Item - 2020.NY18.1

North York Community Council recommends that:

1. City Council amend former City of North York Zoning By-law 7625, as amended, for the lands at 755 Steeles Avenue West substantially in accordance with the draft Zoning By-law Amendment attached as Attachment No. 6 to this report (September 21, 2020) from the Acting Director, Community Planning, North York District.

2. City Council amend City of Toronto Zoning By-law 569-2013, as amended, for the lands at 755 Steeles Avenue West substantially in accordance with the draft Zoning By-law Amendment attached as Attachment No. 7 to this report (September 21, 2020) from the Acting Director, Community Planning, North York District.

3. City Council authorize the City Solicitor to make such stylistic and technical changes to the draft Zoning By-law Amendments as may be required.

4. Before introducing the necessary Bills to City Council for enactment, require the Owner to enter into an Agreement pursuant to Section 37 of the Planning Act, to the satisfaction of the City Solicitor, to secure the following matters, services and facilities as follows:

a. prior to the issuance of any above-grade building permit, the Owner shall make a financial contribution to the City in the amount of $2,276,000.00 to be allocated toward park improvements in the vicinity of the site, to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, in consultation with the Ward Councillor;

b. the financial contributions referred to in Recommendation 4.a. above shall be indexed upwardly in accordance with the Statistics Canada Non-Residential Construction Price Index for the Toronto Census Metropolitan area, reported quarterly by Statistics Canada in Building Construction Price Indexes Table: 18- 10-0135-01, or its successor, calculated from the date of the Section 37 Agreement to the date the payment is made;

c. in the event the financial contribution referred to in Recommendation 4.a. above has not been used for the intended purpose prior to the expiry of the third anniversary of the By-law coming into full force and effect, the cash contribution may be redirected for another purpose at the sole discretion of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning in consultation with the Ward Councillor, provided that the purpose is identified in the Toronto Official Plan and will benefit the community in the vicinity of the lands; and

d. prior to the issuance of the first above-grade building permit, City Council direct that the Owner shall be required to convey the 606 square metre portion of the development site for public parkland purposes to the satisfaction of the General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation. The parkland conveyance is to be free and clear, above and below grade of all physical obstructions and easements, encumbrances and encroachments, including surface and subsurface easements, unless otherwise approved by the General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation.

5. City Council direct that the following matters are also recommended to be secured in the Section 37 Agreement as a legal convenience to support the development:

a. prior to the final condominium approval(s), the Owner construct a 1.5-metre wide pedestrian walkway, generally along the westerly property line, from Steeles Avenue West to connect to the new privately-owned publicly accessible open space (POPS) and new City park, to be conveyed to the City;

b. prior to the final condominium approval(s), the Owner provide the City with public access easements to enable pedestrian connections to the pedestrian walkway from Steeles Avenue West, to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning;

c. prior to final Site Plan Approval for the development, the owner shall provide a Construction Phasing Plan for the development, to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning Division, in consultation with the Ward Councillor, and thereafter construct the development in accordance with that Plan;

d. the owner shall continue to provide and maintain the 194 existing rental dwelling units on the lands at 755 Steeles Avenue as rental housing, together with the new and retained associated facilities and amenities of the existing residential rental property, for a period of at least 20 years commencing from the date that the Zoning By-laws come into force and effect, and with no applications for demolition or conversion from residential rental use during such 20 year period, all to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning and the City Solicitor;

e. the owner shall provide tenants of the existing rental dwelling units with access to all indoor and outdoor amenities within the existing building and the proposed commercial building, at no extra charge and with no pass-through costs to the tenants, including by way of an application to the Ontario Landlord Tenant Board or to any successor tribunal with jurisdiction to hear applications made under the legislation governing residential tenancies in Ontario for the purpose of obtaining an increase in residential rent above the applicable guideline. Access to, and use of, these amenities shall be on the same terms and conditions as any other resident on the subject site;

f. the owner shall undertake improvements to the existing rental apartment building at their sole expense, taking into account tenant responses to the required Tenant Survey related to programming of amenity space, to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning Division or their designate, including, but not limited to, the following:

