October 18, 1999

To: Planning and Transportation Committee

From: City Clerk

Subject: Organizational Structure for the New Committee of Adjustment

Recommendation:

The York Community Council on October 12, 1999, recommended to the Planning and Transportation Committee that:

(1) the Panel for the West District consist of :

- 5 members all nominated by York Community Council; and

- 5 members all nominated by Etobicoke Community Council;

(2) the Committee of Adjustment Hearings for the West District be held in the evenings at the respective York and Etobicoke Civic Centre locations in the interest of accessibility and convenience to applicants and members of the community;

(3) the current fees charged by Committees of Adjustment be either maintained or lowered so as to provide a stimulus for renovations and re-development;

(4) the requirement that all panelists conduct site visits with respect to assessing applications be continued;

(5) that the Nominating Committee's role regarding the interviewing of candidates for Committee of Adjustment panels be delegated to the Community Councils to:

(a) interview only candidates to be nominated as panelists for the Committee of Adjustment in their respective geographic districts; and

(b) submit recommendations to City Council with respect to these appointments;

(6) the organizational structure for the Committee of Adjustment and its District Panels be re-visited after the matter relating to the structure of Community Councils is dealt with; and

2

(7) the Committee of Adjustment structure follow the principle of a Committee of Adjustment panel for each Community Council area.

Background:

At its meeting held on October 12, 1999, the York Community Council gave consideration to the following reports and communications:

(i) (September 24, 1999) Further Report from the Acting Commissioner of Urban Planning and Development Services to the Planning and Transportation Committee and Community Councils, advising that this further report was requested by the Planning and Transportation Committee at its meeting held on September 13, 1999; and that the Planning and Transportation Committee requested that a report on additional information be prepared for its meeting of October  4, 1999; and recommending that the August 26, 1999 report titled AOrganizational structure for the new Committee of Adjustment (All Wards)@ be adopted.

(ii) (September 14, 1999) from the City Clerk, Planning and Transportation Committee to the Community Councils,advising that on September 13, 1999, the Planning and Transportation Committee referred Recommendations (2) to (6) of the August 26, 1999 report from the Acting Commissioner of Urban Planning and Development Services, together with two motions by Councillors McConnell and Berger, to Community Councils for review and comment to the Planning and Transportation Committee for its November 1, 1999 meeting;

(iii) (October 5, 1999) from Mr. Vincent J. Santamaura, Chair, York Committee of Adjustment, submitting comments and concerns in response to the following Recommendations in the report dated August 26, 1999 from the Acting Commissioner of Urban Planning and Development Services (see letter attached as Appendix A):

1. Geographic Districts

2. Composition of the Committee

3. Time of Committee Hearings

4. Location of Committee Hearings

5. Member Qualifications

6. Financial Implications

7. Corrections to the Appendices

8. Committee Operations

9. Consultation Process; and

10. Integrity of the Committee;

3

(iv) (October 8, 1999) from Mr. William H. Roberts, Director and former President, Swansea Area Ratepayers Association to the Toronto and York Community Councils, advising that the Association does not support the decision to exclude citizens from the process by holding daytime meetings; that the former City of Toronto took great pride in supportingAparticipatory planning@ which involved citizens in the process not just the stakeholders (i.e.

lawyers, agents, architects, builders) who because of their profession can attend daytime meetings; that it is often neighbours who draw to the Committee's attention inconsistencies in what may otherwise appear to be a minor variance; that they fail to see how access would be improved by requiring the citizens of York or East York to travel outside their communities to Etobicoke or Scarborough respectively; that this would require travelling by car not public transit given the existing connections and times to travel; and that the creation of four panels would appear to be a pre-emptive strike to end the existence of East York and York and to move to a four community council structure and preclude the recommendations of the Miller committee of having more, not fewer community councils (see letter attached as Appendix B);

(v) (October 8, 1999) from Ms. Sandra Melville, Co-Chair, Warren Park Ratepayers Association; requesting that the hearings of the York Committee of Adjustment be maintained at the civic centre, 2700 Eglinton Avenue West; that moving the meetings will be less convenient for the residents of York and would further dilute and eliminate its local autonomy; and requesting that the meetings for the York district continue to be held at the York Civic Centre.

The following persons appeared before the Community Council in connection with the foregoing matter:

- Mr. Vincent Santamaura, Chair, York Committee of Adjustment;

- Mr. Rod Bissell, Chair, Etobicoke Committee of Adjustment;

- Mr. William Roberts, Director, Swansea Area Ratepayers Association; and

- Ms. Marjorie, Mt. Dennis Ratepayers Association.

City Clerk

Encs:

York Agenda Item No. 26

Glenda Jagai

394-2516