It is our understanding that…

It is our understanding that, where a Community Benefits By-law (“CBB”) is in place, a municipality will not be able to require the dedication of parkland or the payment of cash-in-lieu under section 42 of the Planning Act. Moreover, while a municipality may still impose a draft plan of subdivision condition requiring parkland dedication if a CBB is not in place, the condition can only be imposed at the standard Planning Act rates (2% for commercial and industrial development or 5% for residential development). If such a parkland dedication condition is imposed, however, the municipality cannot collect a CBB charge or soft service development charge in respect of the lands in the subdivision.

In many “greenfield” development areas in the GTA, municipalities take a comprehensive approach to delivery of parkland. In many cases, official plan policies for an area provide that parkland arrangements will be implemented through “Master Parkland Agreements”. These agreements provide for conveyance parkland in a secondary planning area on a global basis, and require cooperation amongst the landowners within the area to compensate each other for over-dedications and under-dedications of parkland, without the municipality having to assemble parkland or pay for parkland with cash-in-lieu funds on a plan by plan basis.

It is unclear from the proposed legislation how/if existing Master Parkland Agreements that are being implemented under official plan policies might be impacted. Although the transition language speaks to plans of subdivision that already have obtained conditions of development approval related to parkland, there are many landowners in greenfield areas who do not yet have draft approval/conditions but whose lands are located within secondary planning areas that are subject to Master Parkland Agreements. It is also not clear how a landowner will be expected to satisfy the obligations within an existing Master Parkland Agreement and also be credited appropriately against any CBB contribution that might be required.

As such, the Province should give consideration to the fact that many areas in the GTA that are subject to Master Parkland Agreements pursuant to official plan policies might soon be also subject to CBBs. The use of Master Parkland Agreements is a useful tool to plan parkland delivery on a comprehensive basis in planning areas. This is a tool that should not be compromised (both for existing agreements and future planning areas).