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Bill 73 - 90-day “Time-Out” of 180-day Decision Timeline of Approval Authority

Jul 06, 2016

Bill 73 (Smart Growth for Our Communities Act, 2015) introduced a new subsection to the Planning Act that could provide additional time to an approval authority in making a decision on an adopted official plan (“OP”) or official plan amendment (“OPA”) before the failure to make a decision can be appealed to the Ontario Municipal Board.

New subsection 17(40.1) of the Planning Act provides that the 180-day timeline for making a decision on an OP or OPA (set out in subsection 17(40) of the Planning Act) may be extended for up to 90 days by:

  • the person or public body requesting the OPA, in the case of an application under section 22;
  • the municipality, in all other cases; or
  • the approval authority.

Notice of an extension must be given before the expiry of the 180-day period referred to in subsection 17(40), and may be terminated by the person, public body, municipality or approval authority that gave or received the notice.  Accordingly, the extension only applies where both parties are agreeable to the “time-out”.

The reasoning behind the 90-day “time-out” is to provide more time for the parties to try and resolve disputes without the threat of a 3rd party appeal.

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Related Bill 73 Blog Posts:

Bill 73 - Alternative Dispute Resolution

Bill 73 amendments to the Planning Act come into force on July 1, 2016

Notice of Proposed Changes to the Planning Act Regulations

Ontario Passes Legislation to Promote Smart Community Growth (Bill 73)

Draft Bill 73 Smart Growth For Our Communities Act, 2015: Planning Advisory Committees

Bill 73 Smart Growth For Our Communities Act, 2015 - An Overview of Key Proposed Changes to the Planning Act

Author(s): Sharmini Mahadevan

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