Members of Council and Staff:  Please keep this agenda and the accompanying material until the City Council meeting dealing with these matters has ended.  The City Clerk’s Office will not provide additional copies.

Special Assistance for Members of the Public:  City staff can arrange for special assistance with some advance notice. If you need special assistance, please call 416-392-4365, TTY 416-338-0889 or e-mail lsc@toronto.ca.

Closed Meeting Requirements:  If the Licensing and Standards Committee wants to meet in closed session (privately), a member of the Committee must make a motion to do so and give the reason why the Committee has to meet privately.(City of Toronto Act, 2006)

Notice to people writing or making presentations to the Licensing and Standards Committee:  The City of Toronto Act, 2006 and the City of Toronto Municipal Code authorize the City of Toronto to collect any personal information in your communication or presentation to City Council or its committees.

The City collects this information to enable it to make informed decisions on the relevant issue(s). If you are submitting letters, faxes, e-mails, presentations or other communications to the City, you should be aware that your name and the fact that you communicated with the City will become part of the public record and will appear on the City’s website. The City will also make your communication and any personal information in it – such as your postal address, telephone number or e-mail address - available to the public, unless you expressly request the City to remove it.

The City videotapes committee and community council meetings. If you make a presentation to a committee or community council, the City will be videotaping you and City staff may make the video tapes available to the public.

If you want to learn more about why and how the City collects your information, write to the City Clerk's Office, City Hall, 100 Queen Street West, Toronto ON  M5H 2N2 or by calling 416-397-7769.

Declarations of Interest under the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act

Speakers/Presentations: A complete list will be distributed at the meeting

Confirmation of Minutes: February 10, 2010

Communications/Reports

The purposes of this report are three-fold:  to consider a fairness protocol for the removal of street vendors when the City requires them to vacate their permitted vending location; to determine the feasibility of establishing a threshold system similar to the taxi industry; and in consultation with the City Solicitor, to review the process for the City rescinding and not renewing street vending permits on an annual basis.

Additionally, staff was asked to report back on modifications to the moratorium in Wards 20, 27, and 28 so as to allow for the receipt of applications for the re-issuance of vending permits that are returned or not renewed by existing vendors in the area bounded by the moratorium, to maintain the number of existing vending locations in those Wards.

The City Solicitor, Technical Services, the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC), Transportation Services – Street Events Unit, as well as the Street Food Vendors’ Association was consulted in the preparation of this report.

There are no financial impacts beyond what has already been approved in the current year’s budget.

The Executive Director, Municipal Licensing and Standards recommends that the Licensing and Standards Committee:

1.         Adopt amendments to Chapter 315, Street Vending, of the Former City of Toronto, as follows:

a.         For vending permits requiring a business licence, the term and renewal date be harmonized to the term and anniversary date of issuance of the related business licence;

b.         Where necessary, adjust the remittance of permit fees on a pro-rated basis to reflect the renewal date of the related business licence held by the vendor;

c.         For vending permits issued after January 1, 2011 that do not require a business licence, renewal dates be set to the date of issuance of the permit;

d.         For new vending permits issued within 90 days of the business licence renewal, fees will be pro-rated to align with the business licence renewal date of the following year, otherwise adjust the remittance of permit fees on a pro-rated basis to reflect the renewal date of the related business licence in the current year;

2.         Adopt amendments to By-law 32100, of the Former City of North York, respecting vending on sidewalks and un-travelled portions of roads of the City of North York, as follows:

a.         Permits be issued for one year, and be renewed annually;

b.         For vending permits requiring a business licence, the term and renewal date be harmonized to the term and anniversary date of issuance of the related business licence;

c.         Where necessary, adjust the remittance of permit fees on a pro-rated basis to reflect the renewal date of the related business licence held by the vendor;

d.         For vending permits issued after January 1, 2011 that do not require a business licence, renewal dates be set to the date of issuance of the permit;

e.         For new vending permits issued within 90 days of the business licence renewal, fees will be pro-rated to align with the business licence renewal date of the following year, otherwise adjust the remittance of permit fees on a pro-rated basis to reflect the renewal date of the related business licence in the current year;

