End-to-End Review of the Development Review Process in Toronto

GPA partnered with KPMG to conduct a comprehensive review of the City of Toronto’s development review process from beginning to end in order to identify bottlenecks and recommend improvements. The focus is to examine how the City could better handle applications related to rezonings, official plan amendments, site plan approvals and committee of adjustment approvals. The review includes interviews and workshops with over 150 stakeholders involved in the approval process, including senior city staff, Councillors, industry representatives, planners, designers, lawyers, architects and engineers. The project also includes an analysis of data and best practices from other municipalities and meetings with resident associations. The formulation of recommendations is tested with the participation of a core group of senior City staff and industry representatives. The final report focuses on improvements to the pre-application period; the submission of the application; the circulation of the application to City departments; coordination of comments; the decision-making process; and the nature of agreements.