The Strategic Policies and Priorities Committee recommends the adoption of the recommendation of the Urban Environment and Development Committee embodied in the following transmittal letter (March 27, 1998) from the Urban Environment and Development Committee:

Recommendations:

The Urban Environment and Development Committee on March 23 and 24, 1998, recommended to the Strategic Policies and Priorities Committee:

(1) the adoption of Recommendation No. (1), embodied in the attached report (March 11, 1998) from the Commissioner of Planning and Urban Development Services, subject to striking therefrom all the words following the words "City of Toronto"; so that such Recommendation shall read as follows:

"(1) It is recommended that Council seize this opportunity to develop its new Official Plan for the City of Toronto.";

(2) that, should the estimated funding of $250,000.00 not be provided as part of the 1998 Transition Costs, the Commissioner of Planning and Urban Development Services be requested to submit a report to the Urban Environment and Development Committee demonstrating how these funds will be accommodated within the budget process;

(3) that, in addition to "capital works, height, form and density of buildings, use of land and provision of transportation services", the new Official Plan for the City of Toronto should include social and environmental goals and criteria to create a comprehensive framework for planning;

(4) that the following Council-appointed Task Forces and Committee be requested to forward to the Urban Environment and Development Committee their recommendations regarding the proposed new Official Plan and the Official Plan work plan:

- Access and Equity Action Plan, Race Relations, Disability and Human Rights, and Ethno-Canadian Issues Task Force:

- Homeless Strategy Task Force;

- Task Force to Develop a Strategy for Issues of Concern to the Elderly;

- Environment Task Force;

- Children's Action Committee; and

- Task Force on Community Safety;

(5) that the consultation process be modified:

(a) to reflect the need to address social and environmental issues in the new Official Plan;

(b) and expanded to allow sufficient access to the public; and

(c) to give the Council-appointed Task Forces and Committee, referred to in Recommendation No. (3), above a formal role in the consultation process to focus the public input on critical social and environmental issues;

(6) that the "ambitious" one-year work plan and schedule be extended to a two-year timeframe in order to allow for more thorough analysis and public consultation;

(7) that a Task Force, comprised of Members of Council, be established to oversee Phase One of the new Official Plan development and the consultation process; and

(8) that this matter be forwarded to Council for consideration at its meeting scheduled to be held on April 16, 1998.

The Urban Environment and Development Committee reports, for the information of the Strategic Policies and Priorities Committee, and Council, having requested the Commissioner of Planning and Urban Development Services to submit a report directly to Council on April 16, 1998, should there be any further considerations with respect to the new Official Plan for the City of Toronto.

Purpose:

To present a proposal for producing a new Official Plan for approval.

Funding Sources, Financial Implications and Impact Statement:

Funds of $250,000.00 have been requested by the Department as part of the 1998 Transition Costs.

Recommendations:

It is recommended that:

(1) Council seize this opportunity to develop its new Official Plan for the City of Toronto and adopt the work plan and schedule outlined in this report; and

(2) the Urban Environment and Development Committee endorse this report and refer it to the Strategic Policies and Priorities Committee for consideration.

Council Reference/Background/History:

In its report, entitled "New City, New Opportunities", the Toronto Transition Team recommended that "An early priority of the Urban Environment and Development Standing Committee should be the preparation of a new Official Plan for the City for adoption during the first term of Council."

The Toronto Area Planning Commissioners, in their brief to the Transition Team, recommended that the new Council adopt a new Official Plan within its first term of office.

Why Do We Need a New Plan?

A new Council in a new City needs its own vision and blueprint for the future. This is an opportunity to begin a new city with a new and clear direction to guide city development and to set Council's priorities.

The initial benefit is for Members of Council, the community and staff to become involved together in a city-building process that will help to develop a common purpose and identity. The experience of defining a new City collectively is almost as important as the resulting product itself.

The new Official Plan will permit Council to provide consistent direction to the corporation. It will focus on goals and the policies and the means required to achieve them. It will identify features of the City which are to be enhanced, problems which need to be overcome, and the opportunities which are available.

The Toronto urban region is the pre-eminent economic engine in Canada. We compete with Boston, Montreal, Chicago, Atlanta, Barcelona, Munich and other world cities. Now Members of Council and the administration can work together to produce innovative ideas which will improve our ability to deal with problems and opportunities.

The seven existing Official Plans were adopted in a different political situation and the assumptions and policies of these plans would need to be reviewed in any case in light of the changes brought about by amalgamation. This provides the opportunity for the new City Council to provide clear and consistent policy directions. Matters of City-wide importance need to be distinguished from those of more local or community concern. A clear policy initiative needs to be determined to deal with Greater Toronto Area issues.

The New Official Plan:

The new Official Plan must identify and build on the City's strengths. It must seize the opportunities provided by a new single City administration. It must focus on the physical structure, built form, design and beauty of the City. The Plan can be a vehicle to incite civic interest and passion and to create pride in the manner in which the city develops.

The new Official Plan must be policy-driven. Policies should be meaningful and deal with the real choices and decisions that Council must make. The new policies should be relevant; they should deal with matters within the scope and power of City Council. They must be useable and facilitate Council's decision-making regarding infrastructure improvements: capital works, height, form and density of buildings, use of land and provision of transportation services.

The new Official Plan will provide the context for dealing with development applications and local plans. It will help to guide capital budget spending in accordance with the preferred vision for the new City.

