Proposed Regulation– As-of-right Variations from Setback Requirements

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.

Schedule 7 of Bill 17 proposes to amend the Planning Act to provide regulation-making authority to reduce planning applications for minor variances. If passed, Bill 17 would enable the Minister, by regulation, to permit variation to a zoning by-law to be “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) 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.  

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.

Minor Variances

The Planning Act and its regulations set out the process for landowners or developers to request a minor variance when their proposal doesn’t conform exactly to the zoning by-law. A minor variance is an approval for a small departure from a zoning by-law. The Act establishes a fourfold test that committees of adjustment must consider when they review and authorize minor variances: whether the proposed change 1) is minor, 2) meets the intent of the official plan, 3) meets the intent of the zoning by-law, 4) is desirable for development. Municipalities can also establish additional criteria for minor variances by by-law.

Committees of adjustment members are appointed by municipal councils to deal with minor problems in meeting by-law standards. The committee of adjustment holds regular hearings to decide on applications. Applications should explain how a proposed variance is minor in nature and why it is needed.

Proposed Contents of a Regulation under the Planning Act

The government is consulting on a proposed regulation that would allow variations to be permitted “as-of-right” if a proposal is within 10% of setback requirements applicable to specified lands. For example, if your local zoning by-law requires a 5 metre front yard setback from the property line, this would effectively reduce the setback to 4.5 metres and you would be allowed to build .5 metre (half of a metre) into that 5 metre setback as-of-right, without a minor variance or zoning by-law amendment.

This would mean that there would be fewer applications submitted and fewer hearings for minor variances before a municipal committee of adjustment for these proposals.

We welcome your thoughts on the contents of the proposed regulation and/or further opportunities to allow variations “as-of-right” for additional performance standards (e.g. height, lot coverage).

Impact on the Environment

The proposed regulation regarding “as-of-right” variations from setback requirements could have a neutral impact on the environment, as they would be permitted only in specified lands/areas.

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.

The proposed regulation would reduce or eliminate the need for landowners to obtain a rezoning or minor variance prior to construction. This could result in direct cost and time savings, on a project-by-project basis.