The Framework for the New Official Plan for Toronto
The Urban Environment and Development Committee recommends that:
(1)Council endorse the framework outlined in the report (January 25, 1999) from the
Commissioner of Urban Planning and Development Services;
(2)an Official Plan Council Reference Group be established to guide the process, such
Group to be comprised of 7 members of Council, one of whom shall be the Chair of the
Urban Environment and Development Committee who will Chair the Group, and that
the City Clerk be requested to canvass members of Council for their interest and submit
the names of interested persons to the Striking Committee; and
(3)appropriate City Officials be authorized and directed to take the necessary action to
give effect thereto.
The Urban Environment and Development Committee reports, for the information of Council,
having referred the following motions placed at the Committee to the Commissioner of Urban
Planning and Development Services with a request that she report directly to Council for its
meeting on March 2, 1999 on these motions and provide appropriate recommendations:
"(1)that the Official Plan Council Reference Group be renamed the "Official Plan Council
Task Force" and that the City Clerk be requested to provide administrative support to this
Task Force;
(2)that the Commissioner of Urban Planning and Development Services prepare a pamphlet
for distribution to interest groups and forward a copy to the next meeting of the Urban
Environment and Development Committee;
(3)that an additional fourth and fifth lens be included in the framework for the Official Plan
as follows:
-areas where the City wants to spark transformation;
-waterfront and green space;
(4)that the Official Plan and related material be written in plain language;
(5)that the Culture Plan be fully integrated into the Official Plan;
(6)that the Official Plan include the development of a working philosophy for public transit;
(7)that the City's school-boards be included in some meaningful way in the development of
the Official Plan;
(8)that the 5th point contained in the list on page 9 of the report (January 25, 1999) from the
Commissioner of Urban Planning and Development Services under the paragraph headed
"Format and Scope of the Plan" be amended by adding the words "and accessible to persons
with disabilities", so as to read:
"ensure new development will enhance public streets, open space, and be environmentally
compatible, and accessible to persons with disabilities"."
The Urban Environment and Development Committee submits the report (January 25,
1999) from the Commissioner of Urban Planning and Development Services:
Purpose:
The City is on the threshold of a new millennium, with great aspirations and prospects for an
exciting future as an amalgamated city. This report is a first step in the development of a
collective vision for our new City. It seeks Council endorsement for the scope of the work
program, the process, timing and consultation strategy for developing a new Official Plan for
the City of Toronto. The preparation of a new Official Plan will be a landmark event, and
1999 will see numerous opportunities for stakeholders and the public at large to help shape the
City's future.
We are a new city, and the new Plan is about "reinventing" Toronto. That means reinventing
the way we plan Toronto. What people care about in their daily lives, what other world cities
envy about Toronto, and what corporations increasingly look for when making their
investment decisions is quality of life. The quality of life enjoyed by this city cannot be taken
for granted. It needs nurturing and it needs reinvestment on the part of both the public and the
private sectors. The figure on page 2 suggests the cycle that sustains quality of life, and which
should consequently be at the heart of the new Plan. The role of the Official Plan is to propel
this cycle by setting objectives, identifying opportunities, and fostering reinvestment in the
community, the environment and the economy. Reinvesting in our quality of life will be an
organizing theme of the new Plan. The Plan will address social, economic and environmental
objectives for reinvestment, and give direction to Council in its capital budget deliberations.
Quality of life also has an important spatial component. What happens "on the ground" affects
our sense of well being, our enjoyment of urban life, and ultimately the quality of our lives.
The Plan will break new ground in this area. It will have to if we are to make sense of the
common values and interests of the diverse communities across the city. The current planning
framework of seven official plans, comprising over 2000 pages, is not only a barrier to
achieving the benefits of amalgamation, its sheer size and detail get in the way of
understanding our common interests. What people value in their communities in Willowdale,
Agincourt, Swansea, Leaside or Thistletown are very similar. The Plan should have "lenses"
that can see past the superficial differences and bring into focus the important characteristics,
qualities and needs that are shared by these different communities. These will need to be
nurtured and invested in to promote quality of life. At the other end of the spectrum, areas like
the Railway Lands, Morningside Heights, Downsview, or the Woodbine Racetrack Lands,
also have more in common than they have differences. Seen through the right lenses, these
commonalities can be understood. Finding the right "lenses" with which to view the City will
be a process of discovery for all of us - staff, council, the community, other departments, the
development industry and other stakeholders. At the end of that journey, we will all have a
better understanding of this new City, and how we can collectively "grow" an even better one.
