Item - 2023.NY2.4

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 of the Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendment application for the lands at 500 Sheppard Avenue East 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 appeals 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 and Zoning By-law amendments are to the satisfaction of the City Solicitor and the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning;

b. The applicant has provided updated reports confirming adequate water, sanitary and stormwater capacity to the satisfaction of the Chief Engineer and Executive Director, Engineering and Construction Services, or the Chief Engineer and the Executive Director, Engineering and Construction Services has determined that no holding provisions are required in the Zoning By-laws, as amended;

c. In the event the updated servicing reports referred in 2b require upgrades to the servicing or functional items above, the owner shall enter into agreement(s) for the construction of any such improvements to such services, as required, at no cost to the City and to the satisfaction of the Chief Engineer and Executive Director, Engineering and Construction Services;

d. The owner has submitted a revised Travel Demand Management Plan acceptable to, and to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning and the General Manager, Transportation Services and that such matters arising from such study be secured if required;

e. The owner has resolved transportation-related matters including an updated Traffic Impact Study report to reassess the proposed driveway access points to the satisfaction of the Manager, Transportation Development Planning and Review; and,

f. The owner addressed all outstanding issues raised in Urban Forestry, Tree Protection and Plan Review memo as they relate to the Zoning By-law Amendment application, to the satisfaction of the Supervisor, Tree Protection and Plan Review.

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

On November 8, 2021, Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendment applications were submitted to permit two residential towers located on top of a 4-9 storey podium that included office and retail use. The proposed mixed-use building has 35-storey (122.65 metres) and 39-storey towers (134.75 metres) inclusive of the podium, altogether containing 928 dwelling units.

On June 29, 2022, the Applicant appealed the Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendment application to the Ontario Land Tribunal ("OLT") due to Council's failure  to make a decision within the prescribed time frame in the Planning Act.

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 the outstanding issues. The matters identified in this report will be further addressed as part of the OLT process and/or through revisions proposed by the Applicant.