Item - 2024.CC19.16

City Council on June 26 and 27, 2024, adopted the following:

1. City Council adopt the confidential instructions to staff in Confidential Attachment 1 to the report (June 17, 2024) from the City Solicitor.

2. City Council authorize the public release of the confidential instructions to staff in Confidential Attachment 1 and Confidential Appendices A to F to the report (June 17, 2024) from the City Solicitor.

3. City Council direct that the balance of Confidential Attachment 1 to the report (June 17, 2024) from the City Solicitor remain confidential at the discretion of the City Solicitor, as it contains advice that is subject to solicitor-client privilege.

The confidential instructions to staff in Confidential Attachment 1 to the report (June 17, 2024) from the City Solicitor were adopted by City Council and are now public as follows:

1. City Council accept:

a. the Settlement Offer from Overland LLP dated June 17, 2024, respecting 2575 and 2625 Danforth Avenue appended hereto as Confidential Appendix A to the report (June 17, 2024) from the City Solicitor (the "Jacob's Tent Offer");

b. the Settlement Offer from Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP dated June 14, 2024, respecting 2681 Danforth Avenue appended hereto as Confidential Appendix C to the report (June 17, 2024) from the City Solicitor (the "Canadian Tire Offer"); and

c. the Settlement Offer from Davies Howe LLP dated June 12, 2024, respecting 2721 Danforth Avenue appended hereto as Confidential Appendix E to the report (June 17, 2024) from the City Solicitor (the "Tri-Metro Offer");

(collectively referred to as the "Settlement Offers").

2. City Council authorize the City Solicitor and appropriate City Staff to attend the Ontario Land Tribunal hearing on these matters in support of the revised development proposals generally described in the Settlement Offers and the associated revised plans attached as Confidential Appendices B, D and F to the report (June 17, 2024) from the City Solicitor.

3. Should the Ontario Land Tribunal allow the appeal in whole or in part in accordance with the Jacob's Tent Offer respecting 2575 and 2625 Danforth Avenue, City Council authorize the City Solicitor to request the Ontario Land Tribunal to withhold the issuance of any Order(s) until such time as the Ontario Land Tribunal has been advised by the City Solicitor that:

a. the final form of the Zoning By-law Amendment(s) are to the satisfaction of the Director, Community Planning, Toronto East York District and the City Solicitor, in consultation with other appropriate divisions;

b. the owner has at the owner's expense:

i. provided confirmation of water, sanitary and stormwater capacity (and conformity with the accepted MFSR respecting Character Area C in Official Plan Amendment 478) to the satisfaction of the Chief Engineer and Executive Director, Engineering and Construction Services, or the determination of whether holding provisions are required in the zoning by-law amendment;

ii. secured the design and the provision of financial securities for any upgrades or required improvements to the existing municipal infrastructure and/or new 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, should it be determined that improvements or upgrades and/or new infrastructure are required to support the development;

iii. submitted a pedestrian level wind study, including a wind tunnel test, acceptable to, and to the satisfaction of, the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning and that such matters arising from such study, be secured if required;

iv. submitted a revised Transportation Impact Study, and a Parking and Loading Study acceptable to, and to the satisfaction of, the General Manager, Transportation Services and that such matters arising from such studies, be secured if required;

v. submitted a revised Landscape Plan which includes a notation that a volume of 30 cubic metres of soil will be provided for each tree with future financial securities to be provided through the Site Plan Approval process, to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and the General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation; and

vi. provided the City with correspondence from the owner of the adjacent site to the south confirming that the access at the south end of the Site from the private lands municipally known as 6 Dawes Road will be permitted by a pedestrian and vehicular access easement in favour of the Site over the 6 Dawes Lands;

c. a revised Rental Housing Demolition Application (22 196262 19 RH) in accordance with Chapter 667 of the Toronto Municipal Code and pursuant to Section 111 of the City of Toronto Act, 2006, has been approved to permit the demolition of existing rental dwellings at 2575 and 2625 Danforth Avenue and the owner has entered into, and registered on title to the lands, one or more agreements with the City, to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning and the City Solicitor, securing all rental housing-related matters, including tenant relocation and assistance, necessary to implement City Council's decision;

