Item - 2023.SC8.4

The Scarborough Community Council recommends that:

1. City Council direct the City Solicitor, together with appropriate staff, to attend the Ontario Land Tribunal in opposition to the subject Zoning By-law Amendment and Site Plan Control applications in their current form, for the lands at 673 Warden Avenue.

2. City Council authorize the City Solicitor and appropriate City staff to continue discussions with the applicant to address outstanding issues, including but not limited to those outlined in this report.

3. In the event that the Ontario Land Tribunal allows the subject appeals in part, City Council instruct the City Solicitor to request that the issuance of any final Orders be withheld until such time as the Ontario Land Tribunal has been advised by the City Solicitor that:

a. the proposed Zoning By-law Amendment is of a final content and form satisfactory to the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning and the City Solicitor;

 b. the Owner has:

1. submitted a revised Functional Servicing Report, Stormwater Management Report, and Hydrogeological Review, including the Foundation Drainage Report or addendums ("Engineering Reports"), to the satisfaction of the Chief Engineer and Executive Director, Engineering and Construction Services, in consultation with the General Manager, Toronto Water;

2. secured the design and provision of financial securities for any upgrades or required improvements to the existing municipal infrastructure identified in the accepted Engineering Reports, to support the development, all to the satisfaction of the Chief Engineer and Executive Director, Engineering and Construction Services and the General Manager, Toronto Water;

3. submitted a revised Arborist Report or addendum and Tree Protection Plan to address compliance with the Toronto Green Standard, including the parts of the ecology section, which pertain to existing and proposed trees and soil volume requirements, acceptable and satisfactory to the General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation; and

4. submitted an updated complete Toronto Green Standards (TGS) Checklist and Statistics Template, to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning.

4. 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 or that mitigation is required per the Subsurface Investigation, 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 required mitigation, as well as 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.

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

On September 14, 2022, applications for Zoning By-law Amendment and Site Plan Control approval were submitted to permit the construction of a mixed-use building of 15-storeys plus rooftop amenity space and mechanical penthouse at 673 Warden Avenue. The proposed building would have retail space on the ground floor and 274 residential dwelling units. The total gross floor area (“GFA”) of the proposed development is 18,965 square metres, comprised of 18,759 square metres of residential GFA and 206 square metres of commercial GFA, resulting in a Floor Space Index (FSI) of 6.9 times the area of lot.

On May 1, the applicant appealed the applications to the Ontario Land Tribunal (the "OLT") due to City Council failing to make decisions on them within the time frames prescribed under the Planning Act.

This report recommends that the City Solicitor together with appropriate City staff attend the OLT hearing to oppose the applications in their current form and to continue discussions with the Applicant to resolve outstanding issues.