Proclamation of the Building Better Communities and Conserving Watersheds Act, 2017 changes to the land use planning and appeal system

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A recent message from the Agency and Tribunal Relations Branch Ministry of the Attorney General reads:

We are writing to provide an update on the Building Better Communities and Conserving Watersheds Act, 2017, which was passed by the Legislature on December 12, 2017.

In Effect Date

The changes the Act makes to the land use planning and appeal system will come into effect on April 3, 2018, as specified by proclamation.

This includes changes to:

• establish the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (the Tribunal) as the province-wide appeal body for land use planning matters;
• improve the hearing process at the Tribunal;
• establish the Local Planning Appeal Support Centre to provide legal and planning support services to eligible Ontarians for matters before the Tribunal;
• limit the Tribunal’s ability to overturn municipal decisions that adhere to municipal official plans, provincial plans and the Provincial Policy Statement;
• give municipalities more control over local planning, resulting in fewer decisions being appealed; and
• shelter certain major planning decisions from appeal.

These changes are in response to the province-wide consultation undertaken as part of the Ontario Municipal Board Review.

Regulations

To facilitate implementation of the Building Better Communities and Conserving Watersheds Act, 2017, several new and amended regulations have been proposed.

Proposals for the regulations under the Act were posted on Ontario’s Regulatory and Environmental Registries for a 45-day public consultation period from December 7, 2017 to January 21, 2018.

We anticipate providing you with an update on the proposed regulation changes and finalized approach to transition in the near future.

Questions

If you have any questions about the changes to the land use planning and appeal system, please email OMBReview@ontario.ca.

Sincerely,

Laurie Miller, Director
Provincial Planning Policy Branch
Ministry of Municipal Affairs

Mariela Orellana, Director (Acting)
Agency and Tribunal Relations Branch
Ministry of the Attorney General

The message includes the following attachment:

Proclamation of Bill 139