Ontario Rethinks Proposed Community Benefits Charges And Changes To Parkland Dedication And Development Charges

On July 8, 2020, a little over a year after proposing sweeping changes to the planning regime in Ontario through Bill 108, the provincial government has introduced new legislation that would scale back the proposed changes. The new legislation, known as Bill 197, would narrow the scope of the previously-proposed community benefits charge (CBC) authority, and make related changes to parkland dedication and soft service development charges.

As described in our May 22, 2019 Update, The 2019 Housing Supply Action Plan: Much More Than a Return to the Former OMB Process, among the legislative changes in Bill 108 were amendments to the Planning Act and Development Charges Act, 1997 (the "Development Charges Act") that would replace existing municipal powers regarding parkland dedication, soft service development charges, and height and density bonuses in exchange for community benefits, with the authority to impose a single new CBC against development. However, those