Item - 2014.TE34.93

4.         City Council direct the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, to identify urban design, cultural and parkland "gateway" opportunities at the intersections of Yonge and Bloor, Yonge and Davenport, Yonge and Crescent and Yonge and Scrivener Square and other potential spaces, in consultation with local residents and Business Improvement Associations, and submit a report to the Toronto and East York Community Council in the second quarter of 2015.

This report introduces and recommends a focussed Planning Framework for the Yorkville - East of Bay area to be used to evaluate current and future development applications.

The Planning Framework will apply to the area of Yorkville located between Bay Street and Yonge Street, from Bloor Street to Davenport Road. It complements and clarifies existing Official Plan policies and design guidelines.

As Yorkville - East of Bay continues to grow and intensify with tall buildings, the Framework will guide development with a vision of well-sited, designed and massed tall buildings with a network of pedestrian mid-block connections and open spaces.

The Framework is intended to provide certainty as to where tall buildings can go and where open space is required to achieve those tall buildings.

Specifically, the Framework identifies opportunities for tall buildings outside of the Height Peak, Height Ridges and Low-rise Areas currently shown in Area Specific Official Plan Policy 211. The Framework also refines and expands the system of pedestrian connections currently outlined in Area Specific Official Plan Policy 225.

Planning staff have consulted extensively with the local resident associations, business associations and current applicants during the preparation of the Framework.

This report also recommends that the Planning Framework study be expanded and include the Greater Yorkville area, which could form the basis for an updated area specific Official Plan policies.