Regulation - Minister
Proposed Amendments to Ontario Regulation 525/97 to Exempt Certain Official Plan Matters from Approval under the Planning Act
Regulation Number(s):
O. Reg. 525/97
Instrument Type:
Regulation - Minister
Bill or Act:
Planning Act
Summary of Decision:
The Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing (MMAH) has amended O. Reg. 525/97 (Exemption from Approval - Official Plan Amendments) under the Planning Act, in order to exempt most official plan amendments of certain municipalities from the requirement to obtain the Minister's approval.
Bill 23, the More Homes Built Faster Act, 2022, made changes to the Planning Act that would mean certain upper-tier municipalities would no longer approve, among other matters, official plans and official plan amendments of their lower-tier municipalities.
On June 6, 2024, Bill 185, the Cutting Red Tape to Build More Homes Act, 2024, received Royal Assent. The Act made changes to the Planning Act to name July 1, 2024 as the date for removal of the land use planning responsibilities for York, Peel, and Halton Regions.
The regulatory amendments to O. Reg. 525/97 exempts most lower-tier municipal official plan amendments from the need for the Minister's approval:
• Halton municipalities - City of Burlington, Town of Halton Hills, Town of Milton, Town of Oakville
• Peel municipalities - City of Brampton, City of Mississauga, Town of Caledon
• York municipalities - City of Markham, City of Richmond Hill, City of Vaughan, Town of Aurora, Town of East Gwillimbury, Town of Georgina, Town of Newmarket, Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville, Township of King
The regulatory amendments mean that the only official plan matters adopted on or after July 1, 2024 in these lower-tier municipalities which would require Minister approval would be: new official plans, amendments adopted in accordance with section 26 of the Planning Act, and amendments addressing policies required in connection with a protected major transit station area.
The Minister retains the authority under the Planning Act to intervene where necessary in order to ensure proposed official plan amendments are consistent with provincial policy.
The Ministry is aware that there are many lower-tier official plan matters, such as site-specific official plan amendments, that the Region has exempted from the need for its approval. These matters will continue to be reviewed and adopted by the lower-tier municipality without an additional level of approval.
For clarity, decisions on land division (plans of subdivision and consents) are legislatively assigned to the lower-tier municipalities effective July 1, 2024 in accordance with changes to the Planning Act made by the More Homes Built Faster Act, 2022.
Proposed exemptions for other municipalities impacted by Bill 23 (i.e., the lower-tier municipalities in Durham Region, Waterloo Region, Niagara Region and Simcoe County) will be subject to further notice and consultation and a separate potential regulatory amendment, coinciding with future government decisions related to the date of proclamation of the Bill 23 changes that will remove planning responsibilities from those upper-tier municipalities.
Bill 23, the More Homes Built Faster Act, 2022, made changes to the Planning Act that would mean certain upper-tier municipalities would no longer approve, among other matters, official plans and official plan amendments of their lower-tier municipalities.
On June 6, 2024, Bill 185, the Cutting Red Tape to Build More Homes Act, 2024, received Royal Assent. The Act made changes to the Planning Act to name July 1, 2024 as the date for removal of the land use planning responsibilities for York, Peel, and Halton Regions.
The regulatory amendments to O. Reg. 525/97 exempts most lower-tier municipal official plan amendments from the need for the Minister's approval:
• Halton municipalities - City of Burlington, Town of Halton Hills, Town of Milton, Town of Oakville
• Peel municipalities - City of Brampton, City of Mississauga, Town of Caledon
• York municipalities - City of Markham, City of Richmond Hill, City of Vaughan, Town of Aurora, Town of East Gwillimbury, Town of Georgina, Town of Newmarket, Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville, Township of King
The regulatory amendments mean that the only official plan matters adopted on or after July 1, 2024 in these lower-tier municipalities which would require Minister approval would be: new official plans, amendments adopted in accordance with section 26 of the Planning Act, and amendments addressing policies required in connection with a protected major transit station area.
The Minister retains the authority under the Planning Act to intervene where necessary in order to ensure proposed official plan amendments are consistent with provincial policy.
The Ministry is aware that there are many lower-tier official plan matters, such as site-specific official plan amendments, that the Region has exempted from the need for its approval. These matters will continue to be reviewed and adopted by the lower-tier municipality without an additional level of approval.
For clarity, decisions on land division (plans of subdivision and consents) are legislatively assigned to the lower-tier municipalities effective July 1, 2024 in accordance with changes to the Planning Act made by the More Homes Built Faster Act, 2022.
Proposed exemptions for other municipalities impacted by Bill 23 (i.e., the lower-tier municipalities in Durham Region, Waterloo Region, Niagara Region and Simcoe County) will be subject to further notice and consultation and a separate potential regulatory amendment, coinciding with future government decisions related to the date of proclamation of the Bill 23 changes that will remove planning responsibilities from those upper-tier municipalities.
Analysis of Regulatory Impact:
No new administrative cost for regulated entities. The changes are intended to cut red tape to build more homes.
Further Information:
Planning Act
Proposal Number:
24-MMAH013
Posting Date:
May 27, 2024
Summary of Proposal:
The Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing (MMAH) is proposing to amend O. Reg. 525/97 (Exemption from Approval - Official Plan Amendments) under the Planning Act, in order to exempt certain municipalities from the requirement to obtain the Minister's approval of most official plan amendments.
