Fostering Intensification and Complete Communities Across Ontario
Introduction
Last month, the Ontario government unveiled the new Provincial Planning Statement (PPS) set to come into effect on October 20th, 2024. This new PPS merges the existing PPS 2020 and the “A Place to Grow: Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe” into a single, province-wide planning document. The aim is to address housing, development, infrastructure, resource management, and implementation in a cohesive manner, emphasizing five key pillars: generating an appropriate housing supply, making land available for development, providing infrastructure to support growth, balancing housing with natural and agricultural resources, and ensuring effective implementation. This article will review the notable changes introduced by the new PPS and their potential impact on Ontario’s future.
A Vision for a Prosperous, Inclusive, and Resilient Ontario
The PPS 2024 articulates Ontario’s vision for a prosperous, inclusive, and resilient province by streamlining policies and enhancing municipal flexibility. The updated vision aims to provide more homes for all Ontarians and includes the target of at least 1.5 million new homes by 2031, which was introduced in the More Homes, Built Faster: Ontario’s Housing Supply Action Plan 2022–2023. To address this growth, the new policy document targets large and fast-growing municipalities with significant housing demand and introduces key changes such as specific density targets, promoting residential intensification, and simplifying the expansion of settlement area boundaries by removing the need for municipal comprehensive reviews. The goal is to encourage compact and transit-supportive development, which helps reduce urban sprawl and enhances the efficiency of land use. The policy also emphasizes protecting natural resources and agricultural lands, ensuring these areas are preserved amid urban growth. Additionally, it highlights the importance of meaningful engagement with Indigenous communities, recognizing their rights and contributions to land use planning. Overall, these changes aim to create sustainable and complete communities, supporting a high standard of living and ensuring Ontario remains a desirable place to live, work, and visit.
Section 2: Building Homes, Sustaining Strong and Competitive Communities
Section 2 introduces new policy directives on building homes and sustaining strong, competitive communities and is considered a vital section for land use planning. It provides detailed guidelines on nine key areas including planning for people and homes, housing, settlement areas, strategic growth, rural and unorganized territories, employment, and issues related to energy conservation, air quality, and climate change.
Section 2.1: Planning for People and Homes
In this section, the policy promotes sustainable growth by directing planning authorities to use population and employment forecasts from the Ministry of Finance or refer to previous provincial forecasts for land use planning. Municipalities must now ensure that their official plans allocate sufficient land for a variety of uses over the next 20 to 30 years. This will help future communities have better access to essential infrastructure and public services. The policy also requires that any development potential from zoning orders issued by the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing be integrated into the official plan and infrastructure plans during their next update. This approach helps municipalities manage development effectively, support infrastructure investments, and align growth with community needs and priorities.
Additionally, Policy 2.1.6 replaces the term “healthy, liveable, and safe communities” from the PPS (2020) with “complete communities.” This updated terminology focuses on developing neighbourhoods where essential needs such as housing, education, employment, and recreation are met locally. It moves away from specific concerns about environmental or public health risks and instead emphasizes creating well-rounded communities with diverse land uses, housing options, transportation modes, and public services. The policy also underscores the need to enhance accessibility and social equity, aiming to improve the quality of life for all residents, including those in equity-deserving groups.
Section 2.2: Housing
This policy section reinforces the principles of the existing PPS (2020) by setting minimum targets for affordable housing and requiring planning authorities to work in collaboration with service managers to deliver a diverse range of housing options accessible to low to moderate-income households. It mandates that these housing options cater to various social, health, and economic needs, reflecting demographic shifts and employment trends affecting current and future residents. Such housing options encourage all forms of intensification and infill development, including the conversion of underutilized commercial and institutional sites, such as former shopping malls, into residential spaces.
To achieve a well-planned and sustainable community, planning authorities are now also expected to promote higher housing densities that make efficient use of land and resources, and to prioritize transit-supportive developments near transit corridors and stations, including the exploration of air rights development. This comprehensive approach balances affordable housing needs with the revitalization of existing commercial areas, ultimately contributing to creating complete communities.
Sections 2.3 - 2.4: Settlement Areas + Strategic Growth Areas
This section outlines the management of growth in settlement areas, focusing on strategic growth zones, major transit areas, and frequent transit corridors. Strategic growth zones are intended to accommodate substantial population and employment growth, offer a diverse range of housing options, and support a well-integrated transit network. To achieve these objectives, planning authorities are required to prioritize investments in infrastructure, manage development, consider student housing needs and facilitate the conversion of underutilized commercial sites into residential areas. The new Provincial Policy Statement (PPS) integrates policies from the existing Growth Plan by mandating municipalities with major transit areas to establish boundaries for density within 500 to 800 meters of transit stations. It further specifies density targets for these areas: 200 residents or jobs per hectare for locations near subways, 160 residents or jobs per hectare for areas adjacent to light rail or bus rapid transit, and 150 residents or jobs per hectare for those near commuter or regional rail. New policies include developing surface parking lots to support transit, promoting multi-modal access like sidewalks and bike lanes, and planning for intensification along frequent transit corridors, which are services running at least every 15 minutes.
