Item - 2025.NY23.9

North York Community Council recommendations that:

1. City Council direct the City Solicitor and appropriate City staff to attend the Ontario Land Tribunal in opposition to the current application regarding the Official Plan Amendment and Zoning By-law Amendment appeal for the lands at 895 Lawrence Avenue East and to continue discussions with the applicant to resolve outstanding issues.
 

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

a. The final form and content of the draft Official Plan Amendment and Zoning By-law Amendments are to the satisfaction of the City Solicitor and the Executive Director, Development Review;
 

b. The owner has submitted a revised Functional Servicing Report and Stormwater Management Report, Hydrogeological Review, including the Foundation Drainage Report ("Engineering Reports") to the satisfaction of the Chief Engineer and Executive Director, Engineering and Construction Services, in consultation with the General Manager, Toronto Water;
 

c. The owner has secured the design and provided financial securities in respect of any upgrades or required improvements to the existing municipal infrastructure identified in the accepted Engineering Reports, to support the development, all to the satisfaction of the Chief Engineer and Executive Director, Engineering and Construction Services and the General Manager, Toronto Water, should it be determined that improvements or upgrades are required to support the development, according to the Engineering Reports accepted by the Chief Engineer and Executive Director, Engineering and Construction Services and the General Manager, Toronto Water unless otherwise secured through a holding provision in the by-law;
 

d. The owner has ensured that implementation of the accepted Engineering Reports does not require changes to the proposed amending By-law or that any required changes have been made to the proposed amending By-law to the satisfaction of the Executive Director, Development Review, and the City Solicitor, including the use of a Holding ("H") By-law symbol regarding any new municipal servicing infrastructure or upgrades to existing municipal servicing infrastructure, as may be required;
 

e. The owner has submitted a revised Pedestrian Level Wind Study, including an updated wind tunnel test with the identification of any required mitigation measures to be secured in the Zoning By-law Amendment and through the Site Plan Control Process, to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner, City Planning;
 

f. The owner has submitted an elevation drawing or rendering of the north / front elevation (looking south) showing the proposed development and the adjacent heritage building in their entirety with reference datum lines of the adjacent listed building, as well as a revised Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA), to the satisfaction of the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning;
 

g. The owner has submitted a revised Transportation Impact Study, Supplementary Transportation Analysis, Travel Demand Management Plan, and Parking Study all to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner, City Planning and the General Manager, Transportation Review;
 

h. The owner has submitted a revised Arborist Study, Tree Preservation Plan, Soil Volume Plan, Landscape Plan, and Planting Plan, to the satisfaction of the General Manager, Urban Forestry; and
 

i. The owner has submitted an updated complete Toronto Green Standards (TGS) Checklist and Statistics Template, to the satisfaction of the Executive Director, Development Review.
 

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

This Report recommends refusal of the application to amend the Official Plan and Zoning By-law to permit the development of three residential tower buildings, of which one will contain retail on the ground floor, at 895 Lawrence Avenue East. The proposed towers have heights of 26 storeys (85.05 metres, plus 8 metres mechanical penthouse), 32 storeys (103.05 metres, plus 8 metres mechanical penthouse), and 34 storeys (109.25 metres, plus 8 metres mechanical penthouse). The application proposes 1,194 residential units, 496.26 square metres of retail gross floor area, and a Floor Space Index of 9.98. A privately owned publicly accessible space is proposed at the northeast corner of the site, abutting the intersection of Lawrence Avenue East and The Donway West. The proposal also includes two north / south pedestrian paths; one central to the site and one on the west limit of the site.

Staff are of the opinion the proposed scale and massing of the development is inappropriate for the subject site. Presently, the Central Don Mills Secondary Plan provides direction that development is to be taller and denser within the ring road (The Donways East and West) and to generally preserve and protect stable residential neighbourhoods, which typically lie outside of the ring road. In addition, the Central Don Mills Secondary Plan currently permits a maximum density of 1 times the lot area for lands designated Mixed Use Areas due to limited transportation infrastructure capacity and a maximum height of 530 feet above sea level (but no more than 8 storeys) for lands designated Mixed Use Areas ‘C’. The applicant has not provided adequate justification that the planned transportation infrastructure can adequately support the proposed density of 9.98 times the lot area nor that the proposed heights are appropriate for the site in relation to the existing and planned context. Furthermore, the proposed scale and massing generate unsafe wind conditions throughout key pedestrian areas of the site.

It is acknowledged that the applicant has filed an Official Plan Amendment to modify the Central Don Mills Secondary Plan in order to deviate from the Plan’s policy direction; however, at this time the proposal in its current form cannot be accepted given its location and existing policy framework / structure and other planning considerations. 

In light of the above-noted policy factors, Staff are of the opinion that the proposed development is of an inappropriate height, scale, and massing and represents overdevelopment in an area that is not supported through the City’s existing policy framework. Staff recommend refusal of the application, and that the applicant consider modifying the proposal.

On July 27, 2022, an Official Plan Amendment and Zoning By-law Amendment application was submitted to permit the development of a mixed-use building comprised of two towers atop a shared podium. The towers were proposed to be 17 and 22 storeys tall (59 metres and 74.4 metres plus 8 metres mechanical penthouses) and the shared podium was proposed to be 6 storeys tall (23.75 metres). The proposal provided 438 dwelling units throughout the building and 1,513 square metres of retail space within the base building.

Subsequently, the subject site and associated Official Plan Amendment and Zoning By-law Amendment application were sold. On December 10, 2024, the new owners submitted revised materials under the same Official Plan Amendment and Zoning By-law Amendment application with a new proposal for the City's consideration (“Revised Proposal”).

The Revised Proposal proposes to redevelop the site with 3 residential towers, of which one tower (the East Tower) would provide retail space at the ground floor. The revised application proposes 1,194 residential units throughout the 3 towers and 496.26 square metres of retail space.

The proposed heights of the 3 towers are as follows:

- North Tower: 26 storeys (85.05 metres plus 8 metres mechanical penthouse)

- East Tower: 32 storeys (103.05 metres plus 8 metres mechanical penthouse)

- South Tower: 34 storeys (109.25 metres plus 8 metres mechanical penthouse)

All three towers are proposed to have podiums of 7 storeys (25.15 metres).

A privately owned publicly accessible space (POPS) is proposed at the northeast corner of the site, abutting the intersection of Lawrence Avenue East and The Donway West. Two north / south pedestrian paths are proposed within the development: one through the middle of the site and one at the western limit of the site.

On April 10, 2025, Staff submitted a report to North York Community Council titled 895 Lawrence Avenue East - Official Plan Amendment and Zoning By-law Amendment – Decision Report – Refusal which recommends that Council refuse the application to amend the Official Plan and zoning by-law. On April 23, 2025, Staff submitted a revised version of the report with minor corrections. 

On April 14, 2025, the applicant appealed the Official Plan Amendment and Zoning By-law Amendment application to the Ontario Land Tribunal (the “OLT”) due to Council not making a decision within the statutorily prescribed time frame in the Planning Act.

This report deletes the original recommendations and replaces them with new ones as set out in this report given the Official Plan Amendment and Zoning By-law Amendment application application has been appealed. Staff now recommend that the City Solicitor, with the appropriate City staff, attend the Ontario Land Tribunal hearing and oppose the application in its current form and continue discussions with the applicant to resolve outstanding issues.