This week, the Province of Ontario began consultations on several important changes to the Planning Act. These consultations went live on the ERO (Environmental Registry of Ontario’s) website, and gives a glimpse into the direction of planning going forward. Here’s a quick breakdown of the some of the biggest proposed changes. Changes to the Information and Material That Municipalities Can Require for Planning Act Applications This is perhaps one of the biggest changes being

By now we’ve all heard the news, Canada’s big cities, and indeed it’s biggest province, is in a bit of a housing slump. Despite years of promises to construct new homes at a pace never seen before, Ontario continues to lag in new housing starts and construction value. While the media reports a bleak outlook on housing starts, I would like to offer a more nuanced and optimistic view of housing and present a potential opportunity. Housing prices, housing starts, and especially

There’s an old saying in real estate that the price of land comes down to “location, location, location,” and that is certainly true in Ontario. In most of Southwestern Ontario, land can be classified into two categories: settlement areas and non-settlement areas. When Municipalities review their Official Plans and expand the urban boundaries, those landowners can often feel like they have won the lottery. When land is brought into the urban area, it can now be developed for

A simple guide to the land severance (consent) process. Southwestern Ontario is home to some of the richest agricultural land in the province. While soil classifications vary widely from municipality to municipality, the bulk of the soil in Southwestern Ontario falls into classes 1-3. These soil classes correspond to a nationwide classification system for agricultural productivity and are rated on a total possible score of 7, plus organic soils. In Ontario, provincial plannin