Building Better Communities and Conserving Watersheds Act, 2017 Mauro, Hon. Bill Minister of Municipal Affairs — Bill 139 (41st Parliament, 2nd Session)

Bill 139, 41-2

Ontario — Bills

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Bill 139, Building Better Communities and Conserving Watersheds Act, 2017

Mauro, Hon. Bill Minister of Municipal Affairs

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Status

Debates

Acts affected

Original

As Amended by Standing Committee

Royal Assent

[41] Bill 139 Royal Assent (PDF)

EXPLANATORY

NOTE

This

Explanatory Note was written as a reader's aid to Bill 139 and does not form

part of the law.

Bill 139 has been enacted as

Chapter 23 of the Statutes of Ontario, 2017.

Schedule

Local planning appeal tribunal Act, 2017

The

Local Planning Appeal Tribunal Act, 2017 is

enacted. The new Act continues the Ontario Municipal Board under the name the

Local Planning Appeal Tribunal and repeals the Ontario

Municipal Board Act .

Many

provisions in the new Act and the old Act are substantively the same. Changes

are made to the practices and procedures applicable to proceedings before the

Tribunal. The new Act lists types of rules that the Tribunal may make regarding

its practices and procedures and specifies certain powers of the Tribunal

regarding proceedings. For example, the Tribunal may require a case management

conference to be held for any proceeding for purposes such as identifying the

issues raised by the proceeding, discussing opportunities for settlement and

determining administrative details of the conduct of hearings.

The

new Act includes provisions applicable to certain appeals of decisions

regarding official plans, zoning by-laws or plans of subdivision made under the

Planning Act . It provides that a case management

conference is mandatory in all such appeals, addresses how a person other than

a party to the appeal may participate in the proceeding and sets out

requirements applicable if an oral hearing is held in the appeal.

Related

regulation-making powers are added, including the authority to prescribe

timelines applicable to proceedings on appeals to the Tribunal under the Planning Act . The new Act also updates language that was

used in the old Act, eliminates obsolete provisions and revokes regulations

made under the Ontario Municipal Board Act .

Schedule 2

Local planning Appeal Support Centre Act, 2017

The

Schedule enacts the Local Planning Appeal Support Centre

Act, 2017 , which establishes the Local Planning Appeal Support Centre.

The Centre is a non-share corporation, the objects of which are,

(

a) to

establish and administer a cost-effective and efficient system for providing

support services to eligible persons respecting matters governed by the Planning Act that are under the jurisdiction of the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal ;

and

(

b) to

establish policies and priorities for the provision of the support services

based on its financial resources.

The

Centre is not an agent of the Crown nor a Crown agency. It is independent from,

but accountable to, the Government of Ontario. (Sections 2 and 3).

Section

4 of the

Schedule sets out the support services the Centre is required to

provide. Support services must be available throughout Ontario (section 6).

Section 5 provides authority for the Centre to establish eligibility criteria

for the receipt of support services, subject to regulations made under the Act.

The

remaining sections set out the Centre's governance structure and reporting

requirements (sections 7 to 11), liability immunity provisions (sections 12 and

13), by-law making authority for the Centre (section 14), and related

regulation-making powers of the Lieutenant Governor in Council (section 15).

Schedule 3

Amendments to the Planning Act, the City of Toronto Act, 2006

and the Ontario Planning and Development Act, 1994

The

Schedule amends the Planning Act , the City of Toronto Act, 2006 and the Ontario

Planning and Development Act, 1994 . Here are highlights of some of

those amendments:

The

Schedule includes consequential amendments to reflect the enactment of the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal Act, 2017 . These include

changing the references to the Ontario Municipal Board Act

so they refer to the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal Act,

2017 and references to the Ontario Municipal Board so they refer to the

Local Planning Appeal Tribunal. Other similar consequential amendments to

various Acts are set out in

Schedule 5.

The

definition of "provincial plan" in subsection 1 (1) of the Planning Act is amended to include certain policies

referred to in the Lake Simcoe Protection Act, 2008 ,

the Great Lakes Protection Act, 2015 and the Clean Water Act, 2006 .

Section

2.1 of the Planning Act currently requires approval

authorities and the Ontario Municipal Board, when they make decisions relating

to planning matters, to "have regard to" decisions of municipal councils and

approval authorities relating to the same planning matter, and to any

supporting information and material that was before a municipal council or

approval authority relating to the same planning matter. The

section is

amended to limit its application to specified planning matters relating to

official plans, zoning by-laws, interim control by-laws, site plan control,

plans of subdivision and consents.

Section

3 of the Planning Act currently governs the

issuance of policy statements on matters relating to municipal planning. The

section is amended to authorize policy statements to require approvals or

determinations by one or more ministers for any of the matters provided for in

the policy statement. The

section is also amended to deem policy statements

issued under the Metrolinx Act, 2006 , the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act, 2016 and

other prescribed policies or statements to be policy statements issued under

section 3 of the Planning Act .

