Item - 2022.PH30.1

The Planning and Housing Committee recommends that:

1. City Council adopt the Official Plan Amendment 550 substantially in accordance with Attachment 2 to the report (December 14, 2021) from the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, and the Chief of Staff, City Manager's Office.

2. City Council amend the City of Toronto Municipal Code, Chapter 415, Development of Land substantially in accordance with Attachment 3 to the report (December 14, 2021) from the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, and the Chief of Staff, City Manager's Office.

3. City Council authorize the City Solicitor to make such stylistic and technical changes to the Official Plan Amendment and the amendment to the City of Toronto Municipal Code as may be required.

4. City Council direct the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning to include consultation with Councillors' Offices, Business Improvement Areas, Residents Associations, Tenants Associations and other affected and immediate stakeholders in the Pre-Application Checklist.

5. City Council direct the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning and the Chief of Staff, City Manager's Office to include in the Pre-Application Consultation Procedures Guide identified in the report (December 14, 2021) from the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, and the Chief of Staff, City Manager's Office, guidance to City staff and applicants on pre-application consultation procedures under the Official Plan and Municipal Code, procedures related to Councillor notification throughout the pre-application consultation process, process timelines, administrative considerations, information and materials requirements, and meeting protocols and outcomes, among other matters, to be posted to the City's Development Guide prior to the effective date of mandatory pre-application consultation.

The Planning and Housing Committee:

1. Requested the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning report directly to City Council on the matters raised in the public presentation from Building Industry and Land Development (BILD) regarding implementation of the process.

The Planning and Housing Committee held a statutory public meeting on January 12, 2022 and notice was given in accordance with the Planning Act.

The recommended Official Plan Amendment and municipal by-law included in this report address provisions under the Planning Act and City of Toronto Act, 2006 related to pre-application consultation with the City. Pre-application consultation is encouraged and supported as a component of the Province's land use planning system, and its use is one of the key elements in the successful implementation of the reduced statutory review timelines introduced by Bill 108, the More Homes, More Choices Act, 2019.

More recently, mandatory pre-application consultation has been identified as a best practice among GTA municipalities to improve application quality, shared productivity, overall time to decision and achieve good city-building outcomes. The increasing volume and complexity of applications and demonstrated interest on the part of applicants in pre-application consultation with City staff, coupled with the critical role of development review in accelerating the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, underscore the need to improve the City's existing voluntary practice.

As the transformation of the City's development review process continues to roll out through the Concept 2 Keys (C2K) Office in 2022, implementation of mandatory pre-application consultation will be appropriately supported by a team-based structure, improved administrative and technology supports, and more generally the transition of C2K into a permanent Office at the City.

This report recommends adoption of the recommended Official Plan Amendment and an amendment to Chapter 415 of the Toronto Municipal Code (the Code Amendment) to establish the legislative and policy basis for requiring pre-application consultation. The recommended Code Amendment includes an effective date of November 1, 2022 to allow for the city-wide roll-out of operational improvements to support successful implementation.