Overview

On April 6, 2023, Ontario introduced legislative changes to the Planning Act through the Helping Homebuyers, Protecting Tenants Act, 2023 ("Bill 97"). These changes amend the definition of "area of employment" to expressly exclude (i) institutional uses, and (ii) commercial uses that are not associated with the manufacturing, research and development, warehousing and goods movement.

On June 21, 2023, the City Planning Division of the City of Toronto held an open house with respect to a City-initiated Official Plan Amendment 668 ("OPA 668"), which responds to the new, more restrictive statutory definition of "area of employment."

Proposed OPA 668 would ensure that existing uses within designated Core Employment Area and General Employment Area lands, which do not comply with the new statutory definition, shall continue to be subject to the City's Employment Area official plan policies.

The Planning and Housing Committee will consider proposed OPA 668 at a statutory public meeting on July 5, 2023, following which City Council will consider the amendment on July 19-21, 2023. The public will have an opportunity to provide oral or written submissions on the proposed amendment.

Bill 97 – Definition of Area of Employment

As previously reported (here), Bill 97, which received royal assent on June 8, 2023, has proposed a change to the definition of "area of employment" in the Planning Act.

Prior to Bill 97, "area of employment" was defined as lands designated in an official plan for clusters of business and economic uses including (but not limited to) manufacturing uses, warehousing uses, office uses, associated retail uses and ancillary facilities. Bill 97 creates a more restrictive definition which expressly excludes institutional and commercial uses.

As of the date of this bulletin, the amended definition has not yet been proclaimed into force. The definition of "area of employment" is consistent with the proposed definition of "employment area" contained in the draft Provincial Planning Statement, 2023 ("PPS 2023"), which was released by the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing contemporaneously with the first reading of Bill 97 and is currently subject to a consultation period that is running until August 4, 2023 (for a summary of the draft PPS 2023, click here).

Although the definition of "area of employment" in Bill 97 is not yet in force, the City of Toronto has proposed OPA 668 to add two new policies (i.e., policies 4.6.1.1 and 4.6.3.1) that would authorize the continuation of those uses which would be excluded on the basis of the Bill 97 definition, provided that these uses are already lawfully established.1 The proposed policies in OPA 668 can be summarized as follows:

Pursuant to subsections 1(1.1) and (1.2) of the Planning Act, uses in Core Employment Areas and uses in General Employment Areas that do not conform with the definition of "area of employment" as identified in the Planning Act as:

  • Manufacturing uses;
  • Uses related to research and development in connection with manufacturing anything;
  • Warehousing uses, including uses related to the movement of goods;
  • Retail uses and office uses that are associated with manufacturing and warehousing;
  • Facilities that are ancillary to manufacturing and warehousing; and
  • Any other prescribed business and economic uses

are permitted where the use has been lawfully established on the parcel of land before [1 day before subsection 1(1) of Schedule 6 to Bill 97 came into force].

OPA 668 is being advanced pursuant to the statutory transition provisions (proposed subsections 1(1.1) and (1.2) of the Planning Act) that would allow municipalities to put in place official plan policies that authorize the continuation of newly excluded employment uses (i.e., institutional and commercial uses, including retail and office uses not associated with a manufacturing use), provided that these uses are already lawfully established.2

Additional Information

For more information, please find a copy of proposed OPA 668 here and the City Planning Division's presentation on proposed OPA 668 here. It is anticipated that the related staff report will be released by June 28, 2023, one week prior to the July 5 Planning and Housing Committee statutory public meeting.

The Municipal and Land Use Planning Group at Aird & Berlis will continue to monitor the public process for the proposed OPA 668. Please reach out to a member of the group if you have any questions about how these changes may impact you.

Footnotes

1 While City Council will be considering the proposed OPA 668 at its meeting on July 19-21, 2023, proposed OPA 668, if adopted, is not expected to come into force until the new Bill 97 "area of employment" provisions of the Planning Act are proclaimed into force.

2 Planning Act, s. 1(1.1) and (1.2), once proclaimed into force, will provide:

Area of employment

(1.1) An area of land designated in an official plan for clusters of business and economic uses is an area of employment for the purposes of this Act even if the area of land includes one or more parcels of land that are subject to official plan policies authorizing the continuation of a use that is excluded from being a business and economic use under paragraph 2 of the definition of "area of employment" in subsection (1), provided that the use was lawfully established on the parcel of land before the day subsection 1(1) of Schedule 6 to the Helping Homebuyers, Protecting Tenants Act, 2023 came into force.

Same

(1.2) For greater certainty, the official plan policies referred to in subsection (1.1) shall not authorize a use that is excluded from being a business and economic use under paragraph 2 of the definition of "area of employment" in subsection (1) on any parcels of land in the area on which the use was not lawfully established before the day subsection 1(1) of Schedule 6 to the Helping Homebuyers, Protecting Tenants Act, 2023 came into force.

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.