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Bill 23, More Homes Built Faster

On October 25, the government released Bill 23, the More Homes Built Faster Act, 2022. The Bill proposes significant changes that impact the planning process in Ontario. It is presented as the next step in the Province’s plan to address the housing crisis by building 1.5 million homes over the next 10 years. Read the full press release. 
 
The package is accompanied by several proposals on Ontario’s Regulatory Registry, including Review of A Place to Grow and Provincial Policy Statement. See the full list of regulatory postings. 
 
OPPI will be working with our Council Directors and standing committee members to review the proposed legislation and regulatory postings to assess the impact on the planning profession.
 
We strongly encourage members to review the proposals and send your input and/or questions as soon as possible to communications@ontarioplanners.ca.
 
Members may also consider providing individual responses to any regulatory posting. Should you choose to respond, please copy executivedirector@ontarioplanners.ca on your submission. After hearing from our membership and other stakeholders, OPPI will then provide our input to the government.
 
Bill 23, the More Homes Built Faster Act, 2022 proposes changes to or the creation of 10 Acts, including the Planning Act as follows:
 
ADDITIONAL RESIDENTIAL UNITS
Allows up to three units per lot (i.e., up to three units in the primary building, or up to two in primary building and one in ancillary building or structure). These changes would apply to any parcel of urban residential land in settlement areas with full municipal water and sewage services.
 
PLANNING APPEALS
The proposed changes would limit third-party appeals for official plan/amendments, zoning by-law/amendments, consents and minor variances.
 
UPPER-TIER & LOWER-TIER MUNICIPAL PLANNING RESPONSIBILITIES
The proposed changes would remove planning responsibilities in the following upper-tier municipalities: the County of Simcoe, and the Regional Municipalities of Halton, Peel, York, Durham, Niagara and Waterloo. The proposed changes related to removal of planning responsibilities from certain upper-tier municipalities would come into force on a day to be named by proclamation.
 
ROLE OF CONSERVATION AUTHORITIES
The proposed changes would limit conservation authority (CA) appeals of land use planning decisions under the Planning Act. CAs would continue to be able to appeal matters that affect land that they own or where they are the applicant. When acting as a public body, CAs would only be able to appeal with respect to matters related to natural hazard policies in provincial policy statements.
 
ZONING AROUND TRANSIT
The proposed changes would require municipalities to amend their zoning by-laws to conform with official plan policies that establish minimum densities and heights around transit within one year of the official plan policies coming into effect (upon approval by the Minister).
 
SITE PLAN CONTROL
The proposed changes would remove all aspects of site plan control for residential development proposals up to 10 units, except for land lease communities.
 
MAXIMUM ALTERNATIVE PARKLAND DEDICATION REQUIREMENTS
The maximum alternative parkland dedication rate for land conveyed of 1 hectare for each 300 dwelling units would be changed to 1 hectare for each 600 net residential units and for payments in lieu, the current rate of 1 hectare for each 500 dwelling units would be changed to 1 hectare for each 1000 net residential units. No more than 15 per cent of the amount of land subject to the development proposal (or equivalent value) could be required for parks or other recreational purposes for sites greater than 5 hectares and no more than 10 per cent for sites 5 hectares or less.
 
PLANS OF SUBDIVISION
The proposed changes would remove the requirement for a public meeting to be held for draft plan of subdivision applications. The existing public notice requirements for plan of subdivision applications would be maintained.

RESOURCES AND FURTHER READING