Today, the Province is kicking off the consultation period for its proposed changes to the Provincial Policy Statement (PPS). These changes are part of the government's "More Homes, More Choice: Ontario's Housing Supply Action Plan". The proposed changes to the PPS address five areas:
- Encouraging the development of an increased mix and supply of housing
- Protecting the environment and public safety
- Reducing barriers and costs for development and provide greater predictability
- Supporting rural, northern and Indigenous communities
- Supporting the economy and job creation
The draft policies included proposals that would:
- Increase the planning horizon for municipalities from 20 to 25 years
- Add flexibility to the process for settlement area boundary expansions or adjustments
- Require transit-supportive development and prioritize intensification, including potential air rights development, in proximity to transit, including corridors and stations
- Require municipalities to take action to fast-track development applications for housing proposals
- Provide stronger protection for major facilities such as manufacturing and industrial uses where non-employment uses are planned nearby (i.e. buffering uses from new sensitive uses). This includes permitting sensitive uses adjacent to manufacturing or industrial uses only where there is no reasonable alternative location for the proposed sensitive land use
- Permit mineral aggregate extraction in prime agricultural areas and setting conditions under which rehabilitation of the agricultural area is not required
The proposed policies can be found at: https://ero.ontario.ca/notice/019-0279
The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing is collecting written comments from now until October 21, 2019.
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