Niagara municipalities are in the process of assessing the impacts of changes to land-use planning matters, as dictated by the province.
As part of the 2024 Cutting Red Tape to Build More Homes Act, on March 31, 2025, Niagara Region will become an upper-tier municipality without planning responsibilities. This means most land-use planning matters will be downloaded to lower-tier municipalities.
Like other Niagara municipalities, The Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake has endorsed a service agreement with the region, which is set to be signed upon proclamation at the end of March. This agreement was presented to town council in September, which is in the process of revising its Official Plan.
In alignment with the new provincial policies, the region has exempted many municipal Official Plan amendments from requiring regional approval.
The province, however, is maintaining approval authority for new Official Plans and conformity reviews, NOTL’s planning director Kirsten McCauley explained.
The town has been aware of these changes since the release of Bill 23 in November 2022, and has “proactively worked with staff to address potential operational impacts,” McCauley said.
“Several business cases have been developed to support the transition, including evaluating resource requirements and identifying staffing needs.”
But there are still some unknowns about how this will affect staff workloads, McCauley said. “It is difficult to determine the exact amount of additional work this will create at this time. The town will closely monitor the transition and is proactively preparing to manage the workload effectively,” she said.
The costs associated with the review of planning applications will be recovered through application fees, the planning director explained, and the town will undertake a planning fee review, with the potential for fees to be adjusted as required.
The agreement also allows for the use of regional staff for project-specific assistance, which “would be similar to hiring a consultant for a project,” said McCauley.
Pelham staff are also adjusting to the changes after being advised by the province that Niagara Region would be removed from land-use planning responsibilities to avoid duplication, and to support efficient land-use planning decision-making, director of community planning and development Dr. Pam Duesling said in a statement.
In addition to new Official Plans, some specific municipal amendments would also need to be okayed by the province, including those “establishing, amending, or revoking any policies required as part of a major transit station area,” she said. Decisions on land division, including consents and subdivision plans, are automatically now assigned to lower-tier municipalities in Niagara.
Duesling said Pelham has also created an agreement with the region to assist with this transition and amended planning responsibilities. The region will continue to assist the town with land-use compatibility reviews, including gas and petroleum resources, screening to address water protection, environmental reviews, urban design and Indigenous consultation.
This agreement will be reviewed with each new council elected every four years, said Duesling.
Town staff “will continue to work with the region through this transitional period and continue to serve Pelham residents at the local level,” she said.
Pelham is currently undertaking a new Official Plan, and once the plan is completed, it will be reviewed and approved by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing.
A land-use compatibility review undertaken by the region will be paid for using regional development charges and user fees.
“At this time, no additional costs are anticipated for the amended planning services,” said Duesling.
Despite exempting official plan amendments from provincial approval, the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing would retain the authority under the Planning Act to intervene where necessary to ensure amendments align with provincial policy, reads a memo provided to regional council earlier this month.
Once the changes are in effect, Niagara Region “will no longer provide planning review on development applications from both a provincial and regional perspective,” says the memo.
The region will only be a commenting agency and will focus on “matters of regional interest,” such as regional infrastructure, waste management, stormwater reviews, regional roads, other engineering services and region-owned properties.
While a city spokesperson did not respond to similar questions about the impact of changes to planning responsibilities, Thorold Mayor Terry Ugulini shared some of his views during last week’s regional budget review committee meeting.
He said potential savings that may come from the changes should be an avenue to alleviate a tax increase at the region.
He believes that consultant-type services available from the region will only be sought by smaller municipalities, he said, and should impact the cost of planning staff at the region, based on the number of permits required.
The region’s new Official Plan was just recently approved by the province, and as part of the transition of responsibilities, area municipalities will be guided by the region’s OP until they have completed updates to their own local plans that incorporate applicable Niagara OP policies.
Angela Stea, director of strategic initiatives for the region, said this means Niagara municipalities will need to make sure their plans align with the region’s, and will need to abide by the region’s OP until their own is updated.
“They may have that lieu time where they’re dealing with two Official Plans,” she said.
On top of local OP reviews, other amendments are anticipated to be submitted in the coming months, including a number of secondary plans in various stages of development across the region. Proposals for boundary expansions are also expected, and further details will be shared with the ministry in the coming months as part of transition, said regional staff.
