Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutPD 11-06 Ii\) r'¡, 2 Vir.... Ciú¡ o~ REPORT TO EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Report Number: PO 11-06 Date: February 13, 2006 From: Neil Carroll Director, Planning & Development Subject: Bill 51 - Amendments to the Planning Act and the Conservation Land Act First Reading Ontario Municipal Board and Planning Act Reforms EBR Registration Number AF05EOO01 Recommendation: 1. That Pickering Council RECEIVE and ENDORSE Report PO 11-06 on Bill 51, an Act to amend the Planning Act and the Conservation Land Act and to make related amendments to other Acts, EBR Registration Number AF05EOO01. That the City Clerk SUBMIT the following comments to the Environmental Bill of Rights registry respecting Bill 51 (Registration Number AF05EOO01): 2. (a) The City of Pickering is supportive of the direction of Bill 51, including elements that give more authority to municipalities and increase local control over development; (b) The requirement to host a public open house, for all development applications, as proposed through amendments to Sections 17 and 34, is unnecessary and will add additional time and cost to the application review process; and 3. (c) The requirement to update official plans should apply to all municipalities that currently have an official plan and not be limited to those as set out in Subsection 17(13). That the City Clerk FORWARD a copy of Report PO 11-06 to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. Executive Summary: Bill 51, an Act to amend the Planning Act and the Conservation Land Act and to make related amendments to other Acts, received its first reading on December 15, 2005. Bill 51 proposes changes to certain aspects of the planning process, including changes to the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) process. Bill 51 is the proposed implementation to the Discussion Papers the Province released in June 2004 on Planning Reform. City Council provided comments on these Planning Reforms on June 26, 2004. Also, City Council endorsed the recommendations of the GTA Task Force on OMB Reform on April 7, 2004. Staff are pleased with the direction of Bill 51 as many aspects of previous comments and recommendations of the Task Force and City Council have been incorporated. Report PO 11-06 Date: February 13, 2006 Subject: Bill 51 - Amendments to the Planning Act and the Conservation Land Act Page 2 O,rJ3 . {..." It is recommended that the Province be advised that the City of Pickering is supportive of the general direction of Bill 51 as it provides additional authority to municipalities and increases local control over development. Concern should be expressed to the Province on the proposed statutory requirement to host an open house in addition to the currently required public information meeting, and the requirement that only prescribed municipalities must update their official plan. This is the first reading of Bill 51 and comments may be made to the Environmental Bill of Rights Registry until February 26,2006. A copy of Bill 51 is available at the Planning & Development Department. Financial Implications: There are no direct financial implications to the City at this time. However, should Bill 51 pass into law as currently proposed, there will be financial implications to the municipality in the following areas: . increase in staff resources necessary to host the required Open House meetings; . increase cost should Council establish a local appeal board to hear appeals related to decisions to the Committee of Adjustment; and, . significant cost to update the City's zoning by-law to conform with the official plan. Background: 1.0 Introduction The Province is undertaking a review of planning and development in Ontario. As part of this review the Province, in June 2004, issued three discussion papers on planning reform initiatives being: Planning Act Reform and Implementation Tools; Ontario Municipal Board Reform; and, Provincial Policy Statement: Draft Policies. City staff reviewed these initiatives and provided comment in Report PO 31-04 in July 2004, and City Council forwarded comments to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. The City also provided comments on OMB reform when Council endorsed the results of the GT A Task Force on OMB reform on April 7, 2004. Bill 51 represents the second phase of planning reform. The first phase of planning reform was the introduction of the Strong Communities Act (Bill 26), the 2005 Provincial Policy Statements, and the Greenbelt Plan. Or-¡'ll ' (.., Report PO 11-06 Date: February 13, 2006 Subject: Bill 51 - Amendments to the Planning Act and the Conservation Land Act Page 3 1.1 1.2 Planning Act Reform Bill 51 proposing changes to the Planning Act in terms of both policy changes and processing changes. The proposed changes include the following: . Introduces a new provincial interest being the promotion of development that is designed to be sustainable, to support public transit and to be oriented to pedestrians. . Requires that municipal and provincial planning decisions and documents be consistent with and conform with the provincial policy statements and provincial plans that are in existence when the decisions are made. . Requires municipalities at a minimum of every five years to update their official plan to ensure it conforms with provincial plans, have regard to provincial interest and be consistent with provincial policy statements. . Requires municipalities at a minimum of three years after the required revision to the official plan to amend the zoning by-laws to ensure that they conform with the official plan. . Clarifies that municipalities are permitted to regulate both minimum and maximum density and building height. . Requires that, in addition to the municipality hosting a public meeting on certain Planning Act applications, it must also host at least one open house prior to the public meeting. . Permits municipalities to have greater control over the exterior design of buildings as part of the site plan approval process. The design characteristics include the character, scale, appearance and design features of buildings and their sustainable design. In order for the municipality to address these design issues the municipality must first