Ottawa: Reducing Sprawl At The Cost Of Housing?

Legislators in Ottawa, Ontario Canada are poised to enact "legislation that will ban Ontario Municipal Board appeals on urban expansions". Though this will effectively reduce sprawl by focusing more development in currently developed areas, it could "fragment urban planning and increase housing prices across the province as individual towns and cities chart their own courses," according to John Herbert, Ottawa-Carleton Home Builders Association Vice President. He continues to explain, "It's a bad law in the sense that it is going to increase the cost of housing to consumers and it is going to fragment planning and land development in the province." The OMB has been known to make "pro developer decisions," but keeps a high level of consistency and quality in current Ottawa housing. Reducing the power of the OMB will give legislators more control over development.