Madawaska Valley’s Development and Property Committee will be holding off any support for other municipalities calling out the OMB.
Mayor Kim Love quickly pointed out the fact a non-elected body can overrule an elected one, heavily affects decision making.
It stems from a number of municipalities, including Aurora and Burlington, pointing out the Ontario Municipal Board’s power over planning and development decisions.
In the letter addressed to Kathleen Wynne from Aurora’s city council, it states OMB decisions are often made by one person, a person who is not elected or held accountable to a community.
Committee Chair, Faith Archer says the OMB’s decisions can heavily impact small communities and should be applied with a rural lens.
Love says it’s a double-edged sword with the OMB, as its position and powers give residents a place to go if they feel their rights have been impeded on or to appeal decisions made by municipalities which could potentially have serious effects or raise concerns in a certain community.
The committee determined that while changes are certainly needed to address the OMB’s power over municipalities, without having more information or knowing what direction other councils decide to go in they didn’t have enough to bring it to local council quite yet.