Changes to Halton's role in land-use planning
Changes to the Province’s planning system have modified Halton Region’s role in land-use planning. As of July 1, 2024, Halton Region became an "upper-tier municipality without planning responsibilities." This means:
- the Halton Region Official Plan is no longer a Regional Plan, and is now a Local Plan of the four Local Municipalities;
- the Region is no longer the “approval authority” for Local Municipal Official Plans or amendments;
- the Region can no longer appeal matters associated with the Planning Act; and
- the Region can no longer be identified as a Party at an Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) hearing (it can continue with existing appeals).
Going forward, the Regional role in land-use planning only involves the following:
- Participating in and comenting on land-use planning matters related to:
- Regional infrastructure (water, wastewater, roads, etc.);
- Regional waste management;
- the Region’s role in affordable and assisted housing;
- the Region’s provincially mandated responsibilities in a such as source water protection and non-potable site condition standard requests; and,
- other Regional services that have a land component.
- Providing assistance to the Local Municipalities when both parties agree through a formal Memorandum of Understanding. This aligns with Section 15(2) of the Planning Act.
- Helping the Local Municipalities make progress with their growth strategies by providing Regional infrastructure.
- Providing guidelines/protocols that support and streamline these Regional responsibilities through Local Municipal planning processes.
The planning section of halton.ca is currently under reconstruction to reflect the Region’s new role. Until this work is finalized, there will be some references to the Region’s previous role and the Regional Official Plan that are not current.