Item - 2024.PH16.1

The Planning and Housing Committee recommends that:

1. City Council amend Zoning By-law 569-2013, as amended, substantially in accordance with the draft Zoning By-law Amendment attached as Attachment 2 to the report (October 15, 2024) from the Interim Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning.

2. City Council authorize the City Solicitor to make such stylistic and technical changes to the draft Zoning By-law Amendment as may be required.

3. City Council request the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning to consider opportunities to enable additional residential intensification through the Housing Action Plan work program including:

a. Updates to the mid-rise urban design guidelines to provide flexibility and enable opportunities for taller and denser mid-rise built form along the Avenues and report back to the December 5, 2024 Planning and Housing Committee meeting;
 

b. Re-examine older avenues studies and consider opportunities to align height, density and built form permissions with the recommended new as-of-right zoning for midrise permissions and report back to the Planning and Housing Committee in the third quarter of 2025; and
 

c. Make best efforts to identify additional opportunities to enable increased housing supply along existing and proposed Avenues that are served by frequent transit and report back to the Planning and Housing Committee in the first quarter of 2025.

4. City Council request the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning to review properties in the recommended zoning by-law amendment that do not currently have residential permissions, or have a residential density value less than 3.5, and report back in the fourth quarter 2025 with recommendations to introduce or increase residential use permissions where appropriate, as part of the Expanding Mixed Use Areas Housing Action Plan work plan item.

The Planning and Housing Committee recommends that:

1. City Council amend Zoning By-law 569-2013, as amended, substantially in accordance with the draft Zoning By-law Amendment attached as Attachment 2 to the report (October 15, 2024) from the Interim Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning.

2. City Council authorize the City Solicitor to make such stylistic and technical changes to the draft Zoning By-law Amendment as may be required.

3. City Council request the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning to consider opportunities to enable additional residential intensification through the Housing Action Plan work program including:

a. Updates to the mid-rise urban design guidelines to provide flexibility and enable opportunities for taller and denser mid-rise built form along the Avenues and report back to the December 5, 2024 Planning and Housing Committee meeting;
 

b. Re-examine older avenues studies and consider opportunities to align height, density and built form permissions with the recommended new as-of-right zoning for midrise permissions and report back to the Planning and Housing Committee in the third quarter of 2025; and
 

c. Make best efforts to identify additional opportunities to enable increased housing supply along existing and proposed Avenues that are served by frequent transit and report back to the Planning and Housing Committee in the first quarter of 2025.

4. City Council request the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning to review properties in the recommended zoning by-law amendment that do not currently have residential permissions, or have a residential density value less than 3.5, and report back in the fourth quarter 2025 with recommendations to introduce or increase residential use permissions where appropriate, as part of the Expanding Mixed Use Areas Housing Action Plan work plan item.

The Planning and Housing Committee held a statutory public meeting on October 30, 2024, and notice was given in accordance with the Planning Act.

The recommended As-of-right Zoning for Mid-rise Buildings on Avenues is one of 54 Housing Action Plan initiatives to make changes to the City’s Official Plan, Zoning By-law and Urban Design Guidelines to enable more housing in neighbourhoods, along major streets and avenues. Other related action items include: the Expanding Housing Options in Neighbourhoods (EHON) Major Streets Study, As-of-Right Zoning for Avenue Studies with no Implementing Zoning, the Avenues Policy Review, Expanding Mixed Use Areas, and Implementing Zoning for new Mixed Use Areas. City Planning has either reported out on the actions such as the Major Streets Study or is working to advance these action items in a comprehensive and integrated manner.

This report recommends a zoning by-law amendment to permit as-of-right heights and densities for mid-rise buildings on lands identified as Avenues and designated Mixed Use Areas in the Official Plan. The recommended zoning by-law amendment implements urban design performance standards, including updated standards for rear transition alongside the increases to height and density permissions. These changes will enable and expand mid-rise development on the Avenues without the need for a site-specific zoning approval. Property owners would continue to be able to seek additional height or density through a minor variance where appropriate.  The recommended changes have the potential to unlock an increase of almost 61,000 dwelling units above the approximately 21,500 dwelling units achievable under existing zoning standards.

The recommended zoning by-law amendment would remove barriers, ease administration, and support the creation of more housing as part of the Housing Action Plan to achieve or exceed the provincial housing target of 285,000 new homes over the next 10 years.

City Planning has also been conducting a comprehensive review of the Mid-Rise Building Performance Standards Urban Design Guidelines and has completed initial updates to the performance standards for Rear Transitions between mid-rise buildings and other buildings or open space uses. The final updated Rear Transition Performance Standards 5A and 5B will be formally incorporated in the consolidated Mid-rise Building Urban Design Guidelines document and presented to Planning and Housing Committee in Q4 2024.

The City is advancing several initiatives under the Housing Action Plan (HAP) and the Expanding Housing Options in Neighbourhoods (EHON) initiative to make changes to the City’s Official Plan, Zoning By-law and Urban Design Guidelines to enable more housing in neighbourhoods. The HAP includes a number of action items that address mid-rise development and Mixed Use Areas along major streets, Avenues, in transition zones and in major growth areas. These initiatives build on each other to facilitate growth at all scales, unlocking more housing types along the Major Streets and Avenues, while identifying more opportunities throughout the city for taller buildings, and providing choice for residents. The work program focuses on updating the City’s policies and zoning permissions to expand the Avenues and Mixed Use Areas, update built form and public realm standards, and implement as-of-right zoning permissions to make it easier, faster, and cheaper to build mid-rise buildings.

In 2010, the Avenues and Mid-Rise Buildings Study and Performance Standards resulted in a set of generalized urban design guidelines to help catalyze the re-urbanization of the Avenues while providing transition to adjacent areas. From 2010 to 2023, over 136 mid-rise buildings were completed. 

This supplementary report provides an overview of the HAP’s Avenues, Mid-rise and Mixed-Use Areas projects, how they cumulatively remove barriers, ease administration, and support the goal to achieve or exceed the provincial housing target of 285,000 new homes over the next 10 years, to continue to achieve intensification and housing opportunities along Toronto’s Avenues.  Together, the outcomes of the work program may include expansion of the lands that benefit from the Avenues policy framework; an increase in the planned intensification along Avenues; and as-of-right zoning permissions for intensification that will reduce the need for mid-rise development to obtain site-specific zoning permissions.  Key opportunities to enable additional residential intensification through the work program are:

-  On-going review of mid-rise design guidelines to consider taller and denser built-form along Avenues;

-  The Official Plan review of Avenue policies, followed by implementing zoning; and

Re-examining older Avenue Studies.