Adjustments for More Homes Built Faster Act (Bill 23)

Official Plan Amendment 32 and Zoning By-law Amendment Z-05-23

Over the past two years, the Province made a series of amendments to the Planning Act, Ontario Heritage Act, Conservation Authorities Act and Development Charges Act through Bill 109 and 23. These changes impact the planning processes in the following topic areas:

• Residential Development – encouraging more efficient use of land by introducing additional residential units ‘as of right’ for specific residential uses, restrictions on Site Plan Control for certain types of residential development, changing the planning review process to try to streamline housing approvals.
• Environmental Considerations – including changes to the role of Conservation Authorities in the planning review process including limiting the scope of their review and restrictions to the programs/services provided to the Municipality.
• Development Charges and Municipal Infrastructure – with the upcoming subdivision development, some municipal infrastructure may be “front-ended” by a developer, which means that a developer will undertake the infrastructure works that are identified in the Development Charges By-law but the works are ahead of the Municipality’s long term plan.
• The Municipality has also completed a population and employment projection to the year of 2048 (with 5-, 15- and 25-years intervals). This guiding document will inform all strategic planning projects, including the Water Wastewater Master Plan, Transportation Master Plan and these amendments to the Official Plan.
• Other amendments are also proposed as part of Official Plan Amendment 32 including a review and update of how density is calculated, the introduction of new forms of housing including back-to-back townhomes and stacked townhomes to address the issue of the “Missing Middle Housing” and updating policies related to infill to ensure that it is compatible with existing neighbourhoods while still providing much needed housing options for our community. In addition, the Official Plan will be updated to reflect current notification options such as email notices, website updates and social media ads for planning applications.