Item - 2019.EY2.3

Etobicoke York Community Council recommends that:

1.  City Council authorize the City Solicitor, together with City Planning staff and other appropriate staff, to attend the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal hearing to oppose the Zoning By-law Amendment application in its current form for the reasons contained in the report (December 14, 2018) from the Director, Community Planning, Etobicoke York District.

2.  City Council authorize the City Solicitor and appropriate staff to seek revisions to the proposal and continue discussions with the applicant in an attempt to resolve the issues detailed in the report (December 14, 2018) from the Director, Community Planning, Etobicoke York District, to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning and to report back to City Council on the outcome of discussions, if necessary.

3.  City Council require that, in the event the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal approves the Zoning By-law Amendment application, in whole or in part, an on-site parkland dedication or a combination of cash in-lieu payment and on-site dedication pursuant to Section 42 of the Planning Act be conveyed to the City, as described and set out in the report (December 14, 2018) from the Director, Community Planning, Etobicoke York District, to the satisfaction the General Manger, Parks, Forestry and Recreation.

4.  In the event the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal allows the appeal, in whole or in part, City Council direct the City Solicitor to request the LPAT to withhold its Order on the Zoning By-law Amendment application until such a time as:

a.  The Local Planning Appeal Tribunal has been advised by the City Solicitor that the final form and content of the draft by-law is satisfactory to the City Solicitor and the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, in consultation with the Chief Engineer and Executive Director, Engineering and Construction Services, to include:

i.  The requirement for appropriate matters, services and facilities to be provided by the owner at its expense pursuant to Section 37 of the Planning Act and any other matters necessary to support the development.

b.  The owner has entered into an agreement under Section 37 of the Planning Act with the City for the purpose of securing community benefits to the satisfaction of the City Solicitor in consultation with City Planning staff and the Ward Councillor and executed and registered on title to the lands to the satisfaction of the City Solicitor. The Agreement is to also include as a legal convenience:

i.  All matters pertaining to parkland dedication conveyance, design and construction.

ii.  The owner shall enter into a financially secured Development Agreement for the construction of any improvements to the existing municipal infrastructure, should it be determined that upgrades are required to the infrastructure to support this development.

iii.  The owner shall construct and maintain the development in accordance with the Tier 1 performance measures of the Toronto Green Standard.

 
iv.  The owner shall satisfy the requirements of the Toronto District School Board regarding warning clauses and signage with respect to school accommodation issues.
 

c.  The owner has submitted a revised Transportation Impact Study to the satisfaction to the General Manager of Transportation Services.

d.  The owner has submitted a revised Functional Servicing and Stormwater Management Report and Hydrogeological Report to determine the stormwater runoff, groundwater, sanitary flow and water supply demand and whether there is adequate capacity in the existing municipal infrastructure to accommodate the proposed development and if upgrades/improvements to the existing municipal infrastructure are required to the satisfaction of the Chief Engineer and Executive Director of Engineering and Construction Services.

e.  The owner has entered into a financially secured Development Agreement for  the construction of any improvements to the municipal infrastructure, should it be determined that upgrades and road improvements are  required to support the development, according to the Transportation Impact Study accepted by the General Manager of Transportation  Services and the Functional Servicing Report and Stormwater Management Report and Geotechnical/Hydrogeological Report, accepted by the Chief  Engineer and Executive Director of Engineering and Construction Services.

f.  The owner has provided space within the development for installation of maintenance access holes and sampling ports on the private side, as close to the property line as possible, for both the storm and sanitary service connections, in accordance with the Sewers By-law Chapter 681.

g.  The owner shall be required to satisfy a set of standard pre-conditions related to parkland conveyance, including, but not limited to, matters such as compliance with the Municipal Code, Environmental Assessments, Building Code fire separation distance and base park improvements to the satisfaction of the General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation.

h.  A detailed Landscape/Planting Plan and Planting Details are submitted and Tree Preservation matters are resolved to the satisfaction of the General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation.

i.  The owner shall submit a wind tunnel test to determine the efficacy of the recommended wind mitigation measures, evaluated to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning.

j.  The owner shall submit detailed revised sun/shadow studies to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning.

5.  City Council authorize the City Solicitor and appropriate City staff to take any necessary steps to implement the foregoing.

The owner of the site at 1197 The Queensway and 8 Zorra Street has appealed the Zoning By-law Amendment application for these lands to the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT) citing City Council's failure to make a decision on the application within the time period prescribed under the Planning Act. A Pre-Hearing Conference is scheduled for January 29, 2019, to set the parameters and the future date of the hearing.

This application proposes to amend the former City of Etobicoke Zoning Code (Site Specific By-law No. 514-2003) to permit a 13 storey (44 m in height including the indoor amenity space on the roof and the mechanical penthouse) mixed-use building containing 159 dwelling units at 1197 The Queensway and 8 Zorra Street. The development would have a total gross floor area of 13,110 m², including 347 m² of retail space at grade, representing a Floor Space Index of 7.93 times the area of the lot. A total of 118 parking spaces within a 3 level underground parking garage are proposed.

The purpose of this report is to seek City Council's direction for the City Solicitor and other appropriate City staff to attend the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal hearing to oppose the application, as currently proposed. This report reviews and recommends refusal of the application in its current form with respect to the proposed building height, massing, stepbacks and density. The proposed building height and density are not in keeping with the existing or planned context for the Avenues area along The Queensway as identified in Official Plan policies, The Queensway Avenue Study, the implementing Zoning By-law nor the Queensway Design Guidelines and Streetscape Improvements. The proposed development is also not consistent with the Provincial Policy Statement (2014) and does not conform, and conflicts with the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe (2017), and fails to conform to the City's Official Plan in its current form.