Sarnia's mayor supports the province's plan to replace the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) with a less powerful agency.
The Local Planning Appeal Tribunal will give municipalities and citizens more say over land use.
Mayor Mike Bradley says the steps proposed will bring some balance back to municipal decision-making.
"My long held personal view, going back to the 1990s, has been that we do not need the Ontario Municipal Board in Ontario," says Bradley. "This is the only jurisdiction in North America that has a body that can overrule local councils and local decision making."
Bradley says in theory, it looks good.
"It looks like a very positive step forward, to simplify the process, to empower local councils and local citizens and if that is held to and that is what unfolds with the legislation... that's a really good step for the province," he says.
According to government officials, the tribunal will only have the ability to resolve whether or not a municipality has followed its planning process and land use plans.
The changes will mean fewer municipal decisions can be overturned than under the current process.