Item - 2019.EX6.1

The Executive Committee:

1.  Directed the Deputy City Manager, Infrastructure and Development Services to undertake a comprehensive review of the Quayside Master Innovation and Development Plan, along with the related Waterfront Toronto Board decision, in consultation with relevant City Divisions and Agencies, and report back to the Executive Committee by the end of the second quarter of 2020. Such review to include the following: 

a. the relationship between the proposed trust and the vision for smart city governance;

b. whether it is Sidewalk Labs, Waterfront Toronto or the City’s data being shared and who has custody/control or ownership of the data that will be governed by the ‘trust’;

c. the definition of a resolution process for the trust for scenarios for the governance of data where there is no group consensus or input as to its collection;

d. whether there is a data governance model for all data collected through the Sidewalk Toronto project that falls within Sidewalk’s definition of “urban data” (for which the ‘trust’ is proposed) and who would determine its parameters or if the data governance model under consideration only deals with a subset of data;

e. how Intellectual Property provisions in the new United States-Mexico trade deal may affect the operation of Sidewalk Labs, as well as its relationship with the three levels of Canadian government; and

f. review of provisions around commercialization of technology.

 
2.  Directed the Deputy City Manager, Infrastructure and Development Services to undertake a comprehensive public and stakeholder consultation program as part of the City's review of the Quayside Master Innovation and Development Plan, as outlined in the report (June 3, 2019) from the Deputy City Manager, Infrastructure and Development Services.

 
3.  Directed the Chief Information Officer and City Clerk, in consultation with appropriate City staff, to report to the Executive Committee, by the end of the fourth quarter of 2019 on the development of a City-wide policy framework and governance model associated with digital infrastructure and data, such as Smart Cities, and a work plan for implementation, to be used in evaluating the Quayside Master Innovation and Development Plan.

4.  Directed the Deputy City Manager, Infrastructure and Development Services, to develop a detailed list of City approvals, including additional procurement processes, as required, that would be applicable to component parts of the Master Innovation and Development Plan, for use in the City's comprehensive review of the Master Innovation and Development Plan, as well as the related public and stakeholder consultation processing.

The purpose of this report is to provide an update on Quayside, a project of Waterfront Toronto, working with Sidewalk Labs. It describes Waterfront Toronto's decision-making process for the upcoming Master Innovation and Development Plan being prepared by Sidewalk Labs. In addition, it outlines a proposed work plan for the City's review of the Master Innovation and Development Plan, as well as progress on a City-wide digital infrastructure policy framework and governance model, to be used in reviewing the Master Innovation and Development Plan.

The report is presented now so that there will be a City work plan in place when Sidewalk Labs provides the Master Innovation and Development Plan to Waterfront Toronto for its release.  If adopted, the recommendations would enable the work plan proposed by City staff.

Quayside is a 4.8 hectare (12 acre) parcel of land on Toronto’s waterfront, located at Queens Quay Boulevard East and Parliament Street. Through a competitive Request for Proposals process, Waterfront Toronto has engaged Sidewalk Labs to develop a proposal for these lands – called a Master Innovation and Development Plan or Master Innovation and Development Plan. The Master Innovation and Development Plan is expected to outline a vision for the Quayside site and make specific proposals related to sustainability, buildings, public realm, mobility, economic development, housing affordability, social infrastructure, and digital infrastructure and data governance. Staff anticipate that the Master Innovation and Development Plan will also explore the potential of implementing selected technologies and innovations beyond the Quayside site, as contemplated in the Waterfront Toronto Request for Proposals. This may include a proposal for a Sidewalk Labs development in the western portion of Villiers Island, including an expanded Google Canada headquarters, as well as provision for other technology and innovation companies and organizations. Further, the Master Innovation and Development Plan may propose roles for Sidewalk Labs in advising Waterfront Toronto, on deploying technology and in financing infrastructure beyond the Quayside site.

Not unlike other large City-building initiatives, the Quayside project presents both opportunities and challenges. Quayside has the potential to accelerate the City's goals and objectives for the waterfront and the broader city through the implementation and demonstration of leading innovations in City-building. More broadly, the project may contribute to Toronto's business, government, academic and social sectors, bringing ideas, investment and jobs to areas of innovation, such as information technology, planning, design and construction.  

The project, however, is not without its challenges, including questions related to data privacy and governance, and the geographic scope of the project. City divisions and agencies would undertake a thorough review of the Master Innovation and Development Plan, identifying both its potential opportunities and challenges, using the evaluation criteria presented in this report. The City's analysis will build on the review that will be conducted by Waterfront Toronto, and it would be informed by public and stakeholder consultation.

