Item - 2023.TE8.7

The Toronto and East York Community Council recommends that:

1. City Council direct the City Solicitor and appropriate City staff to attend before the Ontario Land Tribunal in support of the proposed revised Zoning By-law Amendment for 147 Spadina Avenue, subject to Recommendation 2 below.

2. City Council instruct the City Solicitor to request the Ontario Land Tribunal to withhold its Order on the Zoning By-law Amendment until such time as the Ontario Land Tribunal has been advised by the City Solicitor that:

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

b. the owner has worked with City Planning and Urban Forestry staff to conserve as many of the five existing City trees as possible along the Spadina Avenue frontage; for any trees that do require removal to facilitate construction, the owner has submitted an application to remove City trees together with a Tree Planting Replacement Plan, to the satisfaction of Urban Forestry;

c. the owner has withdrawn their site-specific appeals of the King-Spadina Secondary Plan (Official Plan Amendment 486) and the King-Spadina Heritage Conservation District Plan; and

d. the owner has, at its sole cost and expense:  

i. submitted a revised Site Servicing and Stormwater Management Report, a Servicing Report Groundwater Summary, and a Hydrogeological Review Summary, to the satisfaction of the Chief Engineer and Executive Director, Engineering and Construction Services, in consultation with the General Manager, Toronto Water;

ii. made satisfactory arrangements for the construction of any improvements to the municipal infrastructure in connection with the Functional Servicing Report, to be resubmitted for review and acceptance by the Chief Engineer and Executive Director, Engineering and Construction Services, should it be determined that improvements to such infrastructure are required to support this development; and

iii. submitted appropriate documentation to demonstrate that required easements and/or agreements have been entered into to permit vehicular access to the property at 147 Spadina Avenue through the adjacent property at 388 Richmond Street West, to the satisfaction of the City Solicitor.  

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

The purpose of this report is to seek direction from City Council to endorse a revised proposal for the application to amend the Zoning By-law that has been appealed to the Ontario Land Tribunal (the "OLT") due to Council's failure to make a decision within the time frame prescribed in the Planning Act.

Since the time of filing the appeals to the OLT (April 2022), the applicant has worked with City staff and the property owners of the adjacent commercial building to the north at 161 Spadina Avenue as well as the adjacent residential building to the east at 388 Richmond Street West ("District Lofts"), both of whom are parties to the Tribunal proceedings, to address various concerns. Following those meetings, the property owners have submitted a revised application.

The revised proposal is for a 24-storey mixed-use building at a height of 76.8 metres (82.8 including the mechanical penthouse). Revisions from the original application include an improved building setback and public realm along Richmond Street West; increased separation distance from the adjacent residential building to the east at 388 Richmond Street West; increased tower stepbacks from the edge of the base building along both Richmond Street West and Spadina Avenue; a reduced streetwall height; a reduction in overall building height from 25 storeys; and elimination of north-facing windows within the base building.

This report recommends that City Council endorse the revised proposal in accordance with the recommendations included within this Appeal Report.