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Design Review Symposium: Background & Resources |
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Excerpt from "Evaluation of the Development Permit System for the Central Waterfront", Final Report November 2004
Commissioned By: The City of Toronto
By: Martin Rendl Associates with CXT Architects Inc., C.N. Watson and Associates Ltd. Loopstra Nixon LLP
Should Design Review Panels be Part of Toronto's Development Permit System (DPS)?
Page 7
A design review panel should be part of the DPS in Toronto to maximize the quality of the development outcomes from the DPS. The design review panel would be part of the internal review procedure prescribed in the development permit by-law.
A clear contribution to quality development will be achieved by incorporating design review panels into the DPS process. This focus on quality design and urban aesthetics is particularly relevant for the Central Waterfront given its prominence in the City. The Waterfront is the literal front of the City. It is the face of Toronto the world and the public sees and identifies with.
High quality development on the Waterfront is the shared priority of the public, City Council and the Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corporation (TWRC). This report recommends that the Central Waterfront become a pilot for implementation of a design review panel as part of the DPS.
The design review panel would be composed of appointed external professionals. The panel's role is to review development proposals for the Waterfront and advise the City on design matters within the context of the Waterfront vision and design excellence. The design panel is advisory only and has no development approval power. The power to approve a development remains with the City, as provided for by the Planning Act.
Role of Design Review
Panels
Page 41 - 42
The Central Waterfront Secondary Plan encourages excellence in design. Furthermore, architecture, building form, the quality of public and private spaces, linkages throughout the waterfront and excellence in design are major elements of the TWRC's Development Plan.
The Secondary Plan speaks of design excellence and provides for establishing a Design Review Board to advise the City on design aspects of development.
This evaluation has concluded that a design review panel would make a contribution to a future DPS in the waterfront and has merit for implementation. The possible future operation of a design review panel as part of a DPS has also been considered in the context of the requirement that it operate within the provisions of Section 41 (site plan control) of the Planning Act and O. Reg. 246/01.
Proposed Design Review
Panel for DPS
The Central Waterfront is the showpiece of Toronto literally its front door on Lake Ontario. Toronto's skyline is a featured aspect of the City's visual identity around the world. The prominence of the waterfront in communicating Toronto's image underscores the importance of striving for the best design in the new development that will revitalize the Waterfront over the next 30 years.
Good design of buildings and spaces can also be both a critical factor for public acceptance of higher density and mixed use development and the success of the development. It is a key ingredient in building liveable neighbourhoods and communities.
To ensure design excellence in future waterfront development, an urban design panel should be part of a DPS for the Central Waterfront. The design panel should be considered one way of advancing the City's recently announced Beautiful City initiative.
The following are the key aspects of the design panel:
- It is advisory only to the City which retains all approval authority;
- It provides impartial professional advice on urban design to the City as part of the DPS;
- It is composed of leading planning and urban design professionals who are appointed to the panel by the City and the TWRC for a fixed term.
Normally the design review panel would be a responsibility of the City as it is the planning approval authority. The unique governance structure of the Toronto Waterfront presents another option.
The TWRC is a partnership of the municipal, provincial and federal governments and is charged with the revitalization of the Waterfront. The shared interest in and responsibility for the transformation of the Waterfront makes it an option to place and design review panel with the TWRC since it represents each of the government partners. Decisions flowing out of the current review of TWRC's governance may assist in deciding the role of the TWRC in such planning relating functions and responsibilities.
The design review panel should be composed of professionals of the highest caliber. Their review of development proposals would be based on their professional assessment in the context of the expressed vision and development expectations of the TWRC precinct plans and the City's development permit by-law.
The decision-making and review process of the design panel should be transparent to stakeholders. Its meetings should be open to the public and their submissions.
The operation of the design review panel would be akin to a circulated agency or City department in the case of a development or site plan approval application. City staff would incorporate the design review panels comments into their decision-making in arriving at a decision on the issuance of a development permit.
This model of a design review panel is common in major municipalities. Vancouver has for many years successfully administered an urban design panel which is advisory to staff on development permit applications. Many American cities rely on a local art or design commission to review and advise on the design aspects of new development.
The Central Waterfront should be a pilot area for the implementation of design panels in the City's planning approvals. The major development expected as part of the waterfront's revitalization and the high design component of the precinct plans warrants the use of a design panel as part of the development approval process, be it in the form of a DPS or the traditional zoning and site plan control system.
The City can assess the applicability of the design panel to other parts of Toronto based on the experience gained from the pilot operation in the Central Waterfront. Design review panels can play an important role in advancing Toronto's Beautiful City initiative.
Expanding the Current Scope of Design Review
The review of design matters in a DPS remains identical to the scope present in site plan control under Section 41 of the Planning Act. Arguments have been made every time the Planning Act has been reviewed to increase the scope of the review municipalities can exercise in site plan control and design aspects of development.
Little progress has been made in Ontario in this regard primarily out of a concern it might lead to arbitrary architectural control in municipalities. Despite little change to the scope of Section 41 powers over the years, municipalities in practice regularly engage in broad design review exercising design review beyond the limits of the Planning Act.
The evaluation of the three DPS pilots completed by the province in 2000 recommended that increased scope be given to Section 41 powers in a DPS area. It recommended that types of materials, window detail and architectural detail be included as part of municipal review to better address urban design issues. Matters such as texture of materials and construction details were recommended to remain outside the review of DPS.
The conclusions of the 2000 evaluation about expanding the scope of design review under DPS remain valid in 2004 and are supported by this evaluation.
The likelihood of outcomes that promote design excellence in the Central Waterfront will be increased if the province amends O. Reg. 246/01 to expand he scope of design review and conditions in a development permit area. This change can be achieved more expeditiously by amending the regulation rather than Section 41 of the Planning Act.
Despite the lack of any meaningful evolution of site plan powers in Ontario since their introduction of the Planning Act in the 1970's, urban design efforts have flourished in municipalities in recognition of the importance of good design to the quality of development and communities.
The City of Toronto like other major urban municipalities has adopted extensive urban design guidelines to supplement the more rudimentary land use controls of zoning and the current site plan control. The expanded scope of design review provided from an amended O. Reg. 246/01 would operate within this urban design policy framework and represent an extension of the current guideline based site plan approval process.
Applicants in a development permit area retain the right to appeal decisions of the municipality to the Ontario Municipal Board. This provides a remedy for applicants, should it be needed.
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