Improvement initiatives, service delivery and user engagement are tools that the Committee of Adjustment uses to provide valuable information to Toronto residents. Included on this page is future information on how to participate in annual engagement events with the Committee of Adjustment.
City Planning staff are undertaking a multi-year, transformational work program focused on improving users’ ability to participate in the Committee of Adjustment process and public hearings.
At its May 5 and May 6, 2021 meeting, City Council directed the City Planning Division to retain a third-party consultant to conduct a review of the Committee of Adjustment. Broadly, the objective of the review was to identify recommendations to improve the effective participation of the public and applicants in the hearing process. From February to November 2022, KPMG conducted this review, holding extensive stakeholder consultations.
KPMG’s Final Report on the Committee of Adjustment Review identified 15 recommendations to improve the public hearing process for members of the public and applicants and proposed a high-level implementation plan for their recommendations. This report was presented at the February 2023 Planning and Housing Committee meeting, along with a staff report supporting the recommendations.
Staff established a multi-year implementation plan for the recommendations, with some improvements coming in 2023 and others in 2024-2025. In April 2024, City Planning staff delivered an implementation update to the Planning and Housing Committee.
As staff move forward with implementation, they continue to engage with all Committee of Adjustment users: experienced and inexperienced applicants, building industry representatives, resident groups and other community organizations, members of the public, Committee of Adjustment panel members, staff in the City Planning and Development Review Divisions, Legal Services, Toronto Building and other partners in development review.
In January 2024, City Planning staff hosted an engagement session with applicants and members of the public. Staff provided an update on the KPMG recommendations and other CoA transformation initiatives, requested feedback on the hybrid hearing format, and gathered other feedback and answered questions from attendees. A similar session will be held in January 2025. Date and location will be announced in the fall 2024.