The new Official Plan will also need to build bridges to neighbouring communities. The City
needs a healthy regional economy and a more sustainable plan for accommodating expansion
of the urbanized part of the region. Communities throughout the rest of the Greater Toronto
Area need a safe and healthy urban core to support their goals. It is important for Toronto's
Official Plan to address the new regional context in which we plan for investment, physical
and social change.
Funding Sources, Financial Implications and Impact:
There are no funding implications arising from this report. On December 8 and 15, 1998
respectively, Budget Committee and the Strategic Policy and Priorities Committee approved
funds in the amount of $700,000.00 for 1999 as part of the 1999 Capital Transition Costs. At
its meeting of February 1, 1999 Council will consider the Committee's recommendations.
Recommendations:
It is recommended that:
(1)Council endorse the framework outlined in this report, the work program, process, timing
and communication strategy for developing a new Official Plan for the City of Toronto;
(2)Council approve the establishment of an Official Plan Council Reference Group to guide
the process. The Council Reference Group is to be chaired by the Chair of the Urban
Environment and Development Committee and should be comprised of 6 members of
Council; and
(3)the appropriate City Officials be authorized and directed to take the necessary action to
give effect thereto.
Council Reference:
On April 16, 1998 Council endorsed the preparation of a new Official Plan by its adoption of
my report dated March 11, 1998. Budget Committee approved a budget of $700,000.00 for
this project in 1999. This report sets out a new framework, work program, and consultative
process for the development of a new Official Plan for the City of Toronto.
Context:
Toronto was the first large city in Canada to undertake a 'modern' comprehensive Master Plan
in the 1940s. That plan is remembered as a precursor to the suburban expansion of the 1950s
and 1960s as well as for laying out a blueprint for the subway system and the reservation of
land for development of a civic centre. The endorsement of a bold vision in 1943, helped
Council to set priorities for a number of important implementation plans and projects that
followed.
The first Official Plan for the new City of Toronto should be equally visionary and strategic. It
should speak to more than the administrative efficiencies of an amalgamated City. A new
Official Plan will help Council, the diverse communities throughout the City, and the various
City departments to engage in a unified city building process with a common purpose. The
first Official Plan for this new City should represent a dynamic vision to carry the City
proudly into the next century.
Enhancing Quality of Life - the Prime Objective
Toronto is at the heart of one of the most prosperous and dynamic urban regions in North
America. The quality of life enjoyed by residents here is a reflection of:
-our economic prospects (employment, cost of living);
-the quality of the natural and built environment (pollution levels, quality of urban streets
and buildings, parks and open space systems); and
-our sense of community (the degree to which we feel safe to enjoy our neighbourhoods, the
level and quality of affordable housing, community services, education, health and social
services, and the level of community spirit enjoyed by our citizens).
An improved quality of life is the key to the region's future economic competitiveness and
prosperity.
Toronto is at a crossroads. It has been a success story among North American cities over the
past 50 years, based on its position as the financial and manufacturing capital of Canada's
economy. Toronto's success has also been a product of the high quality of life its citizens
enjoyed. This high quality of life attracted people and businesses who contributed to the City's
prosperity which in turn resulted in improvements to life in the City. Recently however,
concerns have surfaced regarding our ability to sustain this cycle.
The recent recession compounded the effects of other aspects of societal change. A large
number of jobs in the Toronto region were lost, partly due to the recession, but partly due to
the introduction of new technology in the workplace. Many of these jobs are lost forever. Free
trade has resulted in changes in the scope of economic activity, enhancing the international
position of large segments of our economy. While the auto sector and other manufacturing
industries are still mainstays of the regional economy, there is now significant trade in
services internationally (particularly financial services). To be successful, the economy of the
Greater Toronto Area (GTA) must build on existing strengths and provide opportunities for
new job creation.
People continued to come to Toronto throughout the recession, with 315,000 new immigrants
choosing this City as their home between 1991 and 1996. The population of the City rose by
110,000 overall during those five years, more than had been anticipated in projections upon
which the current Official Plans were based. Toronto continued to be cited internationally as a
great place to live and to do business because of our affordable high quality of life. Locally,
however, concerns were being raised about the condition of the social and economic fabric of
the City.
