Item - 2014.TE32.47

The Toronto and East York Community Council:

1.         Received for information the report  (May 7, 2014) from the Director, Community Planning, Toronto and East York District and the Director, Strategic Initiatives, Policy and Analysis, entitled "Comprehensive to the Core: Planning Toronto's Downtown".

2.         Requested the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, to consult with the General Manager of Shelter Support and Housing Administration, the Director of the Affordable Housing Office and the General Manager of Toronto Employment and Social Services in the development of the integrated planning framework and infrastructure growth strategy, as described in the staff report.

3.         Requested the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, to include in the development of the integrated planning framework and infrastructure growth strategy, a plan to address the challenges of income inequality for the 23% of individuals living in the study area with an income below the 2013 Low Income Cut Off rate.

4.         Requested the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, to include in the development of the integrated planning framework and infrastructure growth strategy, a strategy to meet the City of Toronto's new affordable housing targets included in the Housing Opportunities Toronto Plan within the downtown core.

Toronto's Downtown is the growing, multifaceted, and vibrant core of our city.  The Downtown drives our economy by accommodating a third of Toronto’s employment (446,800 of the City's 1,331,600 jobs), delivering a quarter of the City’s tax base, and producing half of the export-based GDP.  The Downtown is also home to more than 200,000 residents; a population base that is growing at four times the rate of the rest of the City.  The continued growth of the Downtown reflects its success in attracting residents seeking liveable and prosperous neighbourhoods.  Equally as important is the health and resiliency of office, retail, and other non-residential uses that provide the Downtown with its diverse and mixed character.  Combined with millions of annual visitors and major post-secondary institutions, the Downtown’s daytime population swells every weekday to triple its size.  While growth brings prosperity and opportunity, it also places pressure on finite infrastructure assets.  In certain areas of the Downtown, parks, transit, water, wastewater, the public realm, and community services are significantly challenged and may well be at risk of reaching their limits as growth continues. Maintaining the resilience and liveability of Downtown's neighbourhoods requires us to take a comprehensive approach to future growth and infrastructure delivery to ensure

 we are capable of meeting the needs of an evolving population.

This Staff Report provides an overview of the changes that have taken place in the Downtown, as presented in the preparation of a Background Report that provides a high-level environmental scan, and presents the trends and issues in the intensification of Downtown (Attachment 1).  In response to recent Council directions, City staff is launching a study, entitled "Comprehensive to the Core: Planning Toronto’s Downtown" (the Study).  The Study will develop an integrated planning framework and infrastructure growth strategy, which will be co-ordinated by City Planning in partnership with:  Toronto Water; Transportation Services; Parks, Forestry and Recreation; Social Development; Economic Development and Culture; Finance and Administration; and Children’s Services.  Staff from Toronto EMS, Public Health, Toronto Fire, TTC, Metrolinx/GO Transit, Toronto Parking Authority, Toronto Hydro, school boards and community agency partners will also be involved in, and informed by, the work undertaken.  A public consultation process will enrich the Study and its recommendations.

The Study will develop a strategy to manage growth and infrastructure in the Downtown in a comprehensive, coordinated, and proactive manner.  The study area (see map above) is bounded by Lake Ontario to the south, Bathurst to the west, the rail corridor and Rosedale Valley Road to the north and the Don River to the east.  This is the Downtown, as defined by the Official Plan.  The primary purpose of the Study will be to provide a framework for growth that enables the long-term liveability and competiveness of the Downtown by ensuring the City has:

-           A clear and defined vision of how the neighbourhoods within the Downtown will continue to grow and evolve.

-           The capacity to lead and direct growth in pursuit of this vision in a proactive manner.

-           An improved ability to strategically target infrastructure investment to expediently and efficiently respond to emerging needs resulting from growth and change.

The details of the proposed work program, schedule, and interdivisional structure are presented below, following the summary of the findings from the Background Report.