Doug Ford government puts its own zoning tool under microscope for possible cancellation

The Ontario government is reviewing some of their own zoning tools after finding that some of the development sites were showing “a lack of progress.”

Housing Minister Paul Calandra first promised to review the Minister’s Zoning Orders (MZOs) in September through a “use it or lose it” approach.

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On Wednesday, the minister announced that it had completed a review of MZOs approved since 2018, with some exceptions for requests that were directly related to provincial priorities such as transit-oriented communities, long-term care facilities and hospitals.

It also excluded MZOs made since December 2022 because stakeholders may not have had time to demonstrate their progress.

As a result of the review, eight orders unrelated to housing are being consulted for proposed amendment or cancellation.

Another 14 housing-related MZOs are “under enhanced monitoring because they are showing a lack of progress.”

“I have always been clear that if we do not see the results we expect from a zoning order, our government will not hesitate to amend or revoke it,” Calandra said.

“This approach sends a clear message that when our government issues a minister’s zoning order to support priorities such as housing or long-term care, we expect to see results.”

A MZO is a provincial mechanism that allows the government to re-zone a piece of land and override municipal development bylaws or regulations.

WHERE ARE THE MZOS UNDER REVIEW?

The zoning orders under the microscope are from all across Ontario.

Four of the eight orders being consulted for proposed amendment or revocation are from the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area. Two are in Markham, Ont., another is in Brampton and the fourth is in Pickering.

The other MZOs were approved in Kingston, McNab-Braeside (eastern Ontario) and Oro-Medonte.

The government says the reasons were for a “lack of downstream implementation” or lack of municipal approval, a lack of water or wastewater servicing, or findings that show substantial progress has not been made on part of the project land.

Similar reasons were given for the 14 orders on the government’s watch list. Officials said the following sites would potentially be considered for either amendments, cancellation or the addition of an expiry date “if they fail to make substantial progress.”

These sites can be found in Cambridge, Brampton, Belleville, Cavan Monaghan, Innisfil, New Tecumseh, Southgate, Whitchurch-Stouffville, Collingwood, and Kawartha Lakes.

Outgoing Mississauga Mayor and Ontario Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie told reporters Wednesday she was disappointed that some of her city’s zoning orders were not included among the list of those under review.

In May, the Doug Ford government used a MZO to double the size of a mixed-use community and fast-track developments on two other parcels of land.

At the time, she noted that certain neighbourhoods aren’t fully developed for what is being proposed and that council should have been given the opportunity to consult on any changes that would impact the city of Mississauga.

The province’s auditor general noted two years ago that the Progressive Conservative government frequently used MZOs to overcome potential barriers and delays to development—to a significantly higher degree than other governments.

Forty-four MZOs were issued by the government between March 2019 and March 2021. In the past, about one was issued per year, the 2021 report said.