A number of indicators suggest that we will have to work harder against emerging trends and
invest more to maintain our quality of life:
-the GTA continues to grow and the lion's share of future growth in population and housing
will take place in the surrounding regions;
-there is a significant difference in the income distribution picture between the City and the
suburbs, with average household incomes in the City much lower than the surrounding
regions;
-federal and provincial withdrawal from social housing programs has contributed to a
serious shortage of affordable rental housing throughout the GTA;
-changes to the social assistance system have harmed the most vulnerable in the City, and
have been felt by small businesses as millions of dollars have been removed from local
spending;
-TTC ridership declined sharply from its peak in 1991 and is slow in recovering, reflecting
in part the growth in jobs outside of the City which are difficult to serve with transit;
-a new property tax system and new financial responsibilities have added to the challenge of
amalgamation; and
-an aging physical infrastructure with limited financial means to maintain or expand it poses
a challenge in the face of already rising capital expenditures.
Today, residents of Toronto have a new civic administration which, in addition to dealing
with the amalgamation of traditional municipal functions, must also deal with new
responsibilities such as:
-full funding responsibility for social housing, transit and roads;
-the restructuring of social services; and
-cost-sharing for regional growth through the Greater Toronto Services Board.
We need a new planning framework to deal with the challenges of global economic
competition, new municipal responsibilities, and the changing social fabric. In the words of
Sir Christopher Ball: "Existing systems produce existing results. If something different is
required, the system must be changed." The new Official Plan will break from the traditional
policy framework to focus on opportunities for renewal and reinvestment, and how
reinvestment can maintain and enhance the best qualities of Toronto.
Renewing Toronto
Toronto is almost fully built out, its urban structure by and large defined by large areas of
relative stability and more dynamic areas characterized by either incremental change or
significant transformation. As a mature City, virtually all development is redevelopment and
renewal. Older parts of the City have experienced successive waves of reinvestment and
rebuilding. Newer parts of the City have in the past decade or so come to see the first of such
waves. Reaching a common understanding of the consequences of change across the City's
landscape will be part of the "glue" of the new Official Plan.
As our recovery from the recession has progressed, we have seen renewed interest in
development activity across the City, and employment has been rising. Our population rose
primarily because we are still seen by immigrants as a desirable place to settle. We have also
seen growth in the number of young children in older residential neighbourhoods as the
character of these communities changes with demographic shifts. However, our future
prospects cannot be taken for granted and we must put in place a policy framework to direct
and foster renewal.
Successful cities have clear and strong functional linkages between their built environment
and their natural features. The natural environments that are most regarded and best protected
are those features that "belong" to a community. The City's waterfront, major river valleys,
minor ravines and the escarpment define this City and distinguish it from others. Many cities
have international style office towers, but no other City has our waterfront, or the Don,
Humber and Rouge Rivers. These irreplaceable resources are to be treasured, protected and
regenerated.
Reinvesting in the City's livability means more than promoting economic growth. A
successful reinvestment plan must address priorities for improving the physical infrastructure
of the City and reinvestment in the built environments through commitments to improving the
quality of the place we live in. Every new development is an opportunity to enhance the City
and create or contribute to a sense of place. For most people, the experience of a "good"
development comes from what we experience at the street level. Our streets, parks and open
spaces around buildings are Toronto's outdoor living rooms. The emphasis in the Plan must
be on creating public spaces that people want to use, not because it gets them from here to
there, but because the places are exciting, interesting, safe and enjoyable.
The new Plan will be a Plan for reinvestment in the pillars of the City's quality of life:
-community
-the economy
-our natural and built environments
A New Approach to Planning Toronto
"The world we have created today, as a result of our thinking thus far, has problems which
cannot be solved by thinking the way we thought when we created them." Albert Einstein
We are a City of 240 square miles and a population of 2.4 million. While the previous
approaches to planning may have served us well in the past, the challenges of a new City of
this scale require that we take a fresh approach. If we approach planning the same way we
have in the past, we will find ourselves again with 2000 pages of Plan, and an unworkable
planning framework for a city of this scale. We need a plan that is easy to understand, gives
clear direction, is read because it is meaningful and a pleasure to read, and is easy to
administer.
The new Plan will need to break the mould, and will have to do so using new language that is
engaging and resonates with the community. You cannot break with the past using the
language of the present. The Plan will need to depart from the traditional land use approach
and find new concepts and ideas to guide the physical, economic and social development of
the City. The new framework must focus on those elements of city building that are valued
and that collectively contribute to our quality of life.
