Item - 2023.PH2.5

 The Planning and Housing Committee:

1. Requested the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning to consider options for streaming Committee of Adjustment applications, including:

a. exploring options for a more expeditious process for non-contentious Committee of Adjustment applications (in which there is no community opposition and no concerns raised by staff), which process could include scheduling separate hearings for these types of applications or other measures; and

b. completing the work related to identifying and evaluating options to improve service standards for the Committee of Adjustment by creating a separate stream for less complex applications, as first requested by Planning and Housing Committee in 2019 (Item 2019.PH4.5), and to engage with applicants and their representatives and other stakeholders on the work.

2. Requested the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning to explore options for improving the format and content of the public notice sign for Committee of Adjustment applications to improve visibility and readability.

3. Requested he Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning to report back to the Planning and Housing Committee on the above recommendations and the status and results of the implementation plan contained in the report (February 6, 2023) from the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning in the first quarter of 2024. 

4. Requested the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning and the City Clerk, as appropriate, report back to the Planning and Housing Committee in the first quarter of 2024 on:

a. Adding "Knowledge and/or experience in applying and interpreting the Planning Act, as amended and related planning  legislation, guidelines and principles." as a qualification and selection criteria for adjudicators in the Terms of Reference of the Committee of Adjustment, in consultation with the City Manager, the City Clerk, and the City Solicitor;

b. The need to continue having Committee of Adjustments separated by geography (Toronto and East York, North York, Scarborough and Etobicoke York) as opposed to having four Committee of Adjustments of equal composition that can hear applications from across the City in order to help balance caseloads across the four districts, as part of the recommended review of the Committee of Adjustment service delivery model; and

c. Whether and how the City could help enable communication between applicants and residents (for example, provide a mechanism to allow relevant stakeholders to be contacted directly by applicants prior to Committee of Adjustment hearings in order to help facilitate informal means of resolving matters). 

5. Requested the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, to incorporate into the comprehensive panelist training an overview of changes to the Planning Act to permit up to three residential units as of right on residential lands as well as any future changes to the Zoning By-law as a result of the Expanding Housing Options in Neighbourhoods (EHON) program.

6. Directed the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, to consider beginning undertaking KPMG recommendation number eight related to an applicant's ability to substantively revise an application after public notice has been distributed as part of the work that will begin in 2023 and report back to Planning and Housing Committee with an update in the first quarter of  2024.

7. Directed the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning to consider requesting panelists to inquire whether applicants have attempted to consult with interested parties when an application is substantively amended after public notice has been distributed if this practice is not eliminated, along with other strategies to improve dialogue between applicants and neighbours.

8. Directed the chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, in consultation with the City Clerk, to consider including timestamped links to the Committee of Adjustment public hearings that are livestreamed on the City's YouTube channel on the Application Information Centre as part of the effort to provide more detailed Decision Notices, similar to the timestamped links that are now attached to City Council decisions on the newly revamped TMMIS website.

9. Directed the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, to accelerate the recommendations for active implementation and further study contained in the report (February 6, 2023) from the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning.

In May 2021, City Council directed the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, in consultation with the City Solicitor, the Chief Building Official and Executive Director, Toronto Building, and the Ombudsman, to report to Planning and Housing Committee on a consultant review of the Committee of Adjustment. As a result of this direction, City Planning retained KPMG, who conducted this review over the course of 2022. KPMG delivered its Final Report titled "Committee of Adjustment Review" in January 2023.

The full Committee of Adjustment Review KPMG Final Report is attached to this report as Attachment 1 and is also available on the City's website.

This staff report summarizes KPMG's review and recommendations. It also outlines a multi-year implementation plan to move these recommendations forward. Through continued consultation and priority setting with the public, applicants, City staff, and other stakeholders, City Planning staff will work over the next two to three years to implement these transformational changes. The overarching goal of these efforts is to increase public confidence in and satisfaction with the Committee of Adjustment review and hearings process and enable all users to effectively participate in the Committee of Adjustment.