Streamlining The Municipal Development Review Process: Current Guide of Municipalities’ Best Practices

Ontario’s Planning Act, 1990, recognizes the decision making authority of municipal councils in local planning matters and establishes a process for development approvals. Municipal governments have the power to approve, conditionally approve, or reject development applications submitted by residents, businesses and others. If an appeal is made on a municipal decision, the application approval may then move onto the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT).

Every municipal development approval process follows a similar path from the moment of submission until the municipality makes a decision. The objective of this planning best practices guide is to offer solutions to the hurdles and bottlenecks faced by municipal governments in the approval process.

AMO recognizes that delays in development approval processes can impact economic development in the community by slowing the pace of new construction and affecting the supply of housing entering the market. Process delays can also result in deferred property tax revenues from new development, impacting the municipalities’ fiscal capacity.

To help you shorten development application review timelines, AMO’s best practices guide, Streamlining The Municipal Development Review Process: Current Guide of Municipalities’ Best Practices, is now available. Find ways to improve the processes, timelines, tools, and see municipal case studies. To share your municipality’s planning best practices, submit on our website.