To do this, we need to enter the planning process from an entirely different perspective, using
reinvestment in the quality of life as the Plan's organizing policy framework. As noted earlier,
Toronto is virtually built out, and its urban structure is by and large defined by large areas of
relative stability and more dynamic areas characterized by either incremental change or
significant transformation. There are large parts of the City that will not "change" - for
example the extensive stable residential areas, our environmentally sensitive areas, and parks
and open space systems. But these areas, while stable, are not static. They require renewal and
reinvestment to maintain or enhance quality of life. The Plan needs to give direction about
what kind of change and reinvestment is needed in such areas. Other areas, that over the years
have become obsolete, need to be rethought and more significant change is both expected and
tolerated. For these areas, we need a different approach than for stable areas where the thrust
is to invest in order to protect what is there now.
The Official Plan will establish different lenses which will set out how different parts of the
City share common features and share common potential for reinvestment. This will be done
by examining the existing extent of development, the state of the physical and social
infrastructure, and opportunities for renewal. In addition, the area's sensitivity to change and
the potential consequences of change will be looked at.
This is pioneering work. A scan of other jurisdictions has not found any comparable
approaches. We will be reinventing how we plan Toronto as we collectively discover this new
City. We have taken a very preliminary stab at identifying three possible reinvestment lenses,
or views of the city that make sense. As we move through the Official Plan process we will be
making adjustments, refining these and discovering others that together will tell a story about
the City. As starting points, the following three different types of areas can be described.
Stable Areas
Most of the City is characterised by relative stability. Such areas include residential
neighbourhoods, the green space network, and employment districts where the built form is
relatively stable. In these areas, the Official Plan should reinforce this stability, provide a high
degree of certainty about the consequences of redevelopment, and suggest reinvestment
strategies that support quality of life. The stable reinvestment lens must see beyond superficial
differences and focus on the common expectations of change.
Areas of Incremental Change
Other parts of the City have more potential for change but the change will be incremental and
will not alter the basic structure of the City or function of the area. The extent and form of
development already there also suggests that new development must be carefully designed to
fit the existing urban fabric. Examples might range from infill to the re-use of existing
buildings for quite different activities. Mainstreets and arterial corridor areas where
intensification is expected would also fit this description. Residents and businesses here look
to the Official Plan to guide redevelopment activity within a range of alternative expectations.
The Official Plan should not attempt to prescribe a defined mix for such areas. Rather, the
Plan should provide the objectives for incremental change that, over time, will contribute to
the new vision of the City.
Areas of Significant Transformation
Still other parts of the City may offer tremendous opportunity for reinvestment as part of a
wholesale change in character. Examples such as King-Spadina, the Railway Lands and the
federal Downsview lands are in the process of transformation. Other opportunities can be
found in former industrial lands lying idle or in the remaining large tracts of "greenfield"
lands. The Plan would guide the phased build-out of these large areas including investment in
the physical and social infrastructure requirements.
There may be three, four, or five such reinvestment "views", or "lenses" of the City which will
be explored during the course of developing the new Official Plan. The broad strategic
objectives of the Plan will be realized in many ways as the vision for Toronto's future is
focussed through these different lenses in different parts of the City.
Format and Scope of the Plan
The Official Plan can guide Council's decision making and influence the quality of life in the
City for years to come. To do so it must be relevant, accessible, readily understood and give
clear direction as to the City's priorities. The Plan should also preserve and enhance the best
of what we have while establishing the ground rules by which the benefits of physical change
can be realized.
The Official Plan is also an opportunity to integrate the visions and the values of Council's
Task Forces. There is a great deal of planning going on in this new organization, with leading
edge thinking on a number of fronts that will need to feed into the new Plan. While specific
goals may be incorporated in the new Plan, other objectives and strategies for action arising
from the Task Forces may be more appropriately housed in the Corporate Strategic Plan or in
implementation plans that will be associated with the Official Plan.
As a public guide to improving Toronto's prospects for the future the Plan will:
-be pro-active in identifying priority areas across the City for economic and community
development;
-be strategic in setting priorities for the effective expenditure of capital funds to support
development;
-contain meaningful indicators to measure progress in meeting the strategic objectives and
impacts on our quality of life;
-establish a framework for partnerships in city building;
-ensure new development will enhance public streets, open space, and be environmentally
compatible;
-employ high quality graphics, illustrations and photographs to articulate visions of a high
quality urban form;
-be easy to read and understand as a policy framework; and
-be a living document with the flexibility to embrace social and economic change.
