Item - 2015.TE11.81

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 Bloor Street West between Lansdowne Avenue and Christie Street, including an inventory of current applications and current development pressure in the area, and to work with the Director, Transportation Services to review potential streetscape improvements on Bloor Street West 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 developing additional urban design and built form guidelines, including an assessment of heritage resources, to be used to inform the review of current and future development proposals, and to develop an understanding of what defines the character of the street.

3.  City Council request the Director, Community Planning, Toronto and East York District to report to Toronto and East York Community Council in the second quarter of 2016 on the status of this work.

The ten blocks of Bloor Street West, between Christie Street and Lansdowne Avenue, are unique in the City of Toronto due to the fact that much of the original built form still remains.  Many of these two and three-storey buildings were designed and built at the turn of the 20th century, with further development taking place between the 1920s and 1930s.

The purpose of this City Planning review is to focus on the unique character of the properties along Bloor Street West, between Christie Street and Lansdowne Avenue, and how to effectively plan for new development that will complement the existing built form and heritage attributes.

The request for this review comes at a time when development pressure is making its way to Bloor Street West, between Christie Street and Lansdowne Avenue.