Item - 2018.TE34.24

The Toronto and East York Community Council recommends that:

1. City Council authorize the City Solicitor together with City Planning staff to attend the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal hearing in support of a Zoning By-law Amendment in accordance with the development proposal detailed in the June 13, 2018 with prejudice settlement offer from Aird & Berlis LLP and described in the report (June 15, 2018) from the Acting Director, Community Planning, Toronto and East York District.

2. In the event that the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal allows the appeal in whole or in part, City Council authorizes the City Solicitor to request the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal withhold the issuance of any Order until:

a. the final form of the Zoning By-law amendment is to the satisfaction of the Acting Director, Community Planning, Toronto and East York District and the City Solicitor;

 
b. a voluntary financial contribution by the owner of $350,000 towards the provision of affordable rental housing within Ward 14 in the vicinity of the site, including provision for upwards indexing in accordance with the Statistics Canada Residential Construction Price Index for Toronto for the period from the date of the execution of the Section 37 Agreement to the date the payment is made;

 
c. the voluntary financial contribution referred to in Recommendation 2. b. above is secured in a Section 37 Agreement executed by the owner and registered on title to the satisfaction of the Acting Director, Community Planning, Toronto and East York District and the City Solicitor prior to the issuance of the first above-grade building permit;

 
d. the applicant submits a revised parking justification that includes empirical data obtained through parking demand studies conducted at proxy sites that are comparable in use, scale, and area context, and additional information detailing the type of loading space to the satisfaction of the General Manager, Transportation Services;

 
e. the applicant submits additional servicing information identified in the memorandum from Engineering and Construction Services dated January 10, 2018, to reflect the reduction in the number of residential units as proposed in the July 13, 2018 settlement offer to the satisfaction of the Chief Engineer and Executive Director, Engineering and Construction Services; 

 
f. the applicant submits additional revised information regarding the Geotechnical Report to the satisfaction of the General Manager, Toronto Water; and 

 
g. the applicant submits a rail safety report, to be peer reviewed at the owner's expense, to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, in consultation with Metrolinx.

The Zoning By-law application proposes a revised 8-storey (32 metres to the top of the mechanical penthouse) building containing 101 units, ground floor non-residential space and two levels of below-grade parking on the lands located at 6 Noble Street in the City's Parkdale neighbourhood.

The original submission proposed a 14-storey (51 metres to the top of the mechanical penthouse) mixed-use building comprised of commercial space located on portions of the ground floor and second floor, 174 residential units and two levels of below-grade parking.  City Planning staff had expressed significant concerns regarding the proposed building's height, massing and contextual fit within its predominantly low-scaled surroundings; the relationship with Noble Street's narrow right-of-way width; and the impact due to lack of setbacks and insufficient stepbacks on neighbouring properties.

The applicant then introduced a 12-storey mixed-use building at the Community Consultation meeting held on May 4, 2017, at the Parkdale Library.  The applicant subsequently met with City Planning staff on June 20, 2017, to further discuss the revised 12-storey proposal.  Staff reiterated concerns of overdevelopment associated with the revised 12-storey building. 

On May 29, 2017, the City Clerk's Office received notice that the applicant had appealed the application to the former Ontario Municipal Board, which is now the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT), due to Council's failure to make a decision on their request for a Zoning By-law Amendment.  City Planning staff continued to work with the applicant on a more supportable scale of development for the site, and, along with City Legal, attended a pre-hearing LPAT conference on December 12, 2017.  A second LPAT pre-hearing conference has been scheduled for October 2, 2018.

In response to ongoing discussions, the applicant submitted a "with prejudice" settlement offer dated June 13, 2018, for a revised proposal consisting of an 8-storey mixed-use building comprised of 101 units, a ground floor non-residential space and two levels of underground parking.

This report reviews the revised 8-storey proposal to amend the Zoning By-law, and recommends that City Council direct the City Solicitor and City Staff, as appropriate, attend the LPAT to settle the appeal for the lands located at 6 Noble Street (File No. 16 218808 STE 14 OZ) in accordance with this report dated June 15, 2018, from the Acting Director, Community Planning, Toronto and East York District.