Item - 2021.EY24.1

The Etobicoke York Community Council recommends that:

1. City Council amend the former City of Etobicoke Zoning Code, as amended, and Site Specific Zoning By-laws 864-2007, 1260-2018 and 1261-2018 for the lands at 555 Rexdale Boulevard substantially in accordance with the Draft Zoning By-law Amendment attached as Attachment 2 to the report (May 13, 2021) from the Acting Director, Community Planning, Etobicoke York District.

2. City Council authorize the City Solicitor to make such stylistic and technical changes to the Draft Zoning By-law Amendment as may be required.

3. Before introducing the necessary Bills to City Council for enactment, City Council require the Owner to:

a. Submit written confirmation from Metrolinx and Woodbine Entertainment Group (WEG), either in a joint letter or separately, confirming WEG shall grant a permanent easement in favour of Metrolinx over the subject property for public right-of-way for vehicular, pedestrian and cycling access to and from the transportation use and/or facility for all streets and pedestrian connections on-site which connect to the surrounding municipal street network.

b. Submit written confirmation from Woodbine Entertainment Group (WEG), confirming the lands subject to the Site Plan Control application (File No. 20 205173 WET 01 SA) are not transferred to Metrolinx prior to Site Plan Approval.  

4. City Council direct staff to include the following matters in the review of the Site Plan Control application (File No. 20 205173 WET 01 SA), all to be secured in a Site Plan Agreement, and have the Director of Community Planning, Etobicoke York District report back to Etobicoke York Community Council on the full list of conditions to be included in the agreement and the Notice of Approval Conditions:  

a. Prior to Site Plan Approval for the transportation use, the Owner shall grant easements in respect of the pedestrian connection for the purpose of the general public's pedestrian access to and egress from a transportation use and/or facility and the existing municipal street network together with indemnification of the City against all claims related to the use of all private streets subject to grants of easement to the satisfaction of the City Solicitor.

b. Prior to Site Plan Approval for the transportation use, the Owner shall grant easements in respect of all private streets which provide the public with means of vehicular, pedestrian and cycling access to and egress from a transportation use and/or facility and the existing municipal street network, together with indemnification of the City against all claims related to the use of all private streets subject to grants of easement to the satisfaction of the City Solicitor.

c. The Owner shall design and construct all public and/or private streets that provide public access to the transportation use and the Owner shall improve all existing public and/or private streets on the site which provide public access to a transportation use and/or facility, shall be in accordance with City standards and specifications, to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning and the General Manager, Transportation Services pursuant to the site plan application approval process for the site, and all such improvements shall be constructed and operational prior to a transportation use and/or facility on the site being operational.

d. Prior to Site Plan Approval for the transportation use, the Owner shall provide Transportation Demand Management measures for the transportation use and/or facility, to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning or his or her designate in consultation with the General Manager, Transportation Services, all of which shall be constructed and operational prior to a transportation use and/or facility on the site being operational.

e. The Owner shall financially secure, design and construct, at its sole cost and expense, a pedestrian connection which shall provide accessible pedestrian travel between the proposed GO Station and the existing pedestrian infrastructure that is located on the east side of Highway 27, to the satisfaction of the Executive Director, Engineering and Construction Services and the General Manager, Transportation Services. The pedestrian connection shall be designed according to the applicable City design standards and shall comply with the accessibility requirements of the Toronto Green Standard Version 3.0 Tier 1.

The Etobicoke York Community Council commenced a statutory public meeting on January 8, 2021 that continued on March 3, 2021 and ended on May 17, 2021 and notice was given in accordance with the Planning Act.

This application proposes to amend the former City of Etobicoke Zoning Code and Site Specific Zoning By-laws 864-2007, 1260-2018 and 1261-2018 to permit a transportation use with ancillary retail store on the lands located at 555 Rexdale Boulevard (Woodbine Racetrack lands). The proposed transportation use would facilitate the provision of future transit facilities such as a new GO Station, proposed to be constructed by Woodbine Entertainment Group (WEG) in partnership with Metrolinx, at the southeast portion of the site adjacent to the rail corridor.

The proposed Zoning By-law Amendment is consistent with the Provincial Policy Statement (2020) and conforms with A Place to Grow: Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe (2020). The proposed transportation use is consistent with the policies of the Employment Areas designation of the Official Plan, as well as other relevant policies pertaining to the integration of transportation and land use planning to achieve the overall aim of increasing accessibility throughout the City of Toronto.

