Participate at a Hearing

Committee of Adjustment public hearings are held in a hybrid in-person and virtual format. This means applicants and the public have the choice to join a hearing in person or virtually on Webex, an on-line digital platform, by telephone, computer, smartphone or tablet. City staff and panel members will attend the hearings in person.

Speak at a Hearing

Attend virtually by video or audio using Webex, by telephone, computer, tablet or smartphone, with pre-registration required no later than 4:30 p.m., two business days before the hearing date.  See below for registration instructions.

Attend in person at the Committee of Adjustment hearing room location for the district. The hearing location is on the Public Hearing Notice and the hearing agenda. In-person attendees are encouraged to pre-register as set out below.

For both virtual and in-person participation, any presentation materials must be emailed by 4:30 p.m. five business days before the hearing date. Staff cannot accept materials at the meetings.

Submit Comments in Writing

Submit comments in PDF format via email, with a deadline of no later than 4:30 p.m., five business days before the hearing date. This is to ensure materials can be forwarded to members in advance of the hearing. See below for more details on how to submit comments in writing.

Watch a Hearing

You can watch a hearing in person or on the Toronto City Planning YouTube Channel.

Closed Captions on YouTube

Closed caption subtitles are generally made available 24 hours after the hearing. YouTube closed captions are generated automatically using speech recognition technology. There may be discrepancies between the words spoken and the captions that are generated as YouTube works to improve their closed captioning service.

Committee of Adjustment On-line Registration Portal

To participate in a hearing, register on-line. Committee of Adjustment hearings are held in a hybrid format, allowing you to attend physically in person or virtually by video or audio using Webex by telephone, computer, tablet, or smartphone.

Participating On-line

If you wish to speak to an application by phone or Webex, on-line registration is required by 4:30 p.m. two business days before the hearing.

Participating In Person

If you are attending a hearing in person, on-line registration is not required but is appreciated.

Observing a Hearing

If you wish to just observe a hearing, you can watch the hearing on YouTube, or attend in person without registering. If you are having trouble using the on-line registration, you can email district staff for assistance.

Attend Virtually After Registration has Closed

If you miss the registration cut-off deadline and wish to attend the hearing virtually, please contact the Committee of Adjustment district office directly by email.

No Participation Guarantee

Please note we cannot guarantee you will be able to participate virtually if you miss the registration deadline.

Acknowledging Requests to Speak

Upon submitting your request to speak, an acknowledgment will be displayed on your screen and you will receive a confirmation email. If you do not receive an acknowledgement your request to speak has not been received. Committee of Adjustment staff will confirm your registration by email with connection details one business day before the hearing.

Written submissions to the Committee of Adjustment must be emailed to the applicable general Committee of Adjustment email address in PDF format, no later than 4:30 p.m. five business days before the hearing date. This is to ensure materials can be forwarded to members in advance of the hearing. To find your district’s general email or phone number, please see Contact Information sidebar.

  • After the Chair introduces an item, the applicant/agent will speak first and will have five minutes to make their presentation and another five minutes to rebut comments made by interested parties.
  • Interested parties will be invited to speak after the applicant’s initial presentation. Each speaker will be given five minutes and one opportunity to address the committee, so please focus your comments, as follows:
    • Clearly state your name and address.
    • Explain how the requested variance(s) or consent(s) being requested will impact the enjoyment of your property and neighbourhood (positively or negatively).
  • Review the requested variance(s), keeping in mind the four tests that the committee must apply, which are:
    • Is the variance requested minor;
    • Is the proposal desirable for the appropriate development of the land and/or building;
    • Is the general intent and purpose of the City’s Zoning By-law maintained; and
    • Is the general intent and purpose of the City’s Official Plan maintained.
  • Review the requested consent(s), keeping in mind the requested consent must have regard to criteria such as:
    • Is the land division desirable development of the lands and in the public interest;
    • Does the proposed land division conform to the policies of the City’s Official Plan;  and
    • Has the suitability of the dimensions and shapes of the proposed lots been demonstrated.
  • Aspects of the proposal that do not require variances (example: If building height is not listed as a requested variance, then it is not a matter that the committee can consider).
  • Noise, pollution, property maintenance, construction and engineering concerns (please contact Toronto Building).
  • Prosecution for illegal construction. The committee is required to view these applications as if the construction has not been started or completed.
  • Personal comments about neighbours, agents, applicants.
  • Once the applicant/agent has completed the rebuttal, the Chair will bring the matter “into committee” and no further comments will be permitted, unless the
  • Chair or a committee Member asks a question.
  • The Chair and Members will announce their decision at the hearing and will state conditions of approval, if imposed.
  • The committee may defer an application but only if circumstances warrant such action.
  • To receive a copy of the Decision, contact the applicable Committee of Adjustment office by email (see general Email Address under Contact Information) and provide the following: your name; address; email address; date of hearing; file number; and address of the subject property.
  • Deferrals are not awarded automatically and requests are considered by the committee at the public hearing.
  • Justification for a deferral must be provided to the committee.
  • You are advised to be prepared to present your proposal, as the committee may not grant your deferral request.
  • If the committee chooses to adjourn the Hearing to a later date, the committee may either set a specific date for the item to be heard again or may defer it until specific stipulations made by the committee are met, such as holding a Community Meeting. If this is the case, you must contact City staff once the stipulations have been met and a new Hearing date will be scheduled.
  • A new Notice of Public Hearing may be required.

A complete Toronto Local Appeal Tribunal  application to appeal minor variance and/or consent application(s) must be submitted to the Deputy Secretary-Treasurer on or before the appeal deadline. If the appeal application submission is incomplete, the application will be considered to be abandoned and the application will be closed. Should you have any questions related to the processing of the appeal application, please contact the Deputy Secretary-Treasurer for your district.

For further information related to the appeal process visit the Toronto Local Appeal Body webpage.

For more information on panel members see the Toronto Public Appointments webpage.