To: Planning and Transportation Committee and

Community Councils

From: Acting Commissioner of Urban Planning and Development Services

Date: September 24, 1999

Subject: Further Report B Organizational Structure for the new Committee of Adjustment

All Wards

Purpose:

This further report was requested by the Planning and Transportation Committee at its meeting held on September 13, 1999.

Recommendation:

1. It is recommended that the August 26, 1999 Report entitled AOrganizational structure for the new Committee of Adjustment (All Wards)@ be adopted.

Committee Reference:

The Planning and Transportation Committee requested that an information report be prepared for its meeting of October 4, 1999 regarding:

_ a compilation of samples of planning reports currently used with a view towards a standard citywide format;

_ how the proposed new citywide Committee process could be structured to allow for evening meetings where requested;

_ the right of a Councillor to defer a hearing for additional community input;

_ amending the basic qualifications for appointment; and

_ what increase of application fees would be required to accommodate increased membership on the Committee of Adjustment panels.

Comments:

Format for Planning Staff Reports:

Attached to this report are samples of the current staff report formats used by the Committee of Adjustment offices of the four planning Districts. I will be reporting further to your Committee on harmonized administration operations, including the new citywide standard Committee of Adjustment templates for notices, decisions and correspondence. A sample of the standard planning staff report template will be included.

Evening Meetings When Requested/Bump Up:

Three of the six Committees of Adjustment for the former municipalities hold day meetings. While the requirements of the Planning Act can be met by either daytime or evening meetings, daytime meetings provide the greatest flexibility in scheduling, allows for more applications to be heard during reasonable hours of the day and the best use of staff resources for the Committee of Adjustment. Evening meetings would mean additional staff overtime costs, limit the number of applications which can be heard and reduce the number of complaints received regarding late starts and the late hours of consideration of some applications.

The Committee of Adjustment schedule is set a minimum of six months in advance. Additional scheduled Committee of Adjustment evening meetings to accommodate a bump-up provision would require double notification, possibly add confusion for the community and add costs to the City.

Deferral Requests by Councillors:

A City Councillor is entitled to write to or appear before and address a Committee of Adjustment and make any request any other person may make, including a deferral request to allow the Councillor more time to obtain further community input. This is the current practice in all Districts and has worked well.

Council Policy - Basic Qualifications for Appointment:

City Council at its meeting of April 13, 14 and 15, 1999 adopted Clause No. 2 of Report No. 3 of the Special Committee to Review the Final Report of the Transition Team entitled APolicy for Citizen Appointments through the Nominating Committee and the Corporate Services Committee@. This policy is repeated in Appendix 3 of my previous report, using the exact wording adopted by Council. Any amendments to this policy require Council approval

Impact on Fees Schedule of Additional Committee Members:

City Council has not yet set the honoraria rates for agencies, boards and commissions, including the Committee of Adjustment. Currently there is a significant difference between the honorarium of the six Committees of Adjustment for the former municipalities. The total of all honoraria allocated by the former six municipalities is over $185,200, which if averaged for 22 members, allows an honorarium of about $8,500 per year per member. Should City Council decide to appoint, for example, a total of 30 members at the averaged honorarium the additional cost would be $68,000 per year. As about 3,500 applications are dealt with citywide annually, the additional members honoraria would add about $ 20 to each applicant's fee. This does not include additional associated costs such as Members' mileage, expenses and administrative costs.

A copy of the August 26, 1999 report, this report and the times and date for the October 12, 1999 Community Council discussions have been sent to all resident associations across the City and to development industry representatives.

Contact Name:

Tony Evangelista

Manager Committee of Adjustment, North District

Phone: 395-7128

Fax: 395-7155

Revised by:

______________________________ __________________________________

Paul J. Bedford James Ridge

Executive Director & Chief Planner Acting Commissioner

City Planning Division Urban Planning and Development Services