This report reviews and recommends approval of the application to amend the Zoning By-law subject to conditions before introducing the necessary Bills to City Council for enactment. Provided the conditions are fulfilled, staff are of the opinion the proposed amendment is appropriate in this location.

At its meeting of January 8, 2021, Etobicoke York Community Council (EYCC) adjourned and deferred consideration of the staff report dated December 14, 2020 from the Director, Community Planning, Etobicoke York District (Item EY21.2) to the March 3, 2021 Etobicoke York Community Council. EYCC also directed the Director, Community Planning, Etobicoke York District to continue discussions with the applicant and provide the outcome of the discussions to address matters described in the staff report dated December 14, 2020, including the means of legally and financially securing matters without the use of a Section 37 Agreement, and provide the outcome in a Supplementary Report for the continuation of the statutory meeting on March 3, 2021.  

This report outlines options and alternatives of legally and financially securing transportation infrastructure improvements/matters without the use of a Section 37 Agreement. It also provides an analysis of the benefits, challenges and potential risks associated with the individual options. This report was prepared in consultation with the City Solicitor and the Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer.

Of the options identified in this report, staff continue to recommend the use of a Section 37 Agreement as the preferred way to secure the provision of off-site transportation improvements and public access to a future transit facility. As an alternative, any attempt to secure these matters solely pursuant to the approval of a Site Plan Control application, particularly those matters which may be considered "off-site", may expose the City to financial risk. As the applicant did not provide an analysis to support their consultant's transportation improvements, the true financial costs are unknown at this time. It is not standard City practice to use a Site Plan Control application to secure these matters or for the City to take on potential risks from private entities who may dispute what improvements are required to support their developments.

At its meeting of January 8, 2021, the Etobicoke York Community Council (EYCC) adjourned and deferred consideration of the Final Report dated December 14, 2020 from the Director, Community Planning, Etobicoke York District (Item EY21.2) to the March 3, 2021 meeting of the Etobicoke York Community Council. EYCC also directed the Director, Community Planning, Etobicoke York District to continue discussions with the applicant and provide the outcome of the discussions to address matters described in the staff report dated December 14, 2020, including the means of securing matters without the use of a Section 37 Agreement, and provide the outcome in a Supplementary Report for the continuation of the statutory meeting on March 3, 2021.  

As a result of this direction, a Supplementary Report dated February 26, 2021 from the Acting Director, Community Planning, Etobicoke York District was prepared outlining options and alternatives of securing transportation infrastructure improvements/matters without the use of a Section 37 Agreement. The report also provided an analysis of the benefits, challenges and potential risks associated with the individual options. At its meeting of March 3, 2021, EYCC adjourned and deferred consideration of the both the Final Report and the Supplementary Report (Item EY22.1) to the May 17, 2021 meeting of Etobicoke York Community Council. EYCC also directed staff to continue discussions with the applicant and report back on the outcome for the continuation of the statutory meeting on May 17, 2021.

Since March 3, 2021, the applicant has submitted a revised Transportation Impact Study providing a detailed analysis of the required off-site transportation improvements to support a transportation use and/or facility on-site including cost estimates for improvements. Clarification has also been provided that Site Plan Control application (File No. 20 205173 WET 01 SA) for the proposed GO Station applies to the entirety of the lands at 555 Rexdale Boulevard.

This report provides on update on the outstanding transportation and public access matters and includes revised recommendations based on additional information received related to these issues. Staff continue to recommend the use of a Section 37 Agreement as the preferred way to secure the provision of transportation improvements and public access to a future transportation use and/or facility.

As an alternative, Option B of this report, proposes the draft Zoning By-law include provisions requiring the Owner to pay the estimated costs associated with the signal modification to signalized intersections prior to issuance of a building permit for a transportation use and/or facility on-site. It also proposes the Site Plan Control application (File No. 20 205173 WET 01 SA) for the GO Station include a number of conditions of approval related to pedestrian access by the public to the site. While this alternative may reduce the financial risk to the City, there could still be negative implications to the City as outlined in this report and the Supplementary Report dated February 26, 2021 from the Acting Director, Community Planning, Etobicoke York District.