Item - 2015.EY10.1

Etobicoke York Community Council recommends that:

1.  City Council amend the Official Plan for the lands at 22 John Street, 33 King Street and 2 Elsmere Avenue substantially in accordance with the Draft Official Plan Amendment attached as Attachment No. 7 to the report dated October 26, 2015 from the Director, Community Planning, Etobicoke York District.

2.  City Council authorize the City Solicitor to make such stylistic and technical changes to the draft Official Plan Amendment and draft Zoning By-law Amendments as may be required.

3.  City Council repeal former City of York Site Specific Zoning By-law No. 261.

4.  City Council adopt the following, which include and/or address the finalized Section 37 provisions:

a.  City Council amend former City of York Zoning By-law No. 1-83 for the lands at 22 John Street, 33 King Street and 2 Elsmere Avenue substantially in accordance with the Draft Zoning By-law Amendment attached as Attachment No. 1 to the report dated November 6, 2015 from the Director, Community Planning, Etobicoke York District.

b.  City Council amend City of Toronto Zoning By-law 569-2013 for the lands at 22 John Street, 33 King Street and 2 Elsmere Avenue substantially in accordance with the Draft Zoning By-law Amendment attached as Attachment No. 2 to the report dated November 6, 2015 from the Director, Community Planning, Etobicoke York District.

c.  Prior to introducing the necessary Bills to City Council for enactment, City Council require the owner to provide a signed acknowledgement that a Building Permit will not be issued for the site prior to the Section 37 Agreement being executed and registered on title.

The following community benefits are recommended to be secured in the Section 37 Agreement:

A.  The Owner of the land shown as Site B (33 King Street) shall provide the following:

1.   The Owner covenants and agrees to maintain the 420 existing rental residential units and the 12 additional rental units approved by the Committee of Adjustment on March 6, 2014 in decision number A64/14EYK ("Rental Dwelling Units") as rental housing for a minimum period of twenty (20) years commencing from the date of final approval of the zoning by-law amendment, and agrees that no application will be made for a demolition permit or for purposes of condominium registration, pursuant to the Condominium Act, for the Rental Dwelling Units during the twenty (20) year period.

2.  The Owner agrees that it shall not apply to the Ontario Rental Housing Tribunal, or to any successor tribunal with jurisdiction to hear applications made under the Residential Tenancies Act, for the purpose of obtaining an increase in rent above the Guidelines established under the Act in relation to the Rental Dwelling Units arising from any of the costs of constructing the Artist Live/Work Units, Community/Cultural Hub and the Artist's Courtyard.

3.  The Owner shall make available a minimum of 222 parking spaces in the existing above grade parking garage at 33 King Street for the use of the residents of 22 John Street ("22 John Street Residents") and shall provide necessary access to the 22 John Street Residents.

4.  The Owner shall make available, at the same rates as paid by the tenants of the Rental Dwelling Units, a minimum of 16 parking spaces in the existing above grade parking garage at 33 King Street for the use of the residents of the Artist Live/Work Units and shall provide necessary access to the residents of those units.

5.  The Owner shall enter into two leases with Toronto Artscape Inc. ("Artscape") and the City of Toronto ("City") on terms satisfactory to the Director of the Affordable Housing Office and the General Manager of Economic Development and Culture, and further agrees to register the leases on title, one of which will pertain to the Artist Live/Work Units and Artist's Courtyard ("Live/Work Lease") and the other to the Community/Cultural Hub ("Community/Cultural Hub Lease").

B.  The Owner of the land shown as Site A (22 John Street) shall provide the following:

1.  Prior to the issuance of the first above grade permit, the Owner shall demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Director of the Affordable Housing Office and the General Manager of Economic Development and Culture that two separate leases among the Owner of 33 King Street, Toronto Artscape Inc. ("Artscape"), and the City of Toronto ("City"), have been executed and registered on title for the Site B lands on terms satisfactory to the Director of the Affordable Housing Office and the General Manager of Economic Development and Culture. One lease shall pertain to the Artist Live/Work Units and Artist's Courtyard ("Live/Work Lease") and the other to the Community/Cultural Hub ("Community/Cultural Hub Lease"), with both spaces to be located on Site B.

