By Jessica Proudfoot and Kyle Trolley, Student-at-Law
As 2020 wound to a close, the Alberta
Government passed Bill 48, the Red Tape Reduction Implementation Act, 2020
(No. 2). As the name suggests, this
is an omnibus bill which represents the second major legislative step in this
Government’s stated plan to reduce “red tape” by as much as one third. Most of the Bill’s provisions will take
effect in early June of 2021.
Bill 48 updates or repeals 12 different pieces of legislation. Most of these changes simply eliminate provisions which were identified as redundant or outdated. However, there are some important changes which will be of particular interest to homebuilders and owners, and to developers and municipalities.
Introducing the Land and Property Rights Tribunal Act
Most significantly, Bill 48 will amalgamate the operation of four existing quasi-judicial boards into a single agency. Currently:
- the Municipal Government Board makes decisions about land planning and assessment matters, subdivision appeals, inter-municipal disputes and annexation recommendations;
- the New Home Buyer Protection Board hears appeals of the Registrar’s decision to refuse, suspend, or impose conditions on residential builders’ licenses, as well as appeals of compliance orders and administrative penalties issued under the New Home Buyer Protection Act;
- the Land Compensation Board conducts dispute resolution proceedings and hearings to determine compensation for landowners and tenants impacted by the expropriation of land; and
- the Surface Rights Board assists landowners, occupants and operators to resolve surface access and compensation disputes.
Through the enactment of the Land and
Property Rights Tribunal Act, the mandates of each of these boards will be
merged and heard by a single tribunal: the Land and Property Rights
Tribunal. Notionally, this amalgamation
will allow the boards (some of which already share office space and directors)
to enjoy further cost-sharing benefits.
The rules of procedure and practice of
the former boards will continue until repealed, amended or replaced by the new Tribunal.[1] Any proceeding commenced and
not concluded before the coming into force of the new Land and Property
Rights Tribunal Act will continue to be heard under the current legislation.[2]
The amalgamation will not include the
Public Lands Appeal Board or the Environmental Appeals Board, which together
already share some staff and resources.
For an overview of recent activities at the PLAB, consider registering for our upcoming webinar, “Public Lands Appeal Board: 2020 A Year in Review”.
Changes to the Municipal Government
Act (“MGA”)
Bill 48 includes numerous revisions to the MGA. Of particular interest is the decision to eliminate larger municipalities’ discretion to set their own timelines for processing subdivision and development applications.[3] Municipalities larger than 15,000 citizens will now be required to process applications for subdivision and development permits within the timelines prescribed in the MGA, regardless of their bylaws. That is:
- 20 days to determine whether a development permit application is complete;
- 40 days to approve or deny it; and
- no more than 60 days (in total) to approve or deny an application from the time it was received.
Municipal discretion is further curtailed
by the striking out of s. 668 of the MGA, in its entirety. Historically, s. 668 has offered municipalities
the opportunity to take more than 10% reserve land for municipal and school purposes
(for things like parks, playgrounds, fire halls, EMS stations, and schools) where
the density of a subdivision is anticipated to exceed 30 dwelling units or more
per hectare. Municipalities will no
longer have this option.
The Government intends for these changes to
give certainty to developers, which in turn, is supposed to be good for
business. However, critics note that the
changes do not eliminate all uncertainties. For example, developers must still be alert to the possibility that a
municipality may require additional land to be set aside as an “environmental” or
“conservation” reserve.[4]
In a recent statement, Rural
Municipalities of Alberta, an association comprising Alberta’s 69 counties and
municipal districts, expressed the following concerns about the upcoming
revisions to the MGA:
Bill 48 proposes reductions in
municipal autonomy based on limited evidence from the development industry that
the changes will have a meaningful impact in reducing red tape or supporting
economic growth and job creation. In
general, RMA supports thoughtful and measured red tape reduction initiatives if
they are based on evidence-supported concerns with current legislation and
processes. However, the concept of “red tape reduction” cannot be used as a
catch-all to justify reducing municipal authority over land use planning and
other areas without understanding the potential benefits and consequences of
such a reduction.
Further “red tape reduction” changes to the MGA include:
- administrative changes around the calculation and appeal of off-site levies; and
- changes in the way parties may appeal certain development decisions where the land is provincially regulated.
Changes to the Land Titles Act
Bill 48
also amends the Land Titles Act to create a “pending registration” queue.[5] Under the new process, a
party will be able to address any deficiencies in their application without
moving to the back of the queue. This,
combined with the recent roll-out of Alberta Land Titles Online (“ALTO”) should
decrease costs associated with reviewing, revising and resubmitting documents
to Alberta’s Land Titles Registry.
For further information on how Bill 48 may impact your business or operation, please contact Jessica Proudfoot, or another member of our Energy, Environmental and Regulatory practice group.
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