City staff are working hard to evaluate and respond to the "very large" regional housing bill as they have "some concerns" as the provincial government appears to be rushing to pass it in the legislature, the Ottawa Planning Committee was informed on Thursday.

The "More Homes Built Faster" Act was introduced on Tuesday. It proposes far-reaching changes including legalizing triplexes in most residential areas across the province and reducing – or in some cases eliminating – the fees municipalities can collect from citizens to build growth-supporting infrastructure and removing site plan control that deals with landscaping and drainage.

The scope of the bill will include laws governing local planning, heritage, and conservation practices, and its unveiling was accompanied by a series of proposed regulatory changes which the province is now consulting on.

David Wise, the city’s director of economic development and long-range planning, told members of the planning committee on Thursday, "The challenge we face is that Bill 23 is an extremely large piece of legislation that touches almost every aspect of our organization's work, and we have little time to respond."

He was asked how the city and its council members can participate in the legislation and what kind of information they can expect to receive to share with local residents. On another note, staff will write a letter to the province stating first the council’s formal approval, but the staff do not expect to have time for this after the bill’s first reading in the legislature on Tuesday; it was scheduled for morning and evening discussions Wednesday and Thursday.

Timothy Mark, the city planning department’s chief lawyer, said, "It seems the government is aiming for a quick pass." He said it might not even be possible to give planning committee members 24 hours to review and provide feedback on the staff’s response to the bill depending on when the legislation moves to the regional committee stage.

Wise said on Thursday that staff will work overnight and possibly through the weekend to analyze the potential impacts of the various components of the bill on the city and to prepare a response to send to the province. Information will also be prepared for the mayor and councillors as new members at the council table are sworn in on November 15 – regarding the impacts of the bill.

From finances to planning operations. "I’m sure newly elected council members are reading the 78 pages of Bill 23 as we speak. What can they focus on now?" joked Scott Moffatt, co-chair of the planning committee.

But the staff’s first priority is preparing their submission to the province. "There are very significant concerns among staff about this legislation and its widespread reach, so we recognize that we need to ensure our viewpoint is submitted back to the province as soon as we can."

Riley Brokington, a planning committee member and a member of the Ontario Municipalities Association board, said everyone he works with wants to facilitate building more housing "but we have to do it smartly and we have to do it right and sometimes when we rush we lose those two points."

Two recent important housing-related bills were passed by the Progressive Conservative provincial government, including one granting strong powers to the mayor in Ottawa and Toronto, and were passed into law in less than a month. When asked about the timing of Bill 23, which was introduced the day after municipal elections across the province and before new councils are sworn in mid-November – along with concerns about insufficient time for people to consider and respond,

a housing spokesperson said Municipal Affairs Minister Steve Clark issued a statement noting that "urgent and bold action is needed to address Ontario’s housing supply crisis" and that Bill 23 is part of a plan to deliver 1.5 million homes over the next decade. Ontario residents sent a clear message to our government when they re-elected us earlier this year: they expect us to fulfill our promise to build more housing. With new councils and mayors taking office next month, there is no better time for us to work together to achieve this shared priority."

Brokington wants to see vibrant committee hearings on Bill 23 as he hopes the provincial government is open to hearing from people across the province and making changes to its legislation. He also argues that municipalities already under financial pressure cannot bear additional costs passed on to taxpayers in advance to help pay for supporting infrastructure."

You know what? Brokington said, "We will listen to Ontario residents." "Consultation, usually from my experience, provides some good suggestions and we can reach impressive results."

Edited by: Yusra Bamtraf