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New Streamlined Land Use Planning and Appeals
December 3, 2015 – The Province of Ontario today passed new legislation which is intended to streamline the land use planning and appeals process, and which also expands municipal revenue tools.
Bill 73, Smart Growth for Our Communities Act, 2015 is intended to give residents a greater say in how their communities grow and to provide municipalities with more opportunities to fund community services.
According to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, the Act will give residents a more meaningful say in how their communities grow by requiring municipalities to better involve residents in the planning process, and will help municipalities resolve planning disputes earlier at the local level, such as through alternative dispute resolution, to reduce the involvement of the Ontario Municipal Board in local disputes.
It will also lengthen the review period for municipal official plans – plans that lay out how municipalities will grow and develop – to 10 years, from 5.
For more information on these changes, read:
The press release on Bill 73
Some further background information:
Changes to the Development Charges Act and Planning Act
Terry ReesNew Streamlined Land Use Planning and Appeals 12.07.2015