Item - 2021.TE24.11

The Toronto and East York Community Council recommends that:

1. City Council adopt the Official Plan Amendment, King-Parliament Secondary Plan, included as Attachment 1 to the report (March 30, 2021) from the Director, Community Planning, Toronto and East York District.

2. City Council adopt the Zoning By-law Amendments to By-law 569-2013, as amended, for the King-Parliament Secondary Plan area, included as Attachment 2 to the report (March 30, 2021) from the Director, Community Planning, Toronto and East York District.  

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

4. City Council resolve and declare that the revisions to the Official Plan attached as Attachment 1 to this report conform to the Growth Plan, 2020, have regard to matters of Provincial interest listed in Section 2 of the Planning Act and are consistent with the Provincial Policy Statement, 2020 issued under Section 3 of the Planning Act.

5. City Council authorize the City Solicitor and appropriate City staff to take such necessary steps, as required, to implement City Council’s decision.

6. City Council direct the City Solicitor to withhold the Bills enacting the Official Plan Amendment and the Zoning By-law Amendments noted in Recommendations 1 and 2 above, until such time as the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal issues its Order regarding the City’s request to bring the 2006 Official Plan into force for the West Don Lands.

7. City Council direct the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, to review the King-Parliament Urban Design Guidelines to assess their alignment and currency with respect to the Secondary Plan and Zoning By-law Amendments, and make recommendations on the development of a Public Realm Strategy for the King-Parliament area, if deemed necessary.

8. City Council direct the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, to use the Secondary Plan policies, contained in Attachment 1 to the report (March 30, 2021) from the Director, Community Planning, Toronto and East York District, to inform the evaluation of current and future development applications in the King-Parliament Secondary Plan area.

9. City Council direct the General Manager, Economic Development and Culture to undertake a Culture Master Plan exercise for the King-Parliament area and adjacent areas, to study and make recommendations on public investment in and support for arts and culture facilities in the district through their potential redevelopment, as well as to develop a strategy for the Jarvis Street and Front Street East Cultural Corridors identified in the Downtown Plan.

10. City Council direct the General Manager, Transportation Services, to initiate a design study of the Front Street/Eastern Avenue/Trinity Street intersection, including potential road closures, as identified in the 2005 West Don Lands Class Environmental Assessment Master Plan, to facilitate public realm and transportation improvements as outlined in the recommended Secondary Plan.

The Toronto and East York Community Council held a statutory public meeting on April 21, 2021 and notice was given in accordance with the Planning Act.

This report recommends the adoption of an Official Plan Amendment, which includes an updated King-Parliament Secondary Plan (“Secondary Plan”) and Zoning By-law Amendments (“ZBA”), both of which are outcomes of the King-Parliament Secondary Plan Review and concurrent study of the north side of Queen Street East between Jarvis Street and River Street.

The recommended Plan builds on the success of the in-force King-Parliament Secondary Plan (1996) in addition to updated direction provided in the Downtown Plan under Official Plan Amendment 406 (OPA 406). The policies include area-specific strategies for heritage conservation, the improvement and expansion of parks and the public realm, and built form. The recommended Plan also includes objectives to support and enhance the creative and office employment cluster in the King-Parliament area and simplify the interpretation of overlapping policy frameworks that exist in the area. The Secondary Plan area comprises five Policy Areas, each reflecting a unique built form character.

To accommodate growth and new investment in King-Parliament, the recommended Secondary Plan provides a framework for development with a full mix of uses that are designed to be compatible with their existing and planned context, conserve cultural heritage resources, and improve and expand the public realm.  The Official Plan Amendment also:

• amends the boundaries of the King-Parliament Secondary Plan Area to include and apply additional built form direction to certain properties on the north side of Queen Street East;
• amends the boundaries to include Parliament Square Park as an important element of the area parks and open space network and potential public realm improvements on the First Parliament Site; and
• identifies two new public roads to be realized through future development in the West Don Lands.

The recommended Zoning By-law Amendments (“ZBA”) would have the effect of incorporating significant portions of the King-Parliament area previously excluded from the City-wide Zoning By-law 569-2013, with updated zone categories consistent with existing and planned Mixed Use Areas land use designations in the Downtown Plan. The ZBA also updates built form standards for each of the five recommended Policy Areas to reflect the intended direction for new development expressed in the recommended King-Parliament Secondary Plan (October 2019).

The recommended Secondary Plan and ZBA are consistent with the Official Plan (2006), Provincial Policy Statement (2020) and conforms to A Place to Grow: Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe (2019, amended 2020). Further, they build upon the Downtown Plan with a complementary planning framework that is specific to the King Parliament context. In addition, they are aligned with and support the intent and objectives of the St. Lawrence Heritage Conservation District Plan.  

The Official Plan Amendment and  ZBA have been prepared in consultation with the public and area stakeholder groups through a series of in-person and virtual engagement events, online presence and opportunities for input.