On March 21, the Minister of Municipal Affairs presented Bill 16, entitled “An Act to amend the Act respecting land use planning and development and other provisions” (the “Bill“), to the Quebec National Assembly. The Bill is in keeping with the National Policy on Architecture and Land Use Planning, unveiled in June 2022, one of whose objectives was to develop a strategic vision to guide collective action in the field of architecture and land use planning in Quebec. The Bill’s proposed amendments aim to establish a planning monitoring system, modernize the content of land-use planning documents and facilitate the densification of Quebecers’ living environments, while updating planning practices to meet current challenges such as housing affordability and climate change. The main themes of the Bill’s amendments are as follows:
- Modernize the Act respecting land use planning and development;
- Speed up application in the field;
- Simplify procedures, particularly for revising planning documents;
- Optimize the urbanized area;
- Protecting water and natural environments;
- Increase housing supply;
- Protecting people and property;
- Streamline public consultation processes;
- Facilitate projects in the public interest and reinforce the exemplary role of the State.
Among the interesting measures put forward by the Bill, we note the proposal to grant the council of a municipality with a planning advisory committee the possibility of adopting an incentive zoning by-law. This measure would enhance the planning powers of municipalities by enabling them to agree to relax zoning restrictions (e.g., limiting the number of storeys in a residential building in a given zone) in return for certain commitments in the public interest (e.g., inclusion of affordable housing). In short, the Bill represents the government’s first step in establishing the ambitions expressed in its Politique nationale de l’architecture et de l’aménagement du territoire. The Bill is currently at the stage of specific consultations. It is to be expected that many stakeholders will want to be involved in the discussions surrounding the Bill, given the importance of the reform it aspires to implement.
