Item - 2018.PG31.5

City Council considered Items ED31.7 and PG31.5 together.

The Planning and Growth Management Committee recommends that:

1.  City Council amend Section 5: Municipal Tax Increment of the Community Improvement Plan attached as Attachment 1 to the report (June 12, 2018) from the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning and the General Manager, Economic Development and Culture, to specify that for the purposes of calculating the Municipal Tax Increment, properties that are exempt from taxation prior to redevelopment will have the Base Municipal Current Value Assessment calculated as though the property were taxable, based on the pre-development use of the property.

2.  City Council amend Section 4.3: Grant Limits within Appendix 2: Development Grants (TIEGS) of the Community Improvement Plan attached as Attachment 1 to the report (June 12, 2018) from the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning and the General Manager, Economic Development and Culture, to allow for an additional exception to the maximum total grant cap of $30 million for those individual Imagination, Manufacturing, Innovation and Technology (IMIT) projects with an estimated construction value equal to or greater than $150 million.

3. City Council amend Appendix 2: Development Grants (TIEGS) of the Community Improvement Plan attached as Attachment 1 to the report (June 12, 2018) from the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning and the General Manager, Economic Development and Culture, to add a section addressing Urban Growth Centres which will permit eligible applications located within Urban Growth Centres identified on Map 2 of the Official Plan, excluding lands within the Downtown and Central Waterfront, to qualify for Enhanced Development Grants which provide for a grant equal to 70 percent of the municipal tax increment over a ten year period, or up to 77 percent if combined with Brownfield Remediation Tax Assistance.

4.  City Council amend Appendix 3: Focus Areas of the Community Improvement Plan attached as Attachment 1 to the report (June 12, 2018) from the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning and the General Manager Economic Development and Culture, to delay the start date of the first year of the reduced Development Grant incentive in the Queen/Carlaw (East Harbour SmartTrack Station) Tax Increment Financing Zone from 2020 to 2023 to reflect the planned schedule of necessary transit and flood protection infrastructure. Imagination, Manufacturing, Innovation and Technology (IMIT) Development Grants would be phased out in accordance with the following table:

5. City Council adopt the City-Wide Community Improvement Plan in accordance with the community improvement plan attached as Attachment 1 to the report (June 12, 2018) from the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning and the General Manager, Economic Development and Culture and as amended by Recommendations 1-4 above.

6. City Council authorize the City Solicitor to bring forward bills to repeal the following community improvement plans upon the new community improvement plan coming into full force and effect:

a. the City-Wide Community Improvement Plan (By-law No. 516-2008, as amended);

b. the South of Eastern Community Improvement Plan (By-law No. 517-2008, as amended);

c. the Waterfront Community Improvement Plan (By-law 518-2008, as amended);

7. City Council authorize staff to introduce an Imagination, Manufacturing, Innovation and Technology  (IMIT) administration fee commencing in 2019, of 30 cents per square metre based on eligible gross floor area and that Municipal Code Chapter 441, Fees and Charges, be amended to reflect the new fee.

 
8. City Council direct the General Manager, Economic Development and Culture, in consultation with the General Manager, Toronto Employment and Social Services, to consult with relevant stakeholders to determine what additional steps can be taken to ensure that those developments that receive Imagination, Manufacturing, Innovation and Technology (IMIT) incentives provide quality employment opportunities for Toronto residents, including:

a.  employment and training opportunities in building construction;

b.  a strategy to reduce precarious employment among building maintenance employees (including contract staff);

c.  mandatory participation by users of the IMIT-supported property in City programs intended to connect job seekers to job opportunities;
 

and report back to the Economic Development Committee with specific guidelines in the first quarter of 2019.

9. City Council authorize the City Solicitor to introduce the necessary bills to implement the foregoing.

The Planning and Growth Management Committee held a statutory public meeting on July 5, 2018, and notice was given in accordance with the Planning Act.

This report brings forward a new City-Wide Community Improvement Plan (CIP) that enables the Imagination, Manufacturing, Innovation and Technology (IMIT) incentive Program. This new CIP replaces the three existing CIPs that were adopted in 2008 and amended in 2012, including the City-Wide CIP, the South of Eastern CIP, and the Waterfront CIP. The new City-Wide CIP reflects recommendations approved by City Council on April 24-27, 2018.

The new CIP will continue the IMIT Program, improve administration and overall efficiency and ensure the City provides support for critical new investment in targeted economic sectors.

The most notable changes are the elimination of IMIT eligibility for office buildings within the Financial District and the phasing out of Development Grants at the Liberty (King-Liberty SmartTrack Station) and Queen/Carlaw (East Harbour SmartTrack Station) Tax Increment Financing Zones. In addition, the enhanced grants available in Employment Areas will be eliminated and replaced by a sector-based enhanced grant for Manufacturing, Food and Beverage Wholesaling, Creative Industries, Film Studio Complexes, Convergence Centres and Incubators.