Item - 2023.SC7.1

Scarborough Community Council recommends that:

1.  City Council amend the Official Plan, for the lands at 1571 Sandhurst Circle substantially in accordance with the draft Official Plan Amendment attached as Attachment 5 to the report (August 21, 2023) from the Acting Director, Community Planning, Scarborough District.

2.  City Council authorize the City Solicitor to make such stylistic and technical changes to the draft Official Plan Amendment as may be required.

3.  City Council direct the City Solicitor and appropriate City Staff to attend and support the recommended Official Plan Amendment should the Official Plan Amendment be appealed to the Ontario Land Tribunal.

The Scarborough Community Council held a statutory public meeting on September 8, 2023, and notice was given in accordance with the Planning Act.

This report recommends approval of Official Plan Amendment 675 (OPA 675) which provides a planning framework for future development on the Woodside Square site, municipally known as 1571 Sandhurst Circle, and advances the vision developed through the Woodside Square Planning Review ("the Planning Review"). The proposed OPA deletes and replaces Site and Area Specific Policy 236 (SASP 236) and provides for the introduction of residential intensification onto the subject lands while identifying important city-building components that will support the infill redevelopment of the lands surrounding the existing mall building. The emerging planning framework provides for the retention of the existing mall building in the short and medium term while contemplating potential partial or total redevelopment of the mall building in the long term. The near term intensification would be supported by the creation of new public streets and blocks, public parkland, public realm enhancements and improved connectivity and pedestrian safety.

City Council directed City Planning staff to initiate the Planning Review for the subject lands in 2019 after the landowner indicated a desire to redevelop the parking areas around the mall with residential and other uses. Under the current planning permissions for the subject lands, no uses are permitted other than Places of Worship or commercial uses are permitted until a planning review has been completed to Council's satisfaction.

The purpose of the Planning Review was to determine the appropriateness of providing additional land use permissions and establish a policy framework necessary to implement any future redevelopment of the site. The proposed OPA was developed as an outcome of the Planning Review and is based on the draft policy directions adopted by City Council on May 11, 2022.

Shortly after the Planning Review was initiated, a Zoning By-law Amendment application was submitted by the owners of the subject lands for a portion of the site. A separate report recommending approval of the proposed Zoning By-law Amendment is also before Council.

The Planning Review benefitted from a thorough public consultation process, the concurrent review of a major development application and the input of staff from various City Divisions and commenting agencies. It advanced through four phases. Phases 1 and 2 (Preliminary Consultation and Study Initiation and Visioning) were completed in 2019 and 2020 and developed a vision for the subject lands. Phase 3 (Design, Testing and Analysis) was completed in 2022 and included community and stakeholder consultation, two presentations to the City's Design Review Panel and the presentation of draft policy directions for adoption by City Council. Phase 4 (Final Reports and Plans) has advanced since the conclusion of formal stakeholder and community consultation in Fall 2022 with the development of a final Site and Area Specific Policy recommended for approval by this Final Report.

This planning framework proposed through OPA 675 will facilitate the comprehensive and orderly development of a complete community on the subject lands. While the land uses on site evolve, the recommended SASP policies ensure that the emerging community retains a distinct identity while integrating with the existing context, building on the current function of Woodside Square as an economic, social, and community services centre within the Agincourt North community. City Planning staff recommend that City Council amend the Official Plan to implement the outcomes of the Woodside Square Planning Review.