Ontario government releases final version of the Provincial Planning Statement, 2024

August 22, 2024

On August 20, 2024, the Ontario government released the final version of the Provincial Planning Statement, 2024 (PPS 2024) and also announced significant investments in infrastructure development at the Association of Municipalities of Ontario Annual Conference.

This bulletin provides an overview of both the PPS 2024 and these recent announcements.

1. Provincial Planning Statement, 2024

The PPS 2024 will come into force on October 20, 2024, and, as of that date, will replace the primary provincial policy documents that govern land use planning in Ontario, being the Provincial Policy Statement, 2020 (PPS 2020) and A Place to Grow: Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe (Growth Plan).

Dentons has reported on the lengthy process of consultation that led up to the release of the final version of the PPS 2024. Please see our informational bulletins of April 2023 (Spring brings changes to Ontario's land use planning framework - Deep Dive on Ontario's proposed Provincial Planning Statement) and May 2024 (April showers bring more changes to Ontario's land use planning framework - Deep dive on Ontario's proposed Provincial Planning Statement, 2024). Dentons is reviewing the final version of the PPS 2024 to determine if any significant revisions have been made since the version that was released in April 2024, and will provide an in-depth review and analysis of the policies in the PPS 2024 in a future bulletin.

In the interim, some of the key policy changes to Ontario's land use planning regime that will be implemented through the PPS 2024 are outlined below.

1. Consolidation and elimination of the PPS 2020 and the Growth Plan

As of October 20, 2024, the PPS 2024 will replace the PPS 2020, while the Growth Plan will be revoked pursuant to O. Reg. 328/24 through its revocation of O. Reg. 416/05, which establishes the "Greater Golden Horseshoe growth plan area" in a prescribed set of municipalities in Ontario.

The Ontario government anticipates that the consolidation of the PPS 2020 and the Growth Plan into the PPS 2024 will eliminate over 100 pages and 30,000 words of administrative burden and will save municipal staff an estimated 6,600 hours.

Pursuant to Section 3 of the Planning Act, any decision by a land use planning authority that "affects a planning matter" and is made as of or after the date the PPS 2024 comes into force must be consistent with the PPS 2024. The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing is, however, considering whether to pass regulations regarding transitional matters pursuant to subsection 3(6.1) of the Planning Act. The Ministry has posted a consultation notice on the Environmental Registry of Ontario seeking feedback as to whether there are any specific planning matters in process, such as development applications or planning matters under appeal, that should be addressed through a transition regulation to facilitate the implementation of the PPS 2024. The comment period is open until October 4, 2024.

1. Planning for people and homes (Section 2.1)

The PPS 2024 implements a series of changes regarding planning for future growth. Among the more notable changes is the introduction of policies requiring planning authorities to base population and employment growth forecasts on the Ministry of Finance's 25-year growth projections, with an exception allowing municipalities to continue using population and employment forecasts previously issued by the province. These policies will replace those in effect under the Growth Plan, which currently sets out specific population and employment growth forecasts by municipality in Schedule 3. The PPS 2024 also revises the time horizon for municipalities to meet projected needs of 20-30 years.

1. Settlement areas/settlement area boundary expansions (Section 2.3)

The PPS 2024 permits settlement area boundaries to be expanded or established at any time, rather than at the time of a municipal comprehensive review (or other times in exceptional circumstances), as was required under the Growth Plan. Section 2.3.2.1 sets out the criteria for identifying a new settlement area or allowing a settlement area boundary expansion, which include consideration of the need to designate and plan for additional land to accommodate an appropriate range and mixed of uses, sufficient capacity in existing or planned infrastructure/public service facilities, whether the applicable lands comprise specialty crop areas, and whether impacts on the agricultural system are avoided or otherwise minimized and mitigated to the extent feasible.

1. Strategic growth areas (Section 2.4)

The PPS 2024 includes policies that govern strategic growth areas, which generally encourage municipalities to identify and focus on growth and development in these areas and to accommodate such growth and development by appropriately allocating planning and investment for infrastructure and public service facilities.

