Item - 2021.NY22.4

North York Community Council recommends that:

1. City Council refuse the application for Zoning By-law Amendment for the lands at 36 to 44 Eglinton Avenue West for the reasons outlined in the report dated February 4, 2021 from the Acting Director, Community Planning, North York District.

2. City Council authorize the City Solicitor, together with appropriate staff, to appear before the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT) in support of City Council’s decision to refuse the application, in the event that the application is appealed to the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal.

3. In the event that the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal allows the appeals in whole or in part, City Council direct the City Solicitor to request that the Tribunal withhold its Order until such time as the Tribunal has been advised by the City Solicitor that:

a. the proposed Zoning By-law Amendments are in a form satisfactory to the Acting Director, Community Planning, North York District and City Solicitor; and

b. a Section 37 Agreement has been executed and registered to secure Section 37 contributions and related matters satisfactory to the Acting Director, Community Planning, North York District.

4. City Council authorize the City Solicitor and any other City staff to take such actions as necessary to give effect to the recommendations of this report.

This application proposes to amend City of Toronto Zoning By-law Nos. 438-86 and 569-2013 and Site Specific By-law No. 1117-2013 for the lands at 36 to 44 Eglinton Avenue West to permit a 65-storey (220 metre) mixed-use building, comprised of a 5-storey base building and 60-storey tower above.  The proposal contains a total of 663 dwelling units and 550 square metres of retail and office space. The total gross floor area would be 45,112 square metres resulting in a density of 32.27 times the lot area.  A total of 72 vehicular parking spaces are proposed in three levels of underground parking.

This application is unchanged from Zoning By-law Amendment Application No. 20 165466 NNY 08 OZ, which was submitted to the City on July 9, 2020 and refused by City Council on October 30, 2020.  The applicant did not appeal Council's decision to refuse the previous application to the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT) within 20 days of the Notice of Decision being issued, nor were any other appeals received on the previous application.  The current Zoning By-law Amendment Application No. 21 101581 NNY 08 OZ was submitted to the City on January 12, 2021.

Staff continue to recommend refusal of the application to amend the Zoning By-law.  The proposed development represents overdevelopment of the site and is not consistent with the Provincial Policy Statement (2020), does not conform with the A Place to Grow: Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe (2020), and does not conform to the City's Official Plan and the Yonge-Eglinton Secondary Plan.  The proposed development does not fit within the planned context of the Yonge-Eglinton Crossroads Character Area, which requires building heights to peak at the Crossroads (intersection of Yonge Street and Eglinton Avenue) with a gradual transition down in building heights in all directions.

The subject site is not appropriate for the development of a tower of this scale. The proposed development does not achieve appropriate tower setbacks nor stepbacks.  Additionally, the proposed development does not minimize shadowing, particularly on Eglinton Park; lacks sufficient office replacement relative to what is existing on-site; the proposed tower is not meeting the intent of the City's Tall Building Design Guidelines; the outdoor amenity space that is provided is insufficient; and there is no pet amenity area.  In addition, the application does not have a satisfactory Functional Servicing Report to address servicing issues.

Therefore, for the reasons outlined in this report, it is recommended that the application be refused.