The Ontario government released a new set of land-use planning rules for municipalities, which build on the Cutting Red Tape to Build More Homes Act.

Paul Calandra, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, recently outlined key changes in the 2024 Ontario Provincial Planning Statement (PPS), which take effect on October 20, 2024.

“The new Provincial Planning Statement recognizes that municipalities know best where and what types of homes are needed to address the unprecedented population growth we’ve seen,” he said at the annual Association of Municipalities of Ontario conference. “It gives them the tools and flexibility they need to get it done.”

The new directives include developing more homes in areas close to major transit stations, such as subway, GO, light rail and rapid transit bus stations, as well as building more homes on underused low-density lands like shopping plazas, malls and brownfields.

“These lands are often in highly desirable areas of a city or town that require additional municipal support to make development projects feasible,” John DiMichele, CEO of the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board, said in a statement following the PPS release. “By turning underused lands into housing, we can meet our supply targets faster and help more families attain a place to call home.”

He added that the condensed and more streamlined PPS will make it easier and less costly for planning officials to adopt the new rules into their planning document.

Other changes encourage building a broader range of housing options for students and seniors and more integrated planning for future growth that maximizes public investment, for example, promoting better coordination between municipalities and school boards.