Item - 2023.PH8.18

The Planning and Housing committee recommends that:

1. City Council request the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning to report back to Planning and Housing Committee in the second quarter of 2024 with an update on the phase two implementation of the Bill 23 amendments to the Ontario Heritage Act, including recommendations on future phases of work.

This report provides an update on the City of Toronto's phased implementation of the Province's Bill 23, the More Homes Built Faster Act, 2022, amendments to the Ontario Heritage Act (the "Act"). The amendments were proclaimed into force on January 1, 2023 and as previously reported, have immediate and long-term implications for the conservation of heritage properties in the city.

The amendments introduced accelerated timelines for listings and designations within the planning process and placed new restrictions on the maintenance and use of the Heritage Register. If subsections 27(14), (15) or 16 of the Act require the removal of a property from the Heritage Register, a five-year moratorium on re-listing properties applies in that circumstance.

During the first phase of the Bill 23 implementation, the City amended the Municipal Code and delegated new administrative authority to the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning to ensure timely responses to prescribed events within the new timelines so that Council are not precluded from making informed decisions with respect to land use planning and heritage conservation. City staff also introduced process improvements to align the listing of heritage properties within the City's response to Bill 109, the development review operating model supported by Concept 2 Keys, and the new mandatory preapplication process for planning applications. These changes have allowed the City to continue to list and designate properties on the Heritage Register and respond to applications involving heritage properties within prescribed time limits.

The second phase of Bill 23 implementation will address changes to the Act that will have a long-term impact on the City's Heritage Register, such as the two-year timeline to review existing properties in the Heritage Register and the five-year moratorium on re-listing a property, if removed pursuant to subsections 27(14), (15) or (16) of the Act. These changes have significant implications for the approximately 4000 properties that are currently listed on the Heritage Register and will affect the way the City uses the Heritage Register moving forward. As part of phase two, staff have begun conducting a City-wide review of the Heritage Register and prioritization of listed properties for designation and, subject to the availability of resources, some of the listed properties will be designated by the first provincial expiry deadline, January 1, 2025.

This report provides an update on phase one implementation and describes the approach that staff are taking to implement phase two.