An Official Plan Amendment (OPA) passed at Planning brings the municipality in line with Ontario’s Bill 17, which wants all requirements for development applications to be listed in the Official Plan. 

That means 83 potential application requirements will now be added to the Plan.

Before the legislation was introduced, the County outlined its development application requirements in a separate bylaw. “We’re essentially just moving them from that bylaw to the Official Plan,” said Planning Coordinator Scott Pordham. 

Councillor Phil St-Jean asked about the likelihood that the Minister of Housing, Rob Flack, will reject anything on the list.

“I understand there is associated regulation coming out. And there is the potential for the Minister to say no to this one or that one, but I think that on the whole most of these would be approved if not all,” Mr. Pordham said. 

The province may restrict the enforcement of some studies, including those looking at sun/shadow, wind, urban design, and lighting.

“There’s no way I can support this. It’s just too much,” said Councillor David Harrison. “I don’t care whether it’s legislation. Doesn’t mean I have to support it.”

The consequence of not endorsing the amendment, Mr. Pordham noted, would be that developers could sidestep every study on their way to approval, including hydrogeology, traffic studies, and heritage impact assessments. 

“The municipality would have no grounds to follow through and enforce requirements in order to deem an application complete,” he said. 

Bill 17 also introduces legislation allowing all residential housing developers to defer Development Charges until occupancy. Previously, this deferral was only permitted for rental housing.

The amendment will be sent to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing for approval.