It's written for the south, so what could the More Homes Built Faster Act mean for northern Ontario?

The Ford government's More Homes Built Faster Act will continue moving through the Ontario Legislature this week, but while it's mostly aimed at the south, it could mean big changes for how northern Ontario develops as well. 

The proposed legislation, which is still open for public commenting until this Thursday, would loosen a long list of planning regulations with the hopes of easing the housing shortage across the province.

It includes a list of specific housing targets for 29 cities and towns, none of them in northern Ontario. 

Sam Biasucci, owner of Sault Ste. Marie-based development company SalDan, says small changes to the process of getting new subdivisions approved will make it cheaper for people trying to buy a home in the north. 

"Five hundred dollars here, $1,000 there, little delay here, little delay there, little delay here, extra time for this, extra time for that," he said.

"You know, they all add up. The homeowner's paying another 100 bucks, 150 bucks a month for no reason whatsoever."

Biasucci says the proposed legislation signals the government can no longer afford to bankroll affordable housing projects on its own and needs the private sector to step in and fill that need. 

"It's a simple thing. If we don't want to pay any more taxes, we got to get creative. This is creative," said the developer, who also regularly builds in Greater Sudbury and Toronto.

Specifically, Biasucci is happy to see a proposed lifting of zoning constraints that would allow three units per lot in any residential neighbourhood, adding his designers are already working on new multi-unit housing options.

Peter Tonazzo, director of planning for the City of Sault Ste. Marie, says they have already started allowing more triplexes in areas that have traditionally been single family detached homes.

"I think that might be perhaps unsettling for some neighbourhoods. But it has been happening and I think it will continue to happen," he said.

"You're going to start seeing a lot more infill development that may be occurring as a matter of right, without that rezoning or public notification process."

However, Tonazzo says while the More Homes Built Faster Act targets some barriers specific to southern Ontario, housing projects often don't go ahead in northern Ontario simply because developers can make more money building in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). 

Tonazzo is also a little nervous at the proposal to scrap some planning controls, including site plan agreements, that the city uses to make sure property owners keep up landscaping and drainage requirements for years after they get approval from the council.

"You know, I think we're at a point where we need to be bold, but we need to be careful in where the tipping points in that balancing act are," he said. 

Another major change the PC government hopes to bring in is a ban on most third-party appeals to the provincial planning tribunal.

For decades, citizens and groups not directly involved in a development have been able to appeal a decision of city or town council that they don't agree with.

John Lindsay has fought so many Sudbury developments— most recently the controversial Kingsway Entertainment District— that he can't remember the exact number.

The 85-year-old feels the proposed changes will make the system less democratic and put more pressure on city councils and planning committees as the "last line of defence."

"Rather than waiting for the next election, you had the opportunity to come forward and say 'Ok, we're concerned about this and the process may take some time,' in most cases you're looking at six months to two years," said Lindsay.

"Which in the case of these developments, which may affect communities for generations, that's not really that long."

Rick Miller, owner of Miller and Urso Surveying in North Bay, thinks most appeals aren't necessary, considering the due diligence that is done during the planning process, with multiple government agencies and the public getting a chance to have their say.

"Everybody has their kick at the can. They may not like the answer that comes out, which is human nature if someone doesn't agree with your opinion, but the reality is everybody gets a shot at it," he said.   

Miller doesn't see "one giant game changer" in the More Homes Built Faster Act, but does think it'll generally help development in the north.

Although he says a bigger obstacle is recent changes to endangered species legislation, which considers most urban areas in northern Ontario as potential habitat and requires studies that often take between six months and a year to complete.

"Many many times they walk away. 'We have a window of opportunity here and we're going to miss it,'" said Miller. 

"It makes it impossible for cities like North Bay to develop in an orderly fashion. That greatly adds to the cost and I mean if we're trying to build more affordable housing and we're driving up the cost of servicing land to build that housing, how can we make it affordable?"

He would instead like to see a return to the previous regulations, where a developer was required to have a "net benefit" for species at risk like whippoorwills or Blanding's turtles, by replacing trees or wetlands that had to be removed for construction.