March 10, 1998

To: Urban Environment and Development Committee

From: Virginia West

Commissioner for Urban Planning and Development

Lorne Ross, MCIP, RPP

Interim Functional Lead for Planning

Subject: PROPOSED 1998 FEE SCHEDULE FOR PLANNING APPLICATIONS

To adopt a common fees schedule.

1. That Council adopt the attached 1998 fee schedule for planning applications, as shown on Table 1. The fee schedule, if adopted, can be implemented effective May 1, 1998.

2. That the Urban Environment and Development Committee refer this report to Budget Committee for its information.

The Commissioners of Planning, in consultation with Staff from the Treasurer=s Office, have developed the proposed fee schedule for planning applications. The adoption of a single planning application fee schedule is an important step in the process of creating one Planning Department. The proposed fee schedule represents a harmonization of the existing fee structures of the former municipalities and will enable the harmonization of other matters including the development of one common application form across the City.

The proposed fees will be fair and equitable to the development community and residents and will allow the Planning Department to assess identical fees for each application type in each District Office. A single harmonized fee schedule will reduce Department administrative costs and improve the ability of the Planning Department to more accurately forecast its budget, thereby achieving a greater cost savings to the City of Toronto.

The proposed fees will continue to recover a portion of the Staffing costs associated with the review of development applications. They do not represent the full cost associated with processing development applications nor do they include the costs of other Departments, such as the Legal and Clerks Departments.

The proposed fees are not based on a statistical review of costs associated with the processing of development applications. The base data to perform such an analysis is not yet available on a consistent basis across the Corporation. All existing application fees charged by the former municipalities are essentially arbitrary and represent, based on a recent study done by the Greater Toronto Home Builders= Association, less than three percent of the total charges levied by a municipalitity in the development process.

In developing the proposed fee schedule, the Directors of Development Control adopted the following principles:

1. A single harmonized fee schedule should be developed for administrative simplicity;

2. Fees should be fair and equitable to the development community and residents of the City of Toronto;

3. Fees must ensure that Toronto remains competitive with abutting municipalities;

4. Fees should be easily understood and calculated.

In an effort to reduce red tape, streamline the planning process and make it more user friendly, Staff have combined a number of separate fees previously levied into the proposed fees. The objective is to levy one set fee for each application type, rather than assess additional charges at different times in the process, for the different components of application approval.

Official Plan/Zoning By-law Applications

A flat fee for an Official Plan Amendment is appropriate, given that it is generally accompanied by a Zoning By-law Amendment application. Staff felt it more appropriate to assess a larger fee for a Zoning By-law application, given the large amount of Staff time involved in the processing of this type of application. The proposed fee for a Zoning By-law amendment application is premised on a sliding scale, such that small applications are assessed a one time flat fee and larger more complicated applications are assessed a base fee, coupled with a per square metre charge. The total fee becomes dependent upon the size of development proposed.

Lifting of Holding (H) Zone

A flat fee for the removal of a Holding Zone is appropriate given that the majority of review has been completed by Staff during the initial implementation stage of the Zoning By-law.

Site Plan Control

A separate fee for Site Plan Control applications is appropriate given the amount of Staff time involved and given the different type of examination required from that of an Official Plan or Zoning By-law application. Again a sliding scale has been proposed, such that small applications are assessed a one time flat fee and larger more complicated applications are assessed a base fee, coupled with a per square metre charge.

Subdivision/Condominium/Part Lot Control

For Draft Plan of Subdivision, Draft Plan of Condominium and Part Lot Control applications a base fee coupled with a per unit or per lot charge is appropriate. Generally, the larger the draft plan of subdivision or condominium, the more time Staff spends processing the application. The Draft Plan of Subdivision and the Draft Plan of Condominium fees may appear significantly higher than those fees previous levied by the local municipalities. However, by incorporating the fee previously levied by the local municipality and the former Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto, there is now a net reduction in the combined fee.

Variances/Consents

Review of minor variance and consent applications involves a significant amount of Staff time. In an effort to recover a portion of these costs but remaining cognizant of the fact that the majority of these applications are submitted by homeowners, the fees for these applications have been kept to a minimum. However, the proposed minor variance and consent fees do represent an increase in those fees previously levied by most of the former municipalities. It may appear that the proposed fees for consents have increased significantly, however, it should be noted that the many separate costs previously levied during the consent process have now been combined. No longer are there separate charges for stamping a deed or issuing a certificate of approval.

The following tables below compare the difference in fees being proposed from those fees previously levied by each former municipality and includes an average cost between the former municipalities. Staff have developed three typical development scenarios, which are illustrated below:

Scenario 1:

An owner has submitted a Zoning By-law Amendment and Site Plan Control application to construct a 6000 m5 (64,600 square feet) new commercial building.

**** Includes a $750 fee for a Site Plan Control Agreement.

Scenario 2:

An owner has submitted a Zoning By-law Amendment and Plan of Condominium application to construct a 300 unit residential apartment building. The proposed residential apartment building is approximately 27,870 m5 (300,000 square feet).

Scenario 3:

An owner has submitted a Consent and Minor Variance application to divide one lot into two lots with a request to reduce the side yard setback for the existing dwelling.

*** Includes a $500 fee for any lot created by deed and a $400 fee for stamping of documents.

Of note, Staff will implement a time tracking system as part of the effort of creating a single planning organization for the City of Toronto. This system will allow for bench marking and staff costing measurements, which will ensure a more accurate assessment for subsequent fee adjustments.

In addition, Staff reviewed planning application fees from the City of Mississauga, the Town of Vaughan, the Town of Markham and the Town of Pickering (See attached Table 2). The proposed fee schedule will remain competitive with those fees currently levied by abutting municipalities.

Conclusions:

The Commissioners of Planning of each municipality in consultation with the Treasurer agree that the attached 1998 harmonized fee schedule (Table 1) is essential and required for the immediate operation of one Planning Department.

Contact Name: Kennedy Self, MCIP, RPP

Director of Community Planning

Phone: 396-7012 Fax: 396-4265

E.Mail: self@city.scarborough.on.ca

Virginia West Lorne Ross, MCIP, RPP

Commissioner for Urban Planning Interim Functional Lead for Planning

and Development

Table 1 - Proposed 1998 Fee Structure

Table 2 - Existing Fees for the Town of Markham, Town of Vaughan, City of Mississauga and Town of Pickering and the City of Toronto=s Proposed Fees