d. the owner has conducted a tenant survey, and secured appropriate improvements to the existing rental buildings at its sole expense and at no cost to tenants (including the provision of a Construction Mitigation and Tenant Communication Plan);

e. the owner has applied draft plan approval for a draft plan of subdivision application to secure, among other matters, the conveyance of land for and construction of new public roads and parkland; and

f. the owner has entered into an Agreement pursuant to Section 37 of the Planning Act, as it read the day before the day section 1 of Schedule 17 of the COVID-19 Economic Recovery Act, 2020 came into force (the "Section 37 Agreement"), and that agreement has been registered on title to 2575 and 2625 Danforth Avenue, all to the satisfaction of the City Solicitor and the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, in consultation with the Ward Councillor, to secure the community benefits and matters of legal convenience at the owner’s expense, as set out in Part 4 below.

4. City Council authorize the entering into of a Section 37 Agreement respecting 2575 and 2625 Danforth Avenue (the “Site”) as follows:

a. the community benefits offered in the Jacob’s Tent Offer and recommended to be secured in the Section 37 Agreement are as follows, satisfactory to the City Solicitor:

i.  provide a cash contribution of $4,000,000 dollars to the City for allocation towards the construction, finishes and/or furnishings and equipment for a public community recreation centre serving the geographic area of the proposed Official Plan Amendment 478, as adopted by Council, within the vicinity of the Site, at the discretion of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning in consultation with the Ward Councillor and shall be paid as follows:

a. $2,000,000 to be paid prior to the issuance of the first above-grade building permit for the first tower as set out in the Jacob’s Tent Offer; and

b. $2,000,000 to be paid prior to the issuance of the first above-grade building permit for the third tower as set out in the Jacob’s Tent Offer;

ii. the cash contribution referred to in Part 4.a.i. above shall be indexed upwardly in accordance with the Statistics Canada Residential or Non-Residential, as the case may be, Building Construction Price Index for the Toronto Census Metropolitan Area, reported quarterly by Statistics Canada in Building Construction Price Indexes Table 18-10-0135-01, or its successor, calculated from the date of the Agreement to the date of each payment; and

iii. in the event the cash contribution referred to in Part 4.a.ii. above has not been used for the determined purpose within fifteen (15) years after the amending Zoning By-law coming into full force and effect, the cash contribution, or a portion thereof, may be redirected for another purpose, at the discretion of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, in consultation with the Ward Councillor, provided the purpose is identified in Official Plan Policy 5.1.1 and will benefit the community in the vicinity of 2575 and 2625 Danforth Avenue; and

b. the following matters are also recommended to be secured in the Section 37 Agreement as a legal convenience to support the development:

i. the owner shall implement any required recommendations and/or mitigation measures from the accepted Wind Tunnel analysis, Traffic Impact Study, Traffic Demand Management Plan, Landscape Plan, Parking and Loading Study, and Landscape Plan, through the Site Plan approval process for the Site, to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning;

ii. the owner shall provide open space of not less than 400 square metres, which shall be shown on the plans and drawings submitted pursuant to Section 114 of the City of Toronto Act;

iii. through the development review or subdivision process, the owner shall convey to the City the widenings and portions of the new public road as set out in the memorandum from the General Manager, Transportation July 15, 2023, as revised and will address cost sharing respecting the new public road in accordance with Section 12 of Official Plan Amendment 478;

iv. the owner shall construct and maintain the development of the site in accordance with Tier 1, Toronto Green Standard, and the owner will be encouraged to achieve Tier 2, Toronto Green Standard, or higher, where appropriate, consistent with the performance standards of Toronto Green Standards applicable at the time of the site plan application for the development;

v. the owner shall, prior to the commencement of any excavation and shoring work, submit a Construction Management Plan to the satisfaction of the Chief Building Official and Executive Director, Toronto Building, the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, the General Manager, Transportation Services, and the Chief Engineer and Executive Director, Engineering and Construction Services and thereafter shall implement the plan during the course of construction; the Construction Management Plan will include, but not be limited to the following construction-related details: noise, dust, size and location of staging areas, location and function of gates, dates of significant concrete pouring, lighting details, vehicular parking and queuing locations, street closures, parking and laneway uses and access, refuse storage, site security, site supervisor contact information, and a communication strategy with the surrounding community, including matters related to the construction of streets or infrastructure, and any other matters requested by the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, and the City Solicitor;

