Item - 2023.NY1.3

North York Community Council recommends that:

1. City Council direct the City Solicitor and appropriate City staff to attend the Ontario Land Tribunal in opposition to the current Application regarding the Official Plan Amendment appeal for the lands at 3401 Dufferin Street and 1 Yorkdale Road and to continue discussions with the Applicant in an attempt to resolve outstanding issues, including any outstanding matters related to the Dufferin Street Secondary Plan.

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

a. the final form and content of the draft Official Plan Amendment are to the satisfaction of the City Solicitor and the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning;

b. the owner has provided updated Urban Design Guidelines to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning;

c. the owner has provided an Energy Strategy, to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning;

d. the owner has provided an Affordable Housing Strategy to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning.

3. City Council authorizes the City Solicitor and City staff to take any necessary steps to implement City Council's decision.

On May 30, 2017 an Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendment application was submitted to permit a long-term mixed use development plan for portions of the Yorkdale Shopping Centre site. The existing Yorkdale Shopping Centre is to remain on site and in operation. The proposed development is intended to occur in a phased manner over the next 20 years and beyond. This proposal introduces new streets, parks and open spaces, internal pedestrian connections, new residential uses in the form of mid-rise buildings and tall buildings, additional commercial and office uses, and a hotel. The master plan consists of eleven new development blocks, three new park blocks, one Privately-Owned, Publicly Accessible Space block. A total of 5,126 residential units, 49,442 square metres of retail, 32,708 square metres of office, and 17,250 square metres of hotel uses for an overall proposed FSI of 2.5 times the area of the site. The range of proposed building heights is from 12 – 40 storeys.

On April 6, 2022, the Applicant appealed the Official Plan Amendment portion of the application to the Ontario Land Tribunal due to Council not making a decision within the 120-day time frame in the Planning Act. The Zoning By-law Amendment application is still under review by staff and is not the subject of this report.

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

As discussed further below, the Applicant also filed an appeal to the Dufferin Street Secondary Plan with respect to the site. In a decision dated September 30, 2022, the Ontario Land Tribunal ordered that the Applicant's appeal of the Dufferin Street Secondary Plan and the appeal of this site specific application be "heard together".