Wood Bull Blog

[Note: See blog post from 9 January 2019 which is an updated version of this blog with regards to third party appeals of privately initiated amendments.]

On 3 September 2019 some amendments to the Planning Act and the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal Act (“LPAT Act”) came into force and effect. We have been reporting on these amendments in a series of blogs. 

The transitional regulations for each of these acts also came into force on 3 September 2019. These regulations provide rules relating to how matters already in-process at the LPAT and at the municipal level will be treated. The following is a summary of the effect of the transitional regulations on Planning Act appeals.

Official Plan and Zoning Appeals at LPAT - Which Version of the Acts Apply?

• Where, as of 3 September 2019, the LPAT has scheduled a hearing for an appeal properly made under the Bill 139 regime, it will continue to follow that regime.
• Where, as of 3 September 2019, a hearing has not yet been scheduled for an appeal properly made under the Bill 139 regime, the appeal will proceed under the new Bill 108 regime.

Filing New Notice of Appeal For Appeals Transitioned to Bill 108

• Where a hearing will proceed under the Bill 108 regime, the Tribunal must provide notice to the appellants advising that the appellant may file a new notice of appeal. The Tribunal must provide this notice to the appellant within 15 days of the later of (1) the receipt of the record received pursuant to s. 17(29), s. 17(42) or s. 34(23) of the Planning Act, as the case may be, or (2) 3 September 2019.
• If the appellant elects to file the new notice of appeal, it must do so within 20 days after the Tribunal gives the notice. 
• The Planning Act transition regulation (O.Reg. 296/19) states that the new notice of appeal must be filed in accordance with s. 17(25) or (37) of the Planning Act, in the case of official plan amendment applications, or s. 34(19) of the Planning Act, in the case of zoning by-law amendment applications.
• In light of the use of the phrase “new notice of appeal” and the provision in the regulation exempting an appellant from the requirement to pay any applicable fees associated with the new notice of appeal (which confirms that the “new” notice of appeal is considered to be a new beginning to the appeal process), prudence suggests that any notice should also address s. 17(25.1), s. 17(37.1) or s. 34(19.0.1), as the case may be, which require that a notice of appeal must also explain how the decision being appealed is inconsistent with a provincial policy statement, fails to conform with or conflicts with a Growth Plan or fails to conform with an applicable official plan, if such an issue is to be raised on appeal.

Transition Timelines for Appeals of Failures to Make Decisions

The timelines for processing of development applications for official plan and zoning amendments and draft plans of subdivision have been amended by Bill 108 and are in force as of 3 September 2019. See our previous blog “Planning Act Development Processing Timelines Reduced” for a comparison of these timelines.

The transition regulation provides direction as to which timeline (either Bill 139 or Bill 108) will apply, as noted in the following table.

Transition of Appeals related to Plans of Subdivision (Approvals/Conditions)

Appeals with respect to draft plan of subdivision approvals, conditions of draft plan of subdivision approvals or changes to those conditions will be continued and disposed of under the Bill 139 regime if the notice of the decision to approve a draft plan of subdivision or to approve or change conditions is given before 3 September 2019.

The regulations are available online: O. Reg. 174/16, as amended by O. Reg. 296/19(Planning Act) and O. Reg. 303/19(LPAT Act). An unofficial blackline version of the Planning Act transitional regulation is available here.

If you have any questions regarding these amendments and regulations, please do not hesitate to contact us at 416-203-7160 or info@woodbull.ca.