On May 2, 2019, the Government of Ontario introduced Bill 108,
the More Homes, More Choice Act, 2019. Bill 108 proposes
changes that the government believes will help bring new housing to
market sooner by making sweeping changes to the land use planning
regime.
Bill 108 would grant property owners and the public significant
new rights to appeal municipal heritage decisions and would force
municipal councils to meet strict deadlines when considering new
heritage by-laws.
Current Heritage Processes
The general purpose of the Ontario Heritage Act (the
Act) is to allow municipalities to designate certain properties as
being of cultural heritage value or interest and to thereby
restrict the alteration and demolition of such properties. Under
the current Act, any person can object to Council's intention
to designate a certain property. The objection triggers a referral
to the Ontario Conservation Review Board (the CRB) for a public
hearing. The CRB issues a report of