Bill 41 explained in plain English
Preserving Existing Communities Act, 2013
Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Legislative Assembly of Ontario snapshot for 40th Parliament, 2nd Session. Representative vote breakdowns appear when the Assembly publishes an Ayes and Nays page for the bill.
Our plain-language take, written for civic education.
Source: By PoliticalData.ca
This bill amends the Places to Grow Act, 2005, to make certain municipal decisions refusing development in stable residential areas or parks and open spaces final and not subject to appeal.
Bill 41, the Preserving Existing Communities Act, 2013, amends the Places to Grow Act, 2005. It makes certain municipal decisions that refuse to allow development in stable residential areas or parks and open spaces final and not appealable to the Ontario Municipal Board. This applies if the municipality has passed a resolution stating the proposed amendment would not be in the best interests of residents and if the municipality is meeting its growth and intensification targets. The bill also states that it prevails over other legislation and includes transition rules for decisions made around March 27, 2013.
- Amends the Places to Grow Act, 2005.
- Introduces a new section (14.1) to the Places to Grow Act, 2005, regarding the finality of certain municipal planning decisions.
- Specifies conditions under which municipal decisions to refuse official plan amendments for land designated as 'Stable Residential Area' or 'Parks and Open Space' are final and cannot be appealed to the Ontario Municipal Board.
- States that this new provision prevails over other legislation.
- Includes transition rules for decisions made on or after March 27, 2013, and for decisions deemed to have been made before March 27, 2013, under specific circumstances.
- Defines 'Plan' as the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, 2006, and 'plan area' as the Greater Golden Horseshoe Growth Plan Area.
- Municipal councils
- Municipal planning authorities
- Developers proposing amendments to official plans
- The Ontario Municipal Board
- Residents of the Greater Golden Horseshoe Growth Plan Area
- Municipal councils must pass a resolution stating that a requested official plan amendment is not in the best interests of residents for the decision to be final.
- Decisions to refuse official plan amendments related to 'Stable Residential Area' or 'Parks and Open Space' are not subject to appeal to the Ontario Municipal Board if conditions are met.
- Municipalities must demonstrate they are achieving applicable population growth and intensification targets for the new provisions to apply.
- The new section prevails over other legislation, meaning its rules take precedence.
- The Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent.
- The new provisions apply to decisions made on or after March 27, 2013.
- Specific transition rules apply to decisions deemed to have been made before March 27, 2013, if an appeal right existed but no notice was filed as of March 26, 2013.
- The bill does not specify what constitutes 'best interests of the residents of the municipality' for the purpose of the council's resolution.
- The bill does not define 'Stable Residential Area' or 'Parks and Open Space' specifically, relying on existing municipal official plans.
- The bill does not detail how municipalities must demonstrate they are achieving 'applicable population growth and intensification targets determined under the Plan'.
Adds a new section (14.1) that makes certain municipal decisions refusing development in stable residential areas or parks and open spaces final and not subject to appeal to the Ontario Municipal Board.
Source: Section 1
This plan is referenced in the definition of 'Plan' and 'plan area' within the new section of the Places to Grow Act, 2005, and its targets are a condition for the finality of decisions.
Source: Section 14.1 (1) and 14.1 (4)
The new provisions in section 14.1 of the Places to Grow Act, 2005, prevail over the Planning Act.
Source: Section 14.1 (7) (b)
Generated using AI from official bill text. Not legal advice. It is written by PoliticalData.ca for civic education, automatically checked and spot-reviewed before publishing.
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Vote Summary
This bill is still active. We only show vote counts after the legislature publishes a recorded division.
No published representative vote breakdown
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Official sources
Status, sponsor, votes, and timeline on this page are drawn from these official legislative sources and public records. Each summary above is attributed to its own source.
How this data is sourced