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“The Building Homes and Improving Transportation Infrastructure Act is the latest step our government is taking to tackle red tape, reduce unnecessary costs and streamline approvals,” said Rob Flack, Ontario Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. “Along with our recent announcements to expand HST relief to all new-home buyers and recognize municipalities that cut their development charges, we’re making it easier for more people in Ontario to afford a home.”
Ontario says the Act will support efforts to eliminate red tape in the homebuilding process by simplifying planning and approval tools, including through municipal official plans, Ontario’s Building Code and site plan control. Measures include:
- Municipal Official Plans, which set out long-term land-use rules to guide future community growth, have become lengthy, complicated and highly restrictive, with varying formats, rules and content. Proposed changes include establishing a standardized table of contents and limiting land use designations so they are easier to navigate;
- Over the years the Building Code has become overly complex and duplicative, with provisions that do not reflect the reality of building in Ontario. In response to this, the government will establish an expert third-party advisory body consisting of engineering, construction, and code specialists to undertake a section-by-section review of the Code, which sets out the minimum standards that new construction must meet;
- Some municipalities leverage site plan control to impose costly enhanced development standards that go beyond what is required for health and safety reasons. The proposed legislation would remove municipal authority to require enhanced development standards. The government will also consult on major structural reforms to site plan control more broadly to deliver faster, more predictable approvals;
- Increasing public transparency by consulting on the disclosure of municipal development charges and other hidden fees in agreements of purchase and sale for new homes;
- Remove development charges from non-profit retirement homes to expand affordable housing options for seniors;
- Expand housing opportunities in hard-to-service remote and/or rural areas by creating a framework to support the adoption of communal water and wastewater systems;
- Reinforce that the new public corporation for water and wastewater in Peel Region will remain in public sector ownership and promote continuity of service by clarifying rules and rights for agreements and employees that are transferred.