InfoSheet: Strong Communities (Planning Amendment) Act, 2004 (Bill 26)

December 2004

Adobe Acrobat version  (301K)

On November 30, 2004 the Strong Communities (Planning Amendment) Act, 2004 (Bill 26) received Royal Assent.  This Act amends the Planning Act.

The following describes the amendments to the Planning Act:

Previously, the Planning Act allowed appeals to the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) for all proposed amendments to official plans and zoning bylaws. Now, certain appeals have been removed. 

The following provisions are effective as of December 15, 2003. (See transition section of InfoSheet and Ontario Regulation 385/04 to determine which planning applications are affected.)

Official Plan Amendments - Subsections 22(7.1), (7.2), (7.3), (7.4)

The Planning Act removes the right to appeal an official plan amendment initiated by an applicant that proposes either to alter an “area of settlement” boundary or establish a new “area of settlement”.  Specifically, appeals are removed where:

• a municipality refuses to adopt or makes no decision on a request to adopt an amendment, or,
• an approval authority refuses or makes no decision on an amendment.

There is one exception where an applicant’s right of appeal is maintained. This exception involves a situation where a lower-tier municipality refuses or fails to adopt an application to alter an “area of settlement” boundary or establish a new “area of settlement”, but the application conforms to the official plan of the upper-tier municipality.

Zoning Bylaw Amendments – Subsection 34(11.0.1)

The Planning Act also removes the right to appeal an application for a zoning bylaw amendment that proposes to implement either an alteration to an “area of settlement” boundary or the establishment of a new “area of settlement”.  The applicant may not appeal the refusal or a non-decision of the amendment.

Definition of “area of settlement” – Subsection 1(1)

A definition of  “area of settlement” is added to subsection 1(1) of the Planning Act. The term “area of settlement” is defined to clarify what appeal rights are affected.

Clauses 22(1)(b), 22(2)(b), 22(7)(a), 22(7)(b)

Previously, the legislation required that council:

• give notice of a public meeting within 45 days, and
• hold a public meeting within 65 days

from the receipt of the complete application for an official plan amendment.

Failure to meet the 45-day time period could have resulted in an appeal.

The 45-day notice requirement and the related 65-day time period for holding a public meeting have been deleted.

Applicants retain the right of appeal if an approval authority fails to make a decision within the new 180-day time-frame (except where the proposal involves a settlement boundary, as described previously).

These provisions are effective as of December 15, 2003.  (See transition section of InfoSheet and Ontario Regulation 385/04 to determine how planning applications are affected.)

• Official Plans – Subsections 17(51), (52), (53), (54)
• Official Plan Amendments – Subsections 22(11.1), (11.2), (11.3), (11.4)
• Zoning bylaws - Subsections 34(27), (28), (29), (29.1), (30)
• Holding bylaws - Subsections 36(3.1), (3.2), (3.3), (3.4)

The Minister has the authority to declare that a matter before the OMB may adversely affect a provincial interest, regardless of when the application was submitted.  This authority was previously in the Planning Act, and was removed in 1995. 

New subsections have been added to reinstate the ability of the Minister to exercise this authority.  Matters before the OMB that may be affected may include official plans, official plan amendments, zoning bylaws/zoning bylaw amendments, including “holding” bylaws.

The Minister must make the declaration of provincial interest at least 30 days before the hearing date. Once this action is taken, the Lieutenant Governor in Council (LGIC) has the authority to confirm, vary, or rescind the OMB decision on the matters.

Where the declaration affects a zoning bylaw, the bylaw will not be deemed to have come into force on the day it was passed until a decision has been issued by the LGIC.

Request by Minister to Amend Plan - Subsections 23(5), (6)

The Planning Act continues to provide that where the Minister is of the opinion that a matter of provincial interest may be affected by an official plan, the Minister may request council of the municipality to adopt an amendment, or the Minister may make an amendment.  The amendment may be referred to the OMB to determine whether the amendment should be made. 

Previously, a Board decision on such an amendment was final. The legislation now provides for the LGIC to confirm, vary or rescind the OMB decision.

• Official Plans – Subsection 17(40)
  Official Plan Amendments – Subsection 22(7)(c) and (7)(d)
• Zoning bylaw amendments – Subsection 34(11)
  Holding bylaws – Subsection 36(3)
• Subdivisions – Subsection 51(34)
• Consents – Subsection 53(14)

The time has increased for planning authorities to decide on these types of planning applications before the applicant can appeal to the OMB.

