chapter 9
An Act to establish
a greenbelt study area
and to amend the
Oak Ridges Moraine
Conservation Act, 2001
Assented to June 24, 2004
CONTENTS
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Preamble |
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1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. |
Definitions Establishment of greenbelt study area Area to which restrictions apply Restriction on powers of municipalities Restriction on making applications or requests Restriction re: applications or requests to amend the Niagara Escarpment Plan Matters stayed Applications to amend Niagara Escarpment Plan stayed Power of Minister unaffected Regulations Offence Limitations on remedies Matters appealed to joint board or to OMB Conflicts Transition Amendments to Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Repeal Commencement Short title |
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Schedule 1 |
Greenbelt study area |
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Schedule 2 |
Land to which sections 4, 5 and 7 apply |
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___________ |
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Preamble
The government of Ontario recognizes that in order to protect environmentally sensitive land and farmland and contain urban sprawl, there is an immediate need to study an area in the part of Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe.
The government recognizes that clear limits must be set on development in order to protect this valuable resource as a greenbelt for the long term.
The government recognizes that good planning for environmental and agricultural protection and sustainable development will result in economic benefits to the residents of the Golden Horseshoe area.
The government recognizes the environmental and agricultural significance of this area and its importance as a source of food, water, natural heritage systems, green space and recreation, resulting in an enhanced quality of life.
The government recognizes that it is important to continue to protect the Niagara Escarpment and the Oak Ridges Moraine and to protect a broader greenbelt area.
Therefore, Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:
Definitions
1. In this Act,
“greenbelt study area” means the area of land described in Schedule 1; (“zone d’étude de la ceinture de verdure”)
“Minister” means the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing or such other member of the Executive Council to whom the administration of this Act is assigned under the Executive Council Act; (“ministre”)
“urban settlement area” means any area of land that, on December 16, 2003, was designated in any official plan as an urban area or a rural settlement area, including, but not limited to, areas designated as urban areas, urban policy areas, towns, villages, hamlets, rural clusters, rural settlement areas, urban systems, rural service centres or future urban use areas; (“zone de peuplement urbain”)
“urban uses” means uses that are non-agricultural commercial, non-agricultural industrial, multi-residential, institutional, mixed use commercial/residential and golf courses, but does not include forestry uses, mineral aggregate uses and conservation uses. (“utilisations urbaines”)
Establishment of greenbelt study area
2. A greenbelt study area is established consisting of the land described in Schedule 1.
Area to which restrictions apply
3. (1) Sections 4, 5 and 7 apply only to the land described in Schedule 2.
No retroactivity
(2) Despite subsection (1), in respect of any land covered by the Niagara Escarpment Plan approved under the Niagara Escarpment Planning and Development Act,
(a) subsections 4 (4), 5 (3), 7 (5) and 7 (9) do not apply to that land; and
(b) the reference to “December 16, 2003” in each of subsections 7 (1) and (6) shall be deemed to be a reference to the day this Act receives Royal Assent.
Restriction on powers of municipalities
4. (1) No municipality shall, with respect to land outside an urban settlement area,
(a) enact a by-law under section 34, 36, 37, 38 or 39 of the Planning Act to permit urban uses;
(b) adopt or approve an official plan or official plan amendment under section 17, 21 or 22 of the Planning Act to permit urban uses; or
(c) approve a plan of subdivision under section 51 of the Planning Act.
Exceptions
(2) Subsection (1) does not prevent a municipality from,
(a) removing a holding symbol under section 36 of the Planning Act;
(b) passing a by-law under section 34 of the Planning Act in order to satisfy a condition of an approval granted under section 51 or a consent granted under section 53 of the Planning Act before December 16, 2003;
(c) approving the extension of a temporary use under subsection 39 (3) of the Planning Act; or
(d) approving a final plan of subdivision under subsection 51 (58) of the Planning Act.
Effect of contravention
(3) Any by-law, adoption or approval purported to be enacted or given by a municipality that contravenes subsection (1) is of no effect.
Retroactive effect
(4) Any by-law, adoption or approval described in subsection (1) that is enacted or given by a municipality in respect of land to which this section applies on or after December 16, 2003 but before this Act receives Royal Assent is of no effect.
Restriction on making applications or requests
5. (1) No person shall, with respect to land outside an urban settlement area, make an application or request,
(a) to amend a by-law under section 34 of the Planning Act to permit urban uses;
(b) to amend an official plan under section 22 of the Planning Act to permit urban uses;
(c) to approve a plan of subdivision under section 51 of the Planning Act; or
(d) to amend or revoke in whole or in part any order made under clause 47 (1) (a) of the Planning Act to permit urban uses.
Effect of contravention
(2) Any application or request purported to be made that contravenes subsection (1) is of no effect.