3.         Adopt amendments to By-law 18-97 of the Former City of East York, To Establish Removal Zones and Regulate Vending on Borough Roads, as follows:

a.         For vending permits requiring a business licence, the term and renewal date be harmonized to the term and anniversary date of issuance of the related business licence;

b.         Where necessary, adjust the remittance of permit fees on a pro-rated basis to reflect the renewal date of the related business licence held by the vendor;

c.         For vending permits issued after January 1, 2011 that do not require a business licence, renewal dates be set to the date of issuance of the permit;

d.         For new vending permits issued within 90 days of the business licence renewal, fees will be pro-rated to align with the business licence renewal date of the following year, otherwise adjust the remittance of permit fees on a pro-rated basis to reflect the renewal date of the related business licence in the current year;

4.         Direct the City Solicitor to prepare the necessary bill to give effect to the recommendations in this report.

Public notice has been given in the manner prescribed in the Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 162, Notice, Public.

The purpose of this report is to streamline the street vending permit renewal process by harmonizing vending permit renewal dates with the associated business licence renewal date, and to consolidate vending permit applications and permit renewals at one location.

These changes will enable clients who renew both a street vending permit and a business licence to renew annually at the same time and at one location. They will also reduce the administrative workload currently experienced by the district offices.

In order to give staff time to prepare for these changes (that is, provide sufficient time to notify affected vendors, and to upgrade the corresponding IT systems), staff are recommending that implementation take effect January 1, 2011 and be complete by December 31, 2011.

The Street Food Vendors Association was consulted in developing the recommendations of this report. Additionally, the City Solicitor and the Deputy City Manager and Chief Financial Officer were consulted in the preparation of this report.

The information technology work required to upgrade the licensing system to enable harmonized permit and licence renewal is estimated to cost $10,000.00.  Funding is available in the Approved 2010 Capital Budget under the Licensing System Enhancements Capital Projects, account CIT045-06-22.

There is no financial impact on the 2010 Operating Budget for MLS.  The harmonization of the permit renewal dates to the term and anniversary date of the related business licence will result in the pro-ration of permit fees in 2011 and lead to a shift in the timing of revenues realized between 2011 and 2012.  MLS will monitor the transition and manage service delivery accordingly.

The renewal dates for both permit fees and business licences will be fully harmonized by January 1, 2012.

The Deputy City Manager and Chief Financial Officer has reviewed this report and agrees with the financial impact information.

The Executive Director of Municipal Licensing and Standards recommends that the Licensing and Standards Committee:

1.         Refer this report to the Public Works and Infrastructure Committee for their consideration, specifically to implement a harmonized permitting process citywide for driveway paving that will address zoning issues related to driveway paving when reviewing the proposed harmonized Right of Way Bylaw.

The purpose of this report is to examine the feasibility of introducing a category of business licence for driveway paving contractors in order to shift responsibility for compliance with the City’s paving bylaws from the homeowner to the paving companies.

The City of Toronto currently enforces issues related to over-paving and widening of driveways through the Toronto Municipal Code, Property Standards bylaws, Zoning bylaws and Transportation Services Right of Way Management administers and enforces permits for the construction, reconstruction and the alteration of driveways, therefore the licensing of paving contractors is not necessary.

Proposing to license driveway paving contractors in order to attempt to control over-paving and driveway widening is not an appropriate use of the City’s licensing power. The enforcement of illegal paving and other related issues is better dealt with under the appropriate bylaws already in place.

There is insufficient evidence of a municipal purpose to license driveway paving contractors at this time.

There are no financial implications arising from the adoption of the recommendations of this report.

The Executive Director, Municipal Licensing and Standards Division recommends that:

1.         Municipal Licensing and Standards staff continue consultations on the issue of the terms and conditions of taxicab leasing found in the City of Toronto Municipal Code, pending a further report to the Licensing and Standards Committee from the Executive Director, Municipal Licensing and Standards and the City Solicitor on taxicab leasing.

The purpose of this report is to inform the Licensing and Standards Committee on the issue of a review by Municipal Licensing and Standards of the current provisions in the City of Toronto Municipal Code, Chapter 545, Licensing, relative to the terms and conditions of taxicab leasing in the City of Toronto.

The recommendation in this report will have no financial impact beyond what has already been approved in the current year’s budget for the Municipal Licensing and Standards Division.