vi. prior to the issuance of the first above-grade building permit the owner shall enter into and register a 118 Restriction under the Land Titles Act (to the satisfaction of the City Solicitor) agreeing not to transfer or charge the parkland, which restriction may be released only upon the owner transferring the parkland to the City, all to the satisfaction of the General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation and the City Solicitor, which conveyance of a total of approximately 2,181 square meters represents the owner's Section 42 site parkland dedication requirement with any over dedication to be secured as an additional community benefit, and is to be conveyed to the City as early as possible recognizing the leasehold interests over the parkland;

vii. the owner shall prepare all documents and convey a pedestrian access easement to the City in perpetuity for access over the pedestrian mid-block connections, all to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning with such lands to be free and clear of all other physical and title encumbrances (except those permitted at the discretion of the City Solicitor) in exchange for the release and discharge of any leasehold interest in favour of the City granting similar access, to satisfaction of the City Solicitor; the owner shall submit to the Chief Engineer and Executive Director, Engineering and Construction Services a draft Reference Plan of Survey in metric units and integrated into the Ontario Coordinate System, with coordinate values shown on the face of the plan and delineating thereon, the lands to be conveyed to the City for review and approval, prior to depositing it in the Land Registry Office; prior to granting the pedestrian access easements, the owner shall ensure that barrier-free access will be provided from Main Street through the Jacob’s Tent site to allow pedestrian access to continue to Metrolinx’s Danforth GO Station at all times during construction of the Settlement Proposal; for greater certainty, the area to be encumbered by the pedestrian access easements will be of a sufficient area, horizontally and vertically, to facilitate pedestrian access through the Jacob’s Tent site; and

viii. the owner shall, through the site plan approval process:

a. minimize the width of the curb cut for the loop driveway around Building A;

b. provide landscape buffering to reduce impacts of servicing on units in Buildings B, C, and G;

c explore strategies to reduce the visibility of loading operations from lands to the south of the site;

d. provide a second row of trees in front of building D;

e. restrict wraparound balconies on towers to reduce their visual impact;

f. provide streetscape design that enhances Danforth Avenue and Main Street.
 

5. Should the Ontario Land Tribunal allow the appeal in whole or in part in accordance with the Canadian Tire Offer respecting 2681 Danforth Avenue, City Council authorize the City Solicitor to request the Ontario Land Tribunal to withhold the issuance of any Order(s) until such time as the Ontario Land Tribunal has been advised by the City Solicitor that:

a. the final form of the Zoning By-law and Official Plan Amendment(s), as applicable, are to the satisfaction of the Director, Community Planning, Toronto East York District and the City Solicitor, in consultation with other appropriate divisions;

b. the owner has, as applicable, in the sole and absolute discretion of the Chief Planner, Executive Director, City Planning, at their own expense:

i. provided confirmation of water, sanitary and stormwater capacity (and conformity with the accepted Master Functional Servicing Report respecting Character Area C in Official Plan Amendment 478) to the satisfaction of the Chief Engineer and Executive Director, Engineering and Construction Services, or the determination of whether holding provisions are required in the zoning by-law amendment;

ii. secured the design and the provision of financial securities for any upgrades or required improvements to the existing municipal infrastructure and/or new 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, should it be determined that improvements or upgrades and/or new infrastructure are required to support the development;

iii. submitted a pedestrian level wind study, including a wind tunnel test, acceptable to, and to the satisfaction of, the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning and that such matters arising from such study, be secured if required;

iv. submitted a revised Transportation Impact Study, and a Parking and Loading Study acceptable to, and to the satisfaction of, the General Manager, Transportation Services and that such matters arising from such studies, be secured if required; and

v. submitted a revised Landscape Plan which includes a notation that a volume of 30 cubic metres of soil will be provided for each tree, with utilities shown to Quality Level A (QL-A), if required, and provides any necessary financial securities, to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and the General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation and that such matters arising from such study, be secured if required; and

c. the owner has received draft plan approval for a draft plan of subdivision application, as applicable at the discretion of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning to secure, among other matters, the conveyance of land for and construction of new public roads and parkland.

