Item - 2022.EX34.3

City Council considered Items EX34.1, EX34.2 and EX34.3 together.

The Executive Committee recommends that:

1. City Council direct the General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation and the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning to continue stakeholder and public consultation on an updated Alternative Parkland Dedication Rate, including continued consultation on a density-responsive alternative parkland dedication approach and parkland need in the context of Bill 109's changes to the Planning Act and report back with final recommendations in the second quarter of 2023. 

2. City Council amend the Official Plan substantially in accordance with Official Plan Amendment 588 City-wide Alternative Parkland Dedication Rate, in Attachment 1 to the supplementary report (July 11, 2022) from the General Manager, Parks Forestry and Recreation and Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning.

3. City Council amend the City of Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 415, Development of Land, substantially in accordance with the draft Parkland Dedication By-law in Attachment 2 to the report (June 27, 2022) from the General Manager, Parks Forestry and Recreation and Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning and as amended by Recommendation 4, below.

4. City Council amend the draft Parkland Dedication By-Law included as Attachment 2 to the report from the General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation and the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning by inserting the following clauses:

a. insert the following in section 415-21. Definitions.:

HOUSING NOW DEVELOPMENT – Development of affordable and market rental housing on City-owned lands under a long term lease and related development of ownership homes, if any, on City-owned lands sold to a developer, provided all such development occurs as part of the Housing Now Initiative.

HOUSING NOW INITIATIVE - The initiative originally approved by Council through the adoption of Item CC1.3 on December 4, 5 and 13, 2018 and Item EX1.1 adopted January 20 and 31, 2019 to increase the supply of affordable housing by leveraging the value of underutilized City-owned lands.

MUNICIPAL HOUSING PROJECT FACILITY - The class of municipal capital facilities prescribed by paragraph 18 of subsection 2(1) of Ontario Regulation 598/06, and as further defined in the City's Municipal Housing Facility By-law 183-2022, as such by-law may be amended or replaced from time to time.

MUNICIPAL HOUSING PROJECT FACILITY AGREEMENT - An agreement entered into pursuant to section 252 of the City of Toronto Act for the provision of a Municipal Housing Project Facility; 

b. insert the following in section 415-30. Exemptions.:

Affordable rental housing units secured under a Municipal Housing Project Facility Agreement;

Housing Now Development projects;

The residential component of a building with no more than four dwelling units.

5. City Council authorize the City Solicitor to make such stylistic and technical changes to the draft Official Plan Amendment and the draft Parkland Dedication By-law as may be required.

6. City Council direct the Executive Director, Housing Secretariat to amend the Home Ownership Assistance Program to include deferral of cash-in-lieu of parkland dedication, and to facilitate this amendment direct the General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation to accept cash in lieu of parkland in connection with affordable ownership units that will be subject to a Home Ownership Assistance Program agreement; and Council direct the Executive Director, Housing Secretariat to consider the impact of the Home Ownership Assistance Program as amended by City Council's decision on this Item and other City incentives in the current review of the City's Affordable Home Ownership Program.

7. City Council request the Province of Ontario to amend Section 42 of the Planning Act to permit the municipality to require the owner to enter into one or more agreements with the municipality dealing with the conveyance of parkland as required by this section and that any agreement entered into may be registered against the land to which it applies and the municipality is entitled to enforce the provisions thereof against the owner and, subject to the provisions of the Registry Act and the Lands Titles Act, any and all subsequent owners of the land. 

The Executive Committee held a statutory public meeting on July 12, 2022, and notice was given in accordance with the Planning Act.

The Province of Ontario has introduced legislative changes to the Planning Act which requires the City to review and update three of its growth-related funding tools (GFTs):

-  Development Charges (DC);

- Community Benefits Charges (CBC); and

- Alternative Parkland Dedication Rate.

This report is one of three reports on the individual GFTs being presented to City Council for concurrent consideration. Staff have developed recommendations related to the GFTs through an integrated and comprehensive approach to funding growth which incorporates engagement feedback.

This report recommends a phased approach to the consideration and implementation of a new alternative parkland dedication framework, including interim re-enactment of the City's current alternative parkland dedication by-law in 2022, continued engagement on staff's proposed approach and analysis of the impacts of Bill 109's legislative changes through early 2023 and presentation of a new by-law in the second quarter of 2023.

