Item - 2025.PH24.3

The Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning recommends that:

1. Planning and Housing Committee receive this report for information.

On August 15, 2025, the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing approved and made modifications to Council-adopted Official Plan Amendments (OPAs) for 25 Major Transit Station Areas (MTSAs) and 95 Protected Major Transit Station Areas (PMTSAs) across the city. The Minister’s decisions made modifications to the height and density permissions within the delineated boundaries of the 120 approved MTSAs and PMTSAs. The decisions did not change the Council-adopted delineations or the Council-adopted minimum densities that are required only in PMTSAs. The Minister’s decision is final and does not require Council approval or endorsement.

The Minister withheld issuing a decision on 10 PMTSAs and 4 MTSAs. PMTSA and MTSA policies will not be in effect in these areas until the Minister issues a decision.

The Planning Act allows municipalities to apply Inclusionary Zoning within PMTSAs. As of August 15, 2025, Inclusionary Zoning is in effect in certain PMTSAs at the provincially maximum set rate of 5% affordable units for up to 25 years.

Zoning implementation of P/MTSAs is one of 54 initiatives in Toronto's 2023 Housing Action Plan (HAP), which seeks to increase housing supply within complete, inclusive, and sustainable communities. The new homes enabled by the HAP will contribute to the provincial housing target of 285,000 new homes in Toronto by 2031. In recognition of the urgent action needed to address Toronto’s housing needs, the City of Toronto has partnered with other orders of government to pursue all possible approaches toward increasing housing supply and to supporting growth. Zoning implementation of P/MTSAs is also one of eight initiatives approved by Council under the federal Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF), through which the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) has committed $471.1 million in funding to support the City’s efforts to eliminate barriers to building new housing, make a generational transformation of Toronto’s housing system, and increase housing affordability for residents.

This report outlines the Minister’s modifications to the Council-adopted P/MTSA policies, a workplan for zoning implementation, and next steps on the implementation of Inclusionary Zoning.

The Planning Act requires that no later than one year after the Official Plan policies for P/MTSAs come into effect, the council of the local municipality shall amend all zoning by-laws that are in effect in the municipality to ensure that they conform with relevant policies. Implementing zoning by-laws adopted within one year are sheltered from appeal to the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT). Staff will bring forward a final report and zoning by-law(s) in Q2 2026 to implement the zoning.

City Planning confirms that there are no financial implications resulting from the recommendations included in this Report in the current budget year or in future years.

The Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer has reviewed this report and agrees with the information as presented in the Financial Impact Section.