M E M O R A N D U M
Date: 30 July 1999
To: Members of Community Councils
From: Councillor John Filion
Ward 10
Re: Suggested Amendments to the Planning Process
At the July meeting of the Planning and Transportation Committee I proposed a number of amendments which the
Committee asked be forwarded to Community Councils for their consideration.
For some parts of the new city, the proposals put forward by the Planning staff represent a major reduction in the level of
community and local Councillor involvement in the planning process. Attached are my suggested amendments, along with
a brief rationale for each.
Site Plan
It appears that each former municipality has slightly different ways of dealing with site plans. In North York, site plan is
required not only for large-scale developments but also for townhouse construction and even for single family homes
created by severance, on ravine lots and in Special Policy Areas.
The site plan process, now standard across the new city, requires that Councillors are fully apprised and have opportunity
to comment on site plans before a building permit is issued. If there is a difference of opinion the site plan can be Abumped
up@ to the Community Council for a decision. This allows Councillors to meet with surrounding residents and give them
an opportunity to comment on such issues as tree preservation, landscaping, fencing, drainage and building design.
Staff is proposing that site plan be eliminated for smaller developments and that Councillors no longer need to sign off on
them. Under what is being proposed, Councillors could still request a bump up within 14 days of site plan circulation. But
this obviously does not allow time to determine whether there are legitimate community concerns which the applicant
refuses to address. The result would be that Councillors would need to automatically bump up every site plan in order to
preserve the right to do so.
My suggestion is that sections 3 (i) and 3(ii) be struck out so that the process continues as it is now.
Staff Discussions with Applicants
The report recommends Aroundtable@ discussions with applicants and staff very early in the process. This, in itself, is
probably a good idea, but needs to be balanced by community participation at an equally early stage. Otherwise, there is a
strong risk that the staff and the applicant reach conclusions prior to any community dialogue, which makes a sham of the
latter.
My suggested amendment to 2(v) is that Asimilar roundtable meetings be held with registered ratepayer organizations or
other interested individuals who indicate interest in the application or who are identified by the local Councillor(s) prior to
any preliminary reports being signed@.
Notification of Residents
The report recommends the minimum required notice area, unless somebody (Councillors or the applicant) pays for a wider
notification. With a recent application in my ward, the standard notice area for a 30-storey building covered only the
adjacent properties in the redevelopment area but not the single family homes on the adjoining block.
There are also many instances in which the notice prepared by staff doesn=t provide sufficient detail so that residents could
form an intelligent opinion about whether or not they had a concern.
My suggested amendment is that Astaff report on how the size of the notification area could be related to the area of impact
of the proposed development@ and Athat any costs associated with an expanded circulation area be paid for by the
applicant@.
Further, I suggest that the words Awith sufficient detail so that residents can form an opinion regarding the potential impact
of the proposal@ be added to recommendation 2 (vi).
Preliminary Evaluation Reports
These reports, which are new to some parts of the city, are prepared by staff prior to any consultation with the community.
In some instances, they go beyond a simple outlining of the issues and state a staff position with regard to such issues as
density and building mass.
My suggestion is Athat preliminary evaluation reports not include staff comments which might prejudice the final staff
recommendations which are made following formal and informal community input@.
Role of Councillors in Community Meetings
The report recommends that community meetings be chaired by the Planning staff. As someone who has always chaired
community planning meetings in my ward, I find this suggestion insulting.
I propose that Amembers of Council continue to chair community meetings and that the Planning Department staff only do
so if requested by the local Councillor(s)@.
The Fox Guarding the Henhouse
The staff report recommends that city staff no longer verify that a development has been built according to approved plans;
instead the developer would hire a consultant who would verify this!! Enough said.
________________________
John Filion, Councillor
Ward 10, North York Centre
/vad
Toronto City Hall, 100 Queen Street West, Suite B-36, Toronto, Ontario. M5H 2N2
Tel:(416) 392-0210 Fax:(416) 392-7388 E-mail:councillor_filion@toronto.ca