Item - 2024.TE15.9

The Toronto and East York Community Council recommends that:

1. City Council amend the Official Plan for the lands at 191-201 Sherbourne Street substantially in accordance with the draft Official Plan Amendment provided as Attachment 5 to the report (June 21, 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 191-201 Sherbourne Street substantially in accordance with the draft Zoning By-law Amendment provided as Attachment 6 to the report (June 21, 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 and Zoning By-law Amendments as may be required.

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

a. submit a Functional Servicing Report, Stormwater Management Report and Servicing Report Groundwater Summary for review and acceptance to the satisfaction of the Chief Engineer and Executive Director, Engineering and Construction Services; the report will determine whether the municipal water, sanitary and storm sewer systems can support the proposed development and whether upgrades or improvements of the existing municipal infrastructure are required; 

b. make satisfactory arrangements with Engineering and Construction Services for work on the City's right-of-way should it be determined that municipal infrastructure upgrades and road improvements are required to support the development, according to the Functional Servicing Report, to be resubmitted for review and acceptance by the Executive Director, Engineering and Construction Services; provide financial security in an amount to be determined, submit engineering and inspection fees in an amount to be determined and provide insurance, as required; and

c. deliver confirmation, satisfactory to the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, that the site-specific zoning by-law amendment for the lands at 191-201 Sherbourne Street does not conflict with Ontario Regulation No. 10/24: “Zoning Order - Protection of Public Health and Safety - Toronto Hospital Heliports.

5. City Council approve that, in accordance with Section 42 of the Planning Act, prior to the earlier of 12 months following the issuance of the first above grade building permit or residential occupancy, the owner shall convey to the City, an on-site parkland dedication, having a minimum size of 930 square metres, which reflects the required parkland dedication for the development plus a 128.9 square metre off-site dedication from the site at 412-418 Church Street and 79-81 Granby Street (Application 21 125701 STE 13 OZ) to the satisfaction of the General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation and the City Solicitor.

6. City Council approve the acceptance of on-site parkland dedication, subject to the owner transferring the parkland to the City 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.

7. City Council approve the acceptance of 278 square metres of additional over-dedication parkland as part of the development free and clear, above and below grade, of all easements, encumbrances and encroachments, in an acceptable environmental condition, to be conveyed prior to the earlier of 12 months following the issuance of the first above grade building permit or residential occupancy, to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning and the General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation; 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; and the parkland over-dedication is approved in accordance with the following terms:

a. the owner, any related company, or owner of benefitting development land(s), with the approval of the owner and of City Council, may elect to use the 278 square metres of the over-dedication parkland as credit for the purpose of fulfilling (or partially fulfilling) parkland dedication requirements in relation to other benefitting development land(s), provided that the over-dedication lands are a good physical substitution for any on-site dedication; any benefitting development land(s), must be located within 500 metres of 191-201 Sherbourne Street with the terms of any credit to be secured in the registered agreement, to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, the General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation, and the City Solicitor; in the event that the issuance of the first above grade building permit for the benefitting development land(s) occurs before the conveyance described in Recommendation 7 above, the owner of the benefitting development land(s) shall be required to provide the City with a Letter of Credit, in the City's standard form and in an amount satisfactory to the General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation, which will be increased in accordance with the Statistics Canada Non-Residential Construction Price Index for the Toronto Census Metropolitan Area, as reported quarterly by Statistics Canada Table 18-10-0135-01 (formerly CANSIM 327-0058), or its successor, beginning 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 until such time as the parkland dedication has been conveyed to the City, all to the satisfaction of the General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation and the City Solicitor; and

b. in the alternative, prior to the issuance of any building permit for the development at 191-201 Sherbourne Street the owner may instead elect to provide the entirety or a portion of the 278 square metres of the over-dedication as an in-kind contribution pursuant to Subsection 37(6) of the Planning Act, in accordance with the following terms:

