One reader has asked us: can municipalities prevent developers from putting clothesline restrictions in new subdivisions? Yes, they can. Section 51 of the Ontario Planning Act provides:
51 (17) The applicant shall provide the approval authority with the prescribed information showing,
…(l) the nature and extent of any restrictions affecting the land proposed to be subdivided, including restrictive covenants or easements.
51 (24) In considering a draft plan of subdivision, regard shall be had, among other matters, to the health, safety, convenience .. and welfare of the present and future inhabitants of the municipality and to,
(h) conservation of natural resources and flood control; and(l) the extent to which the plan’s design optimizes the available supply, means of supplying, efficient use and conservation of energy….