People Plan Toronto

People Plan Toronto (PPT) started in early 2007 as an ad hoc committee comprised of representatives from a number of residents' associations across Toronto. We believe that Toronto's planning process has become unwieldy, overcomplicated, and far too removed from the citizens it is meant to serve.  Our mission is to change that by educating communities about the planning process and advocating for reform.

On May 26, 2007, PPT brought together over 140 people from communities across the city for the Neighbourhood Planning Summit, a day-long opportunity to share information, learn some basics, brainstorm solutions and make an active plan for change.   At the end of the day, the Summit produced the People’s Plan for Toronto, which:

• urges the timely creation of secondary plans and the creation of “community review boards,” which would review development applications with reference to the secondary plan, recommend that such applications be approved or resubmitted with changes, and recommend changes to the secondary plans as neighbourhoods evolve in character;
• recommends that the Ontario Municipal Board’s planning authority over the City of Toronto be abolished in favour of an appointed planning board or boards; and
• notes that lack of knowledge about planning issues, and lack of accessibility to the planning process are key reasons why people feel marginalized, and advocates both organization and education to share information and empower communities.

Key among the organizational recommendations made were the creation of a city-wide database of resources, and the provision of support to neighbourhood groups fighting their own development battles.