Item - 2024.NY12.8

North York Community Council recommends that:

1. City Council approve the Rental Housing Demolition Application File Number 19 248116 NNY 17 RH in accordance with Chapter 667 of the Toronto Municipal Code and pursuant to Section 111 of the City of Toronto Act, 2006, which allows for the demolition of forty-seven (47) existing rental dwelling units located at 680 and 688 Sheppard Avenue East, subject to the following conditions:

a. The owner shall provide and maintain forty-seven (47) replacement rental dwelling units on the subject site for a period of at least 20 years beginning from the date that each replacement rental dwelling unit is first occupied, and, during which time, no application may be submitted to the City for condominium registration, or for any other conversion to a non-rental housing purpose, or for demolition without providing for replacement. The replacement rental dwelling units shall collectively have a total gross floor area of at least 3,290.5 square metres and be comprised of two (2) studio units, fifteen (15) one-bedroom units, twenty-nine (29) two-bedroom units, and one (1) three-bedroom unit, as generally illustrated in the plans dated October 31, 2023 and submitted to the City Planning Division on November 13, 2023. Any revision to these plans shall be to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning Division;

b. The owner shall, as part of the forty-seven (47) replacement rental dwelling units required in Recommendation 1.a above, provide at least two (2) studio, fifteen (15) one-bedroom, twenty-nine (29) two-bedroom, and one (1) three-bedroom replacement rental dwelling units at affordable rents, defined as gross monthly rent no greater than one times the average City of Toronto rent by unit type, as reported annually by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, all for a period of at least 10 years beginning from the date of first occupancy of each unit;

c. The owner shall provide an acceptable Tenant Relocation and Assistance Plan for all Eligible Tenants of the forty-seven (47) existing rental dwelling units proposed to be demolished at 680 and 688 Sheppard Avenue East, addressing the right to return to occupy one of the replacement rental dwelling units at similar rents, the provision of rent gap assistance, and other assistance to lessen hardship. The Tenant Relocation and Assistance Plan shall be developed in consultation with, and to the satisfaction of, the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning Division;

d. The owner shall provide an access plan addressing how replacement rental dwelling units will be occupied, including the use of the City's Centralized Affordable Rental Housing Access System or, where the system is not yet in place, to tenants who have demonstrated that they are in need of affordable rental housing through a fair and transparent process developed in consultation and to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning and Executive Director, Housing Secretariat; and

e. The owner shall provide tenants of all forty seven (47) replacement rental dwelling units with access to, and use of, all indoor and outdoor amenities in the proposed 22-storey building at no extra charge. Access to, and use of, these amenities shall be on the same terms and conditions as any other resident of the building without the need to pre-book or pay a fee, unless specifically required as a customary practice for private bookings;

f. The owner shall provide ensuite laundry in each replacement rental dwelling unit at no extra charge;

g. The owner shall provide central air conditioning in each replacement rental dwelling unit within the proposed building at no extra charge;

h. The owner shall provide balconies or terraces for private and exclusive access by tenants of at least six (6) one-bedroom units and three (3) two-bedroom units, to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning Division;

i. The owner shall provide and make available for rent at least sixteen (16) vehicle parking spaces to tenants of the replacement rental dwelling units. Such parking spaces shall be made available firstly to returning tenants who previously rented a vehicle parking space, and at similar monthly parking charges that such tenants previously paid. The remaining vehicle parking spaces shall be made available to tenants of the replacement rental units to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning Division;

j. The owner shall provide tenants of all replacement rental dwelling units with access to bicycle and visitor parking on the same terms and conditions as any other resident of the proposed mixed use building;

k. The owner shall provide and make available for rent a minimum of fourteen (14) storage lockers to tenants of the replacement rental dwelling units. Such storage lockers shall be made available firstly to returning tenants who previously rented a storage locker, and at similar monthly rates that such tenants previously paid. The remaining storage lockers shall be made available to tenants of the replacement rental units to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning Division;

l. The replacement rental dwelling units required in recommendation 1.a. above shall be made ready and available for occupancy no later than the date by which 70 percent of the new dwelling units in the proposed development, exclusive of the replacement rental dwelling units, are made available and ready for occupancy, subject to any revisions to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning; and,

m. The owner shall enter into, and register on title to the lands at subject site, an agreement pursuant to Section 111 of the City of Toronto Act, 2006 to secure the conditions outlined in Recommendations 1.a. through 1.l. above all to the satisfaction of the City Solicitor and the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning Division.

