Big Changes Are Coming To Ontario's Planning Act

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 proposed. Currently, a municipality has considerable leeway in determining what studies or reports are required to make a complete application. These powers are given to municipalities through the respective sections of the Act which govern those planning processes. While an applicant has the power to appeal an incomplete decision by a municipality, this is a lengthy and costly process. The province is proposing splitting the list of studies and reports into two categories:

1.  Core Studies: these are the main studies and reports that a municipality can (but is not obligated) to make a requirement of a complete application. Examples of core studies include, Planning Justification Reports, Environmental Impact Statements, Geo-technical Reports, and Traffic Impact Studies. These are called “core” because they are largely applicable to every application, and no special reasoning is required to explain their necessity.

2. Contingent Studies: these are studies which a municipality cannot make a requirement of every application, but can require in specific circumstances where it can be adequately justified that they are required. For example, an Agricultural Impact Assessment is considered a contingent study and could be required for a complete application in the case of an Official Plan Amendment that proposes to expand the settlement area into prime agricultural land. Other contingent studies include:

View the complete article on the Econopolis Substack.