[All] York Region wants province to cover costs for OMB to defend Provincial Policy in OPP

[Louisette Lanteigne]

Regions want province to cover OMB costs
Newmarket Era  by Sean Pearce

 
Should the province pick up the tab municipalities are 
incurring defending their official plans before the Ontario Municipal 
Board?
Halton regional chairperson Gary Carr thinks so and York Region officials agree.
Halton’s official plan passed unanimously at its council, but the region
 now faces 41 OMB appeals stemming from a pair of amendments imposed by 
the province to bring the document into conformity with the Ontario 
Places to Grow plan. 
Under the circumstances, Mr. Carr does not think it is fair Halton 
taxpayers should be out of pocket to defend a plan that adheres to 
provincial legislation.
“We don’t feel we should have to pay all of the costs when we’ve met all
 of the requirements,” he said. “We’re expecting some sort of a reply 
from them.”
Halton passed a resolution re-affirming its three-year-old request to 
the province that it take responsibility for all OMB appeals launched in
 connection with a municipality’s conformity with the Place to Grow Act 
and cover any accrued costs. 
The resolution from Halton was sent to the Municipal Affairs and Housing
 Ministry, several MPPs and a upper and lower-tier municipalities, 
including York Region.
York Region chairperson Bill Fisch understands where his Halton counterpart’s point of view. 
York made a similar proposal in 2010, he said, adding it wasn’t successful.
“We didn’t get any money from the province, but we have had a high 
degree of co-operation from them on some of the appeals we’ve faced,” he
 said. “But, no, they didn’t give us a cheque.”
An official plan is a document drafted and passed by a municipality or 
region and, while it must comply with all pertinent legislation and 
receive provincial approval, it’s ultimately the municipal or regional 
government responsible to defend it, Mr. Fisch said. 
York’s official plan has also been appealed to the OMB.
Municipalities hold dominion over land-use planning, including how best 
to apply provincial policies locally and, as a result, must be prepared 
to defend their decisions if an appeal comes forward, Municipal Affairs 
and Housing Ministry spokesperson May Nazar said. 
Municipalities are responsible governments that have the authority to 
make most local land-use planning decisions, she stated via e-mail. 
Those decisions are based on their official plans, which reflect priorities and the broader provincial interests, she added. 

To view story online visit here: 
http://www.yorkregion.com/news-story/1936424-regions-want-province-to-cover-omb-costs/
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