Section

8.1 of the Planning Act currently provides for the

establishment of a local appeal body which can deal with appeals of certain

planning matters. Amendments are made to expand those matters to include

appeals and motions for directions related to site plan control and motions for

directions related to consents. Amendments are also made to the transitional

rules associated with the empowerment of local appeal bodies. Similar

amendments are made to

section 115 of the City of Toronto

Act, 2006 .

Section

16 of the Planning Act currently governs the

content of official plans. A new clause 16 (1) (a.1) requires official plans

to contain policies relating to affordable housing and a new subsection 16

(14) requires official plans to contain policies relating to climate change. The

section is also amended to allow official plans to include policies relating to

development around higher order transit stations and stops. These policies

would require approval by an approval authority. Decisions on these policies

cannot be appealed except by the Minister and requests to amend the policies

can only be made with council approval (see subsections 17 (36.1.4) to (36.1.7)

and 22 (2.1.3)). When these policies are in place, zoning by-laws that

establish permitted uses, minimum and maximum densities and, except in certain

circumstances, minimum and maximum heights cannot be appealed except by the

Minister (see subsections 34 (19.5) to (19.8)).

New

subsections 17 (24.0.1) and (36.0.1) of the Planning Act

provide that an appeal concerning the adoption or approval of an official plan is

restricted to issues of consistency or conformity with provincial plans and

policy statements and, as applicable, conformity with official plan policies of

upper-tier municipalities. New subsections 17 (49.1) to (49.12) provide rules

concerning the Tribunal's powers in connection with such appeals. The

authority of the Tribunal to allow such appeals is limited, but where an appeal

is allowed, the municipality has a second opportunity to make a decision. If

that decision is appealed and the Tribunal again determines that it did not

meet the new standard of review, the Tribunal would make another decision. Special

rules are provided for certain circumstances where a revised plan is presented

to the Tribunal on consent of specified parties. Similar amendments are made to

section 22 with respect to appeals of refusals and non-decisions on requests to

amend official plans and to

section 34 with respect to appeals related to

zoning by-laws. In the case of appeals of refusals and non-decisions on

applications to amend zoning by-laws, the new subsection 34 (26.13) provides

that these appeals shall not be dismissed on the basis of the existing

subsection 24 (4) of the Act. Certain rules in

section 17, as they read before

being amended by the Schedule, are incorporated by reference in

section 28 for

the purposes of the process, including the appeal process, related to community

improvement plans. Similarly, certain rules in

section 34, as they

read before being amended by the Schedule, are incorporated by reference in

sections 38 and 45 for the purposes of the process, including the appeal

process, related to interim control by-laws and by-laws establishing municipal

criteria for minor variances.

Currently,

subsections 17 (51), 22 (11.1) and 34 (27) of the Planning

Act allow the Minister to advise the Ontario Municipal Board that a

matter of provincial interest is, or is likely to be, adversely affected by an

official plan or zoning matter appealed to the Board. When the Minister so

advises the Board, its decision is not final unless confirmed by the Lieutenant

Governor in Council. Currently the Minister must advise the Board not later

than 30 days before the hearing of the matter. Amendments are made to require

the Minister to advise the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal not later than 30

days after the Tribunal gives notice of a hearing. When the Tribunal is so

advised by the Minister, the new limits to the Tribunal's powers on appeal

described in the above paragraph would not apply; however, the Tribunal's

decision would not be final unless confirmed by the Lieutenant Governor in

Council.

New

subsections 17 (36.5) and 21 (3) of the Planning Act

provide that there is no appeal in respect of an official plan or an official

plan amendment adopted in accordance with

section 26, if the approval authority

is the Minister.

circumstances where no person or public body has a right of appeal in relation

to a decision on an official plan, new subsections 17 (27.1) and (38.1) provide

for the plan to come into effect on the day after the decision.

Timelines

for making decisions related to official plans and zoning by-laws are extended

by 30 days (see amendments to sections 17, 22, 34 and 36 of the Planning Act ). For applications to amend zoning by-laws

submitted concurrently with requests to amend a local municipality's official

plans, the timeline is extended to 210 days (see subsection 34 (11.0.0.0.1)).

new subsection 22 (2.1.1) of the Planning Act

provides that during the two-year period following the adoption of a new

secondary plan, applications for amendment are permitted only with council

approval. Subsection 22 (2.1.2) describes a secondary plan as a part of an

official plan added by amendment that provides more detailed policies and land

use designations applicable to part of a municipality.

Currently,

subsection 22 (11) of the Planning Act incorporates

by reference various rules from

section 17 concerning appeals to the Ontario

Municipal Board. Amendments are made to remove the incorporation by reference

and to add those rules as new subsections 22 (11) to (11.0.7), with the

corresponding changes that are made to the rules in

section 17.

Currently,

under subsection 38 (4) of the Planning Act , anyone

who is given notice of the passing of an interim control by-law may appeal the

by-law within 60 days after the by-law is passed. Amendments are made to allow

only the Minister to appeal an interim control by-law when it is first pa

Document details

Collection	Ontario — Bills
Citation	Bill 139, 41-2
Type	bill
Volume / chapter	p41 s2 bill 139 html
Language	en
Format	html
Source	PROVINCIAL
Identifier	4e713558b28848664fa372b48d30ae91b05a241c

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