Item - 2019.TE8.17

The Toronto and East York Community Council recommends that:

1. City Council authorize the City Solicitor and appropriate City staff to attend the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT) respecting the Official Plan Amendment 273 appeal and the site specific Zoning By-law Amendment Appeal for 2 Tecumseth Street and 125-133 Niagara Street in support of the revised proposal,  as described in the Issue Background section of the report from the Director, Community Planning, Toronto and East York District (August 16, 2019) and also appended as Attachments 5-10.

2. City Council authorize the City Solicitor and the Director, Community Planning, Toronto and East York District to prepare and present a settlement to the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal that is substantially in accordance with the revised plans appended as Attachments 5-10 and include the following:

a. A maximum building height of 83 meters (for Building 1), 98 metres (for Building 2) and 36 metres (for Building 3) and 10 metres (for Building 4);

b. A maximum overall gross floor area of 88,600 square metres and density of 4.53 times the area of the lot;

c. A minimum on-site parkland dedication of 1,493 square metres;

d. A multi-use path situated along the southern boundary of the site, measuring a minimum width of four metres for it entire length.

3. City Council instruct the City Solicitor to request that the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal withhold its Order on Official Plan Amendment 273 and the Zoning By-law amendment until such time as the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal has been advised by the City Solicitor that:

a. the proposed Official Plan Amendment 273 and the Zoning By-law amendment are in a form satisfactory to the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, and the City Solicitor;

b. all engineering and site access matters have been addressed to the satisfaction of the Chief Engineer and Executive Director, Engineering and Construction Services and the General Manager, Transportation Services;

c.  the owner agrees to pay for and construct any improvements to the municipal infrastructure in connection with the site servicing report, as accepted by the Chief Engineer and Executive Director, Engineering and Construction Services, should it be determined that upgrades to such infrastructure are required to support this development;

d. the owner has submitted a Rail Safety Report which has been accepted by the City's peer reviewer, as paid for by the owner, and to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning;

e. a Section 37 agreement has been executed and registered to the subject property, to secure the following matters:

i. The owner shall provide affordable rental housing units on the subject site, equal to a value of $6,000,000.00 and to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, or provide a $6,000,000.00 financial contribution to the Affordable Housing Capital Revolving Fund in lieu of the affordable rental housing units being provided on the subject site. 

ii. If taken as a cash contribution, the $6,000,000.00 contribution referred to in Recommendation e.i. above shall be indexed upwardly in accordance with Statistics Canada's Construction Price Index for the Toronto Census Metropolitan Area, calculated from the date of the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal decision to the date of payment.  All cash contributions will be payable prior to issuance of the first above-grade building permit.

f. The following matters are also recommended to be secured in the Section 37 Agreement as a legal convenience to support the proposed development:

i. The owner agrees to implement above base park improvements to the proposed parkland on the west side of the site, to be funded by a combination of development charge credits and any financial considerations required in lieu of the parkland dedication shortfall, in accordance with Section 42 of the Planning Act, as of the date of the report (August 16, 2019) from the Director, Community Planning, Toronto and East York District.

ii. The owner agrees to construct a multi-use path at a minimum width of four metres, located on private property along the rail corridor at the south side of the site, to be offset by development charge credits;

iii. The owner agrees to maintain, at the owners cost, the multi-use path referred to in Section ii. above, clear of any debris, snow and ice and also to be responsible for all capital maintenance costs;

iv. The owner agrees to design and construct public realm improvements above the base condition at the southern terminus of the Tecumseth Street right-of-way, to be offset by applicable Development Charge credits, to the satisfaction of the General Manager, Transportation Services;

v. The owner agrees that, of the residential market units provided on the site, a minimum of 20 percent  and 10 percent will be provided as two-bedroom units and  three-bedroom units respectively;

vi. The owner agrees to submit, and thereafter implement, a construction management plan to address such matters as wind, noise, dust, street closures, parking and laneway uses and access.  Such plan shall be to the satisfaction of the General Manager, Transportation Services and the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, in consultation with the local Councillor and shall be submitted prior to the commencement of any shoring and excavation work;

vii. The owner agrees to use reasonable efforts to secure affordable rent for additional units within the proposed building, beyond those referred to in Section e.i. above, through Federal, Provincial and/or Municipal funding programs which may become available;  

viii. The owner agrees to provide a minimum of one times the area of the lot (approximately 19,480 square metres) as residentially compatible employment space;

ix. The owner agrees to implement any mitigation measures as identified through the review of the Site Plan application to mitigate impacts from the adjacent City Works Yard;

x. Prior to the issuance of Notice of Approval Conditions for the Site Plan application, the owner shall incorporate all mitigation measures from the rail safety study accepted by the City's peer reviewer into the drawings submitted for Site Plan Approval, to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning Division, and prior to Site Plan Approval, agree that all mitigation measures be constructed and maintained by the owner at its sole cost and expense;

xi. Prior to the issuance of Notice of Approval Conditions for the Site Plan application, the owner shall submit a Noise and Vibration Feasibility Study to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning Division, and provide certification from the noise and vibration consultant that all recommended mitigation measures have been incorporated into the drawings submitted for Site Plan Approval;

xii. The owner agrees to submit a wind tunnel analysis prior to the issuance of final Site Plan Approval and implement any mitigation measures identified in the analysis; and

xiii. The owner agrees to grant any necessary public access easements in favour of the City for areas within the site such as the multi-use pathway and publicly-accessible open space areas.

