Item - 2024.TE12.8

The Toronto and East York Community Council recommends that:

1. City Council amend the Official Plan for the lands at 646-664 Yonge Street and 2-4 Irwin Avenue substantially in accordance with the draft Official Plan Amendment attached as Attachment 5 to the revised report (March 28, 2024) from the Director, Community Planning, Toronto and East York District.

2. City Council amend City of Toronto Zoning By-law 569-2013 for the lands at 646-664 Yonge Street substantially in accordance with the draft Zoning By-law Amendment attached as Attachment 6 to the revised report (March 28, 2024) from the Director, Community Planning, Toronto and East York District.

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

4. City Council approve the Rental Housing Demolition Application (File 22 242933 STE 13 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 15 existing rental dwelling units located at 648 Yonge Street, 660 Yonge Street and 664 Yonge Street subject to the following conditions:

a. the owner shall provide and maintain 15 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 15 replacement rental dwelling units shall be comprised of 1 studio unit, 10 one-bedroom units, and 4 two-bedroom units as generally illustrated in the plans submitted to the City Planning Division dated October 11, 2023; any revision to these plans shall be to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning;

b. the owner shall, as part of the 15 replacement rental dwelling units required in Recommendation 4.a. above, provide at least 1 studio replacement rental dwelling unit at affordable rent, 1 one-bedroom unit at mid-range (affordable) rent, and 9 one-bedroom units, and 4 two-bedroom units at mid-range (moderate) rents as currently defined in the City's Official Plan, all for a period of at least 10 years beginning from the date of first occupancy of the replacement rental units;

c. the owner shall provide an acceptable Tenant Relocation and Assistance Plan for all Eligible Tenants of the 15 existing rental dwelling units proposed to be demolished at 648 Yonge Street, 660 Yonge Street, and 664 Yonge Street, 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 mitigate 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;

d. the owner shall provide tenant relocation and assistance to all Post Application Tenants, all to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning;

e. the owner shall provide tenants of all 15 replacement rental dwelling units with access to, and use of, all indoor and outdoor amenities in the proposed 75-storey mixed-use 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 within the proposed mixed-use building at no extra charge;

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

h. the owner shall provide tenants of the 15 replacement rental dwelling units with access to all bicycle and visitor parking on the same terms and conditions as any other resident of the proposed mixed-use building;

i. the 15 replacement rental units 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 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

j. the owner shall enter into, and register on title at 646-664 Yonge Street and 2-4 Irwin Avenue, an Agreement pursuant to Section 111 of the City of Toronto Act, 2006, to secure the conditions outlined above, all to the satisfaction of the City Solicitor and the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning.

5. City Council authorize the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning to issue Preliminary Approval of the Rental Housing Demolition Permit under Chapter 667 of the Toronto Municipal Code for the demolition of the 15 existing rental dwelling units located at 648 Yonge Street, 660 Yonge Street and 664 Yonge Street after all the following have occurred:

a. all conditions in Recommendation 4 above have been fully satisfied and secured;

b. the issuance of the Notice of Approval Conditions for Site Plan approval by the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning or their designate, pursuant to Section 114 of the City of Toronto Act, 2006 or as otherwise authorized by the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning;

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

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

6. City Council authorize the Chief Building Official and Executive Director, Toronto Building to issue a Rental Housing Demolition Permit under Chapter 667 of the Toronto Municipal Code after the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning has given Preliminary Approval referred to in Recommendation 5 above.

7. City Council authorize the Chief Building Official and Executive Director, Toronto Building to issue a Residential Demolition Permit under Section 33 of the Planning Act and Chapter 363 of the Toronto Municipal Code for 648 Yonge Street, 660 Yonge Street and 664 Yonge Street after the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning has given Preliminary Approval referred to in Recommendation 6 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 3 years from the date on which 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; and

d. should the owner fail to complete the proposed building within the time specified in Recommendation 7.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.

8. 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 other related agreements.

9. City Council approve that the required parkland dedication of 134 square metres pursuant to Section 42 of the Planning Act for lands municipally known as 646-664 Yonge Street and 2-4 Irwin Avenue ("646 Yonge Parkland Dedication") may be fulfilled, in whole or in part, by the over-dedication of 302 square metres of on-site parkland secured in connection with the rezoning approval for the property municipally known as 475 Yonge Street (the "Over-Dedication Credit Lands"), in accordance with City Council Decision Item 2023.TE8.5, and subject to the following:

a. prior to the issuance of the first above-grade building permit for the 646-664 Yonge Street and 2-4 Irwin Avenue development, there is a Section 37 Agreement and a section 118 restriction under the Land Titles Act registered on title to lands municipally known as 475 Yonge Street securing the Over Dedication Credit Lands;

b. the General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation has confirmed in writing that the over-dedication credit has not been fully used by other benefitting developments, and the amount of over-dedication remaining;

c. if, prior to the issuance of the first above grade building permit for the 646-664 Yonge Street and 2-4 Irwin Avenue development, a Section 37 Agreement and Section 118 restriction under the Land Titles Act securing the Over Dedication Lands have not been registered, or the General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation has confirmed there is no over-dedication credit remaining or there is insufficient credit remaining to fully fulfil the 646 Yonge Parkland Dedication requirement, then the owner of the 646-664 Yonge Street and 2-4 Irwin Avenue shall provide a cash-in-lieu of land payment to fulfil or partially fulfil the 646 Yonge Parkland Dedication in accordance with Chapter 415, Article III of the Toronto Municipal Code, all to the satisfaction of the General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation;

