TORONTO – The Ontario Municipal Board, which hears appeals on land-use planning, could see some of its powers reduced as the provincial government is proposing to give more deference to local councils.
A review on the tribunal launched Wednesday and one of the issues under consideration is the OMB’s scope, with the government saying it has heard complaints that too many matters are appealed to the board.
“We know that OMB needs to change and I can tell you as the minister and as an MPP for a very diverse urban community (in the Ottawa Centre riding), the status quo is not working,” said Attorney General Yasir Naqvi.
“The status quo promotes just going to OMB as a way of resolving disputes. That’s where we run into all the challenges that we run into and the acrimony in the community.”
In an ideal world, better planning decisions will be made at the local level, with communities “fully engaged” through better consultation, and only if that fails should matters to go the OMB, Naqvi said.
“Let’s not put all our eggs in the basket that an appeal body like the OMB will resolve the issue because that’s where we run into problems and the acrimony that we see today.”
The government wants input on proposing limiting appeals to the OMB on provincial land-use planning decisions, for example for the preservation of farmland and zoning provisions from the municipal affairs minister.
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Ontario is also considering having the OMB move away from so-called “de novo” hearings, which look at an issue that was already considered by a municipality as if no previous decision had been made. The OMB would have to focus on the validity of the decision instead of looking for the “best” decision, under Ontario’s proposal.
“Ultimately we may end up in a position where fewer issues are appealable,” said Municipal Affairs Minister Bill Mauro.
“I think different people have different perspectives on the decisions that come out of local council and the OMB time to time. Neither of them are – to use a baseball reference – hitting home runs all the time.”
Municipal decisions are often overturned by the OMB, an “unelected body,” said the group Environmental Defence, which applauded the review.
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“The OMB is broken and in need of a thorough overhaul,” said Erin Shapero, the group’s smart growth program manager. “The hearings require expensive lawyers and planning consultants, which favour wealthy development interests and make it cost prohibitive to the public.”
Ontario is also considering hiring more OMB adjudicators – currently there are 24 full-time and part-time members of the board – and whether to have multi-member panels hear all cases, instead of only one person.
Naqvi said the government wants to see a less adversarial approach and is looking at requiring all appeals to be considered by a mediator before scheduling a hearing.
It is also looking at ways to make hearings more timely and for the board to produce quicker decisions, such as settling timelines for rulings, conducting more hearings in writing, and setting a maximum number of days allowed for hearings.
Members of the public are able to give input on the review until Dec. 19.
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