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The Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) plays a critical role in Ontario’s land-use planning process, ensuring that there is an independent, public body to settle land-use disputes. The proposed planning reforms would mean that the OMB would continue to have an important role in ensuring that broader public interests for well-planned growth would be upheld now and in the future. By maintaining the OMB, Ontario citizens would continue to have the right to appeal land-use decisions affecting their own property and their communities.
The McGuinty government’s proposed reforms would ensure a more effective, transparent, accountable and user-friendly OMB. If passed by the legislature, proposed reforms to the OMB would provide clearer rules and support local decision-making, while protecting broader public interests.
What Is The OMB?
The OMB is an independent adjudicative tribunal. It hears appeals and applications, and resolves disputes under several pieces of legislation. Most appeals heard by the OMB deal with land-use planning issues.
OMB members are appointed by the Ontario government. Members include people from different areas of the province who have been drawn from diverse backgrounds. Current members include lawyers, former elected officials, engineers, surveyors, planners and public administrators.
The OMB hears appeals and concerns of individuals, public agencies or corporations that object to decisions made by such approval authorities as:
- Local or upper-tier municipalities
- Committees of adjustment
- Land division committees
- The Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing
The OMB also hears appeals where approval authorities have not made decisions within statutory time periods.
Some of the planning issues that the OMB deals with include:
- Official plans and amendments
- Zoning by-laws and amendments
- Subdivision plans
- Consents to sever land
- Minor variances from local by-laws
- Site plan approvals and conditions
The Board also hears a range of non-planning matters.
Although the OMB’s mandate has changed and expanded since its creation in 1897, many of the powers given to it at the time of its inception have been retained, even with its changing scope of responsibility.
Ontario Municipal Board - Substantive Reforms
Under the government’s proposed reforms, the Ontario Municipal Board would continue to hear appeals on matters relating to official plans, zoning, subdivisions, site plans and development permits. These matters have the greatest impact on broader public interests and the OMB would continue to play a strong role in upholding these interests.
The government’s proposed reforms, if passed, would provide municipalities with more accountability on local planning matters and help to reduce both the number of appeals to the OMB and the duration of OMB hearings.
Proposed changes that address local planning issues include:
How Hearings Would Occur
- OMB would now be required to have regard for decisions made by municipal council.
- Hearings before the OMB would be limited to the information and material that had been before municipal council, unless the new information could not have reasonably been provided to the municipality before council’s decision.
- If the OMB determines that new information could have caused a municipal council to make different decisions, the new information could be sent back to council for reconsideration.
- Appeals to the OMB would be limited to organizations or individuals who took part in the approval process at the local level, unless by leave of the OMB, the Board determines that the party could not have reasonably participated in the local approval process.
- The proposed reforms would provide enhanced authority for the OMB to dismiss appeals in certain instances, such as repeat applications.
Local Appeal Bodies
- Municipalities would be able to establish local appeal bodies, whose members would include citizens from the community, to deal with matters of purely local significance such as minor variances and severances. This would include dealing with disputes over such matters as home additions, decks and lot creation.
- The province would set minimum criteria for establishing local appeal bodies, processes and standards.
- Members would be appointed by municipal councils, under the Municipal Act, 2001. Terms would not extend beyond the term of the council.
- Matters that have the potential to affect the broader public interest would continue to be heard by the OMB.
- If there are related matters before the OMB and the local appeal body, the OMB would generally hear all matters related to the proposal.
- If a municipality decided not to establish a local appeal body, all matters would be heard by the OMB.
Ontario Municipal Board – Administrative Reforms
Public Participation In OMB Process
The province intends to create a citizen liaison function, to help members of the public navigate the OMB process, making it more accessible.
OMB Members
Ontario’s Public Appointment Secretariat is currently conducting a broad administrative review of various provincial government agencies, boards and commissions, including the OMB. As part of this process, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing has suggested administrative reforms that are designed to create a more open and transparent OMB, and make it more effective and user-friendly.
These reforms include recommendation to ensure that the most qualified people are hearing appeals on planning decisions that affect Ontario’s communities. These changes would include:
- Encouraging qualified applicants to become OMB members, by posting an employment description
- Considering the length of tenure for Board Members beyond the current three year term
- Conducting a review of Board Member compensation, to allow the OMB to attract and retain the most qualified professionals
- Providing formal training on land-use planning issues to all new OMB members at the start of their term, and on an ongoing basis throughout their tenure.
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