2.  The Owner agrees to construct, or cause to be constructed, the following:

a. 26 Artist Live/Work Units and the Artist's Courtyard, in accordance with the specifications set out in the Live/Work Lease;

b. the Community/Cultural Hub in accordance with the specifications set out in the Community/Cultural Hub Lease; and

c. the Enhanced Weston Farmer's Market Space ("Farmer's Market Space") in accordance with the specifications as generally contained in the Section 37 Agreement, the detailed design of which will be secured through the Site Plan approval process.

The above work shall be constructed concurrently with the proposed development on Site A.

3.   Prior to the issuance of the first above grade building permit, the Owner shall provide a letter of credit, in a form satisfactory to the City Treasurer, in the amount of no less than $7,265,000. If a satisfactory letter of credit is not received by the City by January 31, 2017, the amount shall be indexed upwardly 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 the execution of the Section 37 Agreement to the date of submission of the letter of credit by the Owner to the City.

This letter of credit shall provide security for the construction and delivery of the work required by Section 2 above and for an operating fund for Artscape. The letter of credit is to be reduced from time to time, upon approval by the Director of the Affordable Housing Office in consultation with the General Manager of Economic Development and Culture, as more particularly described in the Section 37 Agreement, as work required by Section 2 above progresses, and shall not be reduced below the amount required for the Artscape operating fund until such fund has been paid to Artscape.

4.  The Owner shall undertake the following obligations with respect to the Farmer's Market Space:

a.  The Owner shall install landscaping, including hard and soft landscaping and other appurtenances and fixtures, the details of which will be designed and secured through the Site Plan approval process.

b.  The Owner shall, at its sole expense, maintain the Farmer's Market Space, in accordance with maintenance obligations established in the Section 37 Agreement. The Owner shall also provide the City with appropriate insurance and indemnification.

c.  The Owner shall comply with the following environmental obligations:

i.  the Owner shall pay all costs associated with the City retaining a third-party peer reviewer to conduct a third-party review of the Risk Assessment of the property;

ii.  the Owner shall be solely responsible for compliance with any and all Environmental Requirements stipulated in the Certificate of Property Use (CPU) issued for the property by the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MOECC) as part of the Risk Assessment process; and

iii.  where the CPU requires the Owner prepare reports, whether annual or periodic, the Owner shall provide such reports to the City and its Peer Reviewer even in cases where such reports are not required to be delivered to the MOECC, until such time that the CPU Annual Report requirements are rescinded by the MOECC.

5.  The City shall reserve an easement in the transfer of Site A from the City to the Owner for unrestricted public pedestrian access over such portion of Site A as is necessary such that there is uninterrupted access from and between Elsmere Avenue and the Farmer's Market Space. The Owner will maintain said lands, and the Owner will provide the City with appropriate insurance and indemnification.

This application proposes to amend the Official Plan, the former City of York Zoning By-law No. 1-83 and City of Toronto Zoning By-law 569-2013 to permit the development of a 30-storey, 370-unit rental apartment building, seven at-grade townhouses and a 1,200 m² outdoor community open space at 22 John Street, which will be used for the enhanced Weston Farmers Market and public open space.  A 794 m² Community Cultural/Hub with 26 affordable artist live/work units is also proposed at 33 King Street and 2 Elsmere Avenue, with 70 new Toronto Parking Authority (TPA) parking spaces on the lands municipally known as 14 John Street. 

In addition, 3,897 m² of vacant ground floor space at 33 King Street is proposed to be converted to a self-storage facility.  Parking for the proposed development at 22 John Street would be provided in an underutilized parking garage located at 33 King Street.

Planning staff are of the opinion the proposed development and its implementing site-specific amendments to the Official Plan and Zoning By-laws are consistent with the 2014 Provincial Policy Statement, conform to the Provincial Growth Plan and are in keeping with the Official Plan policies for intensification of Mixed Use Areas.  Furthermore, as a Signature Initiative of the Weston 2021 Revitalization Strategy, the proposal supports the social, cultural and economic renewal of the Weston community and facilitates the City’s broader revitalization objective for the area. 

At the time of writing this report, details of the Section 37 provisions and the terms and conditions of the Section 37 Agreement(s) were still being finalized.  It is anticipated these matters will be concluded shortly and this information will be provided in a Supplementary Report to either Etobicoke York Community Council at its meeting of November 10, 2015 or City Council at its meeting of December 9 and 10, 2015.

This report reviews and recommends approval of the application to amend the Official Plan and Zoning By-laws.