Ottawa homebuilders association defends Ontario Municipal Board as review is underway

As a provincial review of the Ontario Municipal Board continues, the president of the Greater Ottawa Home Builders' Association says community groups opposed to development don't always have the best interests of cities in mind.

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Asked whether the OMB should give more credence to municipal decisions, John Herbert said it depends.

"If you believe that political decisions should be made more often, then we should be paying more attention to local council decisions, for sure," he told CBC Radio's Ottawa Morning on Tuesday.

"If you believe that the medium- and long-term interests of our cities are important and they should be based on high-quality planning decisions, then we think that they should continue to rest with the board."

'Not necessarily the best planning'

Having elected municipal officials consult with the public on urban planningand make decisions are "all very good things," Herbert said, "but they're not necessarily the best planning decisions; they're what people want.And so the local interest is not always in the public interest. There can be a big difference there.

"... We have to be careful whether the local special interest groups are affecting decisions that could be of benefit to the region at large."

As an example Herbert cited the Canadian Tire CentreinKanata, currentlyhome to the Ottawa Senators, which is hoping to move downtown.

People in the neighbourhood didn't like the idea but the facility originally called the Palladiumended upbenefitingpeople "across the region" after it was built, he said.

Public consultation continues

The provincial government launched a review of the Ontario Municipal Boardwith the hope of making it more efficient and accessible.

One of the issues under consideration is the OMB's scope, with the government saying it has heard complaints that too many matters are appealed to the board.

Ontario is also considering hiring more OMB adjudicators currently there are 24 full-time and part-time members of the board and deciding whether to have multi-member panels hear cases.

Public consultation began Oct. 5 and will continue until Dec. 19.