Ontario Municipal Board

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The Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) is an independent adjudicative tribunal that provides a public forum for resolving disagreements relating to community planning, governance issues and other matters in the province of Ontario, Canada, as provided for under the Ontario Municipal Board Act. The OMB hears appeals and receives applications independently of the government.^[1] One of the oldest adjudicative tribunals in the province, the OMB was created in 1897.

Members of the OMB are appointed by the government-of-the-day in Ontario.

[edit] Politics

The OMB has been criticized, especially by citizen and environmental groups, for supporting developers in most disputes. Particularly, developments opposed by municipal councils have been approved by the OMB, fostering resentment among residents who dislike a central, provincial-level administrative body "interfering" with local municipal issues. This resentment may be accounted for by the way in which the OMB interprets its mandate to step in "when people can't resolve their differences on community planning issues". As a result of recent amendments to the Planning Act (Ontario) the OMB is now required to have regard to the decision of local councils in determining the outcome of an appeal. However, proponents of the OMB cite that appeal hearings are based on specific criteria, including:

official plans
zoning by-laws
subdivision plans
provincial land-use policies and sound planning principles

Moreover, many local councils will refuse planning applications that are politically sensitive, notwithstanding the merits of the application, and leave it up to the OMB to make the sensitive decision for them.

On this basis, recent amendments to the Planning Act (Ontario) limiting what matters may or may not be appealed to the OMB, can be considered as "council reform", rather than "OMB reform".