6. Should the Ontario Land Tribunal allow the appeal(s) in whole or in part in accordance with the Tri-Metro Offer respecting 2721 Danforth Avenue, City Council authorize the City Solicitor to request the Ontario Land Tribunal to withhold the issuance of any Order(s) until such time as the Ontario Land Tribunal has been advised by the City Solicitor that:

a. the final form of the Zoning By-law and Official Plan Amendment(s), as applicable, are to the satisfaction of the Director, Community Planning, Toronto East York District and the City Solicitor, in consultation with other appropriate divisions, which shall include holding (H) provisions to secure the following:

i. the design and the provision of financial securities for any upgrades or required improvements to the existing municipal infrastructure and/or new 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, should it be determined that improvements or upgrades and/or new infrastructure are required to support the development;

ii. submission of a revised Transportation Impact Study, and a Parking and Loading Study acceptable to, and to the satisfaction of, the General Manager, Transportation Services and that such matters arising from such studies, be secured if required; and

iii. submission of a revised Landscape Plan which includes a notation that a volume of 30 cubic metres of soil will be provided for each tree, with utilities shown to Quality Level A (QL-A), if required, and provides any necessary financial securities, to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning and the General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation and that such matters arising from such study, be secured if required; and

b. the owner has, as applicable, in the sole and absolute discretion of the Chief Planner, Executive Director, City Planning, at their own expense:

i. provided confirmation of water, sanitary and stormwater capacity (and conformity with the accepted Master Functional Servicing Report respecting Character Area C in Official Plan Amendment 478) to the satisfaction of the Chief Engineer and Executive Director, Engineering and Construction Services, or the determination of whether holding provisions are required in the Zoning By-law Amendment; and

ii. submitted a pedestrian level wind study, including a wind tunnel test, acceptable to, and to the satisfaction of, the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning and that such matters arising from such study, be secured if required.

7. City Council allow Canadian Tire respecting 2681 Danforth Avenue to provide twenty one (21) affordable rental units and Tri-Metro respecting 2721 Danforth Avenue to provide twenty-six (26) affordable rental units as part of each respective development, to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, as an in-kind contribution pursuant to subsection 37(6) of the Planning Act, in accordance with the following terms:

a. Canadian Tire and Tri-Metro shall design, construct, finish, provide and maintain on each of their respective sites the affordance rental units:

i. in contiguous groups of at least six (6) rental dwelling units;

ii. with the average unit size of the affordable rental units being no less than the average unit size of all the market units, by unit type, in each phase of the proposed development;

iii. with the minimum unit size of the affordable rental units being no less than the minimum unit sizes of all market units, by unit type, in each phase of the proposed development;

iv. with the general configuration, location, and layout of the affordable rental units being to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning; and

v. with the units including ensuite laundry and air conditioning in each affordable rental unit at no additional cost to tenants;

b. each owner shall provide and maintain the affordable rental units as rental dwelling units with affordable rents for a minimum of 40 years, beginning with the date each such unit is first occupied; no affordable unit shall be registered as a condominium or any other form of ownership, such as life lease or co-ownership, which provide a right to exclusive possession of a dwelling unit, and no application for conversion for non-rental housing purposes, or application to demolish any affordable rental unit shall be made for at least 40 years from the date of first occupancy; upon the expiration of the 40 year period, the owner shall continue to provide and maintain the affordable rental units as rental dwelling units, unless and until such time as the owner has applied for and obtained all approvals necessary to do otherwise;

c. the initial rent (inclusive of utilities) charged to first tenants and upon turnover shall not exceed eighty percent of the average City of Toronto rent by unit type, as reported annually by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation in its most recent annual Rental Market Report for a minimum of 40 years, beginning with the date each such unit is first occupied; during the first 40 years of occupancy, increases to initial rents charged to tenants occupying any of the affordable rental units shall be in accordance with the Residential Tenancies Act and shall not exceed the Provincial rent guideline;

