Item - 2025.PH23.9

The Planning and Housing Committee recommends that:

1. City Council amend the City of Toronto Municipal Code, Chapter 103: Heritage, substantially in accordance with Attachment 1 to the report (June 26, 2025) from the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning.

2. City Council amend the City of Toronto Municipal Code, Chapter 103, Heritage, to delegate authority to the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning or designate(s) to negotiate and sign heritage easement agreements, to agree to extensions of statutory timelines where permitted under the Ontario Heritage Act, to include properties on the heritage register and other administrative decision making powers.

3. For the purposes of Section 69.1 of the Ontario Heritage Act, City Council designate the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning as the "provincial offences officer" as the employee of the municipality under the Provincial Offences Act, whereby the timeline to prosecute any offence under the Ontario Heritage Act commences when any such offence comes, in writing, to the attention of the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning.

4. City Council authorize the City Solicitor to make such stylistic and technical changes to the amendment to the City of Toronto Municipal Code as may be required.

5. City Council direct the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning to undertake a comprehensive review of the City of Toronto Municipal Code, Chapter 103: Heritage in consultation with affected Divisions and to report back with any required amendments to the municipal code to support its modernization.

6. City Council direct the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning to review the City of Toronto Municipal Code, Chapter 103: Heritage, and following consultation with affected Divisions, report back on opportunities to streamline the heritage permit process and eliminate potential duplication where the approval of multiple Divisions is required for a single scope of work affecting heritage properties.

The purpose of this report is to recommend technical amendments to the Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 103: Heritage (Chapter 103).

The Province of Ontario has made a number of amendments to the Ontario Heritage Act (the OHA) in recent years. Most notably these amendments have been made through Bill 108, The More Homes More Choices Act, 2019 (Bill 108), Bill 23, The More Homes Built Faster Act, 2022 (Bill 23) and Bill 200, Homeowner Protection Act, 2024 (Bill 200). As a component of a phased implementation strategy, the City made amendments to Chapter 103 in 2020 and 2023 to implement Bill 108 and Bill 23.

Through this report, staff are recommending further technical amendments to Chapter 103 to streamline Ontario Heritage Act application requirements; and to provide additional clarity on procedures, and the authority delegated to the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning. Staff are also recommending that Council direct the Chief Planner to undertake a comprehensive review of Chapter 103 and report back with any recommendations to modernize and streamline the chapter.