A new provincial law could affect how your next rental property is developed, according to Renfrew’s Town Planner.
Eric Withers spoke at the Tuesday, June 28th Town Council Meeting and says Bill 109, or the More Homes For Everyone Act, is intended to remove waiting times to get housing built, but believes the approach to it has been piecemeal.
The recently passed law delegates site plan approval to town staff, standardizes draft plans for subdivisions and condos, and forces towns to get approvals done in within a certain time frame or risk having to refund application fees among other changes.
While council approved by-law changes to fit the requirements in the Act at the meeting, Withers says a lot of rural municipalities are still digesting the change.
Council did have some gripes about the process that was used to design the bill. Reeve Peter Emon calls the act flawed, saying it points the finger at the municipal level during the housing crisis but doesn’t address delays caused by provincial departments or private developers.
Some of the new by-law changes come into effect immediately, while others will be phased in gradually.
(written by Kasey Egan)