2. City Council authorize the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning Division, to issue Preliminary Approval of the Rental Housing Demolition Permit under Chapter 667 of the Toronto Municipal Code pursuant to Section 111 of the City of Toronto Act, 2006 for the demolition of the forty-seven (47) existing rental dwelling units located at 680 and 688 Sheppard Avenue East after all the following have occurred:

a. All conditions in Recommendation 1 above have been fully satisfied and secured;

b. The Official Plan Amendment has come into full force and effect;

c. The Zoning By-law Amendment has come into full force and effect;

d. The issuance of the Notice of Approval Conditions for site plan approval by the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning Division or their designate, pursuant to Section 114 of the City of Toronto Act, 2006;

e. The issuance of excavation and shoring permits (conditional or full permit) for the approved development on the site; and

f. The owner has confirmed, in writing, that all existing rental dwelling units proposed to be demolished are vacant.

3. City Council authorize the Chief Building Official and Executive Director, Toronto Building Division to issue a Rental Housing Demolition Permit under Chapter 667 of the Toronto Municipal Code after the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning Division has given Preliminary Approval referred to in Recommendation 2 above.

4. City Council authorize the Chief Building Official and Executive Director, Toronto Building Division to issue a Residential Demolition Permit under Section 33 of the Planning Act and Chapter 363 of the Toronto Municipal Code for 680 and 688 Sheppard Avenue East after the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning Division has given Preliminary Approval referred to in Recommendation 2 above, which may be included in the Rental Housing Demolition Permit under Chapter 667 pursuant to section 6.2 of Chapter 363, on condition that:

a. The owner removes all debris and rubble from the site immediately after demolition;

b. The owner erects solid construction hoarding to the satisfaction of the Chief Building Official and Executive Director, Toronto Building;

c. The owner erects the proposed building on the site no later than three (3) years from the date that the demolition of the existing rental dwelling units commences, subject to the timeframe being extended to the discretion of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning Division; and

d. Should the owner fail to complete the proposed building within the time specified in Recommendation 4.c. above, the City Clerk shall be entitled to enter on the collector’s roll, as with municipal property taxes, an amount equal to the sum of twenty thousand dollars ($20,000.00) per dwelling unit for which a demolition permit is issued, and that such amount shall, until payment, be a lien or charge upon the land for which the Residential Demolition Permit is issued.

5. City Council authorize the appropriate City officials to take such actions as are necessary to implement City Council's decision, including execution of the Section 111 Agreement and any other related agreements.

The North York Community Council held a statutory public meeting on April 2, 2024, and notice was given in accordance with the Planning Act.

This Rental Housing Demolition application proposes to demolish a total of 47 existing rental dwelling units at 680 and 688 Sheppard Avenue East and replace them with 47 new replacement rental dwelling units with the same unit types and sizes and at similar rents to those in effect at the time of the application.

The properties are also the subject of Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendment applications (19 248099 NNY 17 OZ), which were appealed to the Ontario Land Tribunal. The Ontario Land Tribunal issued a written decision on February 15, 2023, approving the Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendments in principle, with the final Order being withheld until all outstanding matters, including the rental housing matters and necessary agreements with the City, are secured.

This report recommends approval of the Rental Housing Demolition application under Chapter 667 of the Toronto Municipal Code and the Residential Demolition Permit under Chapter 363 of the Toronto Municipal Code, subject to conditions to replace the existing rental housing and the provision of a Tenant Relocation and Assistance Plan for all eligible tenants of the existing rental dwelling units, including the right to return to a replacement rental dwelling unit.