Minister Calandra
Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing
17th Floor
777 Bay St.
Toronto, ON M7A 2J3
Minister Calandra,
We write to note our serious concerns with one particular impact of Bill 185: Cutting Red Tape to Build More Homes Act 2024.
Bill 185 came into force on June 6, 2024. One of its provisions is to limit the ability for appeals at the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT); third-party appeals are no longer allowed, a significant shift from the current practice that allows residents of Ontario to raise concerns with developments at the OLT.
The Glebe Community Association (GCA) had filed an appeal with the OLT concerning the Lansdowne 2.0 development and had received a hearing date. This date was subsequently rescinded after Bill 185 came into force.
Meanwhile, the GCA has expensed considerable funds to make their case at the OLT and will simply lose this money given the retroactive impact of Bill 185.
Minister, some might claim the GCA’s decision to appeal the Lansdowne 2.0 development confirms why third-party OLT appeals are a problem. They argue OLT appeals of this nature thwart the expansion of homes in a housing crisis.
Recommendations 26-31 of Ontario’s Housing Affordability Task Force suggests options to “...to weed out or prevent appeals aimed purely at delaying projects, allow adjudicators to award costs to proponents in more cases, including instances where a municipality has refused an approval to avoid missing a legislated deadline, reduce the time to issue decisions, increase funding, and encourage the Tribunal to prioritize cases that would increase housing supply quickly as it tackles the backlog.”
You will note, however, that the Task Force never recommended the elimination of third party appeals to the OLT. This is an extreme measure that silences community voices, while maintaining the right for developers to appeal to the OLT.
Moreover, the GCA has supported the suspension of third party appeals to the OLT over affordable housing projects. Their concerns with Lansdowne 2.0 (which has zero affordable housing units) was the loss of urban greenspace.
With Bill 185, the government is looking to deliver on a target established by Ontario’s Housing Affordability Task Force: 1.5 million new homes in the next ten years. This is a worthy and important goal.
Still, that cannot come at the expense of a democratic planning at a local level. As we ramp up efforts to create affordable and accessible homes, we must ensure residents are included in the design of our communities. Their voices matter.
At a minimum, we would ask your government to compensate community groups for costs with OLT appeals that have been retroactively denied in the weeks after Bill 185 came into force.
Of greater concern, however, are the fundamental legal rights that Bill 185 takes away from community voices. MPP Harden has asked researchers at the Ontario Legislative Library to render an opinion on the legality of this decision.
We thank you for reading this letter and await your response.
Regards,
|
Joel Harden MPP for Ottawa Centre
Shawn Menard City Councillor for Capital Ward |