d. if there is confirmed over-dedication credit remaining which can fulfil or partially fulfil the 646 Yonge Parkland Dedication, and the owner of 646-664 Yonge Street and 2-4 Irwin Avenue elects to use the over dedication credit but the Over-Dedication Credit Lands have not yet been conveyed to the City, the owner of 646-664 Yonge Street and 2-4 Irwin Avenue or the owner of 475 Yonge Street shall provide the City with a Letter of Credit, in the City's standard form, to secure the value of the cash-in-lieu of land payment for the 646 Yonge Parkland Dedication or part thereof that will be fulfilled by the over dedication credit on the 475 Yonge Street lands, prior to the issuance of the first above-grade building permit for the 646-664 Yonge Street and 2-4 Irwin Avenue development, all to the satisfaction of the General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation, and the amount of over-dedication credit remaining shall be reduced by the amount being used to fulfil or partially fulfil the 646 Yonge Parkland Dedication;  

e. the Letter of Credit required in Recommendation 9.d. above shall be indexed upwards in accordance with the Non-Residential Building Construction Price Index for the Toronto Census Metropolitan Area, as reported quarterly by Statistics Canada in Building Construction Price Indexes Publication 18-10-0135-01, or its successor two years from the date it is received by the City and increased on each succeeding anniversary date by the amount of the Construction Price Index for the previous year, all to the satisfaction of the General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation; and

f. if the conveyance of the Over-Dedication Lands described in Part 8.a.ii. of City Council Decision Item 2023.TE8.5 has not occurred within six years from the date the Letter of Credit required in Recommendation 9.d. above is received by the City, the City may draw upon the Letter of Credit for a cash-in-lieu of land payment in fulfilment or partial fulfilment of the parkland dedication requirements for the 646-664 Yonge Street and 2-4 Irwin Avenue development and neither the owner of 646-664 Yonge Street and 2-4 Irwin Avenue or the owner of 475 Yonge Street may object.

10. Before introducing the necessary Bills to City Council for enactment, City Council require the owner to:

a. enter into a Heritage Easement Agreement with the City for the properties at 650 (650A and 652) and 664 Yonge Street substantially in accordance with the plans and drawings dated November 10, 2023, prepared by AS + GG Canada Partnership and the Heritage Impact Assessment dated December 16, 2022, prepared by ERA Architects Inc., subject to and in accordance with the Conservation Plan required in Recommendation 10.b. below, to the satisfaction of the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning, including execution of such agreement to the satisfaction of the City Solicitor;

b. provide a detailed Conservation Plan, prepared by a qualified heritage consultant that is consistent with the conservation strategy set out in the Heritage Impact Assessment dated December 16, 2022, prepared by ERA Architects Inc., to the satisfaction of the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning;

c. provide a Reconstruction Plan for the properties at 646, 648, 654, 656 and 658 Yonge Street that is consistent with the conservation strategy set out in the Heritage Impact Assessment dated December 16, 2022, prepared by ERA Architects Inc., prepared by a qualified heritage consultant, with such Plan being satisfactory to the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning;

d. withdraw their appeal(s) of the Historic Yonge Street Heritage Conservation District Plan as it relates to 646-664 Yonge Street and 2-4 Irwin Avenue, and if not an appellant, but rather a party to such appeals, the owner shall withdraw as a party and not seek any party or participant status on the appeals, or advise the City Solicitor, in writing, that they shall not object to the Historic Yonge Street Heritage Conservation District Plan and only maintain a monitoring brief of the hearing on the merits; and

e. enter into an Agreement, or similar legal instrument, between the owner of 646-664 Yonge Street and 2-4 Irwin Avenue, the owner of 668 Yonge Street, and the City as applicable, to be registered on title to 668 Yonge Street that would prevent the erection of a building above the existing height permissions, to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning and the City Solicitor.

11. City Council authorize the City Solicitor and appropriate City staff to take such necessary steps, as required, to implement City Council's decision.

The Toronto and East York Community Council requested the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, in consultation with the local Ward Councillor and the City Solicitor, to continue to work with the applicant on the provision of in-kind affordable or supportive housing pursuant to 37(6) of the Planning Act and report back to the April 17, 18 and 19, 2024 meeting of City Council if an in-kind community benefits charge offer is made by the applicant.

The Toronto and East York Community Council held a statutory public meeting on April 3, 2024 and notice was given in accordance with the Planning Act and the City of Toronto Act, 2006.

This report reviews and recommends approval of the application to amend the Official Plan and Zoning By-law to permit a 75-storey mixed-use building (254 metres including mechanical penthouse) containing residential and retail uses on 646-664 Yonge Street and 2-4 Irwin Avenue. The proposal includes 647 dwelling units (including 15 rental replacement units) and 364 square metres of non-residential retail space fronting onto Yonge Street and Irwin Avenue. A new 136 square metre open space is proposed along Irwin Avenue. The Official Plan Amendment to Site and Area Specific Policy 382 is required to permit the proposed building on the site.

The site contains Part IV designated heritage properties at 650 and 664 Yonge Street. The development proposal involves the in-situ retention of a portion of both significant heritage buildings, including the front elevations. 654-658 and 646-648 Yonge Street will be reconstructed to match the historic design.

This report also reviews and recommends approval of the Rental Housing Demolition Application. The proposal includes a Tenant Relocation and Assistance Plan that addresses the right of existing tenants to return to replacement rental units at similar rents and financial compensation to mitigate hardship.