xiv. As part of the materials submitted with the forthcoming Site Plan application at 2 Tecumseth Street and 125-133 Niagara Street, the applicant shall submit a revised Transportation Impact Study (TIS)  containing a review and analysis of the following:

 
i. Existing and projected pedestrian and cycling demand and an assessment of the adequacy of the existing pedestrian and cycling infrastructure to safely and comfortably accommodate such demand;

 
ii. Recommendations on possible road safety measures including, but not limited to, signage, speed-bumps, bump-outs and pavement treatments and markings to be implemented for the area in and around Wellington Street West between Bathurst Street and Strachan Avenue in order to improve existing and future pedestrian and cycling safety;

 
iii. Evaluation of additional possible improvements to pedestrian and cycling crossings of the intersections at Wellington Street West and Tecumseth Street and Wellington Street West and Strachan Avenue; and

 
iv. General description of the anticipated pedestrian and cycling desire lines to/from and through the site and the new public park to the west.

The applicant, together with the Local Councillor, City Planning staff and any other City Divisions deemed relevant, will conduct a community engagement process in the development of the Transportation Impact Study.  

xv. The owner agrees to make provisions for a variety of uses and programming including non-retail uses in the non-residential areas of the development.

4. City Council amend Schedule B of the City of Toronto Municipal Code, Chapter 925, Permit Parking, to incorporate a revised map of Permit Parking Area "4I" to exclude 2 Tescumseth Street and 125-133 Niagara Street.

The revised Zoning Amendment By-law application proposes to redevelop the site with four buildings containing a mix of commercial, employment and residential uses, an on-site public park, a multi-use path, additional pedestrian and cycling connections and two privately-owned, publicly-accessible open spaces at 2 Tecumseth Street and 125-133 Niagara Street. The proposed development is comprised of a 22 and a 30-storey mixed-use building, a 7-storey commercial building and a two-storey commercial building.

As is detailed in the Proposal section of this report, the proposed revised Zoning By-law Amendment application is significantly different from the original Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendment applications submitted by the applicant on November 17, 2017 which staff did not support.

On March 29, 2018, the applicant appealed the November 17, 2017, Zoning By-law Amendment application to the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT) and on May 28, 2018, appealed the Official Plan Amendment application, citing City Council's failure to make a decision within the time prescribed by the Planning Act. At its meeting on July 23, 2018, City Council adopted a Request for Direction report opposing the development, but also including a recommendation that City Planning continue discussions with the applicant to resolve outstanding issues with the proposal.

The subject site is located within the lands subject to Official Plan Amendment (OPA) 273. Official Plan Amendment 273 was adopted by City Council on August 25, 26, 27 and 28, 2014, and included a series of amendments to the Official Plan Land Use Maps and Garrison Common North Secondary Plan. OPA 273 was appealed by the previous owner of 2 Tecumseth Street and 125 - 133 Niagara Street. There were no other appellants to OPA 273.

On January 9, 2019, the applicant withdrew their appeal of the site specific Official Plan Amendment and subsequently, at a pre-hearing at the LPAT on August 9, 2019, the site specific Zoning By-law amendment appeal was consolidated with the appeal of OPA 273.

Approval of the revised site specific Zoning Amendment By-law application as proposed by the applicant would require associated amendments to OPA 273.

The Settlement Offer reviewed and supported in this report, details changes to the proposed Zoning Amendment application and amendments to OPA 273. These changes are the result of extensive discussions between the Applicant and City staff, including input from area residents. As such, the revised proposal significantly alters the form, height, and location of the buildings on the site, as well as the mix of uses contained within each building, from that which was originally submitted by the applicant on November 17, 2017. The revised, settlement plans are attached as Attachments 5-10 to this report.

The revised Zoning By-law Amendment and amendment to OPA 273 is consistent with the Provincial Policy Statement (2014) and conforms with the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe (2019).

This report reviews the revised proposal and recommends that City Council authorize the City Solicitor and appropriate City Staff to attend the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal in support of a settlement of the Official Plan Amendment 273 appeal and the site specific Zoning By-law amendment appeal, subject to conditions as outlined in the Recommendations section of this report.

A pre-hearing at the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal has been scheduled for January 16, 2020. Should City Council adopt the recommendations of this report, the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal may convert the pre-hearing into a settlement hearing.