Whereas on March 4, 2021, Bill 257, Supporting Broadband and Infrastructure Expansion Act, 2021 (the “Act”) received first reading; and,
Whereas Schedule 3 of the Act proposes to amend Section 47 of the Planning Act to provide that Minister’s Zoning Orders (MZOs) are not required to be consistent with the Provincial Policy Statement (PPS) and that existing MZOs did not have to be consistent with the PPS, and specifies that the proposed amendment would not apply to lands within the Greenbelt Area; and,
Whereas the Ministry also issued an Environmental Registry of Ontario proposal (ERO) request specifically for comments on the legislative changes related to MZOs proposed in Schedule 3 of the Act and requested comments prior to the April 3, 2021 deadline; and,
Whereas, the ERO posting states the intent of this legislative change is to allow the Minister to take other considerations into account when making decisions to support strong communities, which would ensure that the Minister, acting at their discretion, has the authority to support and expedite the delivery of government priorities, including transit-oriented communities, affordable housing, long-term care homes and strategic economic recovery projects by removing potential barriers and delays; and,
Whereas Markham City Council supports appropriate Provincial initiatives to streamline the development process; and,
Whereas The Planning Act provides for a land use system that is led by Provincial policy and provides the authority for the Minister to issue policy statements to address matters of Provincial interest and requires that planning decisions made by the council of a municipality, a local board, a planning board, a minister of the Crown and a ministry, board, commission or agency of the government, including the Tribunal shall be consistent with the PPS; and,
Whereas in removing the requirement for MZOs to be consistent with the PPS, the concern is that MZOs that are not consistent with the PPS will be used to achieve certain types of priority development at the expense of other equally important PPS principles such as environmental protection; and,
Whereas no other criteria have been identified for approval of MZOs if they do not comply with the PPS;
Now therefore be it resolved that:
- The City of Markham does not support the proposed changes to the Planning Act in Bill 257 to provide that Minister’s Zoning Orders are not required, and are deemed to never have been required, to be consistent with Provincial Policy Statements and recommend that Schedule 3 of Bill 257 be removed; and,
- The Province be requested to provide criteria by which MZOs will be approved if not consistent with the PPS; and further,
- A copy of this resolution be provided to the Premier of Ontario, the Standing Committee of General Government, the Minister of Infrastructure, the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Markham MPPs, the Regional Municipality of York, all municipalities within York Region, and the Association of Municipalities of Ontario.