Item - 2023.EY2.3

The Etobicoke York Community Council recommends that: 

1. City Council direct the City Solicitor and appropriate City staff to attend the Ontario Land Tribunal hearing in opposition to the current application regarding the Official Plan Amendment and Zoning By-law Amendment appeal for the lands at 1-9 Oxford Drive and to continue discussions with the applicant in an attempt to resolve outstanding issues.

2. In the event that the Ontario Land Tribunal allows the appeal, in whole or in part, City Council direct the City Solicitor to request that the issuance of any final Order(s) be withheld until such time as the City Solicitor advises the Ontario Land Tribunal that:

a. The form and content of the Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendments are satisfactory to the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning and the City Solicitor;

b. The owner has provided a revised Functional Servicing Report and a revised Stormwater Management Report, such reports to be reviewed to the satisfaction of the Chief Engineer and Executive Director, Engineering and Construction Services;

c. The owner has provided a revised Transportation Impact Study, to be reviewed to the satisfaction of the General Manager, Transportation Services;

d. The owner has provided a revised Pedestrian Wind Study, such report to be reviewed with recommendations implemented as part of the amending Official Plan policies and Zoning By-laws and/or secured in a Site Plan Agreement, to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning;

e. The owner has provided a revised Noise Impact Study and Vibration Study, such reports to be peer reviewed by a third-party consultant on behalf of the City and at the owner's expense, with recommendations to be implemented as part of the amending Zoning By-laws and/or secured in a Site Plan Agreement, to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning; and

f. The owner has addressed all outstanding issues raised by Urban Forestry, provided a revised Tree Preservation Plan and a revised Landscape Concept Plan to the satisfaction of the General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation.

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.

On March 14, 2022, an application to amend the Official Plan, the former City of York Zoning By-law 1-83 and City of Toronto Zoning By-law 569-2013 for the property at 1-9 Oxford Drive was submitted to permit a residential development with a height of 26-storeys (88 metres in height, including mechanical penthouse). The proposal would result in a gross floor area of 18,989 square metres with a total of 278 residential units.

On August 29, 2022, the combined Official Plan and Zoning By-law amendments application was appealed to the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) citing City Council’s failure to make a decision on the application within the prescribed timelines after the application was deemed complete. At the time this report was written, a Case Management Conference had not yet been scheduled.

This report recommends that the City Solicitor, together with appropriate City staff, attend the Ontario Land Tribunal hearing to oppose the proposal in its current form and to continue discussions with the applicant to resolve outstanding issues.