Proposed amendments to matters included in existing regulations under the Planning Act relating to the Building Better Communities and Conserving Watersheds Act, 2017 (Bill 139)

Description of regulation

Bill 139 – the proposed Building Better Communities and Conserving Watersheds Act, 2017 was introduced on May 30, 2017. The Bill proposes to make changes to the Planning Act and introduce new legislation to replace the Ontario Municipal Board Act with the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal Act to give communities a stronger voice in land use planning.

If Bill 139 is passed by the Legislature and receives Royal Assent, the proposed regulatory changes would update tribunal references from Ontario Municipal Board to Local Planning Appeal Tribunal, where applicable. They would also require explanations of how planning proposals conform with local planning documents; clarify requirements for municipal notices and make other technical changes.

Proposed content

Regulations under the Planning Act currently include minimum requirements with respect to the information that must be submitted with each land use planning application and what information must be included in the record of materials sent to the OMB on an appeal.

It is proposed that the applicable above matters be updated in O. Reg. 543/06 Official Plans and Plan Amendments, O. Reg. 545/06 Zoning By-Laws, Holding By-Laws and Interim Control By-Laws, O. Reg. 544/06 Plans of Subdivision, O. Reg. 197/96 Consent Applications, O. Reg. 200/96 Minor Variance Applications, O. Reg. 549/06 Prescribed Time Period – Subsections 17 (44.4), 34 (24.4) and 51 (52.4) of the Act”, O. Reg. 551/06 Local Appeal Bodies, O. Reg. 173/16 Community Planning Permits by:

• Revising what information is to be included in the giving of notice e.g. some decisions would be final and not subject to appeal;
• Revising what information and material is to be included in a complete application e.g. to include how an application conforms with the relevant official plan(s);
• Revising what is required to be forwarded to the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal on an appeal e.g. the municipal statement would need to indicate whether the decision conforms with the relevant official plan(s);
• Replacing references to Ontario Municipal Board with Local Planning Appeal Tribunal; and/or
• Updating relevant legislative cross-references.

The purpose for updating these existing regulations is to facilitate implementation of the proposed changes identified in Bill 139.

Purpose of regulation

The purposes of this Notice are:

1. To inform the public, stakeholders and municipalities of Ontario that the province is considering amending a regulation under the Planning Act;
2. To provide the basic outline of the proposed regulation; and
3. To provide 45 days for the public, stakeholders and municipalities of Ontario to comment on the proposed regulation by directing their written concerns to the contact persons noted below.

Public consultation

This proposal was posted for a 45 day public review and comment period starting December 07, 2017. Comments were to be received by January 21, 2018.

All comments received during the comment period are being considered as part of the decision-making process by the Ministry.

Please Note: All comments and submissions received have become part of the public record.

Other public consultation opportunities

Comments should be directed to the following Contact Person:

Ken Petersen, Manager
Provincial Planning Policy Branch
777 Bay Street, 13^th floor
Toronto, Ontario, M5G 2E5
PHONE: 1-855-776-8011

In addition to this EBR posting, comments can be submitted electronically to OMBReview@ontario.ca

All comments will be considered as part of the decision-making by the Ministry if they:

1. are submitted in writing;
2. reference the EBR Registry number; and
3. are received by the Contact person within the specified comment period.

Please Note: No acknowledgment or individual response will be provided to those who comment. All comments and submissions received will become part of the public record.

Please note that the following notices are related to this posting:

EBR Registry Posting Number 013-1788: Proposed new regulation under the Planning Act to prescribe transitional provisions for the Building Better Communities and Conserving Watersheds Act, 2017 (Bill 139)