THE DEVELOPMENT VELOCITY ACT
Faster Approvals. More Homes. More Revenue. Lower Tax Pressure.
The Problem: Slower economic growth
Toronto's housing and commercial development pipeline continues to move too slowly. While recent reforms have improved timelines, planning approvals often remain fragmented across multiple departments, creating uncertainty, unnecessary delays, higher construction costs, and slower economic growth. Every month a project sits idle represents lost housing, lost jobs, and lost municipal revenue.
The Policy
A Mazri administration will modernize Toronto's development approval system by implementing Toronto Development OS, an AI-assisted digital review platform inspired by global best practices, including Singapore's CORENET X model.
The City will:
• Introduce automated zoning and Building Code pre-screening for eligible low-complexity applications.
• Allow multiple City divisions to review applications simultaneously instead of sequentially whenever legally possible.
• Publish mandatory service standards and real-time approval dashboards so applicants know exactly where projects are delayed.
• Create an optional Premium Development Stream where large developments may voluntarily pay an acceleration fee to receive dedicated review teams operating under strict service-level agreements.
• Digitize planning workflows using Building Information Modeling (BIM), AI-assisted compliance checking, and standardized electronic submissions.
Public safety, engineering standards, environmental reviews, and all legal requirements remain unchanged.
Moreover, platforms such as System3E illustrate the kind of AI-assisted permitting and compliance infrastructure the City will evaluate as part of this modernization. The City will also encourage innovative construction methods, including modular housing and advanced building technologies, provided they meet Ontario's building and safety requirements.
The Benefits: Accelerate Municipal Land Transfer Tax revenue
Every day removed from unnecessary bureaucracy allows housing, businesses, and investment to reach the market sooner.
Faster approvals generate earlier construction activity, accelerate Municipal Land Transfer Tax revenue, expand future property tax assessment growth, create new jobs, stimulate local spending, and increase development charge collections. Rather than relying primarily on residential property tax increases, Toronto should expand its tax base through faster economic activity and smarter municipal operations.
This policy helps finance other Toronto OS priorities—including property tax stability, infrastructure modernization, neighbourhood renewal, and improved public services—without compromising public safety or planning integrity.
Bio Harmony & Cleaner Toronto
Clean Streets Initiative - A City We Can Be Proud Of
A world-class city begins with clean streets. Toronto should set the highest standard for cleanliness, maintenance, and public pride by combining smarter technology with stronger accountability. My administration will modernize waste collection through AI-assisted route optimization, smart waste bins where practical, rapid-response clean-up teams for high-traffic areas and digital reporting tools that allow residents to report litter, illegal dumping and graffiti in real time. High-density commercial districts, transit corridors and public spaces will receive more frequent cleaning schedules, while neighborhood cleanliness standards will be measured through a public performance dashboard. Property owners, businesses, and contractors will also be expected to maintain the areas they occupy, with stronger enforcement against illegal dumping and repeated violations.
Cleanliness is not simply about appearance—it improves public health, tourism, neighborhood pride, business investment and residents' quality of life. Where possible, these initiatives will be funded through operational efficiencies, smarter technology, improved service delivery, public-private partnerships, and savings identified through City Hall accountability measures rather than relying on broad tax increases.
Bio Harmony Toronto™
Designing the World's Healthiest City
Toronto should become a global leader in healthy, beautiful, and human-centered urban design. Bio Harmony Toronto™ is a voluntary city certification that recognizes developers, architects and communities that exceed today's standards by creating healthier places to live, work and connect. Projects will be evaluated on wellness, natural materials, walkability, biodiversity, accessibility, public spaces, sustainability, urban agriculture, innovation, and community experience. Rather than imposing new regulations, Bio Harmony will reward excellence through a recognized certification, public promotion and, where legally appropriate, planning incentives approved by Council.
A Bio Harmony site could combine dramatic landscaping, native planting, flowering corridors, illuminated walking trails, architectural playgrounds, outdoor gyms, beautiful benches, cycling infrastructure, fountains/water features where appropriate, public art, cafés/kiosks, winter programming, markets and event space.
My motion could direct Parks, Forestry & Recreation, Transportation, City Planning, Economic Development and CreateTO to identify perhaps 5–10 priority locations for transformation. I'd inventory City-owned land, underused plazas/public spaces, parks, boulevards, trails and development sites and rank them according to tourism potential, accessibility and neighbourhood need.
Why NOT Etobicoke North
Just this year Council approved $500,000 in development-derived Section 45 funds for basketball-court improvements in one ward and $1.1 million in Section 42 funds for a playground project in another. Development charges also fund parks and recreation infrastructure.
I will NOT sit watch the collapse of Etobicoke North.
You will not be the forgotten people.
I will identify Ward 1's highest-potential public spaces and pursue City capital funds, development-related funds, partnerships and private investment to transform them into Bio-Harmony destinations
Think:
Dubai-level ambition + Copenhagen functionality + Toronto nature.
"My long-term vision is to develop Toronto's first Bio Harmony District on suitable land identified through the Toronto Land Bank, creating a showcase community that inspires future development across the city. Before entering politics, I worked with an internationally recognized Italian architectural firm to create proprietary concept renderings that illustrate this vision. These concepts are presented as inspiration for what Toronto could become through open competition, innovation and world-class design—not as predetermined City projects." - Nathen Mazri