June 2017

On April 14, 2022, Bill 109, the More Homes for Everyone Act, 2022, received royal assent, just two weeks after it was introduced by the provincial government on March 30, 2022. Bill 109 proposed several amendments to existing legislation, including the Planning Act, the Development Charges Act, 1997, the City of Toronto Act, 2006, the New Home Construction Licensing Act, 2017 and the Ontario New Home Warranties Plan Act.

Are municipalities free to conduct themselves as they see fit in proceedings before the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT, formerly known as the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal and before that, the Ontario Municipal Board) without the threat of costs being awarded against them? In short, the answer is no. Municipalities are not exempt from cost awards. This article explains why.

Gowling WLG 's Expropriation Law Group summarizes several complex and compelling expropriation cases from across Canada in 2021. The team highlights a number of important issues and key takeaways for those parties involved in the expropriation process. The court decisions are not listed in rank order.

On Jan. 1, 2022 amendments to the Ontario Planning Act were proclaimed. As a result of these amendments, a good number of unfortunate traps have been done away with. This article summarizes those amendments.

On February 3, 2022, Toronto City Council enacted and passed By-law 89-2022 (the “Amendment”), being an amendment to Zoning By-law 569-2013 to update parking standards across the City. Amongst other things, the Amendment introduces new electric vehicle (or “EV”) standards, removes most minimum parking requirements for new developments (except accessible parking standards) and introduces new maximum parking standards.

Earlier this month the City of Toronto (City) adopted Official Plan Amendment No. 524 (OPA 524) delineating 16 Protected Major Transit Station Areas (PMTSAs) within Toronto’s downtown. This article addresses this.

Two recent provincial developments aimed at addressing Ontario’s growing “housing crisis” may have a significant impact on land-use planning and development in Ontario in the coming years.

Provincial and municipal planning policy can overlap with or complement the federal aeronautics regulatory regime. Drones are particularly vulnerable to this overlap due to their relative proximity to the public realm. Drone industry stakeholders need to be cognizant of appropriate land use planning policy.

On November 9, 2021 the City of Toronto approved Official Plan and Zoning Bylaw amendments as well as draft Implementation Guidelines introducing Inclusionary Zoning requirements. These requirements will make Inclusionary Zoning mandatory for new developments that meet certain criteria in approved Protected Major Transit Stations Areas (PMTSA) to include affordable rental and ownership housing units beginning in late 2022.