Item - 2017.PG21.7

The Planning and Growth Management Committee recommends that:  

1.  City Council refuse the application for Official Plan Amendment at 25 Audley Street for the following reasons:

a.  The proposal is inconsistent with the Provincial Policy Statement;

b.  The proposal conflicts with the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe;

c.  The proposal does not conform with the City of Toronto Official Plan, including policies related to but not limited to Built Form and Regeneration Areas which state that a development framework for the area will be developed and that development should not proceed prior to approval of a Secondary Plan; and

d.  The proposal does not conform with the Mimico-Judson Secondary Plan (OPA No. 331), adopted by City Council on June 7, 2016 and currently under appeal to the Ontario Municipal Board, and is not consistent with the Mimico-Judson Urban Design Guidelines.  In particular, the application, in its current form, does not conform with the following matters:

i.  The Secondary Plan envisions mid-rise buildings on the subject lands with heights ranging from 6 to 8-storeys (with a street wall height of 4-storeys) and up to 12-storeys, whereas the application proposes a tall building having a podium height of 8-storeys (with a street wall height of 4-storeys) and an overall height of 26-storeys.
 

ii.  The Secondary Plan calls for a centralized public park to be located within Block D that would not be in shadow for seven continuous hours during the spring and summer equinoxes whereas the Block Plan identifies only five continuous hours of sunlight during the spring and summer equinoxes on the dedicated parkland. 
 

iii. The Secondary Plan requires a minimum of 0.5 Floor Space Index of non-residential gross floor area for tall buildings and 0.45 Floor Space Index for mid-rise buildings, whereas 0.3 Floor Space Index of non-residential gross floor area is proposed.

 
2.  City Council authorize City staff to continue discussions with the applicant to negotiate an appropriate development proposal that is in keeping with the Mimico-Judson Secondary Plan and Urban Design Guidelines.

3.  In the event that any development arising out of the subject application is approved, City Council require on-site parkland dedication be conveyed to the City pursuant to Section 42 of the Planning Act.

This application proposes to amend the Official Plan to redesignate the site from Regeneration Areas to Mixed Use Areas to permit a mixed use development consisting of one building having a total of 34,806 m² of gross floor area, of which 1,575 m² would be for non-residential uses.  The proposed building would have a podium height of 8-storeys along the Portland Street and Audley Street frontages and would have an overall building height of 26-storeys oriented towards the southern portion of the lands.  The development would contain 347 residential units and a total of 418 vehicular parking spaces and 366 bicycle parking spaces.

This report reviews and recommends refusal of the application to amend the Official Plan.

The proposed development, in its current form, does not conform with the Official Plan policies and the recently approved and appealed Mimico-Judson Secondary Plan and is not consistent with the Mimico-Judson Urban Design Guidelines.  The subject lands are designated Regeneration Areas.  The Official Plan states that each Regeneration Areas requires a tailor-made planning framework and that development should not proceed prior to the approval of a Secondary Plan.  As the Mimico-Judson Secondary Plan is currently under appeal to the Ontario Municipal Board, the application is premature.  In addition, the proposal represents over development of the site with density, massing and building heights that do not fit within its existing or planned context or limit their impacts on neighbouring properties.

It should be noted that this application was submitted in coordination with the lands municipally known as 23 Buckingham Street (File Number 16 269378 WET 06 OZ).  These applications were filed by two separate and unrelated companies (1066266 Ontario Ltd. and 1282555 Ontario Inc.) and included the submission of a Detailed Block Plan for Block D of the Mimico-Judson Secondary Plan Area.  A report on the application for 23 Buckingham Street has also been prepared for consideration by the Planning and Growth Management (PGM) Committee at its meeting of May 31, 2017.