adopt official plan policies and site plan control by-law requirements. . Permits municipalities through subdivision applications to require applicant to dedicate to municipalities, at no charge, not only land for highways but also' pedestrian pathways, bicycle pathways and public transit right-of-ways. . Other changes include the ability for the municipality to require pre-application consultation; to specify what forms a complete application; limiting the appeal rights for accessory apartments; and, increasing the scope of community improvement plans. OMB Reform Bill 51 is proposing numerous changes to the Planning Act that will affect the role that the OMB has on planning decisions. The proposed changes include the following: . Requiring the OMB to have regard to any decision made by a municipal councilor by an approval authority. . Requires that appeals be based on material/information that was available and before the municipal council at the time the council made its decision. Report PO 11-06 Date: February 13, 2006 Subject: Bill 51 - Amendments to the Planning Act and the Conservation Land Act Page 4 02.5 . If new information/material is permitted to be presented at an OMB hearing due to special circumstances, the OMB will determine if this new information would have had an impact on the council decision, and if this is the case, the OMB may adjourn the hearing and allow the municipal council an opportunity to review the new information/material and reconsider its decision. . Confirms that only persons who made oral or written representation on the application are permitted to file an appeal and may restrict adding new parties to a hearing. . Restricts appeals for amendments to official plans and zoning by-law amendments involving the reduction of designated areas for employment. . Appeals to Ministers Zoning Orders may be restricted if the Minister is of the opinion that all or any part of the change adversely affects matters of provincial interest. . Allows municipalities the option to establish a local appeal body that could hear appeals related to decisions of the Committee of Adjustment and the land Division Committee. . Allows the OMB to dismiss an appeal without a hearing if it is determined the appellant has persistently and without reasonable grounds commenced an appeal. 1.3 Conservation Land Act Reform Bill 51 proposes changes to the Conservation Land Act in terms of providing a wide range of basis for conservation easements. The proposed changes include the following: . Conservation easements are expanded to include protection of water quality and quantity, watershed protection and management and further purposes as may be added by provincial regulation. 2.0 Discussion Bill 51 the Planning and Conservation Land Statute Law Amendment Act, proposes to modify some of the land use planning process and provide additional tools to implement provincial policies. These initiatives are to support sustainable development, create a more transparent land use planning process, provide for more municipal control of the decision making process, provide municipalities increased control over development design, and make reforms to the OMB. With respect to the Planning Act reforms, a number of the proposed changes deal with issues/subject matters that are already being dealt with in Pickering. These include the requirement for more sustainable development and the consideration for accessory dwelling units. The overall vision and direction of Bill 51 is strongly supported. 02 6Heport PO 11-06 Date: February 13, 2006 Subject: Bill 51 - Amendments to the Planning Act and the Conservation Land Act Page 5 Certain aspects of Bill 51 are of significant interest to the City and will warrant more detailed investigation as the Bill proceeds. Significant elements of the Bill are highlighted for Council's information. Section 2.1 to 2.5 inclusive, of this report, outline aspects of the Bill that are of specific interest to the City and that warrant more detailed investigation as the legislation proceeds. Sections 2.6 and 2.7 discuss aspects of the Bill that are of concern to Staff. 2.1 Sustainable Development Bill 51 provides for new planning rules and planning tools to facilitate intensification, brownfield redevelopment, sustainable development, and environmentally sound community/design features. The strengthening of the legislation related to sustainable development is welcomed, as it would allow the municipality to achieve an even greater level of sustainable development. The proposed legislation will provide municipalities with greater control to regulate density and the character and scale of development, all of which will give the City greater control over design matters. This is a positive change to the Planning Act and if passed will need to be explored further in order to develop implementation tools and standards to apply in new development. 2.2 Urban Design Under the existing Planning Act the City has only limited control over the exterior design of buildings. Bill 51 is proposing to give municipalities additional powers as part of the site plan approval process. The City will have the ability to comment on matters related to exterior design, including the character, scale, appearance and design features of buildings, and their sustainable design. In order to address exterior design as proposed the City must include related design polices in the official plan. This change would allow the City greater control in the site plan approval process, which will permit the City to achieve a higher level of urban design. The objective to strive for a greater degree of sustainable design is aligned with current City initiatives. 