Notice Provisions for Official Plan Amendments -

UD03-HOP - All North York Community Council Wards

The North York Community Council after considering the findings of fact, conclusions and recommendations contained in the following report (May 12, 1998) from the Acting Commissioner of Planning, North York Civic Centre, recommends the adoption of Official Plan Amendment No. 462 attached as Appendix 3 to the report.

The North York Community Council reports having held a statutory public meeting on July 22, 1998, with appropriate notice of this meeting, in accordance with the Planning Act.

The North York Community Council submits the following report (May 12, 1998) from the Acting Commissioner of Planning, North York Civic Centre:

Purpose:

The purpose of this report is to recommend that a minimum of twenty days notice be given for all public meetings to consider official plan amendments. The alternative notice procedure in the Official Plan should be amended to permit a notice period of twenty days for "old" Planning Act applications, and to permit current applications submitted under Bill 20 to proceed with the statutory twenty day notice period.

Recommendation:

It is recommended that:

(1)that notice be given for a statutory public meeting to consider an amendment to the Official Plan to revise the Alternative Notice Procedure as described in this report.

Discussion:

The minimum notice period for public meetings to consider official plan amendments has been shortened from thirty days to twenty days under the new Planning Act (the Land Use Planning and Protection Act, 1996, or Bill 20). This change in the legislation allows official plan amendments and associated zoning by-laws to be dealt with concurrently with twenty days notice.

The number of active applications on file for official plan amendments, and the minimum notice periods under the three versions of the Planning Act are shown in the following table:

Table 1Minimum Notice Periods for North York Official Plan Amendment Applications

The "old" Planning Act required a minimum of thirty days notice for public meetings to consider official plan amendments. North York adopted an Alternative Notice Procedure under the "old" Act, requiring (a) a minimum of twenty-eight days notice for most applications, and (b) a minimum of thirty days notice in the case of secondary plans, major amendments or applications, and Downtown/Uptown applications (refer to Appendix 1).

A number of changes in recent years support revising the alternative notice procedure to allow for twenty days notice as set out in the new Planning Act. There have been significant changes in the way we do our business. Preconsultation, community consultation meetings and preliminary evaluation reports have become the norm for processing amendments. This provides ample opportunity for the public to be notified and to participate in the review of an application before a statutory public meeting is held.

The North York Planning Committee met every two weeks. The present Community Council operates on a four week meeting cycle which does not work well with a thirty day notice requirement. A twenty day notice period, consistent with the new Planning Act, meshes well with the new meeting cycle and contributes to on-going streamlining efforts.

Three of the former cities in Toronto have alternative notice provisions in their official plans (refer to Appendix 2). The North York and Etobicoke policies require more notice than the twenty days prescribed by the current Planning Act; East York requires twenty days notice. The other three former cities give notice in accordance with the applicable version of the Planning Act. Amending the Alternative Notice Procedure in the North York Official Plan to permit a notice period of twenty days in accordance with the current Planning Act will allow us to harmonize our normal practice for new applications with that used by four of the other five former cities.

Conclusions:

Extensive preconsultation takes place before public meetings are held to consider official plan amendments. It is recommended that Part A, Section 5, Alternative Notice Procedure, of the North York Official Plan be amended to permit a twenty day notice period for public meetings for all official plan amendments regardless of which Planning Act governs their processing (refer to Appendix 3). This notice period reflects the statutory requirement in the new Planning Act, complements the meeting cycle of the Community Council, and is consistent with the general practice throughout the rest of the new City of Toronto. The establishment of a consistent twenty day Alternative Notice Procedure in no way limits the Community Council's ability to require an extended notice period under special circumstances where this is warranted.

Contact Name:

Ruth Lambe, Senior Planner

Phone:395-7110

Fax:395-7155

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No individuals appeared before the North York Community Council in connection with the foregoing matter.

(A copy of the Appendices referred to in the foregoing report is on file in the office of the City Clerk, North York Civic Centre.)