Other Corporate Planning Exercises
As noted above, Council has initiated a number of corporate planning exercises. The
Corporate Strategic Plan will lay the groundwork for departmental priorities and multi-year
program plans. The Social Development Strategy will set social program priorities and the
Economic Development Strategy will guide programs for growing Toronto's economy.
Beyond these departmental projects, the Environmental Task Force is developing an
Environmental Plan, and other Council Task Forces will be releasing reports that will have an
impact on City operations and policy.
How does the Official Plan relate to all of these other planning processes?
As a corporate policy tool the Plan will be a document that:
-provides geographic and urban structure priorities to inform the capital budget and
Corporate Strategic Plan;
-provides a geographic and urban structure for the Social Development Strategy and the
operations of the Community and Neighbourhoods Services Department for community
development and service delivery; and
-provides the necessary infrastructure upon which the Economic Development Strategy can
be realized.
These planning processes will result in visions for the City's future on specific topics. The
realization of these visions will be dependent upon the benefits that flow from a strong
economy and the investment that the private sector undertakes. They will also be dependent
upon the community benefits that are the by-products of private investment, as well as the
community benefits that are direct products of public investment, on the part of all levels of
government. Priority areas for these two forms of investment will be found in the Official
Plan. They will be articulated in more detail in implementation plans which will specify such
things as improvements to the transportation networks; linkages in the green space network;
environmental remediation actions; and community improvement plans.
Implementation Plans to Realize the Official Plan's Objectives
A Plan is only as good as its implementation strategies. Planning does not stop when a Plan is
adopted. Some of the most significant planning in this City that changed the way we think
about municipal planning and development and that changed the look and feel of the city,
happened outside the Official Plan process. Living Room, which led to the establishment of
Cityhome and the development of the St. Lawrence Neighbourhood in the former City of
Toronto, for example, was not a formal part of the Official Plan process, but was an
implementation Plan that realized the Plan's vision. The new Official Plan will set out a
vision of the City that will take many years to achieve. To realize the vision will take the
coordinated action of the new civic organization and the private sector. We need to invest
manpower, time, energy and dollars in implementation strategies that build on the foundation
of the new Plan.
The pace of redevelopment varies with economic conditions and reinvestment by the City will
be affected by the City's financial health and competing demands on the capital budget. The
processes for city building that are to be articulated in the Official Plan will tie into program
initiatives through a portfolio of implementation plans. These implementation plans will be
started in tandem with the Official Plan process this year, and will be one of the vehicles by
which the general objectives of the Official Plan materialize on the ground.
If the Official Plan, with its strategic, long term vision, can be seen as "thinking globally",
then the portfolio of implementation plans can be seen as "acting locally". Implementation
plans will need to be more flexible than the Plan in order to be more responsive to change as
community conditions evolve, to build on achievements, or to redress outstanding needs.
Monitoring and Evaluation
You cannot know if you are moving forward if you do not measure your progress along the
way. Moreover, you get action on the things you measure. The new Official Plan must set out
a road map for measuring success using meaningful measures that relate to the goals of the
Plan for quality of life. Indicators associated with the broad strategic objectives of the Official
Plan, must be developed that represent benchmarks for implementation strategies.
The indicators for the new Plan will be a major departure from traditional monitoring
programs found in the existing plans. They must be measures that are meaningful in terms of
the goals and objectives of the Plan but must also be understandable to the ordinary citizen.
This will be a substantial body of work for the new Official Plan, but will be coordinated with
other indicator projects underway both in the corporation (as part of the Corporate Strategic
Plan) and in the community (e.g. the Toronto Indicators Project).
How Do We Proceed?
Like the new Plan itself, the process for its development needs to break new ground. The scale
of the City, and the timeframe set by Council means that the conventional approaches to
consultation will not be workable. We need to develop meaningful, targetted and high profile
interventions to motivate people to engage in productive debate about the new Plan. We also
need to take advantage of the work and consultation that others are doing elsewhere in the
community and the corporation. We cannot afford to duplicate what others have already done
or could do better. Summarized below are some of the main strategies that will contribute to
the development of the new Plan.