i. City Council attribute a value to the in-kind contribution of 278 square metres set out in Recommendation 7 above equal to 100 percent of the 4 percent of the value of the lands at 191-201 Sherbourne Street (net of any exclusions or exemptions authorized under the Community Benefits Charge By-law), as determined the day before the day the building permit is issued in respect of the development and direct staff to advise the owner of such valuation;

 ii. if only a portion of the over-dedication is proposed to be conveyed as an in-kind contribution, the value of that in-kind contribution will be calculated based on the size of the partial area in proportion to the value of the total 278 square metre over-dedication;

iii. City Council will only accept a portion of the over-dedication as an in-kind contribution if, prior to the issuance of any building permit for the development at 191-201 Sherbourne Street City Council has approved the allocation of all of the remaining 278 square metres as an off-site dedication as in Recommendation 7.a above; and

iv. City Council authorize the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning to enter into an agreement pursuant to Subsection 37(7.1) of the Planning Act (the "In-kind Contribution Agreement") to address the provision of the in-kind contribution identified in Recommendation 7 above to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning and the City Solicitor, with such agreement to be registered on title to the lands at 191-201 Sherbourne Street, which agreement shall be evidence of arrangements for the provision of the in-kind contribution that are satisfactory to City Council.

8. City Council approve a Section 118 restriction on the entirety of the property to be registered prior to the issuance of the first above-grade building permit and removed at the time that the parkland is conveyed to the City.

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

10. City Council request the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning to secure through either an in-kind agreement pursuant to Section 37 of the Planning Act, or the Site Plan Control process pursuant to Section 114 of the City of Toronto Act, 2006, the owner's obligation to:    

a. continue to provide and maintain the existing 596 rental dwelling units at 191 and 201 Sherbourne Street as rental housing for a period of at least 20 years commencing from the date the Zoning By-law Amendment comes into force and effect, with no application for demolition or conversion from residential rental use during the 20-year period, all to the satisfaction of the City Solicitor and the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning;

b. undertake improvements to the existing rental buildings, at their sole expense and at no cost to tenants, at site address 191 and 201 Sherbourne Street, as follows: in-suite upgrades and renovations including the creation of open concept kitchens with new finishes and appliances, upgraded lighting, new Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning units, repairs and/or replacement to the existing flooring, upgraded doors and refinished bathrooms, concrete repairs above roof, electrical (building systems), mechanical (building systems), entrance roof canopy, windows, air conditioners and interior finishes, balcony structure repairs, landscape restoration and new cladding; and

c. access to new at-grade outdoor and indoor amenities in the proposed new buildings, as identified in the architectural plans dated June 21, 2024, for tenants of the existing rental apartment buildings.

11. City Council request the General Manager, Transportation Services to review and report back on the feasibility of amending Schedule B of the City of Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 925, Permit Parking, to exclude the development located at 191-201 Sherbourne Street from Permit Parking.

12. City Council request the General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation to consider using the parkland on site for the purposes of a dog off-leash area.

The Toronto and East York Community Council held a statutory public meeting on July 10, 2024 and notice was given in accordance with the Planning Act.

This report reviews and recommends approval of the application to amend the Official Plan and Zoning By-law to permit two 43-storey (138.90 and 140.52 metres, including mechanical penthouse) residential infill buildings at 191-201 Sherbourne Street. The two new buildings will contain 831 dwelling units and a minimum of 500 square metres of ground floor non-residential space. The proposal includes a new 1,208-square-metre public park along the Seaton Street frontage.

The existing rental buildings at 191 and 201 Sherbourne will be retained and secured as rental housing. Improvements to the buildings will be secured without pass-through costs to existing tenants as part of the overall redevelopment.

The Official Plan Amendment is required to redesignate a portion of the site from Neighbourhoods to Apartment Neighbourhoods and Parks and to amend Site and Area Specific Policy (SASP) 461 to bring the entire site into the SASP boundary, vary performance standards in the SASP relating to separation distances between buildings, setbacks to Neighbourhoods, and tall building typology, and permit two tall buildings.