Council asked to improve development review timelines for housing delivery by coordinating across city departments

housing

Council asked to improve development review timelines for housing delivery by coordinating across city departments

Councillor Josh Matlow is requesting that the City Manager consult with industry partners and establish standardized solutions for common development process delays that fall outside the Development Review Division's direct control, such as laneways, crane agreements, road occupancy, and park staging. The motion responds to a housing crisis with a target of 285,000 new homes by 2031, arguing that delays in departments like Legal Services, Transportation, Toronto Water, and Parks add carrying costs that threaten housing delivery, particularly for affordable housing.

not yet heardToronto City Council · Wed, Jul 29You can weigh in

Also in this item

• The Development Review Division reports an 80 percent improvement in statutory review timelines for complex applications compared to the previous five-year average, suggesting that consolidating staff and publishing service standards works.

The journey

Wed, Jul 29 · Toronto City Council · not yet heard

Time to act

You can weigh in

Residents and housing advocates can depute at Planning and Housing Committee if this item is referred there, or contact councillors before the Council vote. The window closes at the Council vote.

Why is this story here?

Big deal at city hallThe motion requests a corporate-wide coordination framework affecting multiple departments (Legal, Transportation, Toronto Water, Parks, City Planning) and their handling of a critical path in housing delivery. If adopted and implemented, it changes how the city administers development approval across service areas, a multi-year commitment. It does not restructure, but it does standardize and coordinate processes that currently lack defined timelines or accountability, which is a real departure from the status quo and would be costly to undo.Touches a narrow groupThe motion is a staff consultation request about internal processes. No resident's week changes today as a result of this motion. The effect is indirect: faster approvals could eventually reduce carrying costs that developers pass to tenants, but the motion itself triggers a study and coordination exercise, not a housing delivery change. Salience is narrow because it primarily affects developers and non-profit builders, not the general resident.

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Official title: Improving the Development Review Process for Faster Housing Delivery - by Councillor Josh Matlow, seconded by Councillor Jamaal Myers · meeting video