Retroactive effect
(3) Any application or request described in subsection (1) made in respect of land to which this section applies on or after December 16, 2003 but before this Act receives Royal Assent is of no effect.
Restriction re: applications or requests to amend the Niagara Escarpment Plan
6. (1) No person shall make an application or request to amend the Niagara Escarpment Plan under section 6.1 of the Niagara Escarpment Planning and Development Act if the application or request relates to land that is within the land use designation of Escarpment Natural Area, Escarpment Protection Area or Escarpment Rural Area of the Niagara Escarpment Plan and the application or request seeks to,
(a) redesignate the land to the land use designation of Minor Urban Centre, Urban Area or Escarpment Recreation Area of the Niagara Escarpment Plan; or
(b) make any other amendment to permit urban uses.
Effect of contravention
(2) Any application or request purported to be made that contravenes subsection (1) is of no effect.
Matters stayed
7. (1) All applications, referrals, hearings, appeals and procedures before a joint board under the Consolidated Hearings Act or the Ontario Municipal Board with respect to matters originating under section 17, 21, 22, 34, 36, 38, 39 or 47 of the Planning Act to permit urban uses in respect of land outside an urban settlement area or under section 51 of the Planning Act in respect of land outside an urban settlement area shall be deemed to have been stayed on December 16, 2003.
Exceptions
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to,
(a) the approval of a final plan of subdivision under subsection 51 (58) of the Planning Act;
(b) the application for the removal of a holding symbol under subsection 36 (3) of the Planning Act;
(c) the approval of the extension of a temporary use under subsection 39 (3) of the Planning Act; or
(d) the passing of a by-law under section 34 of the Planning Act in order to satisfy a condition of an approval granted under section 51 or a consent granted under section 53 of the Planning Act before December 16, 2003.
No action to be taken
(3) The joint board or the Ontario Municipal Board shall not make or issue any order, decision or ruling in respect of matters referred to in subsection (1).
Effect of contravention
(4) Any order, decision or ruling purported to have been made or issued that contravenes subsection (3) is of no effect.
Retroactive effect
(5) Any order, decision or ruling in respect of matters referred to in subsection (1) made or issued in respect of land outside of an urban settlement area on or after December 16, 2003 but before this Act receives Royal Assent is of no effect.
Applications, etc., stayed
(6) All applications and procedures originating under section 17, 21, 22, 34, 36, 38 or 39 of the Planning Act to permit urban uses in respect of land outside an urban settlement area or under section 51 of the Planning Act in respect of land outside an urban settlement area shall be deemed to have been stayed on December 16, 2003.
No decision or approval
(7) The Minister or the municipality or a delegate of either of them shall not make or issue any decision or approval with respect to an application or procedure referred to in subsection (6).
Effect of contravention
(8) Any decision or approval purported to be made or issued in contravention of subsection (7) is of no effect.
Retroactive effect
(9) Any decision or approval in respect of an application or procedure referred to in subsection (6) made or issued in respect of land outside of an urban settlement area on or after December 16, 2003 but before this Act receives Royal Assent is of no effect.
Applications to amend Niagara Escarpment Plan stayed
8. (1) All applications or requests to amend the Niagara Escarpment Plan under section 6.1 of the Niagara Escarpment Planning and Development Act and any hearing before a hearing officer under that Act or a joint board under the Consolidated Hearings Act in relation to such applications or requests shall be deemed to have been stayed on the day this section comes into force if the application or request relates to land that is within the land use designation of Escarpment Natural Area, Escarpment Protection Area or Escarpment Rural Area of the Niagara Escarpment Plan and the application or request seeks to,
(a) redesignate the land to the land use designation of Minor Urban Centre, Urban Area or Escarpment Recreation Area of the Niagara Escarpment Plan; or
(b) make any other amendment to permit urban uses.
Same
(2) Subsection (1) applies to proposed amendments to the Niagara Escarpment Plan that were initiated by the Niagara Escarpment Commission or the Minister of Natural Resources.
No action to be taken
(3) The joint board or a hearing officer under the Niagara Escarpment Planning and Development Act shall not make or issue any order, decision, report or ruling in respect of matters referred to in subsection (1).
Effect of contravention
(4) Any order, decision, report or ruling purported to have been made or issued that contravenes subsection (3) is of no effect.
Power of Minister unaffected
9. (1) Nothing in this Act derogates from the power of the Minister to make an order under section 47 of the Planning Act with respect to land within the greenbelt study area.
Non-application
(2) Subsections 47 (8) to (14) of the Planning Act do not apply to an order of the Minister under clause 47 (1) (a) of the Planning Act with respect to land within the greenbelt study area.
