Item - 2018.PG30.6

The Planning and Growth Management Committee recommends that:  

1. City Council direct the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning to use the draft Don Mills Crossing Secondary Plan, found in Attachment 1 to the report (May 17, 2018), as the basis for stakeholder and public consultation.

2. City Council direct that any Official Plan amendment and rezoning applications in the draft Secondary Plan Area be considered and reviewed in the context of the draft Secondary Plan.

3. City Council request the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning to report back with a final report and recommended Official Plan Amendment for the Don Mills Crossing Secondary Plan in the first quarter of 2019.

4. City Council direct the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning to:

a.  undertake a study to consider an area-specific Section 37 policy for the Don Mills Crossing Secondary Plan that includes but is not limited to the use of a quantitative formula that would provide clarity and consistency in calculating Section 37 community benefit contributions related to increases in height and density;

b. consult with the Ward Councillor, neighbourhood associations and other stakeholders on any potential policy;

c. report back to Planning and Growth Management Committee on a potential policy approach;  and

d. incorporate any appropriate policy directions into the final Secondary Plan.

5.  City Council request the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning to meet with Ontario Science Centre officials to discuss the future plans for their lands.

6.  City Council request the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning to meet with senior School Board staff to discuss their future plans for schools within the Study Area.

This report presents the draft Don Mills Crossing Secondary Plan for public consultation. 

The draft Secondary Plan is a comprehensive planning framework that capitalizes on the significant public investment in new transit infrastructure by directing development to appropriate locations and securing the public realm amenities and facilities necessary to meet the existing and future needs of residents and workers.  It advances a vision of a distinct and complete community that celebrates the natural heritage of the Don River Valley system and builds on the area's tradition of cultural and technological innovation.  A full range of mobility options are provided for with an emphasis on transit, travel demand management and the integration of pedestrian and cycling infrastructure into the public realm.  New connections will provide opportunities to make it more convenient to access jobs, services and daily activities in the community and beyond. 

While providing for intensification within the boundaries of the draft Secondary Plan Area, a key theme of the draft policies is improved connectivity with enhanced public realm treatments beyond the boundary to ensure that future growth does not occur in isolation and is integrated with the surrounding area.  By connecting the natural, cultural, institutional and employment destinations found in the broader area around the Secondary Plan Area to the community at Don Mills and Eglinton, the existing residents and workers can experience the benefit generated by public investment in new transit infrastructure.

The draft Secondary Plan is the outcome of the Don Mills Crossing study, launched in 2016 to address City Council's direction originating from the adoption of Eglinton Connects in May 2014 and a settlement of an Ontario Municipal Board appeal of OPA 231 for the Celestica lands.  In both cases, City Council directed that a comprehensive planning framework be prepared for lands in the vicinity of Don Mills Road and Eglinton Avenue East.

Don Mills Crossing is a three phase study.  In January 2017, Planning and Growth Management Committee adopted the Profile Report completed at the conclusion of Phase 1.  In November 2017, Committee adopted the Don Mills Crossing Public Realm Plan Report which marked the conclusion of Phase 2 and was the framework upon which the draft Secondary Plan was prepared.  Phase 3 has focussed on policy development and further community engagement.  This phase also involved continued coordination with staff in various City divisions and outside agencies to advance both the draft Secondary Plan and the review of development applications submitted for lands within the boundaries of the Study Area.

This report recommends that the draft Secondary Plan be used as a basis for staff to undertake additional stakeholder and public consultation.  In addition, it is recommended that the draft Secondary Plan be used to review development applications in the draft Secondary Plan Area.  Following consultation through the summer and fall of 2018, staff propose to bring forward the recommended Official Plan Amendment for the Secondary Plan to a statutory meeting at Planning and Growth Management Committee in the first quarter of 2019.