Item - 2022.PH30.7

The Planning and Housing Committee recommends that:  

1. City Council amend Toronto Municipal Code, Chapter 363 (Construction and Demolition), in accordance with Appendix 1 to the report (December 20, 2021) from the Chief Building Official and Executive Director, Toronto Building, to come into effect on March 1, 2022, subject to such stylistic and technical changes to the draft by-law as may be required.

2. City Council amend Appendix C, Schedule 8 of the Toronto Municipal Code, Chapter 441, Fees and Charges, by deleting items 141 to 144 inclusive, 146, and 157 to 160 inclusive and adding items 161 to 166 inclusive substantially in accordance with Appendix 2 to the report (December 20, 2021) from the Chief Building Official and Executive Director, Toronto Building, to reflect City Council's approval of the 2021 Staff Recommended Operating Budget for Toronto Building.

3. City Council authorize the City Solicitor to prepare the necessary Bills for introduction in Council to implement the above noted amendments to the City of Toronto Municipal Code, subject to such stylistic and technical changes to the draft by-law as may be required.

4. City Council request the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, in consultation with the Chief Building Official and Executive Director, Toronto Building, to review application requirements for the Committee of Adjustment to consider requiring a preliminary zoning review to verify the minor variances and remove the option of a zoning waiver.  

Toronto Building currently provides clients with two programs that can provide a preliminary zoning review of proposed plans, in advance of a building permit application. The Preliminary Project Review Program consists of a single review to confirm if the application complies with the City's Zoning By-law. The Certificate Program provides clients with a detailed review of the proposal and confirms that the submitted plans comply with zoning and identifies applicable laws, allowing for a "complete" building permit application. With a "complete" building permit application under the Ontario Building Code, applicants have their submission reviewed within provincially established timeframes.

Based on client and industry feedback however, these similar yet different review streams cause confusion amongst permit applicants as to which preliminary program they should apply. This leads to clients applying to the incorrect stream resulting in delays and additional fees.

To improve service delivery, eliminate confusion for applicants, and introduce a more cost effective fee structure, this report recommends changes to Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 363 (Construction and Demolition) and Chapter 441 (Fees) which will allow Toronto Building to operationalize a merger of the two existing zoning review programs into a one-stream preliminary review program. As a result, all clients applying for preliminary review will be provided with a detailed review of a project proposal confirming compliance with the City's Zoning By-law(s) and applicable law.

The report also recommends that City Planning, in consultation with Toronto Building, review application requirements for the Committee of Adjustment to consider requiring a preliminary zoning review to verify the minor variances and remove the option of a zoning waiver.  

Toronto Building previously proposed the One-Stream Preliminary Review Program through its 2020 Operating Budget. However, this initial implementation was delayed as a result of COVID-19. The report recommends that the new program take effect on March 1, 2022, supported by staff training and proactive communication with industry stakeholders and the public.