I don't know the procedure in Mississauga, which may vary from Toronto's, but in Toronto the developer is typically approached by Planning and told that their building needs to go before the panel. The voluntary part is whether or how the developer and architect respond to the requests of the panel. Panel members may make requests that conflict with those of other panel members, so a redesign cannot always satisfy every request. It's with that understanding that responding to the panel's input is voluntary: the developer, the architect, the private planners, the city's planners take all of the advice on board, it's all weighed, and everyone figures out how to respond. The responses factor into how the building continues through the planning process.I was always under the impression that a developer would have to volunteer to put their project through the DRP themselves. Is that not the case?
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