d.  the City's Centralized Affordable Housing Access System will be used to advertise and select tenants, provided it is in place, unless otherwise agreed to by the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning and the Executive Director, Housing Secretariat; and at least six (6) months in advance of any affordable rental unit being made available for rent, each owner shall develop and implement an Access Plan which will outline how units will be rented to eligible households in consultation with, and to the satisfaction of, the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning and the Executive Director, Housing Secretariat;

e. each owner shall provide all tenants of the affordable rental units with access to, and use of, all indoor and outdoor amenities in the development, on the same terms and conditions as any other resident of the development without the need to pre-book or pay a fee unless specifically required as a customary practice for private bookings;

f. each owner shall provide and make available for rent to the residents of the affordable rental units vehicle parking spaces on the same terms and conditions as any other resident of the development; and

g. each owner shall provide residents of the affordable rental units with access to bicycle and visitor vehicle parking on the same terms and conditions as any other resident of the development.

8. City Council attribute a value to each in-kind contribution set out in Part 7 above equal to 100 percent of 4 percent of the value of the land (net of any exclusions or exemptions authorized under the Community Benefits Charge By-law) of each development as defined in the respective Canadian Tire Offer and Tri-Metro Offer as determined the day before the building permit is issued in respect of each respective development and direct staff to advise each owner of such valuation.

9. City Council authorize the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning to enter into agreements pursuant to subsection 37(7.1) of the Planning Act to address the provision of the in-kind contributions identified in Part 7 above, to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning and the City Solicitor, with such agreements to be registered on title to each respective site, which shall be evidence of arrangements for the provision of the in-kind contribution that are satisfactory to City Council.

10. City Council accept the following onsite parkland dedications, in satisfaction of the owners’ parkland contribution required pursuant to the Planning Act, the locations of which shall be to the satisfaction of the General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation; and each parkland conveyance shall be in base park condition, in an acceptable environmental condition, and is to be free and clear, above and below grade of all physical and title encumbrances and encroachments, including surface and subsurface easements, except for those encumbrances permitted by the General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation, and the City Solicitor:

a. 2575 and 2625 Danforth Avenue from Jacob’s Tent of approximately 2,181 square metres, with such onsite parkland to be conveyed to the City as early as possible recognizing the leasehold interests over the land, to the satisfaction of the General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation and the City Solicitor, subject to the owner entering into, and registering a Section 118 Restriction under the Land Titles Act (to the satisfaction of the City Solicitor) prior to the issuance of any above-grade building permit, agreeing not to transfer or charge the parkland, which restriction may be released only upon the owner transferring the parkland to the City, all to the satisfaction of the General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation and the City Solicitor;

b. 2681 Danforth Avenue from Canadian Tire of approximately 953 square metres, with such onsite parkland to be conveyed to the City, prior to the issuance of any above grade building permit for the lands, to the satisfaction of the General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation and the City Solicitor; and

c. 2721 Danforth Avenue from Tri-Metro of approximately 556 square metres, with such onsite parkland to be conveyed to the City, prior to the issuance of any above grade building permit for the lands, to the satisfaction of the General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation and the City Solicitor.

11. City Council approve a development charge credit against the Parks and Recreation component of the Development Charges for the design and construction of the Above Base Park Improvements by the owners to the satisfaction of the General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation, if completed by the each or any owner of the listed properties in Part 10 above; any development charge credit(s) shall be in an amount that is the lesser of the cost of any owner of designing and constructing the Above Base Park Improvements, as approved by the General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation, and the Parks and Recreation component of development charges payable for their respective development in accordance with the City's Development Charges By-law, as may be amended from time to time.

12. City Council authorize and direct appropriate City officials to take the necessary action to give effect to City Council's decision.

Confidential Appendices A to F to the report (June 17, 2024) from the City Solicitor are now public and can be accessed under Background Information (City Council).

The balance of Confidential Attachment 1 to the report (June 17, 2024) from the City Solicitor remains confidential at this time in accordance with the provisions of the City of Toronto Act, 2006, as it contains advice that is subject to solicitor-client privilege. The balance of Confidential Attachment 1 to the report (June 17, 2024) from the City Solicitor will be made public at the discretion of the City Solicitor.