Summary#

Bill 185, the Cutting Red Tape to Build More Homes Act, 2024, amends 15 existing Ontario laws, including the Planning Act, the Development Charges Act, 1997 and municipal laws. It was enacted as Chapter 16 of Ontario’s 2024 statutes, though some provisions require a later proclamation to take effect. Its stated goal is to streamline approvals and reduce costs so more homes can be built; that goal is not a guaranteed result.

• Municipalities may adopt policies to allocate water and sewage capacity among approved developments. If they do, an assigned officer, employee or agent makes decisions under the policy, and those decisions are final.
• The Act limits required parking near certain transit stations, narrows who can appeal some planning decisions, and changes how applicants and municipalities can ask the Ontario Land Tribunal to settle disputes about required application materials.
• Some site-plan approvals may be given expiry dates; draft subdivision approvals must have expiry dates, subject to regulations. A building permit issued before expiry prevents a site-plan approval from lapsing.
• Municipalities may be authorized by regulation to give specified businesses financial or other assistance to attract investment. The assistance could include exemptions from levies, charges or fees.
• The Act also changes rules for development charges, certain post-secondary institution projects, Peel’s municipal restructuring, and several other laws. Some of these changes are technical or apply only if regulations are made.

What it means for you#

• People proposing development: Municipalities must allow applicants to consult before submitting certain planning applications, but cannot require that consultation. Applicants or the municipality may ask the Tribunal to decide whether required materials were provided or whether a materials requirement is reasonable.
• People appealing planning decisions: Some appeals are limited to specified people or public bodies that made submissions before the decision, plus registered owners of affected land who made submissions. Some existing appeals by people who no longer qualify were deemed dismissed, unless a stated exception applied.
• Residents and property owners near transit: In specified areas, official plans and zoning by-laws cannot require most buildings to provide and maintain vehicle parking. Bicycle parking is not covered by this restriction. Other areas and parking limits may be set by regulation.
• Municipalities: They may choose to create water and sewage allocation policies, including rules about assigning, withdrawing and reallocating capacity. The Minister may exempt developments from some or all of such a policy.
• Some universities and colleges: Undertakings for the objects of publicly assisted universities and their federated or affiliated institutions are exempt from the Planning Act and certain Toronto requirements, except on Greenbelt land. Other exemptions—for certain homes or community service facilities—depend on regulations.
• Residents generally: The Act does not itself guarantee that more homes will be built, or that water and sewage capacity will be available for a particular project.

Money#

No cost information is in the available material.

• Municipalities may be able to include certain study costs and the cost of a development-charge background study in development charges. This does not itself set a charge or require an increase.
• Regulations may authorize municipal assistance to specified businesses, including exemptions from levies, charges or fees. The material gives no estimate of any resulting lost revenue.
• The Act does not provide a cost estimate for staffing, administration, enforcement or savings.

What is unclear#

• The supplied material does not include the full parent Acts or current consolidated laws, so the changes could not be checked against current law beyond the descriptions in the bill material.
• Some provisions require regulations or a proclamation. The material does not establish which of these later steps have occurred.
• The bill does not set the details of municipal water and sewage allocation policies, or explain how affected people can challenge an allocation decision.
• The bill does not give the expiry periods for approvals where those periods are to be set by regulation.
• The material does not explain the scale or conditions of any business assistance, or how it would be funded.

Case for#

• The bill appears intended to reduce delays and uncertainty in planning and development approvals, including by letting disputes about application materials go to the Tribunal.
• Expiry dates for some approvals could encourage projects to move ahead rather than leave approvals open indefinitely.
• Parking restrictions near transit could allow more flexibility in how land is used.
• Allowing municipalities to allocate water and sewage capacity could help them track available capacity and set criteria for approved projects.

Case against#

• Narrower appeal rights may reduce opportunities for people who are not specified appellants to challenge planning decisions.
• Some allocation decisions must be final, but the bill does not set out an appeal route or detailed decision rules for those decisions.
• The bill gives government and municipalities powers to exempt projects from rules or provide business assistance, while leaving important conditions to later regulations.
• Allowing study costs in development charges could affect charges paid by development applicants, but the bill does not estimate the effect.