Prior to the first above-grade building permit for any part of the development:

i. one (1) universal washroom and one (1) washroom located on the basement floor of the existing residential rental building;

ii. upgrades to the laundry room on the basement level of the existing residential rental building to be determined through the site plan application review process and confirmed and secured in a Site Plan Agreement;

iii. thirty-four (34) bicycle parking spaces, all of which are at grade;

iv. short-term bicycle parking near the front and rear entrance of the existing residential rental building;

v. improvements to the open area adjacent to the front lobby of the existing residential rental building in the form of unmovable, durable furniture, with programming to be determined through the site plan application review process and secured in a Site Plan Agreement;

vi. new indoor amenity space of 180 square metres within the existing residential rental building which shall include but not be limited to: yoga studio and/or gymnasium; a games room which shall include, tables, seating and other entertainment equipment and other programming to be determined through the site plan application review process and secured in a Site Plan Agreement;

vii. new storage lockers accessible to tenants of the existing residential rental building and located at the Basement Level of the building. The number of new storage lockers to be determined through the site plan application review process and secured in a Site Plan Agreement;

Prior to first occupancy of any new residential units in the development:

viii. new outdoor amenity space located adjacent to the new commercial building for the exclusive use of residents of the existing residential rental building, having a minimum size of 140 square metres with programming to be determined through the site plan application review process and secured in a Site Plan Agreement;

ix. new indoor amenity space located within the new commercial building, for the exclusive use of the existing rental apartment building, having a minimum size of 109 square metres, with programming to be determined through the site plan application review process and secured in a Site Plan Agreement;

x. the residents of the existing rental apartment building and new residential building(s) will store garbage in a new Type G loading area, located in the new 10-storey residential building, with design to be determined through the site plan application review process and secured in a Site Plan Agreement, and shall be available for the purpose of waste collection for the residents of the existing rental apartment building and the new residential buildings;

xi. the costs of all improvements to the existing residential rental building and associated spaces, both within and outside the building, shall not be passed on to tenants of the existing building in any form, including by way of an application to the Ontario Landlord Tenant Board or to any successor tribunal with jurisdiction to hear applications made under the legislation governing residential tenancies in Ontario, for the purpose of obtaining an increase in residential rent above the applicable guideline; and

xii. prior to final Site Plan Approval for the development the owner agrees to develop a Construction Mitigation and Tenant Communication Plan to mitigate the impacts of construction on existing tenants, all to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning Division;

g. construct and maintain the development in accordance with Tier 1 performance measures of the Toronto Green Standard Version 3; 

h. provide in the first phase of development of the site a privately-owned publicly accessible open space (POPS) adjacent to the on-site parkland dedication with a minimum area of 1,100 square metres generally located along the eastern boundary of the parkland dedication and along Greenwin Village Road, with the details of the location and configuration of the POPS to be finalized pursuant to the site plan approval process, to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning Division and construct the POPS in the first phase of development of the site in accordance with the approved site plan;

i. upon the earlier of (a) the first condominium registration of any part of a proposed building on the site and (b) the residential occupancy of a proposed building on the site, grant an easement to the City along with all necessary rights of support, for nominal consideration and free and clear of title encumbrances, to the satisfaction of the City Solicitor, over and upon the POPS in favour of the general public for the purpose of publicly accessible open space, on terms satisfactory to the Chief Planner and Executive  Director, City Planning Division or his designate, in consultation with the City Solicitor; and

j. Prior to the first above grade building permit being issued for this development, the sanitary sewer upgrades for the development shall be designed, constructed and operational, to the satisfaction of the Chief Engineer and Executive Director of Engineering and Construction Services.

6. City Council approve a development charge credit against the Parks and Recreation component of the Development Charges for the design and construction by the Owner of the Above Base Park Improvements to the satisfaction of the General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation; the development charge credit shall be in an amount that is the lesser of the cost to the Owner of designing and constructing the Above Base Park Improvements, as approved by the General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation, and the Parks and Recreation component of development charges payable for the development in accordance with the City's Development Charges By-law, as may be amended from time to time.

North York Community Council held a statutory public meeting on October 7, 2020 and notice was given in accordance with the Planning Act.

This application proposes a 10-storey, 124-unit, residential building, twenty-eight 4-storey stacked, back-to-back townhouses and a 1-storey commercial (retail) building on the site of an existing 15-storey apartment building, at 755 Steeles Avenue West.  The application also proposes 606 square metres of new City parkland, 1,100 square metres of Privately-Owned Publicly Accessible Space (POPS) and improvements to the existing rental apartment building. Vehicular access will continue to be provided by two existing driveways from Steeles Avenue West and Village Gate.

The proposed development is consistent with the Provincial Policy Statement (2020) and conforms with A Place to Grow: Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe (2020).

This report reviews and recommends approval of the application to amend the Zoning By-laws. The redevelopment proposal intensifies a tower in the park site with a diversity of commercial and residential uses on site, while providing new public park land and open space, respects the abutting lower density residential uses and improves the streetscapes.