Amendment or revocation
(3) The Minister may, on his or her own initiative, by order, amend or revoke in whole or in part any order made under clause 47 (1) (a) of the Planning Act and subsections 47 (1) to (7) of the Planning Act apply with necessary modifications to the making, amending and revoking of an order made under that clause.
Regulations
10. (1) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations,
(a) changing the boundaries of the greenbelt study area set out in Schedule 1;
(b) changing the areas set out in Schedule 2 to which sections 4, 5 and 7 apply;
(c) exempting any land or any use of land, or any class of uses of land, from section 4, 5 or 7;
(d) exempting any request or application under section 22, 34, 36, 37, 38, 39, 47 or 51 of the Planning Act from section 4, 5 or 7 of this Act;
(e) exempting any request or application to amend the Niagara Escarpment Plan from section 6 or 8.
Regulations by Minister
(2) The Minister may make regulations,
(a) modifying or replacing all or any part of the definitions of “urban settlement area” and of “urban uses” in section 1;
(b) prohibiting site alteration, the cutting or removal of trees or the grading of land in the greenbelt study area;
(c) setting out transitional rules for such matters as the Minister deems appropriate.
Retroactive
(3) A regulation under this section may be retroactive to a date no earlier than the day this Act comes into force.
General or particular
(4) A regulation under this section may be general or particular in its application.
Offence
11. Any person who contravenes a regulation made under clause 10 (2) (b) is guilty of an offence.
Limitations on remedies
12. (1) No cause of action arises as a direct or indirect result of,
(a) the enactment or repeal of any provision of this Act;
(b) the making or revocation of any provision of the regulations made under this Act; or
(c) anything done or not done in accordance with this Act or the regulations made under it.
No remedy
(2) No costs, compensation or damages are owing or payable to any person and no remedy, including but not limited to a remedy in contract, restitution, tort or trust, is available to any person in connection with anything referred to in subsection (1).
Proceedings barred
(3) No proceeding, including but not limited to any proceeding in contract, restitution, tort or trust, that is directly or indirectly based on or related to anything referred to in subsection (1) may be brought or maintained against any person.
Same
(4) Subsection (3) applies regardless of whether the cause of action on which the proceeding is purportedly based arose before or after the coming into force of this Act.
Proceedings set aside
(5) Any proceeding referred to in subsection (3) commenced before the day this Act comes into force shall be deemed to have been dismissed, without costs, on the day this Act comes into force and any decision in a proceeding referred to in subsection (3) made on or after December 16, 2003 is of no effect.
No expropriation or injurious affection
(6) Nothing done or not done in accordance with this Act or the regulations under it constitutes an expropriation or injurious affection for the purposes of the Expropriations Act or otherwise at law.
Person defined
(7) In this section,
“person” includes the Crown and its employees and agents, members of the Executive Council and municipalities and their employees and agents.
Matters appealed to joint board or to OMB
13. (1) If a matter relating to land in the greenbelt study area has been appealed or referred to a joint board under the Consolidated Hearings Act or to the Ontario Municipal Board, whether before or after December 16, 2003, the Minister may notify the joint board or the Ontario Municipal Board that its consideration of the matter should be deferred.
Stay
(2) When the Minister gives notice under subsection (1), all steps in the appeal are stayed as of the date of the notice, until he or she gives a further notice to the joint board or to the Ontario Municipal Board that the appeal may be continued.
Non-application
(3) Notices under this section are not regulations within the meaning of the Regulations Act.
No appeal
(4) Notices under this section are final and not subject to appeal.
Conflicts
14. (1) In the event of conflict between this Act and any other Act, the provisions of this Act prevail.
Certain regulations
(2) In the event of a conflict between a regulation made under clause 10 (2) (c) and any Act, the provisions of the regulation prevail.
Transition
15. (1) On the repeal of this Act, all applications, appeals, referrals, procedures and hearings that were stayed under sections 4, 5 and 7 are continued as if those sections had never been enacted and any time periods shall be calculated as if no time had passed between the day the matter was stayed and the repeal of this Act.
Future legislation
(2) Subsection (1) shall not be construed as limiting the application or effect of any Act enacted after December 16, 2003 or of any regulation made after that date.
Transition, removal of land
(3) If sections 4, 5 and 7 applied to certain land and that land ceases to be subject to those provisions, all applications, appeals, referrals, procedures and hearings that were stayed under those sections are continued as if those sections had never applied and any time periods shall be calculated as if no time had passed between the day the matter was stayed and the day those provisions ceased to apply to the land.
Amendments to Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Act, 2001
16. (1) Section 15 of the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Act, 2001 is amended by adding the following subsection:
Continued use
(6) No zoning by-law amendment approved by the Minister under clause 10 (8) (a) or subsection 13 (6) applies so as to prevent the use of any land, building or structure for any purpose prohibited by the zoning by-law amendment if, under subsection (3), that land, building or structure was lawfully used for such purpose on the day that the zoning by-law amendment comes into force so long as it continues to be used for that purpose.