Co-ordination with Council - the Council Reference Group
The Official Plan timetable is ambitious and is based on providing Council with the ability to
adopt new policies and set priorities by June 2000. This is only do-able if we chart the course
for a new Official Plan set out in this report, but we will need the assistance and guidance of
Council as we pursue this pioneering venture. Staff recommend the establishment of a
Council Reference Group comprised of 6 members of Council, chaired by the Chair of the
Urban Environment and Development Services Committee, to work with staff as we develop
the Plan.
Innovation will drive the process of developing the Plan. Council members will need to be at
the table, with sleeves rolled up, to learn along with staff and develop an understanding of the
new approach as it evolves. The Council Reference Group will need to be small enough that it
can be called together on short notice to keep the process on target. It will act as a sounding
board and provide advice at key points in the process.
This Reference Group should include representation from each of the Community Councils
and a cross section of Council members who are members of the various Committees, and
involved in Council Task Forces or other corporate planning initiatives. This will ensure
consistent political guidance for all corporate planning efforts.
Involvement in the Reference Group is not the only opportunity for Council members to
contribute to the development of the Official Plan. Key milestones in the process ensure that
all Council members are aware of the developing policies, have the opportunity for input,
comment and decision making. The work program establishes key milestones when the
public, Community Councils, and Council as a whole will have input in a formal manner.
Communication throughout the process will ensure that members of Council are aware of the
status of the Official Plan's development at all times. Staff will put together an "Official Plan
Information Kit" for Council members. This kit will contain key material, publications, copies
of pertinent research material, news releases and key data to ensure Council members have an
up to date reference package related to the Official Plan.
Coordination with Other Initiatives
As mentioned above, the City is involved in a number of strategic initiatives including the
development of Council's Strategic Plan, a Social Development Strategy, an Economic
Development Strategy and an Environmental Plan. These initiatives relate directly to the
development of the Official Plan. The Official Plan will provide the legislative authority to
implement key components of these corporate planning initiatives and will integrate the
objectives emerging from these plans in the development process. City Planning staff are
working with other departmental staff involved in preparing these Plans and Strategies.
An inter-departmental working group is being set up for the Official Plan to ensure
co-ordination with other Departments whose input will be important to the development of a
new Official Plan. This group will include representation from the Chief Administrator's
Office, Legal Division of Corporate Services, Economic Development, Culture and Tourism,
Community and Neighbourhood Services and Works and Emergency Services.
Council has identified a number of priorities and established Task Forces to respond to these
priorities. The Task Forces have either completed or are in the midst of their consultative
processes. The issues identified, and concerns expressed through each of these consultative
processes will be drawn upon as input into the Official Plan. In instances where community
outreach has yet to occur, the City Planning Division will coordinate our communication
efforts with these other initiatives. Council's adoption of the key recommendations resulting
from its various Task Forces may result in directions or policy articulation in the Official Plan
or the Implementation Plans associated with the Official Plan.
Keeping Participants and the Public Involved and Informed
A public participation process must provide diverse opportunities for public input throughout
the process. It must also maximize public input in order to enable staff and Council to
understand the collective communities' visions for this new City. As a result, a variety of
consultation strategies will be employed to provide for input throughout the process. The
following summarizes the key components which are intended to obtain the broadest possible
public involvement in the development of the new Plan.
Launching the Official Plan Process
It is important for the new Plan to build momentum and start off on an exciting note, and so a
major public event is planned to launch the Official Plan process. Scheduled for April 7, 1999,
a City sponsored, one day public forum will bring together councillors, staff and the public
with speakers from cities around the world and local experts to focus on what needs to be
done to improve quality of life in cities generally and in Toronto in particular.
Like the new Official Plan, the theme of the forum will be strategies to encourage
reinvestment in our quality of life. We will begin the process of learning from the experience
of others and to begin to apply these lessons to Toronto. After hearing about specific
initiatives in Europe and the United States, local experts will outline the challenges facing
Toronto in putting in place a new approach to planning the City that encourages reinvestment.
Forums and Events
To reach a city of this size we will need a series of high profile events to bring interested
stakeholders together to engage in constructive debate. Other forums, events and focus groups
are planned, including a number arranged on specific topics such as transportation, housing,
and the environment. This will enable members of both the public and key stakeholder groups
to directly participate in specific areas of interest.
Publications and Announcements
At key steps along the process, information brochures will be distributed throughout the City
and will be available in a number of languages to ensure outreach to minority populations
occurs.