In accordance with provincial legislation, the City must adopt a parkland dedication by-law before September 18, 2022, to be able to apply an alternative parkland dedication rate. The Planning Act's standard parkland dedication rates of 5% for residential uses and 2% for non-residential uses remain unchanged as a result of provincial legislative changes.

Toronto's park system plays an essential role in supporting a healthy, equitable, competitive and livable city, and helps to make communities more resilient to contemporary challenges, from climate change to COVID-19. Parkland dedication resulting from development projects is an important tool for growing and improving Toronto's park system.

Under the current by-law, population growth significantly outpaces growth of the city's parkland system. As a result, Toronto's parkland provision per provision is declining rapidly, especially in high-growth areas. This decline has negative impacts on the park system, putting more pressure on existing parks, increasing operating and maintenance costs, potentially resulting in user and programming conflicts, and making it more difficult to locate and build new recreational facilities. An updated alternative parkland dedication framework will better position the City to respond to the strains of growth on the parkland system and ensure that these green spaces can support a healthy, resilient Toronto in the decades ahead.

Since Bill 197 was enacted in 2020, City staff have undertaken detailed analysis of present and future parkland need and provision across Toronto's varied geography. This analysis has informed the development of a proposed density-responsive parkland dedication framework that is oriented to the growth resulting from development projects. This approach links new residents and parkland need with the delivery of new parkland, no matter the form of development.

Late in the process of developing and consulting on the updated alternative parkland dedication framework, the Province introduced legislation, Bill 109, More Homes for Everyone Act, which made further changes to the parkland dedication legislative framework in the Planning Act. Bill 109's changes reduce the alternative parkland dedication rate for sites designated by the Province as transit-oriented communities relative to the current alternative rate and obligate Ontario municipalities to accept encumbered parkland. The rates established through Bill 109 lock in a site-based parkland dedication approach contrary to staff's proposed density-responsive approach. The Bill received Royal Assent on April 14, 2022. Bill 109's significant changes to parkland dedication legislation necessitate further analysis to understand the potential impact on parkland dedication and parkland need over the medium term, given the number and importance of "transit-oriented community lands". To this end, this report recommends continued engagement on the proposed density-responsive parkland dedication approach through early 2023 in anticipation of a final report to City Council in the second quarter of 2023.

As an interim measure to ensure continued application of an alternative rate, this report recommends that City Council re-adopt the City's current alternative parkland dedication by-law. Recommendations at this stage include an Official Plan Amendment (Attachment 1 of this report) and a reimplementation of the current Parkland Dedication By-law inclusive of the statutory requirements stemming from Bill 109's changes to the Planning Act. (Attachment 2). The policies in the Official Plan Amendment conform to the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, 2020 and are consistent with the Provincial Policy Statement, 2020.

In developing the policy recommendations, several factors were considered including:

· Infrastructure needs to service the growth in residents

· Results of the preliminary impact analysis that indicated although GFTs are not a primary driver of housing prices, current economic conditions with increasing inflation and construction costs (which the City also faces in its infrastructure projects) warrants a measured implementation of the new rates to mitigate the impact of rate changes on new development

· Feedback from public, community and industry stakeholders

As part of further work, staff will continue to engage City Divisions and stakeholders and report back in 2023 on the proposed density-responsive parkland dedication approach and related matters.

At its meeting on July 12, 2022, Executive Committee will consider a report related to the Alternative Parkland Dedication Rate. The report includes recommended amendments to the City of Toronto Municipal Code and the Parkland Dedication By-law as well as associated amendments to the Official Plan.

The report recommends a phased approach to the implementation of a new alternative parkland dedication framework, including interim re-enactment of the City's current alternative parkland dedication by-law in 2022, continued analysis and engagement through early 2023 and presentation of final recommendations in the second quarter of 2023.

This supplementary report recommends modified amendments to the Official Plan that add a new policy required to address the parkland rates for lands designated transit-oriented communities as required by the recent legislative changes in Bill 109.  The remainder of the parkland policies in the Official Plan remain in their current form.