Item - 2024.PH9.4

The Planning and Housing Committee:

1. Requested the Interim Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, to undertake stakeholder and public consultation regarding pre-application consultation with local communities and Councillors, including the development industry/sector to ensure fulsome consideration and partnerships to mitigate risks to cost recovery of the development review process, and community consultation meetings, and report back to the Planning and Housing Committee by the end of second quarter of 2024.

2. Requested the Interim Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, in consultation with the City Solicitor, to establish clear requirements for recording and publishing virtual community consultation meetings on the City of Toronto's digital platforms, including standard requirements for the collection of necessary personal information under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

Ongoing changes to the City's development review process, including significantly reduced decision-making and approval timelines under Bill 109, have highlighted the need to undertake focused consultation on City Planning's development review-related community consultation practices. In December 2022, Council established two principles to guide implementation of Bill 109. Changes to community consultation practices are required to address both principles:

• Continue to focus on and prioritize good city-building outcomes; and
• Mitigate risk to cost recovery of development review services. 

In October 2023, Council requested City Planning undertake stakeholder and public consultation on the City's pre-application consultation process (PAC). This report recommends expanding the scope of consultation to address potential policy and/or by-law changes to improve consultation practices at two points in the development review process: 1) Pre-application consultation; and 2) Community Consultation Meetings (CCM). Following city-wide public consultation in Q1 2024, staff will report back with recommendations by Q2 2024.