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On December 6, 2018, the Ontario Government introduced a bill
entitled "Bill 66 - Restoring Ontario's
Competitiveness Act, 2018" ("Bill
66"). Also introduced at the same time was a proposed
Regulation to the Planning Act, (the
"Act"). Both the proposed
Legislation and the Regulation are posted on the Environmental
Registry of Ontario (ERO #'s 013-4293 and 013-4239,
respectively).
Schedule 10 of Bill 66 proposes the addition of section 34.1 to
the Act, allowing municipalities to pass an
"open-for-business planning by-law" (an "OFB
by-law") pursuant to section 34 of the Act
for "prescribed purposes." While the Act is
silent on what the prescribed purposes are, the ERO identifies that
the purpose of the OFB by-law is to introduce a new development
tool and remove barriers to planning to expedite major business
investments. Additionally, the proposed Regulation is intended to,
if certain prescribed criteria are met, ensure that municipalities
can act quickly to attract businesses seeking development
sites.
As posted on the Environmental Registry of Ontario (ERO #
013-4239), The proposed regulation would also, among other
things:
require confirmation that the proposal is for a new major
employment use;
require evidence that the proposal would meet a minimum job
creation threshold (e.g. 50 jobs for municipalities with a
population of less than 250,000 people, or 100 jobs for
municipalities with a population of more than 250,000 people);
identify the uses of land, buildings or structures that may be
authorized by the tool, such as manufacturing and research and
development, but not residential, commercial or retail as the
primary use;
Procedure:
A municipality may pass an OFB by-law only with ministerial
approval and only when prescribed criteria has been satisfied. An
OFB by-law comes into force 20 days after it has been passed or a
later date if specified by the Minister. Only the Minister may
modify or revoke an OFB by-law before it comes into force.
Afterwards, an OFB by-law may be amended or revoked by by-law
pursuant to section 34 of the Act. Further, OFB by-laws
cannot be appealed to the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal.
Also, except in particular circumstances, section 41 of the
Act which requires site plan approval for development,
would not apply in respect of land that is subject to an
open-for-business planning by-law. Finally "H" provisions
and bonusing provisions will not be applicable.
Exemptions:
OFB by-laws will be exempt from complying with a multitude of
plans, policies and pieces of legislation. Specifically, OFB
by-laws need not comply with the Provincial Policy Statement,
Growth Plan, Official Plans and are exempt from certain provisions
of the Clean Water Act, the Great Lakes Protection
Act, the Green Belt Act, the Lake Simcoe
Protection Act, the Metrolinx Act, the Oak Ridges
Moraine Conservation Act, the Ontario Planning and
Development Act and the Resource Recovery and Circular
Economy Act.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general
guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought
about your specific circumstances.
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