Ford government proposes redesignation of protected land as “settlement areas”
On October 25, 2022, the Government of Ontario proposed Bill 23, the More Homes Built Faster Act, 2022. The Bill proposes significant changes to several of Ontario’s building and land acts. If passed, it could provide faster access to homes amidst growing costs of living and population growth, but it also may put certain environmental conservation efforts at risk.
The act would make it easier for homeowners to change the number of residential dwellings on their property, without needing to rezone the land up to three dwelling units. It would encourage higher residential density around “major transit station areas,” as approved by the minister. Bill 23 would also remove the requirement for certain public meetings for draft plans of new subdivisions. All these changes suggest the move toward a streamlined process for increasing residential dwelling units across the province, but they also minimize the community’s ability to discuss and impact the development process. The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing hopes the Bill will offer “positive … impacts on the land development and construction industry and homeowners.”
Outside of the Toronto core, Bill 23 plans to “re-enact provisions that are not yet in force but would limit conservation authority (CA) appeals of land use planning decisions. CAs would continue to be able to appeal matters where they are the applicant. When acting as a public body, CAs would only be able to appeal with respect to matters related to natural hazard policies in provincial policy statements.” In other words, the Bill would make it more difficult for CAs to appeal land changes.
This limitation on conservation authorities in the province will not only mean that CA permits are no longer required in all cases, but they may also be prohibited from entering into agreements with municipalities when developing land and building plans. Bill 23 proposes to remove the Provincial Policy Statement, which would remove and/or streamline the protections currently in place for Ontario’s farm and conservation land. Critics say the Bill would make it more difficult for Ontario’s 36 conservation authorities to collaborate, taking significant steps backward from the past two years of the Conservation Authority Working Group that the Ministry led.
Further, the Bill proposes to redesignate some of the Greenbelt’s land. It plans to remove 7,400 acres from the Greenbelt for home construction while designating the same area of the Urban River Valley, and 2,000 acres from the Paris Galt Moraine Lands to the protected Greenbelt. The Bill also plans to redesignate the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan Area as a “Settlement Area.”
If Bill 23 passes, developers and landowners would have faster access to developing their land, possibly at the cost of community deliberation and environmental protections.
Guelph’s city council voiced its opposition to the Bill on November 22, with Mayor Cam Guthrie referring to the Bill as “just very, very disappointing.” Demonstrations against Bill 23 have already begun with a protest at Queen’s Park on November 18. More demonstrations have been scheduled across the province throughout November.
