On April 10, 2024, the Ontario Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing and Minister of Legislative Affairs, Hon. Paul Calandra introduced Bill 185, Cutting Red Tape to Build More Homes Act, 2024. Presented as part of a red tape reduction package, its stated intent is to streamline approvals and help build more homes and infrastructure faster. The omnibus bill proposes legislative amendments related to development charges (DCs), planning, line fences and more, many of which directly affect municipal fiscal sustainability, service delivery, and staffing.
The Province is seeking comments on several proposed legislative amendments and regulatory proposals coming forward as part of Bill 185. Those most relevant for municipalities are outlined below.
Planning Policy & Process
- Allow municipalities to give notice of new planning decisions on their website where no local newspaper is available. Comments on this proposal are due by May 10, 2024.
- Limit third-party appeals to the Ontario Land Tribunal to those made by key participants (i.e. applicants, public bodies, First Nations and utility providers).
- Allow applicants to appeal a municipality's refusal or failure to make a decision on a privately requested official plan or zoning by-law amendment that would change the boundary of an "area of settlement", outside of the Greenbelt Area.
- Introduce a Minister’s Zoning Order (MZO) Framework while eliminating the Community Infrastructure and Housing Accelerator (CHIA) tool.
- Make pre-application consultation voluntary at the discretion of the applicant.
- Remove fee refund requirements for planning applications.
- Remove the planning responsibilities for several upper-tier municipalities and Conservation Authorities with responsibilities assumed by lower-tiers. Changes will be in effect for Peel, Halton and York as of July 1, 2024, and for Durham, Niagara, Simcoe and Waterloo on a date to be named.
- Exempt publicly-assisted universities from the Planning Act.
Housing
- Make it easier to build more residential units, such as garden, laneway or basement suites. Comments on this proposal are due by May 10, 2024.
- Allow homebuyers and homebuilders to decide the number of parking spaces in new residential developments near higher order transit, based on market needs.
- Create a regulation-making authority to exempt standardized housing designs from certain sections of the Planning Act (e.g. zoning) and under the City of Toronto Act.
Infrastructure
- Remove the five-year phase-in for DCs, reinstate studies as an eligible DC cost, reduce the DC freeze timeframe from two years to 18 months; and streamline the process for municipalities to extend existing DC by-laws. Comments on this proposal are due by May 10, 2024.
- Reduce delays and costs for utility relocation projects affecting transit and infrastructure. Comments on this proposal are due by May 11, 2024.
- Introduce the “use it or lose it” policy, allowing municipalities to impose lapsing conditions on various development projects and reallocate servicing.
- Consider a new expedited approval process for community service facilities including K-12 public schools, long-term care and hospitals.
Some of the above-listed changes can be found consolidated in the following proposal open for comment until May 10, 2024.
Alongside these changes coming forward with Bill 185, the Province is also making updates to:
- The proposed Provincial Planning Statement (PPS). Comments on this proposal are due by May 12, 2024.
- The Building Code that includes allowing developers to pursue 18-storey mass timber buildings, up from the current 12-storey limit.
- Municipal planning data reporting, such as expanding the list of municipalities and amendments to information collected. Comments on this proposal are due by May 10, 2024.
Municipal Governance
- Require the Peel Transition Board to provide recommendations on the transfer of land use planning, water and wastewater, regional roads (including stormwater), and waste management services. Comments on this proposal are due by May 10, 2024.
- New section to the Municipal Act and City of Toronto Act, which would allow the Province to make regulations to allow a municipality to provide assistance to manufacturing businesses or other industrial or commercial enterprises if there is a provincial interest to attract investments. Comments on this proposal are due by May 10, 2024.
Other Legislative Amendments
- Modernize the Line Fences Act with proposed amendments on the Regulatory Registry. Comments on this proposal are due by May 10, 2024.
- Removing the requirement for an annual resolution for municipal representatives on the Niagara Parks Commission Board, instead requiring one resolution at the beginning of a council term. Comments on this proposal are due by May 10, 2024.
We will continue to monitor the proposed changes for impacts to municipalities and opportunities for consultation, and will be consulting with members as we consider feedback to provide through the standing committee and/or regulatory consultation processes.