The new Official Plan will complement work being undertaken by the City in a variety of disciplines. It will be guided by policy directions emanating from the Social Development Strategy and the Environmental Task Force while at the same time providing input to these projects. Collectively, these different initiatives will provide a comprehensive set of policies to guide the decisions of Council and to direct the activities of the City departments.

The Planning Process:

Existing local Official Plans are essentially composed of three parts. The first part includes policies of what the Council wishes to achieve or to avoid. The second part contains land use regulations which are cross-referenced to a multi-coloured land use map. The third part consists of a number of site specific amendments. The proposal in this report is to deal at this time only with the first part of the local Plans and with all of Metroplan.

The new Official Plan Policies will be produced in two steps.

In step one, the overall planning framework will be produced in 1998. It will deal with the structure of the City. Areas of change, stability, and redevelopment will be identified. Priorities will be determined.

Once a new set of Objectives and Policies has been adopted by Council, the second step, undertaken in early 1999, will be to incorporate those policies into the Official Plan and to repeal Metroplan and the redundant policies in the six local Official Plans.

Land use regulations and designations in the six existing local Official Plans will be reviewed later in 1999, after approval of the overall policy framework. At that time, these designations will be simplified, integrated into a common format, and made consistent with the overall planning policies.

Work Plan and Schedule:

The schedule proposed is very ambitious and is based on providing Council with the ability to adopt new policies and to set priorities by the end of this year. The actual Official Plan amendments would be passed early in 1999. Overall, the schedule responds to the challenge of producing a new Official Plan within one year.

(a) Phase 1: Background Research:

The first phase of the work, to be completed between June and August of this year, is to collect and analyze plans, information and studies already undertaken and to update these with the latest statistics available.

Review, analyze and summarize existing Official Plan policies and other Toronto planning studies, particularly those carried out for Metroplan and CityPlan'91. We need to know who we are as a city, how we got here and where we are going, i.e., the historical dynamic.

Undertake research to document, analyze and present trends affecting Toronto, particularly spatial changes within the Greater Toronto Area. This step will include employment changes, retail trends, demographic changes, redevelopment pressures and socio-economic and ethnic patterns.

Review planning documents and processes in other comparable cities. We need to know the issues, actions, programs and success stories from other jurisdictions.

Identify Toronto's strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities and create a preliminary list of built form and land use issues.

(b) Phase 2: Consultation and Input:

The second phase of the work, to be completed by September 1998, is to gain input from the public and to consult with Members of Council and senior staff to obtain a consensus on the directions for the new Plan.

Design the public input process, which may include topic-specific groups to ensure the constructive involvement of a broad range of audiences, and begin public input as soon as Council approves the work plan. The media needs to be involved, as should various organizations and institutions.

Convene a meeting in late June or early July 1998 on the theme: "What is this thing called 'Toronto' and where is it going?" This will be an off-site, all-day meeting of interested Members of Council, senior staff, retained consultants and senior provincial officials. We will review where we are and where we are going, and determine issues, goals and values. We will also identify possible policies and directions for further work.

After the June (or July) meeting, we will consolidate the results of the meeting, the input from the public, and the review of other cities' successes and approaches. There will be a preliminary determination of the desirable city structure and the relationship between land uses and infrastructure requirements. This will include a review of the need for land for future employment purposes and possible strategies for dealing with vacant, obsolete industrial areas.

(c) Phase 3: Preparation of a Planning Framework:

The third phase is to produce the Planning Framework for the Official Plan for adoption by Council before the end of 1998.

The theme of a September, 1998 meeting will be "A draft framework for Toronto's planning policies". This will be an off-site, all-day meeting of those present at the June 1998 meeting plus, where appropriate, representatives of other cities or agencies to present alternate solutions. There will be a review of the draft policies and the planning framework and a discussion regarding the production of the public document.

A report, entitled "A Planning Framework for Toronto's Official Plan", will be sent to the Urban Environment and Development Committee on November 2, 1998, for public comment.

A revised and final report will be sent to the Urban Environment and Development Committee on November 30, 1998, and to Council in December, 1998 for approval as Council's Policies related to the built form of the City.

(d) Phase 4: From a Planning Framework to an Official Plan--1999:

The final phase of producing a policy-driven Official Plan will be to undertake the public hearing process required by the Planning Act and to incorporate Council's policy directions as part of the City of Toronto's Official Plan.

Prepare specific amendments necessary to repeal Metroplan and to remove contrary and redundant policies from existing Official Plans. This will be undertaken in conjunction with the adoption of the new planning framework.

Public presentations of the proposed Official Plan policies will be made to Community Councils and public interest groups.

Notice will be given of the statutory public meeting to incorporate the Planning Framework as the City's Overall Planning Policies in the Official Plan. Public hearings will be held in April or May 1999 by the Urban Environment and Development Committee prior to consideration of the Official Plan by City Council.

Staffing Expenses:

The proposed work plan can be carried out with existing staff resources. A number of work plan items, previously approved by the pre-amalgamation Councils, can be incorporated into this Official Plan Review. Other items can be deferred until after the new Official Plan is approved.

Expenses associated with this work plan relate to such matters as undertaking outside studies, inviting external experts and representatives of other North American cities to Toronto, advertising and running a number of information sessions, and preparing and printing proposals and final reports.

Conclusions:

A common planning framework for making decisions concerning the built form of the City can and should be undertaken in 1998. Once completed as Council's vision for the future, the planning framework can be incorporated into the Official Plan early in 1999. Conflicting and redundant policies in the six local Official Plans and all of Metroplan can then be repealed at that time.

Contact Name:

Mr. Kenneth Whitwell, York Civic Services Office, 394-2610; fax: 394-2782.