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Renfrew County receives update on More Homes Built Faster and More Homes for Everyone Act

By myFM News/Oldies 107.7 staff Jan 31, 2023 | 4:59 AM

The County of Renfrew has received an update on the More Homes Built Faster Act (Bill 23) and the More Homes for Everyone Act (Bill 109). County staff have not received any formal information as to how the legislation will impact the County of Renfrew, but say they support the Province’s goal to increase housing supply and to reduce the time and cost it takes to build new homes.

Bonnechere Valley Mayor Jennifer Murphy encouraged local municipalities to engage with the County of Renfrew planning department to go through the potential impacts of Bill 23 and Bill 109.

Bill 109, the More Homes for Everyone Act, would implement financial penalties on municipalities in the form of application refunds if applications under the planning act were not processed within a specific time period. Volunteers made up of local municipal staff and some local planning consultants formed a working group to discuss the impacts of Bill 109 and come up with solutions.

A report presented to County Council on January 25th, 2023, highlights a few impacts of Bill 23 for Renfrew County and local municipalities. The Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) says provisions of the bill that advance and modernize Ontario’s land use planning framework are supported, but those that turn back the clock on planning, access to affordable housing, environmental protection, green building practices, and sustainable infrastructure financing are not supported and should be removed from the Bill or deferred pending focused consultation.

Renfrew County Highlights from the More Homes Built Faster Act – Bill 23

Development Charges

  • The Bill exempts affordable housing from development charges. As a provider of affordable housing, any units developed by the County would be exempt from local Development Charges. There is also now a cap on increases and phase in of Development Charges. In addition, municipalities with Development Charges will be required to spend at least 60% of Development Charge reserves.

Third-Party Appeals

  • No one other than the applicant, the municipality, certain public bodies, and the Minister will be allowed to appeal minor variance or consent decisions.

Third-Residential Units

  • The Bill introduces “as of right” zoning to permit up to three residential units per lot, with no minimum unit sizes, in all areas that are serviced by municipal water/sewer. New units built under this permission would be exempt from Development Charges and parkland requirements, and no more than one additional parking space can be required.

Subdivision Approvals

  • Public meetings will no longer be required for applications for approval of a draft plan of subdivision.

Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT)

  • The Tribunal will have increased powers to order costs against a party which loses a hearing at the Tribunal. The Tribunal is being given increased power to dismiss appeals for undue delay.

Site Plan Control

  • Developments of up to 10 residential units are exempted from site plan control. Architectural details and landscape design aesthetics are removed from the scope of site plan control. County staff say this change will have a significant impact to Renfrew County municipalities and rural municipalities across Ontario. Site plan control is the preferred “tool” to ensure that development along waterfront in particular is implementing best practices regarding septic systems, lot grading/drainage, erosion and sediment control, and vegetative buffers. Both the Provincial Policy Statement and the Official Plan contain policies for the protection of the water quality of the lakes and rivers in the County. Without the ability to use site plan control, municipalities will need to use combinations of alternative methods to achieve these goals such as: site alteration by-laws, tree cutting by-laws, development agreements, or looking at implementing a Community Development Permit System.

Parkland Dedication

  • One change that will affect local municipalities is that no developer can identify land that they intend to provide for parkland, and if there is a disagreement, the municipality would need to appeal to the OLT. In addition, encumbered (i.e. subject to easements) parkland can be included as land to be dedicated to the municipality. Municipalities will also be required to spend or allocate 60% of parkland reserve funds at the start of each year.

Conservation Authorities

  • Clear limits are proposed on what Authorities are permitted to comment on as part of the planning approvals process, which will keep their focus on natural hazards and flooding.

If Bill 23 would have been in place in 2022, the City of Pembroke would have lost over $42,000 of the $115,000 collected for development charges. AMO estimates that development charges in Ontario’s 29 largest communities will drop by at least $5.1 billion – or $569 million per year as the result of Bill 23.

(written by: Rudy Kadlec)