2.3 Conservation Land Act The proposed changes to the Conservation Land Act enhance the usability of conservation easements to protect water quality and quantity, including the protection of drinking water sources and watershed protection and management. The provisions in the proposed legislation enhance environmental conservation by improving the use of conservation easements as a tool to support the long-term stewardship and protection of agricultural lands, natural heritage areas and watershed features on private lands. Report PO 11-06 Date: February 13, 2006 Subject: Bill 51 - Amendments to the Planning Act and the Conservation Land Act Page 6 f) r"), 7 If(..,, The proposed changes are supportive as they provide additional clarity as to the purpose of conservation easements, including explicitly permitting use of conservation easements for agricultural purposes. The absence of clarity on whether the Conservation land Act enabled conservation easements for agricultural purposes was one of the factors that the City had to consider when dealing with a court action associated with the agricultural easements that the City held. A conservation easement is a restriction, registered on the title to a property, which protects important natural features on that property by limiting development and/or restricting certain land uses for the term of the easement. 2.4 Updating Official Plan and Zoning By-laws Currently, the City is to undertake a review of the official plan every five years to determine the need for a revision to the plan. Bill 51 will require the City to revise the official plan at least every five years to ensure it conforms to provincial plans, have regard to matters of provincial interest and be consistent with the Provincial Policy Statements. The five year review shall also consider polices for employment lands as these polices must be confirmed or amended. The zoning by-law is also required to be updated no later than three years after the updating of the official plan. The update is to ensure the zoning by-law conforms to the updated official plan, thereby conforming to provincial plans, matters of provincial interest, and the Provincial Policy Statements. This need for updating of the zoning by-law could result in the City undertaking a comprehensive zoning by-law review to bring the zoning by-law up to date with the official plan. This would result in a significant undertaking for the City that would impact staff's work program, would demand allocation of significant staff resources, and impact the department workload and budget. The financial impact will require further review if this requirement is approved into law. Municipal Appeal Body 2.5 Bill 51 will allow municipalities to establish a local appeal body that would hear appeals to decisions of the Committee of Adjustment and the land Division Committee. The constitution of a local appeal body would be subject to certain criteria that have not yet been released by the Province. Appointees to a local appeal body cannot be members of Councilor City staff. local appeal bodies must operate in the same fashion that the OMB does as they will have all the powers of the OMB in dealing with the appeals that they hear. The establishment of a local appeal body is not mandatory, but is optional. This option would need to be further investigated should it become legislation. If established, a local appeal body would allow for more local decision making which is a good option especially for residents and local neighbourhood dispute. f\.'¡r;....g \lL (.., . . Report PO 11-06 Date: February 13, 2006 Subject: Bill 51 - Amendments to the Planning Act and the Conservation Land Act Page 7 The creation of a local appeal body may drive some development away from the Committee of Adjustment venue as the development industry may choose the rezoning process for its applications to ensure an appeal to the OMB is still an option. The administration, functioning and cost of operating the local appeal body would be the responsibility of the City. This will place demands on the City's financial and staff resources to perform all the administrative duties required for a local appeal body. The establishment of a local appeal body will require further investigation, should it be adopted by the Province, to determine whether it is appropriate for the City to take advantage of this option. If the City chooses not to set up a local appeal body, then the OMB would continue to hear all appeals. 2.6 Public Open House The requirement to advertise and host an open house a minimum of seven days prior to the statutory public meeting is not supported. This requirement to advertise and host two meetings for: official plan amendments and rezoning applications should not be mandated by legislation as it will require more application administration processing. The intent of the legislation is understandable, however, given the City's current process it is not necessary to be incorporated into legislation. For complex or significant applications/issues, the City already hosts information meetings and/or neighbourhood meetings. To require this process for all applications, even the less complex applications, is considered unnecessary. The City's current statutory public meetings are run on a somewhat informal basis and are flexible to ensure that there is ample opportunity for exchange of information. The hosting of two formal meetings on applications that come before the City would not be the most efficient use of municipal resources and could result in a delay in the processing of applications. The City could consider how its public information meetings are conducted to further improve the delivery of information. 2.7 Require Municipalities to Prepare an Official Plan Given that the thrust of the proposed legislation is to provide greater planning control to local municipalities, there should be a requirement for all growth municipalities in southern Ontario to prepare an official plan. Currently legislation requires that only the prescribed municipalities referred to in Subsection 17(13) of the Planning Act have an official plan. The prescribed municipalities include upper tier municipalities of southern Ontario and certain single tier municipalities. Some municipalities, other than those prescribed, have opted to prepare official plans. It is recommended that all growth municipalities of southern Ontario be required to have an official plan and to update the plan. Report PO 11-06 Date: February 13, 2006 Subject: Bill 51 - Amendments to the Planning Act and the Conservation Land Act Page 8 029 Prepared By: Approved I Endorsed By: ROS&RP~ Principal Planner - Development Review lynda Taylor, MCIP, PP Manager, Development Review RP:jf Copy: Chief Administrative Officer Division Head, Corporate Projects & Policy Recommended for the consideration of Pickering Cit/ Council , ~. .I'