The increases in time allowed for planning authorities to decide on planning applications are as follows:

• official plans / amendments – from 90 days to 180 days;
• zoning bylaw amendments and holding bylaws – from 90 days to 120 days;
• subdivisions and condominiums – from 90 days to 180 days; and
• consents to sever property – from 60 days to 90 days.

Consistency with policy statements - Subsections 3(5), (6)

Previously, these subsections provided that all municipal councils, local boards, ministers of the Crown, ministries, boards, commissions or agencies of the government, including the OMB, when exercising any authority or providing advice that affected a planning matter, were required to “have regard to” provincial policy statements issued under the Planning Act.

The new subsections require that the decisions and advice of the above-noted land use-planning participants “shall be consistent with” provincial policy statements.

These amendments will not come into effect until this section is proclaimed.  Proclamation by the Lieutenant Governor is intended to coincide with the approval of a new Provincial Policy Statement.

There may be a regulation dealing with the implementation of this new standard.

Transition provision – Section 70.4

A new section 70.4 has been added to the Planning Act enabling the Minister to make regulations dealing with transitional matters. 

A regulation has been made to provide direction on how the Strong Communities (Planning Amendment) Act, 2004 provisions will apply to planning applications. (See Ontario Regulation 385/04.)

This regulation is effective as of November 30, 2004.

The regulation provides:

• Applications Not Affected by the Strong Communities (Planning Amendment) Act, 2004
  • Planning applications commenced before December 15, 2003 are not subject to the new provisions.
  • Planning applications commenced on or after December 15, 2003 and before November 30, 2004 (Royal Assent), except applications for official plan amendments and those zoning bylaw amendment applications that implement an alteration to an “area of settlement” boundary or implement a new “area of settlement”, are not subject to the new provisions.

  • Notwithstanding the above, the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing has the authority to declare that a matter may adversely affect a provincial interest regardless of when the application was submitted.

• Official Plan Amendment Applications Submitted On or After December 15, 2003

  • Official plan amendment applications made on or after December 15, 2003 are subject to the provisions of the Strong Communities (Planning Amendment) Act, 2004.

    Therefore: 

    • if the applicant seeks an official plan amendment that alters or establishes an “area of settlement” boundary and it was refused or no was decision  was made, it cannot be appealed,

    • council is not required to give notice of a public meeting within 45 days of the receipt of a complete application for an official plan amendment or to hold the meeting within 65 days.

• Official Plan Amendment Timelines
  • Official plan amendment applications made before November 30, 2004 (Royal Assent) are subject to 90-day decision timelines.

  • Official plan amendment applications made on or after November 30, 2004 (Royal Assent) are subject to the new 180-day decision timelines.

• Zoning Bylaw Amendment Applications Submitted On or After December 15, 2003

  • A zoning bylaw amendment application made on or after December 15, 2003 that implements the alteration to an “area of settlement” boundary or implements a new “area of settlement” is subject to the new changes.  Where this type of zoning bylaw amendment application has been refused or no decision has been made, the application cannot be appealed.

• Zoning Bylaw Amendment Application Timelines
  • Zoning bylaw amendment applications made before November 30, 2004 (Royal Assent) are subject to 90-day decision timelines.

  • Zoning by law amendment applications made on or after November 30, 2004 (Royal Assent) are subject to the new 120-day decision timelines.

• Notification that a Matter before the Ontario Municipal Board may adversely affect a Provincial Interest
  • The Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing has the authority to declare a provincial interest for appeals made on official plans, zoning bylaws and “holding” bylaws, regardless of when the application was submitted.
  • For the purposes of this authority, a “hearing” starts when the hearing on the merits is commenced and does not include a pre-hearing conference or other pre-hearing event.

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This InfoSheet was developed to assist participants in the land-use planning process in understanding the Strong Communities (Planning Amendment) Act, 2004.  The information in the InfoSheet should not be relied upon as a substitute for specialized legal or professional advice in connection with any particular matter.  It is recommended that independent legal or professional advice be obtained when considering ongoing planning applications and determining the effect of the Strong Communities (Planning Amendment) Act, 2004.

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For more information contact:

Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing
Provincial Planning and Environmental Services Branch
Tel: (416) 585-6014

Municipal Services Offices:

Central (Toronto) (416) 585-6226 or 1-800-668-0230
Southwest (London) (519) 873-4020 0r 1-800-265-4736
East (Kingston) (613) 548-4304 or 1-800-267-9438
Northeast (Sudbury) (705) 564-0120 or 1-800-461-1193
Northwest (Thunder Bay) (807) 475-1651 or 1-800-465-5027

 

ISBN 0-7794-7460-0
© Queen’s Printer for Ontario, 2004