Provincial Bill 109, More Homes for Everyone Act

Last December, I wrote about the Province's Bill 23, More Homes Built Faster Act and the far-reaching impacts it will have on the City of Toronto. This month, I'm sharing important updates on Bill 109, More Homes for Everyone Act, which was passed last spring and, controversially, received Royal Assent before the end of the public commenting period.
 
Bill 109 undermines local decision-making in the development application process and will potentially give the Ontario Land Tribunal an even bigger role in making the final decision on planning applications in Toronto. The most significant impact of the legislation is that the City will be required to refund development application fees if a final decision is not made within Provincially-prescribed timelines – 120 days for Official Plan Amendment, 90 days for Zoning, and 60 days for Site Plan application.
 
The City will have to refund up to 100% of the fees depending on the length of time it takes City Planning to review and report on, and for City Council to refuse or approve, an application. It is important to note that the timeline is not put on hold while the applicant responds to staff feedback and makes revisions, nor does it account for election periods.

As anyone involved in the planning process will know, these timelines are impractical and will lead to rushed decision-making on incredibly complex development proposals. City staff have warned that due to the time required for an iterative process of internal review, public consultation, and collaboration with the applicant, they may be left with no choice but to prematurely refuse applications—which may indirectly lead to more Ontario Land Tribunal appeals.
 
Staff conducted an analysis of how Bill 109 would have impacted the City from January 1, 2019 to September 30, 2022. They estimate that the City would have only retained approximately 2.3% of the $64.7 million collected in fees for Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendment applications and approximately 1.5% of the $37.8 million collected for Site Plan Control applications. Application fees are not a revenue tool – they are a cost-recovery mechanism.
 
Beyond application fee refunds, Bill 109 will also:

  • Permit the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing (MMAH) to refer official plan amendments to the Ontario Land Tribunal for recommendation or final decision;

  • Allow the Minister to "stop the clock" on the 120-day timeline to review Toronto Official Plans & amendments submitted to his office for approval;

  • Remove the "bump up" provision, meaning that City Councillors can no longer request for Site Plan Control applications to be considered by City Council; and

  • Establish maximum parkland requirements on land designated as transit-oriented community land.

Despite City Council's requests for delay, Bill 109 came into effect as of January 1, 2023 and is expected to have a devastating impact on municipal finances. Last spring, City Council publicly opposed several aspects of the Bill, including application fee refunds. You can read more about City Council's decision, here, and in the initial City staff report, here.
 
Changes to the City Planning Process in Response to Bill 109
 
City Planning has implemented the following changes in order to meet the requirements of Bill 109:

  • Eliminating preliminary reports to Community Council;

  • Implementing mandatory pre-application consultation (PAC);

  • Only reviewing a new application once it has been deemed complete;

  • Hiring 150 new staff positions in the City Planning division;

  • No longer supporting occasional consultations for Site Plan Control applications; and 

  • Grouping community consultation meetings geographically and holding them on set days and times within each district.  

While I understand the difficult position City Planning is in, I am very concerned about any changes that would limit consultation and public participation in the planning process. Along with a minority of my City Council colleagues, I voted to keep preliminary reports as part of the planning process. Preliminary reports provide residents with key application information in a digestible format and present an opportunity to share feedback with Community Council and City staff at an early stage.
 
To ensure that residents continue to have access to important information about new development applications in the absence of preliminary reports, I successfully moved a motion requesting the Chief Planner to improve the Application Information Centre. You can review my motion, here.
 
For more information on changes to the City Planning process due to Bill 109, please review the staff report.

Jaye Robinson