On September 21, 2020, the Province published notice of a proposed regulation under the Ontario Heritage Act, finally implementing amendments passed as part of Bill 108, the More Homes, More Choice Act, 2019. Both the amended Act and the regulation are to come into force on January 1, 2021. Updates to the Ontario Heritage Tool Kit, a series of guidance documents relied upon by municipalities, professionals and proponents, will follow later this year.
REQUIREMENTS AND PRINCIPLES
The stated objective of the proposed regulation is “to improve provincial direction on how to use the Ontario Heritage Act, provide clearer rules and tools for decision making, and support consistency in the appeals process.” While the requirements appear to reflect current best practices, the goal is to improve process consistency and transparency. However, the highly anticipated list of principles a council must consider when making decisions on specified matters under the Act are brief, do not recognize property owners' interests, and are otherwise extremely broad, potentially leaving the determination as to what has heritage value unpredictable and inconsistent.
EXCEPTIONS TO TIMELINES
The proposed regulation applies the Bill 108 90-day timeline for issuing a notice of intention to designate to an official plan amendment, zoning by-law amendment or plan of subdivision application determined to be complete. However, the draft regulation provides for “new and relevant information” to add up to 270 days to the initial 90-day timeline. If a heritage committee was not consulted during the initial 90 days, a further 90 days is permitted. Acceptable reasons for such failure to consult are not specified. “New and relevant information” can also add 180 days to the 120-day timeline to pass a designation by-law after a notice of intention to designate has been issued, potentially resulting in further delay.
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