Item - 2018.EY31.5

Etobicoke York Community Council recommends that:

1.  City Council direct Parks, Forestry and Recreation staff to review the current High Park Woodland and Savannah Management Plan to identify the scope of work and associated timing of an update to that Plan.

Etobicoke York Community Council:

1.  Directed City Planning staff to continue the consultation with the Local Advisory Committee on the draft Official Plan Amendment, draft Zoning By-law Amendment and draft Urban Design Guidelines for the lands included in the Bloor West Village Avenue Study, together with the Ward Councillor.

2.  Directed City Planning staff to bring forward a draft Official Plan Amendment, draft Zoning By-law Amendments and draft Urban Design Guidelines for the Bloor West Village Avenue Study area in the first quarter of 2019 after giving consideration to and refining the findings and recommendations contained in the Final Report on the Bloor West Village Avenue Study prepared by DTAH and after consulting with the Local Advisory Committee.

3.  Directed that Notice for the public meeting under the Planning Act be given according to the regulations of the Planning Act for the draft Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendments.

This report provides an overview of the study process to date and the next steps required to finalize the Bloor West Village Avenue Study. The report also provides an overview of the consultant retained to undertake the study, DTAH, findings and recommendations for the Bloor West Village Avenue study area.

At its meeting of July 8-11, 2014, City Council adopted Member Motion MM54.16 which directed that a Planning Study be undertaken for the area of Bloor Street West between Keele Street and the Humber River.  The study was initiated in December, 2016.

The study area is approximately 2.7 kilometres in length, stretching from Keele Street in the east to the Humber River in the west. There are over 260 properties in the study area, with the great majority being both narrow and shallow, and with direct address to Bloor Street West. The study area includes lands designated Mixed Use Areas, Neighbourhoods and Apartment Neighbourhoods in the Official Plan. Bloor West Village is a long-established main street and is located along the Bloor Street subway line. There are five TTC Stations within or directly adjacent to the study area

City Planning retained DTAH to undertake the Bloor West Village Avenue Study. The study was awarded through a competitive Request for Proposal process to a multidisciplinary consulting team led by DTAH that includes sub-consultants R.E. Millward + Associates Ltd., WSP | MMM Group Limited, Swerhun, Taylor Hazell Architects and J.C. Williams Group. DTAH has completed its review and submitted the Final Report on the Bloor West Village Avenue Study to the City for consideration. The consultant's report contains study findings and recommendations for an appropriate policy framework to accommodate and manage future growth in the area.

DTAH's report recommends that the City should consider undertaking the following actions to implement the study recommendations:

•  Amend the Official Plan to: remove the Avenues overlay from the Humber Gateway Character Area and the south side of the High Park Frontage Character Area; implement the land use policies resulting from the study; include maximum building heights, expressed in number of storeys, for each character area based on the recommendations of the study; and add two Neighbourhoods designated properties to the Mixed Use Areas designation due to their anomalous built form relationships, current use and context within the Village Main Street Character Area.

•  Amend the Zoning By-law based on the recommendation of the report to: allow for as-of-right permissions compatible with the built form; include maximum building heights, expressed in metres and number of storeys, for each character area; establish maximum retail sizes for each individual overall unit and unit at grade; amend zoning boundaries to resolve zoning inconsistencies for a number of properties that are currently subject to two or more different zones; and remove density numbers from the zoning for all properties within the Study Area as building envelopes should be controlled by height, setback and angular plane regulations.

•  Update and replace applicable sections of the 2010 Mid-Rise Performance Standards and the 2016 Addendum to the Mid-Rise Performance Standards with area-specific design guidelines for the Study Area to reflect the recommendations of the study.

•  Continue on-going monitoring of community services and facilities needs as development proceeds within the Study Area.

•  Continue to work with the community to address concerns raised throughout the Avenue Study process regarding High Park’s natural heritage and water resources.

It is recommended that City staff be directed to bring forward a draft Official Plan Amendment, draft Zoning By-law Amendment and draft Urban Design Guidelines for the Bloor West Village Avenue Study area in the first quarter of 2019, giving consideration to the findings and recommendations contained in the Final Report on the Bloor West Village Avenue Study prepared by DTAH and after consulting with the Local Advisory Committee.