Item - 2019.TE4.18

The Toronto and East York Community Council  recommends that:

1.  City Council authorize the City Solicitor, together with City Planning staff and any other appropriate staff, to attend before the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal in support of a settlement of the Lower Yonge Official Plan Amendment with permissions for two towers on Block 7, which is bounded by New Street, Harbour Street, Lower Jarvis Street and Lake Shore Boulevard East.

2. City Council authorize the City Solicitor to present the Draft Consolidated Lower Yonge OPA, in Attachment 1 to the supplementary report (March 12, 2019) from the Director, Community Planning, Toronto and East York District, at the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal pre-hearing conference scheduled for April 11, 2019.

3. City Council authorize the City Solicitor to make such further stylistic and technical changes to the Lower Yonge Official Plan Amendment as may be required and to take such further actions, as may be required, to give effect to City Council's decision.

4. City Council authorize the City Solicitor and other City staff to take such actions, as are required, to give effect to the Recommendations above. 

The purpose of this report is to request direction from City Council on the pending Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT) pre-hearing on the Lower Yonge Official Plan Amendment (OPA), adopted by City Council at their June 7, 8 and 9, 2016 meeting.

The Lower Yonge OPA, as amended by the 1-7 Yonge Street and 55 Lake Shore Boulevard East site-specific LPAT settlements, is scheduled to be presented to the LPAT on April 11, 2019. Choice Properties REIT (ChoiceREIT) is a Party to the upcoming LPAT Pre-Hearing and requested an OPA policy change to permit two towers on Block 7 to realize the OPA density permission of 12.5 times lot area (approximately 158,000 square meters of GFA) on 10 Lower Jarvis Street.

ChoiceREIT developed a two-tower built form demonstration model based upon the Lower Yonge OPA tall building criteria and policies. After extensive review of the two-tower demonstration model by City Planning, informed by the built form criteria of the City's Tall Building Guidelines, the Lower Yonge Precinct Plan and the Lower Yonge OPA, as amended by the site-specific LPAT settlements, Planning staff supports the proposed two tower policy amendment.

It is recommended that City Council modify the Lower Yonge OPA to permit two towers on Block 7, bounded by future Harbour Street, future New Street, Lower Jarvis Street and Lake Shore Boulevard East, in accordance with the recommendations included within this Request for Directions Report.

The Toronto and East York Community Council recommends that:

1.  City Council authorize the City Solicitor to present the Draft Consolidated Lower Yonge Official Plan Amendment,  as set out in  Attachment 1 to this report, at the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal pre-hearing conference scheduled for April 11, 2019; and,

2. City Council authorize the City Solicitor to make such further stylistic and technical changes to the Lower Yonge Official Plan Amendment as may be required and to take such further actions, as may be required, to give effect to the recommendation above.

This Report is supplemental to the Community Planning Report of February 28, 2019 (Item TE4.18) regarding a request for direction in advance of the pending Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT) pre-hearing on the Lower Yonge Official Plan Amendment as adopted by City Council at their June 7, 8 and 9, 2016 meeting (the Lower Yonge OPA).

The purpose of this report is to report on further modification to the Lower Yonge OPA that resolves all outstanding issues. The recommendations in this Supplemental Report are in addtion to the recommendation included with the Community Planning Report of February 28, 2019 (Item TE4.18).

The City has reached agreement on modifications to the Lower Yonge OPA with the three landowners of the Lower Yonge Precinct. As these site-specific settlement negotiations have been ongoing since the Lower Yonge OPA was adopted in 2016, staff have not had an opportunity to present Council with a consolidated version of the OPA. Accordingly, a consolidated Lower Yonge OPA, as amended by the settlements for 1-7 Yonge Street (Pinnacle Site); 55 to 59 Lake Shore Boulevard East, 33 to 53 Freeland Street and 2 and 15 Cooper Street (Menkes Site); and 10 Lower Jarvis Street and 125 Lake Shore Boulevard East (ChoiceREIT site) is attached to this Report as Attachment 1 (the "Draft Consolidated Lower Yonge OPA with Maps L1 to L11").

It is recommended that City Council authorize the City Solicitor, together with City Planning staff and any other appropriate staff, to present the Draft Consolidated Lower Yonge OPA at the LPAT pre-hearing conference scheduled for April 11, 2019.

In addition, Community Planning recommend that City Council authorize the City Solicitor and other City staff to take such actions, to make further non-substantive changes to the Lower Yonge OPA as may be required.