Over the course of the drafting of the Master Innovation and Development Plan, staff of the City, Provincial and Federal governments have provided Waterfront Toronto and Sidewalk Labs with preliminary comments on work in progress. Meetings have been high level discussions based only on limited information, for the purpose of understanding, without prejudice, the proposals relative to applicable government legislation and regulation, City plans, policies and by-laws.

The process and anticipated timeline for Waterfront Toronto's review and consideration of the Master Innovation and Development Plan is expected to be:

- Sidewalk Labs will provide the Master Innovation and Development Plan to Waterfront Toronto;

- Waterfront Toronto will publicly release the document after completing an assessment to confirm that the Master Innovation and Development Plan submission is complete;

- Waterfront Toronto will host a series of public and stakeholder consultation meetings in the third quarter of 2019;

- Waterfront Toronto will complete its evaluation of the Master Innovation and Development Plan by the end of the fourth quarter of 2019; and

- Waterfront Toronto's Board of Directors will consider the Master Innovation and Development Plan, as well as recommendations from Waterfront Toronto management in late 2019 or early 2020.
 

If Waterfront Toronto's Board of Directors decides to pursue the Master Innovation and Development Plan in late 2019 or early 2020, in whole or in part, City staff would complete a work program that would culminate in a report to the Executive Committee, anticipated in the second quarter of 2020.

The Master Innovation and Development Plan is expected to be large, complex and unique, and will require several months of analysis. The following inputs would inform the City's work program:

- Waterfront Toronto's Master Innovation and Development Plan evaluation and Board direction;
- Local and global precedents;

- Results of public and stakeholder consultation processes;

- Provincial and Federal government consultation;

- Comments from City divisions and agencies; and

- Where necessary, input from consultants and subject matter experts, particularly with respect to analysis of the Master Innovation and Development Plan business case, digital infrastructure and data governance. 
 

See Figure 1, for a process map related to the above.

Figure 1: Anticipated Master Innovation and Development Plan Review Process

(See Figure 1 titled "Anticipated Master Innovation and Development Plan Review Process in the Summary section of the report dated June 3, 2019

from the Deputy City Manager, Infrastructure and Development Services)

Staff would evaluate the Master Innovation and Development Plan and Waterfront Toronto Board decision based on the following criteria:

a.  Alignment with City plans, policies and guidelines;

b.  Alignment with procurement policies and best practices;

c.  Alignment with good governance best practices;

d.  Feasibility and desirability of business case proposals;

e.  Innovation in the achievement of City goals;

f.  Potential for community benefits; and

g.  Alignment with existing and emerging government digital infrastructure and data governance policies.
 

City staff anticipate hosting public and stakeholder consultations in the first quarter of 2020 focussed on the City's interest, after the Waterfront Toronto Board has considered the Master Innovation and Development Plan. City staff would retain the services of a professional public consultation facilitator. Public meetings would be held throughout the City and would be webcast.

Given the significance of questions related to data privacy and governance, the City's review of the Master Innovation and Development Plan would also be informed by a City of Toronto digital infrastructure policy framework and governance model as well as Provincial and Federal policy frameworks on digital strategy and data governance as they become available. The City's policy framework is under development by the Chief Information Officer, working with the City Clerk, and will address these issues from a city-wide perspective. Public and stakeholder consultation meetings for this broader digital infrastructure policy context will begin in the third quarter of 2019, and staff will report to the Executive Committee on progress by the end of the fourth quarter in 2019. The digital infrastructure policy framework and governance model would therefore be an important tool in evaluating the Master Innovation and Development Plan.

Should Waterfront Toronto's Board decide to pursue the Master Innovation and Development Plan, in whole or in part, and should Council decide to pursue all or parts of the Master Innovation and Development Plan in response to the second quarter 2020 staff report, implementation of the approved portions of the Master Innovation and Development Plan would still be subject to numerous phases of approvals by all three orders of government. This also may lead to legislative and policy changes from governments. The precise list of regulatory and non-regulatory application processes that would be required for the project to proceed would be determined by the City, Provincial and Federal governments as the Master Innovation and Development Plan is reviewed. Business and Implementation Plans for the affected areas would need to be prepared and considered by Council. In addition, beyond Quayside, any use of City-owned land would be subject to additional procurement; CreateTO, with support of applicable City staff, would work with Waterfront Toronto, as appropriate, to identify procurement options, and would report to Council in the second quarter of 2020 as part of the comprehensive review of the Master Innovation and Development Plan.

Staff anticipate that additional temporary staff and specialty consultants will be needed to assist in the areas of project management and public consultation, as well as research and analysis related to digital infrastructure, data management, financial and legal issues. The costs associated with this work would be addressed through the Waterfront Revitalization Initiative Capital Budget.