April 9, 1999
To:Scarborough Community Council
From:Ted Tyndorf
Director of Community Planning, East District
Subject:Status of Committee of Adjustment
Purpose:
The purpose of this report is to respond to a request from Scarborough Community Council
for a report on the composition and mandate of the Committee of Adjustment.
Financial Implications:
There is no financial impact arising from this report.
Recommendation:
It is recommended that Scarborough Community Council receive this report for information.
Background:
The Planning Act, 1990, allows a municipal council to appoint a Committee of Adjustment to
consider minor variances from zoning by-laws and permit changes to legal non-conforming
uses. The term "Committee of Adjustment" comes from the committee's role of adjusting
by-law requirements in special circumstances. Establishing a Committee of Adjustment is not
mandatory. However, given the high volume of applications in urban areas, each of the six
former municipalities had, by by-law, constituted and appointed a Committee of Adjustment
for the purpose of hearing variance applications as opposed to Council amending the by-law
for minor changes.
Committees of Adjustment established under the provisions of the Planning Act are
autonomous bodies, having both the responsibility and authority to make decisions on
applications made to them. The Planning Act also lays out the general framework for
processing and hearing applications before the Committee. Committee decisions may be
appealed to the Ontario Municipal Board by the applicant, the Minister of Municipal Affairs
and Housing, or any other person or public body who may have an interest in the matter. If
Council feels that a decision is not compatible with municipal policies, it may also appeal the
decision to the Ontario Municipal Board.
Comments:
Composition and Status of Committee of Adjustment (Scarborough)
The Planning Act establishes that members of the Committee who are not members of a
municipal council shall hold office for the term of the Council that appointed them. The
review of applicants for citizen appointments to the Committee of Adjustment for the
1994-1997 Council term was conducted by an Interview Team comprising of Councillors M.
Tzekas, D. Mahood and P. Mushinski. Interviews were conducted in December 1994 and
Council selected two citizen members, one whom resigned early in the term. In addition,
Council appointed four Councillors to the Committee of Adjustment.
One of the key issues to be addressed in the transition to the new City of Toronto was the
status of local boards appointed by the former municipalities. Specifically, there was a need to
ensure continuity of service to the public during the period following the 1997 Municipal
Election. Given the unique composition of the Committee comprising Councillors and the
uncertainty with respect to election results, Council adopted and amended a recommendation
from Administrative Committee to appoint four additional citizen members and a Councillor
to the Committee of Adjustment effective November 1, 1997 and to continue until their
successors are appointed by the new City of Toronto Council. Citizen members were selected
from the 1994 list of applicants interviewed at that time. Since that time, two members have
resigned, such that the current Committee of Adjustment comprises four citizen members.
The Province introduced legislation to address, among other transitional matters, the
continuation of local boards. Section 93 of Bill 148 states that persons who, on December 31,
1997, are members of local boards and were appointed by a former Council shall remain in
office until the new City of Toronto Council appoints new members.
Committee of Adjustment in the new City of Toronto
The City of Toronto Act, 1997, allows City Council to assign, by by-law, to the Community
Councils, the functions of a Committee of Adjustment under the Planning Act with respect to
the parts of the urban areas they represent. In October 1998, City Council adopted Report No.
9 of the Special Committee to Review the Final Report of the Toronto Transition Team. This
report examined the role and responsibilities of Community Councils and, among other
things, established the development review principle that if a City-wide interest cannot be
established, planning matters should be addressed at the local level. This principle is reflected
in Council's Procedural By-law which gives responsibility to Community Councils to
nominate citizens as members of the community panels of Committee of Adjustment.
As reported to Scarborough Community Council in November 1998, staff are working to
resolve the structural issues necessary for Toronto City Council to constitute one Committee
of Adjustment. The number of panels, size, composition, day/night meetings, members'
remuneration, and nomination and selection processes need to be addressed by Council in
order to establish the service delivery through community panels. Staff are currently
evaluating policies and procedures of the six existing Committees of Adjustment and a report
will be prepared to UEDC and City Council as soon as possible. It is expected that this report
will be referred to the Community Councils for comment before substantive changes are
implemented.
Nomination Process for Committee Members
The City Clerk and CAO have submitted a report to City Council recommending a
consolidated set of policies and framework for the appointment of citizens to the City's
agencies, boards and commissions. The policies include citizen appointments to those
quasi-judicial tribunals, e.g. Committee of Adjustment, Property Standards Committee, with
local panel appointments being recommended by the Nominating Committee to the
Community Councils. Implementation of these policies through the nomination process,
however, is subject to a report from the Commissioner of Urban Planning and Development
Services regarding the structural issues referred to above. This report may include additional
criteria specific to the committees' mandate affecting the nomination of citizen members such
as, minimum qualifications, training requirements, rotation between panels, term of office,
etc.
The Clerks Division will initiate the approved nomination process after City Council has
restructured the six existing Committees of Adjustment and constituted one Committee for the
new City of Toronto.
Best Practices and Procedures
Committee of Adjustment staff are currently reviewing the "best practices" of the former
municipalities in order to harmonize procedures for processing consent and minor variance
applications. A further report will be prepared recommending, in more detail, the harmonized
procedures for these applications.
In addition, standard business processes and documentation formats for minor variances and
consents are being developed to improve administrative operations using an Integrated
Business Management System, effective October 1999.
Opportunities also exist for open exchange of information and ideas, service and
communication improvements, public relations material, orientation and training seminars for
members, public workshops, outreach programs and internet accessibility to committee
business. These initiatives will contribute toward effective delivery of the work program while
providing excellence in customer service.
Conclusion:
Amalgamation presents a unique opportunity to review and improve the way the Committee
of Adjustment conducts business and facilitates active citizen participation in the City of
Toronto government. The new Committee of Adjustment will be responsible for rendering
over 3500 decisions per year, directly contributing to the development of our City. It is,
therefore, important that committee panels understand their authority, role and relationship
with their respective Community Councils.
Contact Name:
Denise Rundle, Deputy Secretary-Treasurer
Committee of Adjustment, East District
Telephone: (416) 396-7012
Facsimile: (416) 396-4265
E-mail: rundle@city.scarborough.on.ca
Ted Tyndorf, MCIP, RPP
Director of Community Planning, East District
DR:ci
