Item - 2023.PB3.4

The Toronto Preservation Board recommends to the Planning and Housing Committee that:

1. City Council state its intention to designate the property at 3377 Bayview Avenue under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act in accordance with the Statement of Significance; 3377 Bayview Avenue (Reasons for Designation) attached as Attachment 3, to the report (January 25, 2023) from the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning, Urban Design, City Planning.

2. If there are no objections to the designation, City Council authorize the City Solicitor to introduce the Bill in Council designating the property under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act.

Tatum Taylor, Planner, Heritage Preservation, Urban Design, City Planning gave a presentation on 3377 Bayview Avenue - Notice of Intention to Designate a Property under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act.

This report recommends that City Council state its intention to designate the property at 3377 Bayview Avenue under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act for its cultural heritage value.

The property at 3377 Bayview Avenue comprises the Tyndale University campus, formerly the Sisters of St. Joseph Motherhouse campus. The built components of the property are primarily situated on table lands overlooking a ravine alongside the German Mills Creek, a tributary of the Don River. The architectural firm of Marani, Morris & Allan designed the complex of interconnected buildings in 1959-1960 to reflect both Neoclassical and Modernist principles. The ensemble, further united through landscape and circulation elements, constitutes a cultural landscape that has facilitated ongoing spiritual practice and religious education for over 60 years.

Staff have completed the Research and Evaluation Report for the property at 3377 Bayview Avenue and determined that the property meets Ontario Regulation 9/06, the criteria prescribed for municipal designation under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act on the basis of its design/physical, historical/associative, and contextual values. As such, the property is a significant built heritage resource.

As the property includes an active place of worship, this designation report was prepared to respect and protect according to the Places of Worship policy of the Official Plan.

In June 2021, the City received an OPA and Rezoning application related to the property at 3377 Bayview Avenue. This application, along with a concurrent application for Draft Plan of Subdivision (21 169804 NNY 17 SB), proposes 15 residential and mixed use buildings, most of which would range in height from 5 to 8 storeys, with three buildings from 12 to 20 storeys. These buildings will accommodate 1504 units, 50% of which would be affordable rental, and 50% market rental. A total of 1,385 square metres of new non-residential gross floor area is proposed within Phase 1, including a daycare, restaurant, and flexible use spaces to be used by Tyndale University. A network of public and private streets, shared streets and a publicly accessible open space are proposed. Tyndale University would own the residential components, and would remain operational. Portions of the existing buildings and landscapes would be retained. The application was appealed to the Ontario Land Tribunal on March 3, 2022.

A Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) is required for all development applications that affect listed and designated properties and will be considered when determining how a heritage property is to be conserved. ASI prepared an HIA for 3377 Bayview Avenue that was submitted in June 2021. A revised HIA was submitted in January 2023.

In June 2019, the More Homes, More Choice Act, 2019 (Bill 108) received Royal Assent. Schedule 11 of this Act included amendments to the Ontario Heritage Act. The Bill 108 Amendments to the Ontario Heritage Act came into force on July 1, 2021, which included a shift in Part IV designations related to Planning Act applications that would trigger a Prescribed Event. Section 29(1.2) of the Ontario Heritage Act now restricts City Council's ability to give notice of its intention to designate a property under the Act to within 90 days after the City Clerk gives notice of a complete application.

A "Prescribed Event" is a point of time when the application for an Official Plan Amendment, Zoning By-law Amendment and/or Draft Plan of Subdivision Application has been deemed complete and the City Clerk provides notice of that complete application to the public in accordance with the Planning Act. 

The City Clerk issued a complete application notice on July 23, 2021. The property owner provided a waiver to extend indefinitely the 90-day timeline established under Bill 108.

On November 28, 2022, the More Homes Built Faster Act, 2022 (Bill 23) received Royal Assent. Schedule 6 of the More Homes Built Faster Act which amended the Ontario Heritage Act and came into effect on January 1, 2023.  

As of January 1, 2023, should a property be subject to an Official Plan Amendment, Zoning By-law Amendment and/or Draft Plan of Subdivision Application that would trigger a Prescribed Event, the property must be listed in the heritage register prior to the Prescribed Event occurring to designate a property. This requirement does not apply to a Prescribed Event that has occurred prior to January 1, 2023.

The application currently under review was deemed complete prior to Bill 23 changes to the Ontario Heritage Act coming into force, however, the Part IV designation must be in compliance with the Province's amended O. Reg. 9/06 under the Ontario Heritage Act, which is effect as of January 1, 2023. The revised regulation establishes nine provincial criteria for determining whether a property is of cultural heritage value or interest.

A property may be designated under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act, if it meets two or more of the nine criteria.

Designation also enables City Council to review proposed alterations or demolitions to the property and enforce heritage property standards and maintenance.