Item - 2021.PH20.6

The Planning and Housing Committee recommends that:

1. City Council request the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning to report back to the Planning and Housing Committee meeting in the second quarter of 2021 on potential improvements to virtual hearings at the Committee of Adjustment with regards to:

a. advice on the feasibility of sending notices to all residential mail-boxes within the 60 metre radius from the subject property;

b. including a clearly stated deadline for comment submission on posted notices;

c. reviewing the feasibility of moving the deadline for public submissions closer to the meeting date, from 5 business days to 3 business days prior to the meeting; and

d. reviewing the feasibility of extending the deadline for elected officials, providing a period of 1 business day after the notice deadline to review comments received from community members.

I believe that tenant participation is critical for good City planning and public process. This motion aims to build on MM27.27 and PH16.4, both dealing with the Committee of Adjustment, by addressing barriers to tenant participation. If a resident lives in an apartment building that is the subject of an application to the Committee of Adjustment, they will not receive direct notice of the hearing from the City, whereas property owners up to 60m from the site receive this type of notice; regardless whether they live in the community or not. Applicants are required to post signage in a conspicuous location, however the absence of a clearly stated deadline for public comment submission makes these signs less effective participation resources than they could be. For these reasons, I am asking for Planning and Housing Committee’s support to look at these Committee of Adjustment changes to improve tenant participation.