Proposed Planning Act and City of Toronto Act, 2006 Changes (Schedules 3 and 7 of Bill 17 - Protect Ontario by Building Faster and Smarter Act, 2025)

The government is seeking feedback on potential legislative and regulatory changes to help make it easier and faster to build new homes and infrastructure like transit, roads, and water and wastewater systems as part of the proposed Bill 17, the proposed Protect Ontario by Building Faster and Smarter Act, 2025 and associated regulations.

This includes initiatives to:

• increase certainty throughout the development approvals process,
• streamline processes further to help reduce barriers, and
• reduce development costs

We welcome your thoughts on the following changes proposed under Bill 17, Protect Ontario by Building Faster and Smarter Act, 2025.

Proposed Planning Act and City of Toronto Act, 2006 changes

Schedule 3 and 7 of Bill 17 propose a number of amendments to the Planning Act and City of Toronto Act, 2006. If passed, proposed changes would:

Minor Variances (As of Right Variation from Setback Requirements)

• Remove municipal zoning by-law barriers by providing for 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 (the minimum distance a building or structure must be from a property line or other protected area) on specified lands.
  • Specified lands would include parcels of urban residential lands outside of the Greenbelt Area, and exclude areas such as hazardous lands, and lands near shorelines and railways.
  • This would mean that appearing before a municipal committee of adjustment would not be necessary for proposals that otherwise comply with zoning by-laws but need variations from setback requirements no greater than the prescribed percentage.
  • The proposed changes would work with Ontario Regulation 299/19: Additional Residential Units to help create additional residential units, such as basement suites, by eliminating additional barriers related to setbacks.

Minister’s Zoning Order

• 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. 
  • This enhanced oversight would ensure projects meet requirements and increase transparency and accountability in the Minister’s zoning order process.

Study Requirements (Complete Application) and Certified Professionals

• Provide more consistent rules across municipalities on the information and studies that may be needed for planning applications like official plan and zoning by-law amendments. The changes would limit municipal complete application requirements to what is currently identified in the municipal official plans, any new or revised requirements would have to be approved by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing.
• Create regulation-making authority to create rules to:
  • List topics that could not be required for a complete application,
  • List the only studies that could be required as part of a complete application, and
  • Specify certified professionals from whom municipalities would be required to accept studies.

Streamline Planning Approval for Schools

• Exempt the placement of all portable classrooms at public school sites from site plan control. Currently, public school sites built prior to January 1, 2007 are exempt from site plan control when adding a portable classroom. This change would extend the exemption to all school sites.
• Amend the Planning Act to provide explicit permission for the use of Kindergarten to Grade 12 public schools and ancillary uses (such as associated childcare) on urban land zoned for residential uses “as-of-right". In some cases, this could remove the need for a rezoning application, saving approximately 6-18 months from the approvals process.

Impact on the Environment

The proposed legislative changes regarding minor variances, Minister’s Zoning Orders (MZOs), complete application requirements and certified professionals, site plan and zoning of schools sites are anticipated to have a neutral impact on the environment by streamlining the process to develop on lands designated for development, while maintaining protections for areas such as the Greenbelt and continuing to restrict development on hazardous lands. These changes would also make more efficient use of servicing (e.g., water and wastewater) and transportation infrastructure.

Analysis of Regulatory Impact

Building on previous legislative and regulatory changes, the initiatives are anticipated to further support streamlining land use planning processes; building more homes faster; and creating more certainty in the development approvals processes. This could result in time and cost savings on a project-by-project basis for publicly-funded school boards, homebuilders, homeowners and others.

The changes would benefit Ontarians broadly, as they are intended to make it easier and faster to build new homes, businesses, and schools.