Item - 2024.NY11.6

North York Community Council recommends that:

1. City Council direct the City Solicitor and appropriate City staff to attend the Ontario Land Tribunal in opposition to the current Applications regarding the Zoning By-law Amendment, Plan of Subdivision, and Site Plan appeals for the lands at 1053 Don Mills Road, 2, 4, 4R, and 6 The Donway East and to continue discussions with the Applicant in an attempt to resolve outstanding issues.

2. In the event that the Ontario Land Tribunal allows the appeals in whole or in part, City Council authorize the City Solicitor to request that the issuance of any final Orders be withheld until such time as the City Solicitor advises that: 

a. the final form and content of the draft Zoning By-law to the satisfaction of the City Solicitor and the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning;

b. the Draft Plan of Subdivision as well as the Conditions of Draft Plan Approval respecting the proposed Plan of Subdivision are in a form and content acceptable to the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, prepared in consultation with the City Solicitor and appropriate City Divisions;

c. the Site Plan as well as the Notice of Approval Conditions respecting the proposed Site Plan are in a form and content acceptable to the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, prepared in consultation with the City Solicitor and appropriate City Divisions;

d. the owner has addressed all outstanding issues raised by Engineering and Construction Services as they relate to the applications to the satisfaction of the Chief Engineer and Executive Director, Engineering and Construction Services;

e. the owner has provided a Functional Servicing Report, Hydrogeological Report, and Stormwater Management Report to the satisfaction of the Chief Engineer and Executive Director, Engineering and Construction Services, and the General Manager, Toronto Water that address both the zoning by-law amendment and draft plan of subdivision;

f. the owner has provided a revised Traffic Impact Study, including acceptable Transportation Demand Measures (TDM), to the satisfaction of the Chief Engineer and Executive Director, Engineering and Construction Services, the General Manager, Transportation Services, and the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning Division that address both the zoning by-law amendment and draft plan of subdivision;

g. the owner has made satisfactory arrangements with the City and has entered into the appropriate agreement(s) for the design and construction of any improvements to municipal infrastructure, should it be determined that upgrades and / or road and / or signal improvements are required to the infrastructure to support the development, according to the accepted Engineering Reports and Traffic Impact Study accepted by the Chief Engineer and Executive Director, Engineering and Construction Services and the General Manager, Transportation Services;

h. the owner has satisfactorily addressed matters from the Urban Forestry, Tree Protection and Plan Review memorandum dated July 5, 2023, or as may be updated, in response to further submissions filed by the Owner, all to the satisfaction of the Supervisor, Tree Protection and Plan Review;

i. the owner has entered into an agreement with the city for the fee simple conveyance of the on-site parkland dedication requirement and at no cost to the city, with such conveyance to occur prior to the issuance of the first above grade building permit, to the satisfaction of the General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation;

j. the agreement referred to in Part 2.i. above shall include terms requiring the conveyance of the parkland free and clear, above and below grade, of all easements, encumbrances, and encroachments, in an acceptable environmental condition; the owner may propose the exception of encumbrances of tiebacks, where such an encumbrance is deemed acceptable by the General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation, in consultation with the City Solicitor; and such an encumbrance will be subject to the payment of compensation to the City, in an amount as determined by the General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation and the Executive Director, Corporate Real Estate Management;

k. City Council has approved the Rental Housing Demolition Application Number 21 223798 NNY 16 RH in accordance with Chapter 667 of the Toronto Municipal Code pursuant to Section 111 of the City of Toronto Act, 2006 to permit the demolition of the one hundred-sixty (160) existing rental dwelling units at 1053 Don Mills Road, 2, 4, 4R, and 6 The Donway East, 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 necessary to implement City Council's decision including:

1. replacement of the existing 160 rental housing units, including the same number of units, bedroom type and size and with similar rents; and,

2. an acceptable Tenant Relocation and Assistance Plan addressing the right for existing tenants to return to a replacement rental unit on the lands at similar rents, the provision of rent gap assistance, and other assistance to lessen hardship, all to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning.

3. Should it be determined that upgrades are required to the infrastructure to support the development according to the accepted Functional Servicing Report, 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 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.

4. Should the Ontario Land Tribunal approve the Zoning By-law Amendment application, City Council approve a development charge credit against the Parks and Recreation component of the Development Charges for the design and construction by the applicant of the Above Base Park Improvements to the satisfaction of the General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation; such development charge credit shall be in an amount that is the lesser of the cost to the applicant 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 the development in accordance with the City's Development Charges By-law, as may be amended from time to time.

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

On October 8, 2021, Zoning By-law Amendment and Plan of Subdivision applications were submitted to permit four residential buildings that were proposed to be 32 storeys (Building A), 28 storeys (Building D), 24 storeys (Building B), and 16 storeys (Building C) in height. The proposal contained a total of 1,185 dwelling units, including 160 rental replacement units and 34 market rental units, as well as a public park, a public road, and a privately-owned-publicly accessible space (POPs). On April 28, 2023, an associated Site Plan Application was submitted, as well as a resubmission for the aforementioned Zoning By-law Amendment and Plan of Subdivision applications. The submissions reflect a revised proposal consisting of reduced heights of 29 stories for Building A, 25 stories for Building D, and 12 stories for Building C. The revised proposal also includes an increased gross floor area from 80,731 square metres to approximately 84,023 square metres as a result of changes made to the building massing, a decreased total number of dwelling units from 1,185 units to 1,176 units, including an additional 16 market rental units (the 160 replacement rental units remains unchanged), as well as various other changes to the building layout and massing, the configuration of the proposed privately-owned-publicly accessible space, and public park.

There are four 4-storey rental buildings on the site containing 160 residential rental units which would be demolished and are proposed to be replaced within the new development. This is subject to the related Rental Housing Demolition application, which is under review.

On October 20, 2023, the Applicant appealed all applications to the Ontario Land Tribunal ("OLT") due to Council not making a decision within the time frame in the Planning Act. A Case Management Conference was held on January 19, 2024. No hearing dates have been set to date. A second case management conference has not yet been scheduled. It is anticipated that a procedural order would be established to determine the sequencing of the various appeals to resolve the Zoning amendment matters prior to the Plan of Subdivision and Site Plan Control matters.

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