1. Major Transit Station Areas (Section 2.4.2)

The PPS 2024 includes a subset of policies for strategic growth areas which apply to Major Transit Station Areas (MTSAs). These policies require planning authorities to delineate the boundaries of MTSAs within a 500-800 m radius of a transit station that maximizes the number of potential transit users that are within walking distance through a new official plan or official plan amendment under section 26 of the Planning Act. The PPS 2024 includes policies that include minimum density targets in MTSAs and which encourage planning authorities to promote development and intensification within MTSAs.

1. Employment (Section 2.8)

The PPS 2024 proposes substantial changes to employment-related policies. The PPS 2024 includes a new definition of "employment area" which does not include institutional or commercial uses (including retail and office uses), other than those that are associated with manufacturing uses and warehousing uses. Amendments to the Planning Act under Bill 97 introduced a corresponding definition for "area of employment," which will come into force on the same date as the PPS 2024, being October 20, 2024.

The PPS 2024 permits planning authorities to remove lands from employment areas at any time, rather than only at the time of a municipal comprehensive review, as was previously required under the PPS 2020 and the Growth Plan. Additionally, the criteria that must be satisfied to allow an employment conversion are less stringent.

The PPS 2024 also introduces a new policy that protects employment areas by requiring development on lands within 300 metres of employment areas, to avoid, or where avoidance is not possible, minimize and mitigate potential impacts on the long-term economic viability of employment uses within existing or planned employment areas, in accordance with provincial guidelines.

The PPS 2024 also introduces new criteria requiring planning authorities to promote economic development and competitiveness by addressing land use compatibility adjacent to employment areas by providing an appropriate transition to sensitive land uses. Furthermore, the PPS 2024 adds specific language to the policy requiring planning authorities to assess and update employment areas in official plans to ensure the designation is appropriate, noting that compatibility between employment areas and sensitive uses must be maintained.

1. Implementation and interpretation (Section 6)

The PPS 2024 includes a policy carried over from the Growth Plan which encourages planning authorities to go beyond the density targets, where appropriate. In addition, the PPS 2024 includes a policy requiring minimum density targets to be reviewed at the time of each official plan update, revising the process set out in the Growth Plan that ties density target implementation to a municipal comprehensive review process.

The PPS 2024 also includes policies requiring planning authorities to make decisions consistent with the PPS 2024, even where that planning authority must decide on a planning matter before the official plan has been updated to be consistent with the PPS 2024, or before other applicable planning instruments have been updated.

2. Investing in infrastructure

On August 20, 2024, the Ontario government announced a further investment in Ontario infrastructure, with a CA$400 million investment in roads and bridges to enable more homes to be built through its Housing-Enabling Core Servicing Stream. The CA$400 million is part of the Municipal Infrastructure Housing Program, with CA$120 million being allocated for projects in small, rural and northern municipalities.

As part of the related news release, the Ontario government noted that applications can be submitted starting tomorrow to this stream of funding and that eligible projects include any road and bridge assets that enable housing infrastructure and promote growth in communities, noting that projects must be a net new rehabilitation, repair, reconstruction or replacement project. Details on the program and application information is available here.

This investment along with two intake rounds of the Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund previously announced, are stated to help progress more than 511,000 homes. Details on the remaining funding under the Municipal Infrastructure Housing Program will be announced later this year.

Dentons will continue to monitor the implementation of the PPS 2024 and any relevant developments pertaining to these recent infrastructure announcements. Should you have any questions about any recent changes to Ontario's land use planning regime and how they may impact your business or should you require assistance in providing comments on potential regulatory changes, please contact Katarzyna (Kat) Sliwa, Roberto Aburto, Isaiah Banach, Max Reedijk, Karen Sadler, or any member of the Dentons Municipal, Land Use Planning and Development Team.