Reform minded: Councillors call for limit on OMB jurisdiction

NRU
Aug. 31, 2016
By Geordie Gordon

Calling for Ontario Municipal Board reform ahead of a provincial consultation paper expected this fall, a group of Ontario councillors is again asking the province to limit the jurisdiction of the OMB to questions of law.

Aurora councillor Tom Mrakas launched the initiative earlier this year when he put forward a motion to Aurora council regarding the importance of the province addressing issues concerning both the scope and power of the OMB. Along with councillors from Burlington, Whitby, Welland, Kitchener, Guelph, Georgina, Vaughan, Richmond Hill, Newmarket, Uxbridge, Cambridge and Markham, Mrakas participated in a summit in May that resulted recommendations released yesterday.

First and foremost among the recommendations is the request that when an official plan is appealed, the OMB be required to uphold the municipal council’s decision, unless the decision is found to be contrary to legislation. Mrakas told NRU that the councillors anticipate a fall release of the provincial consultation paper. The group wants to make its position know to the province ahead of the release of the paper so that its recommendation can be taken into account at an early stage in the process.

“[The idea] was to get everyone together, all on the same page, and define that recommendation that we can all agree on, present it to the minister and the province before they initiate their consultation papers so therefore they can take what we do into account... We’re hopeful that [the province does] take a hard and serious look at the recommendation that we put forward,” he said.

The group agreed that that recent changes to the Planning Act, brought about by the Smart Growth for Our Communities Act, including limits on official plan appeals within the first two years of adoption, were a good first step, but do not go far enough in limiting appeals.

A consensus was reached among group members that appeals of council decisions should be strictly limited. Some argued that appeals should not be allowed unless “proponents can demonstrate that the proposed changes to the official plan or zoning by-law fulfill a changing community need or in some way better the community.”

Under those circumstances, if a council found that an application did not improve the community, it would be rejected without the ability to appeal.

The councillors also expressed concern that the current legislative process does not appropriately reflect the complexity of the planning process in most municipalities. They said that decision timelines of 180 days for development proposals is inadequate, saying “[It] is not good planning. This is ineffective and inefficient public planning.”