(2) Subsection 17 (1) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:
Further approvals
(1) If a decision made under section 51 or 53 of the Planning Act or section 9 of the Condominium Act, 1998 with respect to land to which the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan applies is conditional on a further approval under either of those Acts, the decision on the application for the further approval shall be made in accordance with the same requirements of this Act that applied to the original decision.
(3) Section 18 of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:
Matters appealed to OMB
18. (1) If a matter relating to land to which the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan applies was appealed to the Ontario Municipal Board, whether before or after December 16, 2003, the Minister may do one or both of the following:
1. Amend the relevant official plan or zoning by-law with respect to the matter, by order.
2. Notify the Board that its consideration of the matter should be deferred.
Stay
(2) When the Minister gives notice under paragraph 2 of subsection (1), all steps in the appeal are stayed as of the date of the notice, until he or she gives a further notice to the Board that the appeal may be continued.
Non-application of Regulations Act
(3) Orders and notices under this section are not regulations within the meaning of the Regulations Act.
Minister’s decision
(4) Orders and notices under this section are final and not subject to appeal.
Hearing officer
(5) If the Minister has given notice under paragraph 2 of subsection (1), the Minister may, within 30 days after the giving of notice, appoint a hearing officer to conduct a hearing at which representations may be made respecting the matter that was stayed before the Ontario Municipal Board.
Time and notice of hearing
(6) The hearing officer shall fix the time and place for the hearing and give notice of the hearing in the prescribed manner and to the prescribed persons and public bodies.
Rules of procedures
(7) The hearing officer may make rules of procedure for the hearing.
Hearing
(8) The hearing officer shall conduct a hearing and make written recommendations, with reasons, to the Minister within 30 days after the conclusion of the hearing, recommending what action the Minister, with the approval of the Lieutenant Governor in Council, should take with respect to the matter, including making any decision that the Ontario Municipal Board could have made with respect to the matter.
Protection from personal liability
(9) The hearing officer is not personally liable for anything done by him or her in good faith in the execution of his or her duty under this Act or any neglect or default in the execution in good faith of his or her duty.
Extension
(10) The Minister may extend the 30-day period set out in subsection (8) at the hearing officer’s request.
Action by Minister with approval of L.G. in C.
(11) The Minister may, with the approval of the Lieutenant Governor in Council, approve, modify or refuse to approve or modify all or part of the hearing officer’s recommendations.
Decision final
(12) The decision under subsection (11) is final and not subject to appeal.
Repeal
17. This Act is repealed on December 16, 2004.
Commencement
18. (1) Subject to subsection (2), this Act shall be deemed to have come into force on December 16, 2003.
Same
(2) Sections 6 and 8 come into force on the day this Act receives Royal Assent.
Short title
19. The short title of this Act is the Greenbelt Protection Act, 2004.
Schedule 1
greenbelt study area
1. The greenbelt study area consists of the following land:
1. The Regional Municipality of Durham.
2. The Regional Municipality of Halton.
3. The Regional Municipality of Peel.
4. The Regional Municipality of York.
5. City of Hamilton.
6. City of Toronto.
7. Those lands in The Regional Municipality of Niagara located to the south of the southern shore of Lake Ontario and to the north of the northern boundary of the part of the Niagara Escarpment Planning Area described in the Niagara Escarpment Plan.
8. Those lands within the part of the Niagara Escarpment Planning Area described in the Niagara Escarpment Plan located to the north of the northern boundary of The Regional Municipality of Peel.
9. Those lands within the part of the Niagara Escarpment Planning Area described in the Niagara Escarpment Plan located to the east of the eastern boundary of the City of Hamilton.
10. Those lands within the Oak Ridges Moraine Area under the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Act, 2001 located to the east of the eastern boundary of The Regional Municipality of Durham.
11. Those lands within the Oak Ridges Moraine Area located to the north of the northern boundaries of The Regional Municipality of York and The Regional Municipality of Peel.
12. Those lands within The Regional Municipality of Niagara in the towns of Lincoln, Pelham, Thorold, Grimsby and Niagara Falls designated in the official plan of The Regional Municipality of Niagara as being good tender fruit areas or good grape areas.
Schedule 2
land to which sections 4, 5 and 7 apply
1. Sections 4, 5 and 7 of the Act apply to land within the greenbelt study area except for the following land:
1. Land covered by the Niagara Escarpment Plan approved under the Niagara Escarpment Planning and Development Act that has any land use designation other than Escarpment Natural Area, Escarpment Protection Area or Escarpment Rural Area of the Niagara Escarpment Plan.
2. Oak Ridges Moraine Area under the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Act, 2001.
3. City of Toronto.