Item - 2015.TE11.80

The Toronto and East York Community Council recommends that:

1.  City Council request the Director, Community Planning, Toronto and East York District to conduct a review of development on Davenport Road, between Dupont Street and Bedford Road, including all properties that back onto Designer's Walk Lane, including an inventory of current applications and current development pressure in the area, and work with the Director, Transportation Services to review the capacity of the Designer's Walk Lane in the context of current and future development proposals.

2.  City Council request the Director, Community Planning, Toronto and East York District and the Director, Urban Design, City Planning to assess the applicable policy framework in the area and consider additional urban design and built form guidelines to be used to inform the review of current and future development proposals.

3. City Council request that the Director, Community Planning, Toronto and East York District report to the February 23, 2016 meeting of Toronto and East York Community Council on the status of this work.

The Davenport Triangle, the area bounded by Davenport Street, Dupont Street and Bedford Road, is facing unprecedented levels of development pressure that propose to change the neighbourhood, both in site-specific use and population density.  Much like the Dupont Street Study that was recently conducted to develop parameters to guide development along Dupont Street, ensuring that it maintained the character of and complimented our existing, vibrant neighbourhoods, it is now necessary to conduct a similar analysis adjacent of the Davenport Triangle to ensure that we are building a liveable neighbourhood.

This area is unique from many other downtown communities, because it is not only a dense residential neighbourhood, but the Designer's Walk Laneway is home to more than 30 design showrooms with considerable requirements for loading and unloading.  In addition to protecting the specific needs of businesses on Designer's Walk, it is also crucial that we plan ahead and ensure that our road infrastructure is functional and safe for all road users - pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers.

To ensure that we guide development to strengthen the character of our neighbourhoods and to build and plan a liveable community, I am requesting that City Planning staff undertake a review of development in the Davenport Triangle.