OHBA is seeking comments from members in relation to Bill 17 - Protect Ontario by Building Faster and Smarter Act, 2025.
All comments are to be sent to kjensen@ohba.ca no later than May 31, 2025.
Proposal number: 25-MOI003, Comments open until June 12th.
Link to commenting post: Bill 17- Protect Ontario by Building Faster and Smarter Act, 2025 - Accelerating Delivery of Transit-Oriented Communities | Environmental Registry of Ontario
Changing the definition of Transit-Oriented Communities (TOC): The Transit-Oriented Communities Act, 2020, currently defines a TOC project as part of a priority transit project; and located on transit corridor land. This definition excludes transit projects along the GO and LRT networks, reducing opportunities to develop mixed-used communities along these networks. To address this, the province is also proposing to expand the scope of a priority transit project under the Act to include provincial transit projects such as TOCs, mirroring the proposed amendments to the Building Transit Faster Act, 2020, led by the Ministry of Transportation.
Exempting approvals for municipal agreements and ancillary TOC project agreements: Order In Council approval is required to enter into agreements, which can slow down execution. The proposal would seek to exempt certain agreements from requiring an Order in Council approval when other approvals are in place.
Environmental Implications: By implementing the proposed changes, MOI will be accelerating the creation of more TOCs, which in turn would help create high-density, vibrant, mixed-use communities with more housing and jobs near transit stations. The related development and construction of these communities may have a negative impact to the environment, while encouraging people to use public transit in close proximity, which will reduce car dependency, traffic congestion and emissions.