Bill 23, the More Homes Built Faster Act, 2022, made changes to the Planning Act that would mean certain upper-tier municipalities would no longer approve, among other matters, official plans and official plan amendments of their lower-tier municipalities.
On April 12, 2024, Bill 185, the Cutting Red Tape to Build More Homes Act, 2024, was introduced. Bill 185 would, if passed, make changes to the Planning Act to name the later of July 1, 2024 and Royal Assent as the date for removal of land use planning responsibilities for York, Peel and Halton Regions.
Under the Planning Act, once these changes come into force, official plan matters of the lower-tier municipalities in upper-tier municipalities without planning responsibilities, would be subject to provincial approval through the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing.
The proposed regulatory amendment to O. Reg. 525/97 would exempt most official plan amendments of the following lower-tier municipalities adopted on or after July 1, 2024 from the need for the Minister's approval:
-Halton municipalities - City of Burlington, Town of Halton Hills, Town of Milton, Town of Oakville
-Peel municipalities - City of Brampton, City of Mississauga, Town of Caledon
-York municipalities - City of Markham, City of Richmond Hill, City of Vaughan, Town of Aurora, Town of East Gwillimbury, Town of Georgina, Town of Newmarket, Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville, Township of King
The proposed regulatory amendments would, if made, mean that the only official plan matters in these municipalities which would require approval would be new official plans, amendments adopted in accordance with section 26 of the Planning Act and amendments addressing policies required in connection with a protected major transit station area. The Minister would retain the authority under the Planning Act to intervene where necessary in order to ensure proposed official plan amendments are in accordance with provincial policy.
The Ministry is aware that there are many official plan matters, such as site-specific official plan amendments, that the Region has exempted from the need for its approval. The province intends that these matters would continue to be reviewed and adopted by the lower-tier municipality without an additional level of approval.
For clarity, decisions on land division (plans of subdivision and consents) would be legislatively assigned to the lower-tier municipalities on July 1, 2024, subject to passage of Bill 185, pursuant to section 70.13 (8) and (9) of the Planning Act.
This said, the Ministry is also seeking feedback on whether there are other official plan matters that should require provincial approval. For example, this could include secondary plans or site-specific official plans that would implement planning objectives such as settlement area boundary expansions.
Proposed exemptions for other municipalities impacted by Bill 23, such as the lower-tier municipalities in Durham Region, Waterloo Region, Niagara Region and Simcoe County, would be subject to further notice and consultation and a separate regulatory amendment, coinciding with future government decisions related to the date of proclamation of the Bill 23 changes that will remove planning responsibilities from those upper-tier municipalities.
Bill 23, the More Homes Built Faster Act, 2022, made changes to the Planning Act that would mean certain upper-tier municipalities would no longer approve, among other matters, official plans and official plan amendments of their lower-tier municipalities.
On April 12, 2024, Bill 185, the Cutting Red Tape to Build More Homes Act, 2024, was introduced. Bill 185 would, if passed, make changes to the Planning Act to name the later of July 1, 2024 and Royal Assent as the date for removal of land use planning responsibilities for York, Peel and Halton Regions.
Under the Planning Act, once these changes come into force, official plan matters of the lower-tier municipalities in upper-tier municipalities without planning responsibilities, would be subject to provincial approval through the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing.
The proposed regulatory amendment to O. Reg. 525/97 would exempt most official plan amendments of the following lower-tier municipalities adopted on or after July 1, 2024 from the need for the Minister's approval:
-Halton municipalities - City of Burlington, Town of Halton Hills, Town of Milton, Town of Oakville
-Peel municipalities - City of Brampton, City of Mississauga, Town of Caledon
-York municipalities - City of Markham, City of Richmond Hill, City of Vaughan, Town of Aurora, Town of East Gwillimbury, Town of Georgina, Town of Newmarket, Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville, Township of King
The proposed regulatory amendments would, if made, mean that the only official plan matters in these municipalities which would require approval would be new official plans, amendments adopted in accordance with section 26 of the Planning Act and amendments addressing policies required in connection with a protected major transit station area. The Minister would retain the authority under the Planning Act to intervene where necessary in order to ensure proposed official plan amendments are in accordance with provincial policy.
The Ministry is aware that there are many official plan matters, such as site-specific official plan amendments, that the Region has exempted from the need for its approval. The province intends that these matters would continue to be reviewed and adopted by the lower-tier municipality without an additional level of approval.
For clarity, decisions on land division (plans of subdivision and consents) would be legislatively assigned to the lower-tier municipalities on July 1, 2024, subject to passage of Bill 185, pursuant to section 70.13 (8) and (9) of the Planning Act.
This said, the Ministry is also seeking feedback on whether there are other official plan matters that should require provincial approval. For example, this could include secondary plans or site-specific official plans that would implement planning objectives such as settlement area boundary expansions.
Proposed exemptions for other municipalities impacted by Bill 23, such as the lower-tier municipalities in Durham Region, Waterloo Region, Niagara Region and Simcoe County, would be subject to further notice and consultation and a separate regulatory amendment, coinciding with future government decisions related to the date of proclamation of the Bill 23 changes that will remove planning responsibilities from those upper-tier municipalities.
Contact Address:
mmahofficialplans@ontario.ca
Effective Date:
July 1, 2024
Decision:
Approved