Municipal committees of adjustment are coming under closer scrutiny with the advent of as-of-right permissiveness for designated categories of housing in Toronto and throughout Ontario. Removal of previously required development approvals leaves the bodies tasked with ruling on minor zoning variances as the sole oversight of design and configuration of various low-rise to mid-rise housing forms.
In response, Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow suggests it’s time to reexamine how committee of adjustment (CoA) adjudicators are chosen and what resources they need to do their work. City Council’s planning and housing committee recently approved her motion calling on staff to take a closer look and deliver recommendations for streamlining decision-making and making sure it aligns with City policy. The full Council will consider the matter at its next meeting later this month.
“Some recent CoA hearings and decisions have raised questions from stakeholders on how the CoA applies Council-approved policies and CoA members’ approaches to evaluating variances,” Chow’s letter to the planning and housing committee states.
Recent changes to Toronto’s planning rules now allow multiplexes, garden suites, laneway suites and six-storey apartment buildings in a vast area of the city where such development was formerly subject to Official Plan amendment or rezoning processes. As well, mid-rise housing is widely permissible along 282 kilometres of designated major arterial streets dubbed the Avenues.
If Chow’s motion receives the go-ahead, a report and proposed recommendations will be delivered back for Council’s consideration before summer. As part of that work, staff would be instructed to “engage industry, builders, planners and other users and stakeholders of the committee of adjustment”.
Among tasks, staff are expected to explore how to effectively: recruit and retain highly qualified CoA panel members; invoke training and continuous education, particularly related to changes in City and provincial planning policies; and harmonize application processes for tree removal permits and minor variances.
