.

The following comments are specific to the proposals to allow the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing to impose conditions (i.e., on municipalities or proponents) that must be met before a use permitted by a Minister’s zoning order comes into effect and to streamline Planning Approval for Schools.

Minister’s Zoning Order

In situations where MMAH issues a Minister’s Zoning Order, it is critical that certain conditions imposed by the local municipality related to specific development applications such as addressing environmental risks be included in these agreements. Agreements should consider local planning priorities such as preserving affordable housing, economic development initiatives, protecting key natural heritage features, supporting active transportation, and integrating land use with mobility. The Town urges that these agreements be drafted in collaboration with local municipalities to ensure that development proceeding through a MZOs continues to meet provincial and local land use planning objectives and requirements.

Streamline Planning Approval for Schools

Staff have no major concerns regarding the streamlining of planning approvals for schools, provided municipalities retain the ability to review and update zoning by-laws to implement appropriate regulations, such as setbacks, height, lot coverage, and other relevant design standards that may be necessary. It is important to note that given the planning process that the Town follows in collaboration with the school boards, school sites are generally identified in advance with the appropriate set back.