Item - 2009.TE29.8

The Toronto and East York Community Council recommends that:

1.         City Council amend Zoning By-law 438-86 substantially in accordance with the draft Zoning By-law Amendment attached as Attachment No. 5 to the report dated October 19, 2009 from the Director, Community Planning, Toronto and East York District.

2.         City Council authorize the City Solicitor, in consultation with the Chief Planner and Executive Director of City Planning, to make such stylistic and technical changes to the draft Zoning By-law Amendment as may be required to give effect to the intent of the recommendations contained in this report.

3.         Before introducing the necessary Bills to City Council for enactment, City Council require the applicant to submit an application under Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 813, Trees, Article III, “Tree Protection” for the four private trees that qualify for protection and are proposed to be removed as part of the proposal, and complete the application review process.

4.         A demolition permit not be issued until a first below-grade building permit has been issued and a revised Heritage Easement Agreement has been signed and registered.

5.         Before introducing the necessary Bills to City Council for enactment, City Council require the owner to enter into an Agreement pursuant to Section 37 of the Planning Act to secure the following public benefits:

a.         Prior to the issuance of the first building permit, the Owner shall file with the City irrevocable standby letters of credit in the form and from a financial institution  acceptable to the City Solicitor to guarantee the satisfactory performance and completion of all works and obligations required pursuant to such agreements as the owner may be required to enter into and the said letters of credit shall be kept in full force and effect until all works and obligations have been fulfilled and satisfied.

                        The letters of credit shall be as follows:

-           $1,165,000 for the reconstruction and/or restoration of the heritage components of the building;

-           $200,000 for local streetscape improvements to Yonge Street, St. Joseph Street and/or St. Nicholas Street (which may include street lighting improvements identified pursuant to recommendation 5.c).  Any excess funds are to be directed to improvements to Queen’s Park;

-           $135,000 for an art contribution for upgrades to the building exterior and/or streetscape and shall be designed by an artist retained by the owner.

b.         Require that the amounts identified in a. above shall be indexed annually in accordance with the Non-Residential Construction Price Index for the Toronto CMA, reported quarterly by Statistics Canada in Construction Price Statistics Publication No. 62-007-XPB, or its successor, calculated from the date of execution of the Section 37 Agreement to the date of submission of the letters of credit by the owner  to the City.

Although the following matters are not considered to be Section 37 contributions or benefits, they will be secured in the Section 37 Agreement as a convenience:

c.         Undertake a Street Lighting Study and pay for replacement lighting around the street frontage of the subject property to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning Division.

d.         Architectural plans, elevations and landscaping including 1:50 scale elevations, will be secured to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning Division, and the owner will be required to, in conjunction with each Site Plan Application submit 1:50 scale drawings in conformity with this requirement.

e.         Provide and pay for any municipal service upgrades required to support the development as determined by the Executive Director of Technical Services as part of the required Site Servicing Review.

f.          Provide continuous weather protection with a minimum clear depth of three metres on St. Joseph Street in accordance with the Conservation Plan to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning Division.

g.         The Owner shall be encouraged to build in conformity with the Green Development Standard Checklist on file with the Chief Planner and Executive Director, date stamped August 13, 2009.

h.         Prior to final site plan approval, the owner will:

1.         Retain a consultant archaeologist, licensed by the Ministry of Culture under provisions of the Ontario Heritage Act (R.S.O 1990 as amended), to carry out a Stage 1 archaeological assessment of the entire development property and follow through on recommendations to mitigate, through preservation or resource removal and documentation, adverse impacts to any significant archaeological resources found.  The assessment is to be completed in accordance with the Final Draft – Standards and Guidelines for Consulting Archaeologists, September 2006, Ministry of Culture.

2.         Should the archaeological assessment process continue beyond a Stage 1 assessment, any recommendations for Stages 2-4 mitigation strategies must be reviewed and approved by Heritage Preservation Services prior to commencement of the site mitigation.

3.         No demolition, construction, grading or other soil disturbances shall take place on the subject property prior to the City’s Heritage Division (Heritage Preservation Services Unit) and the Ministry of Culture (Heritage Operations Unit) confirming in writing that all archaeological licensing and technical review requirements have been satisfied.

4.         Enter into a Heritage Easement Agreement for the properties at 606-618 Yonge Street.

5.         Submit a Conservation Plan to include drawings, to the satisfaction of the Manager of Heritage Preservation Services, that provide elevations and sections of all heritage building facades at 1:50 scale including, but not limited to, the following: (1) storefront design; (2) window specifications for all heritage façade elevations; (3) reconstruction plan for roof dormer/parapet/cornice details and (4) return side wall details.

6.         Additional information shall be submitted, based on the proposed Conservation Strategy, to include documentation substantially in accordance with that outlined within Section 8.0 of the submitted Heritage Impact Statement.  Specifically, a detailed plan shall also be submitted to outline mitigations measures that address construction impacts relative to the on-site heritage structures.

7.         Amend the existing Heritage Easement Agreement registered on the site, Instrument No. E171218 dated June 1, 1998, at 5 St. Joseph Street and 9-15 St. Nicholas Streets, to address the proposed construction and permitted alterations.

8.         As an existing north/south public lane is required to form part of the lot, pursuant to Section 114 of the City of Toronto Act, 2006, the owner shall obtain City Council’s approval of the closure and sale of the public lane and shall complete such sale of such lane.

9.         Submit to the Executive Director of Technical Services for review and acceptance, a site servicing review to demonstrate how this site will be serviced and whether the existing municipal infrastructure is adequate.

10.       Submit an Engineering Report to the satisfaction of the Manager of Heritage Services that advises on the project’s constructability without displacing identified heritage resources.

11.       Submit a stormwater management report, a site servicing plan and site grading, drainage and landscape plans.

6.         City Council authorize City officials to take all necessary steps, including the execution of agreements and documents, to give effect to the above-noted recommendations.

This application was made on October 15, 2008 and is subject to the new provisions of the Planning Act and the City of Toronto Act, 2006.

This report reviews and recommends approval of an application to amend the Zoning By-law to permit the construction of a 45-storey mixed use building with 412 residential units including 5 live-work units and approximately 2,800 square metres of non-residential space on a 0.267 hectare (0.660 acre) site.

The proposal meets the intent of the City’s Official Plan for intensification in Mixed Use Areas and reflects the principles expressed in the City’s Design Criteria for the Review of Tall Building Proposals.

This report reviews and recommends approval of the application to amend the Zoning By-law.