The policy adds that planning authorities must also set density targets for designated growth areas, with larger, rapidly expanding municipalities being encouraged to aim for 50 residents and jobs per hectare. Should development occur, the PPS introduces phasing policies to ensure development is orderly and aligns with available infrastructure and public services. Additionally, the PPS streamlines the process for expanding settlement boundaries by removing previous requirements and introducing new ones. Planning authorities must now ensure that any new settlement area includes planned or existing infrastructure and services near the development. Following the enactment of Bill 185, the Ontario Land Tribunal may, in certain cases, be designated as the planning authority for handling appeals related to these boundary changes.
Sections 2.5-2.7 and 2.9 of the PPS, 2024 largely reflect the existing policy directives from the current PPS, with only minor modifications, if any. These sections maintain policies related to rural areas, territories without municipal organization, and issues such as energy conservation, air quality, and climate change.
Section 2.8: Employment
Policy 2.8 introduces significant changes to how employment areas are managed. It requires that developments near employment areas include proper transitions to avoid conflicts with sensitive land uses and support industrial development in areas with frequent transit. It also mandates that developments within 300 metres of employment areas must avoid or reduce negative impacts on their long-term economic health.
The PPS also updates the process for removing lands from employment areas, allowing such removals if they do not harm the area’s viability and if infrastructure access is maintained. Additionally, the definition of employment areas has been updated to align with changes in the Planning Act, and Provincially Significant Employment Zones are no longer included.
Section 3: Infrastructure and Facilities
Considering the new demand for development and housing, this section emphasizes that infrastructure and public service facilities be efficient, financially viable, and aligned with land use and growth management to meet both current and future needs. Such facilities will need to support emergency management, public health, and safety and should be strategically located to enhance service integration, improve access to transit, and encourage active transportation. However, the policy advises optimizing and reusing existing facilities before considering new developments.
The PPS, 2024 introduces several policy updates, making it easier to establish sensitive land uses near industrial facilities by removing old restrictions and requiring that any unavoidable risks be minimized and managed according to provincial guidelines. Policies are also updated in regard to sewage, water, and stormwater management, emphasizing efficient growth, protecting water quality, integrating energy conservation, and allowing individual on-site services and partial services in rural areas.
Section 4: Wise Use and Management of Resources
Section 4 of the PPS, 2024 maintains the natural heritage policies from 2020 but emphasizes enhanced watershed planning, especially for large municipalities. In agriculture, the new policies mandate an agricultural system approach, ease housing development within prime agricultural areas, and maintain protections for specialty crop areas. Mineral extraction is allowed as an interim use in agricultural areas, with updated rehabilitation standards. For cultural heritage, the PPS now requires the conservation of protected properties and encourages proactive strategies while ensuring early engagement with Indigenous communities.
Section 5: Protecting Public Health and Safety
Section 5.0 of the PPS carries forward many policies from the PPS (2020), reaffirming that development must be directed away from high-risk natural and human-made hazards, such as floodways and dynamic beaches. It also incorporates considerations for the impacts of climate change, including potential flooding, on development. Exceptions to this rule may be granted for Special Policy Areas or essential uses, but these require ministerial approval. Development may also be permitted if appropriate mitigation and remediation measures are in place. Notably, the updated PPS will require planning authorities to collaborate with conservation authorities, where available, to identify hazardous lands and sites and manage development in these areas per provincial guidelines.
Section 6: Implementation and Interpretation
Section 6.1 of the PPS, 2024 aims to ensure that the implementation and interpretation of its policies are consistent across all levels of legislation. It directs planning authorities to update their Official Plans, Zoning By-laws, and Development By-laws to reflect the new policies, thereby ensuring that provincial interests are adequately represented. Once the PPS, 2024 is in effect, all planning decisions will need to conform to its policies, even if local plans have not yet been updated. Additionally, while minimum density targets are established by planning authorities, the PPS, 2024 encourages exceeding these targets where appropriate. These targets must also be reassessed with each update to the official plan to maintain alignment with provincial objectives.
Section 6.2 introduces new policies to require planning authorities to engage with the public, school boards, and publicly assisted post-secondary institutions to implement the PPS effectively. Policies 6.2.5 and 6.2.6 specifically emphasize direct collaboration with post-secondary institutions to plan for student housing and develop strategies for off-campus housing. These efforts foster a more integrated approach to planning by engaging and addressing community needs, supporting educational institutions, and aligning with the goals outlined in the new PPS.
Q9 Planning & Design: Navigating and Implementing the New PPS 2024 Policies
Q9 Planning & Design works with municipalities all over Ontario facilitating land use changes. This pivotal shift in Ontario’s land use planning introduces new policies that our team is well-equipped to navigate. Our extensive experience in policy review will enable us to assess whether new development applications align with the updated legislation. Additionally, we are poised to strategically collaborate with municipalities, builders, and developers to effectively translate provincial directives into practical, local solutions, ensuring sustainable and managed growth.
The PPS 2024 introduces specific policies for 29 large and rapidly growing municipalities with significant housing needs, including municipalities in Southern Ontario and the City of Ottawa—two key areas where Q9 has ongoing collaborations with city officials. If you have questions about how this new legislation might affect your proposed developments or existing properties, please feel free to reach out for expert consultation and advice from our team.
SOURCES:
The Building Faster Fund: housing target tracker - Open Council provides updates on new housing developments across Ontario municipalities
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