Item - 2023.EY1.1

The Etobicoke York Community Council recommends that:

1. City Council direct the City Solicitor and appropriate City staff to attend the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) in opposition to the current application regarding the Zoning By-law Amendment appeal for the lands at 4340 Bloor Street West and to continue discussions with the applicant in an attempt to resolve outstanding issues.

2. In the event that the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) allows the appeal, in whole or in part, City Council authorize the City Solicitor to request that the OLT withhold the issuance of any final Order(s) until such time as the OLT has been advised by the City Solicitor that:

a. the form and content of the Zoning By-law Amendment are to the satisfaction of the City Solicitor and Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning;

b. the owner has addressed all outstanding issues raised by Urban Forestry, Tree Protection and Plan Review as they relate to the Zoning By-law Amendment application, to the satisfaction of the General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation and the City Solicitor;

c. the owner has provided a revised Transportation Impact Study, including a multimodal safety study/operations assessment, to be reviewed and its recommendations implemented to the satisfaction of the General Manager, Transportation Services; and

d. the owner has submitted a revised Functional Servicing Report to the satisfaction of the Chief Engineer and Executive Director, Engineering and Construction Services.

3. Should it be determined that upgrades are required to the infrastructure to support the development according to the accepted Functional Servicing Report and/or the Transportation Impact Study, City Council direct the City Solicitor and appropriate City staff to request that a Holding provision (H) be included in the final form of the site-specific Zoning By-law Amendment, not to be lifted until such time as the owner has made satisfactory arrangements, including entering into appropriate agreement(s) with the City for the design and construction of any improvements to the municipal infrastructure and the provision of financial securities to the satisfaction of the Chief Engineer and Executive Director, Engineering and Construction Services and General Manager, Transportation Services.

4. City Council authorize the City Solicitor and other City staff to take any necessary steps to implement City Council's decision.

5. City Council direct that the City Solicitor and the Director, Community Planning, Etobicoke York District, continue discussions with the applicant, in consultation with the local Councillor, in order to identify improvements to the massing and position of the east building facing Mill Road, including setbacks, height and street façade, and to increase the ratio of three-bedroom units.

6. City Council direct that City Planning host a community information meeting regarding this application.

A Zoning By-law Amendment application was submitted for 4340 Bloor Street West on December 17, 2020 and was revised in February 2022 for a 13-storey apartment building (41.5 metres, excluding mechanical penthouse) on the western portion of the site and a four-storey apartment building (13.5 metres, excluding mechanical penthouse) on the eastern portion of the site. A total of 241 new residential units and 18,286 square metres of new gross floor area is proposed. Parking would be provided in a new garage below grade. The existing 15-storey apartment building (44.5 metres, excluding mechanical penthouse) with an estimated 8,765 square metres of gross floor area on the site, containing 86 rental units, will be maintained.

The applicant appealed the Zoning By-law Amendment application to the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) in April 2022 due to Council not making a decision within the prescribed time frames set out in the Planning Act. The first Case Management Conference (CMC) was conducted on September 29, 2022 (OLT Case No. OLT-22-003672). A 10-day hearing has been scheduled to start on June 5, 2023.

This report recommends that the City Solicitor with the appropriate City staff attend the OLT hearing to oppose the application in its current form and to continue discussions with the applicant to resolve outstanding issues.