Growth Plan conformity - Process Continues

NRU
Nov. 26, 2014
By Edward LaRusic

Five years after the deadline, conformity amendments for 12 municipal official plans still have not been approved or at least substantially approved by the Ontario Municipal Board.

When the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe was released in 2006, it directed municipalities to bring their official plans into conformity by June 16, 2009. Some municipalities and regions decided to respond with official plan amendments, while others decided to adopt entirely new official plans.

The conformity amendments for Peel Region have been approved and those for the other three GTA regions have been substantially approved after long and difficult Ontario Municipal Board hearings. Meanwhile, the delays in getting regional official plans approved have resulted in many area municipalities either awaiting regional approval, or like Oshawa, delaying their own conformity processes.

In Halton Region, the regional official plan amendment was substantially approved by the board in a February 4, 2014 decision. Waiting in the wings are the towns of Milton and Halton Hills, which Halton Region planning policy manager Dan Tovey said are waiting for regional approval.

“It’s that whole order of operations issue. [Milton and Halton Hills] were behind us, whereas Burlington and Oakville were different because there weren’t any greenfield developments in those [municipalities] so we were able to do their growth plan conformity exercises because they were fully built out. We weren’t dealing with new settlement areas [like we are with Milton and Halton Hills].”

A small proportion of GTA municipalities are still undertaking their growth plan conformity exercises. These include the Township of King, which is in the process of creating a new official plan, and the City of Oshawa.

“We’ll have a growth plan conformity official plan amendment available for circulation to technical agencies by the end of the year,” said Oshawa policy planning services manager Warren Munro. “It wasn’t fair to drop this on a council that was in the midst of an election campaign... The decision was to get everything in order, bring it to a new council and carry it forward.”

The following sets out the status of GTA municipal conformity exercises.

Halton Region

Halton Region - 2009 regional official plan amendment substantially approved by the OMB in a February 4 decision.

Milton - official plan amendment, approved by council June 14, 2010, awaiting regional approval.

Halton Hills - official plan amendment approved by council June 28, 2010, awaiting regional approval.

Burlington - official plan amendment substantially approved by the OMB in a November 25, 2008 decision.

Oakville - 2009 official plan fully approved by the OMB in a May 10, 2011 decision.

Peel Region

Peel Region - 2010 regional official plan amendment fully approved by the OMB in a November 20, 2012 decision.

Brampton - 2010 official plan amendment substantially approved by the OMB in a July 26, 2013 decision.

Mississauga - 2010 official plan substantially approved by the OMB in a November 14, 2012 decision.

Caledon - 2010 official plan amendment approved by the OMB in a November 18, 2013 decision.

York Region

York Region - 2010 regional official plan substantially approved by the OMB in a January 14, 2013 decision. Some issues remain before the divisional court.

Aurora - 2010 official plan fully approved by the OMB in a November 8, 2013 decision.

East Gwillimbury - 2010 official plan substantially approved by the OMB in a July 17, 2014 decision.

Georgina - 2010 official plan amendment substantially approved by the OMB in a November 26, 2013 decision. Outstanding issues to be addressed though next official plan review.

King - to be addressed in a new official plan, which is in progress.

Markham - 2014 official plan approved by York Region council June 12, 2014. Currently under appeal at the OMB.

Newmarket - 2006 official plan approved by York Region council in April, 2008.

Richmond Hill - 2010 official plan substantially approved by the OMB in an August 26, 2014 decision.

Vaughan - 2010 official plan partially approved by the OMB in a June 4, 2014 decision.

Whitchurch-Stouffville - official plan amendments approved by council April 15, 2014, awaiting regional approval.

Durham Region

Durham Region - 2009 regional official plan amendment substantially approved by the OMB in a January 9, 2013 decision.

Ajax - official plan amendments approved by council June 28, 2010. Currently under appeal at the OMB, expected to be substantially in effect in early 2015.

Brock - official plan amendments approved by Durham Region December 28, 2013 and July 2, 2014.

Clarington - partially approved through an official plan amendment approved by the Durham Region January 30, 2014, with remaining work ongoing.

Oshawa - to be addressed in a new official plan, which is in progress.

Pickering - Partially addressed through official plan amendments; one regarding Pickering’s city centre approved by council July 14, 2014 and currently under appeal at the OMB. Further amendments are ongoing.

Scugog - 2009 official plan partially approved by the OMB in an August 1, 2011 decision.

Whitby - official plan amendment approved by council November 7, 2011, and appealed to the OMB.

Uxbridge - status could not be confirmed by deadline.