Maximum use of the City's print media will be needed to communicate what is happening and
being planned. Press releases will be used to announce research findings to the major Toronto
newspapers as well as all of the local neighbourhood newspapers and ethnic publications. We
will also be looking for opportunities to sponsor events with the major dailies.
Public service announcements will be employed to promote opportunities for public input
through public meetings, workshops and presentations. Taped coverage of both the initial
launch and other forums will be provided. This will enable the cable channel to broadcast
these forums in order to provide for a more complete and thorough communication. Copies of
the videos of the forums will be made available to community groups and Council members,
community and business groups, District Offices and special interest groups upon request.
A web site is being established to ensure that research results, policy reports and information
about public meetings are available through this new medium. The public may use this site to
e-mail feedback to staff.
Techniques to maintain participant involvement will be employed including regular update
letters, a newsletter and briefing notes to Council and interest groups. Other outreach
techniques will also be explored to increase public participation and reach under represented
communities.
Work Program and Timing
The proposed schedule is ambitious and is based on providing Council with the ability to
adopt new policies and set priorities by the middle of 2000. In order to achieve this target, the
following time frames must be achieved:
-Consultation with Task ForcesMarch, April, May 1999
- Official Plan LaunchApril 7, 1999
- Public Forums / Focus Groupsthroughout 1999
-Consultation with Corporate Partnersthroughout 1999
- Draft Proposals to UEDC and CouncilFall 1999
- Draft Plan to UEDC and CouncilSpring 2000
Research and background studies will focus on establishing a new approach to planning for
Toronto: one that is focussed on improving the quality of life for residents and businesses
throughout the City. Their findings can be grouped under a few broad categories:
Understanding Toronto's Neighbourhoods and Communities
-Research will involve mapping the urban pattern and demographic and social change across
the City, understanding how neighbourhoods have changed and will change and developing
criteria by which the Plan can respond to the priorities of communities.
Toronto's Role in the GTA
-This Plan will present strategic objectives for Toronto's role in shaping the future of the
Greater Toronto Area, by looking at:
-the state of the regional economy;
-scenarios evaluating Toronto's contribution to regional growth; and
-the future of transit and prospects for moving goods and people around the GTA
Toronto's Reinvestment Lenses: A New Approach to Planning
-The most important piece of the work program involves examining reinvestment
opportunities to shape Toronto's future, and the constraints that need to be lifted to realize the
benefits of reinvestment. This will lead to public objectives that should guide the pace and
scale of reinvestment in different parts of the City.
Meaningful Measures for Reporting our Progress
-Staff will work with experts and those involved in other specific indicator projects to
develop measures for monitoring our accomplishments and assessing progress toward meeting
the quality of life goals of the Plan.
Learning from Others
-Staff will, of course, be looking at recent planning exercises in a number of large cities to
glean lessons for Toronto. The first step will be in hosting the Launch on April 7, 1999. This
forum will offer the opportunity for local experts to dialogue with international experts, to
help set a direction for the development of the Official Plan.
Conclusion:
This past year saw the integration of seven administrations into one. During this transition
year staff in Urban Planning and Development Services were able to continue to process
development applications while dealing with the largest reorganization of planning services
ever undertaken in Canada. The experience of this past year, including feedback from the
development community and others concerned for Toronto's quality of life, have reinforced
the need for one strategic vision of Toronto's future. A new Plan will prepare the City to
capitalize on strategic reinvestment opportunities. It will also express a clear and consistent
position for the City in the new regional context emerging at the Greater Toronto Services
Board. However, the City is not well positioned to capture growth and investment with seven
Official Plans that provide no cohesive vision for the City's development priorities.
The first Official Plan for the new City of Toronto will identify these opportunities and map
out how reinvestment can meet the strategic objectives that will improve our quality of life
and enhance our competitive position. Implementation Plans will guide Council's decisions
regarding stewardship of our natural and built form heritage, the financing of capital works,
and the administration of specific programs. The work program is very ambitious, but staff
and many public stakeholders are energized by the prospects of working toward the first
Official Plan for Toronto. This tremendous opportunity needs the full support of Council and
all corporate departments.
Contact Name:
Barbara Leonhardt, Director of Policy and Research, City Planning Division,
Metro Hall, 22nd Floor,
Tel: 392-8148
--------
Councillor Anne Johnston and Councillor Lindsay-Luby appeared before the Urban
Environment and Development Committee in connection with the foregoing matter.
