Item - 2021.PH23.15

The Planning and Housing Committee:

1. Directed the Chief Building Official and Executive Director, Toronto Building, to report back to the Planning and Housing Committee in the second quarter of 2022 on the implementation of the following enhancements to the Toronto Building Program:

a. Strengthening existing processes related to demolition approvals, in collaboration with Heritage Preservation Services, so that local City Councillors are notified of demolition applications for commercial buildings in their Ward;

b. Implementing a clear and accessible web-based tool to provide the public with current information on the status of Toronto Building investigation and enforcement activity, including complaints received through 311 Toronto; and

c. Developing a strategy, in consultation with the General Manager, Transportation Services, and General Manager, Municipal Licensing and Standards to minimize the adverse impacts on the public as a result of large construction projects occurring within close proximity to one another.

Toronto Building provides a critical role in the success and prosperity of Toronto. Its core services ensure that the City's built environment is safe, healthy and accessible. The Division also plays an important role in delivering many of Toronto's city-building priorities from affordable housing to the economic recovery from COVID-19.  Over time, however, the Division has been impacted by record levels of construction activity, increasing regulatory complexity, technological change and evolving customer expectations. These challenges have impacted the Division and its customers in meeting service levels. The current organizational structure has contributed to inconsistencies in service delivery for clients and limited career development opportunities for staff, while at the same time, impacted the Division's ability to quickly respond to changing construction activity. There is a strong need for Toronto Building's operating model to be more resilient and sustainable.

To address these systemic challenges and their impacts, in late-2019, Toronto Building launched a comprehensive Program Review. The purpose of this report is to provide a summary of the results of the initiative, identify key outcomes and outline how the recommendations will be implemented. The Toronto Building Program Review presents a new operating model to support the Division's transformation to a modern, customer-focused building regulator.

For the permit applicants, this client-centric transformation means a clear, consistent and predictable experience and the timely processing of applications by the City. For the broader public, this includes a recognition that Toronto Building's clients also include those impacted by the construction process. Some key highlights of the new operating model are:

Clients will receive services tailored to their needs and project complexity, aimed at reducing the overall time to receive a permit;

For simple projects, the Division will  work directly with permit applicants to quickly move their applications through the approval process through face-to-face or virtual meetings to address any outstanding deficiencies;

Complex projects will be supported by facilitated approaches in order to efficiently move applications through the approval process;

The public and permit applicants will have access to clear technical interpretations, guidelines and bulletins to strengthen transparency, reduce guesswork, improve submission quality, and help improve the efficiency of the overall process;

The policy capacity within the Division will be expanded to proactively identify barriers with regulations and develop clear accessible options for designers and property owners to achieve compliance and support city building; and,

Toronto Building will organize its staff, services and other resources into functional units to provide its core services city-wide, rather than by community council districts.

This new service delivery model will also facilitate the important development of a customer-focused culture amongst staff and a common understanding of the Division's purpose and priorities. A number of other changes to support Toronto Building's transformation include:

New back office functions to enable and support modern regulatory approaches, policy development and enhance enterprise quality assurance, risk management, business intelligence and knowledge management;

Robust training and development tools to enhance talent attraction and retention, career development opportunities, cross-functional coordination and a shared Divisional culture;

New approaches to enhance workplace diversity, equity and inclusion and reduce service delivery barriers;

Strong industry and stakeholder partnerships to improve customer satisfaction, reduce compliance costs and enhance application quality;

Enhanced partnerships with the Province of Ontario to proactively address and support innovation and legislative changes; and,

Consideration of a modern financial model to improve financial flexibility and resilience.
 

The Program Review implementation is already underway. A dedicated Implementation Team is being assembled to drive the change and is committed to working with Toronto Building staff and stakeholders through the implementation of the new operating model. The work is also being aligned with other transformation initiatives, such as Concept to Keys and the Customer Experience Program, intending to provide a seamless customer experience across all development approval and permitting processes.

Recognizing that the Division's transformation can also assist with recovery from COVID-19, Toronto Building is moving quickly to launch pilot programs for small business and property owners that stream applications through express permit services and provide remote video inspections.

A successful transformation will require support and ongoing partnerships with other City divisions to implement change in critical areas such as new technology and a modern financial model.  It is expected that the new structure will be in place by the end of Q1 2022, followed by implementation of operational and administrative processes to support the new service delivery model.