Item - 2020.SC17.1

Scarborough Community Council recommends that:

1. City Council amend the City of Scarborough L'Amoreaux Community By-law No. 12466, as amended, for the lands at 3050 Pharmacy Avenue, substantially in accordance with the draft Zoning By-law Amendment attached as Attachment No. 6 to the report (August 24, 2020) from the Director, Community Planning, Scarborough District.

2. City Council amend City of Toronto Zoning By-law 569-2013, as amended, for the lands at 3050 Pharmacy Avenue substantially in accordance with the draft Zoning By-law Amendment attached as Attachment No. 7 to the report (August 24, 2020) from the Director, Community Planning, Scarborough District.

3. City Council authorize the City Solicitor to make such stylistic and technical changes to the daft Zoning By-law Amendments as may be required.

4. Before introducing the necessary Bills to City Council for enactment, require the Owner to enter into and register on title, an Agreement pursuant to Section 37 of the Planning Act to secure the following facilities, services and matters at the Owners expense:

a. The Owner shall design and construct twenty-four (24) purpose built affordable rental dwelling units in the new 16-storey residential building on the lot. The minimum average unit size of the purpose built affordable rental dwelling units shall be at least 78 square metres. The purpose built affordable rental dwelling units shall be provided in contiguous groups of at least 6 dwelling units. The general configuration and layout of the twenty-four (24) purpose built affordable rental dwelling units in the new 16-storey residential building shall be to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning Division;

b. The Owner shall provide and maintain the twenty-four (24) purpose built affordable rental dwelling units as rental dwelling units for a minimum of 20 years, beginning with the date each such unit is first occupied.  No affordable rental dwelling unit shall be registered as a condominium or any other form of ownership such as life lease or co-ownership which provide a right to exclusive possession of a dwelling unit, and no application for conversion for non-rental housing purposes, or application to demolish any affordable rental dwelling unit shall be made for at least 20 years from the date of first occupancy.  Upon the expiration of the 20 year period, the Owner shall continue to provide and maintain the purpose built affordable rental dwelling units as rental dwelling units, unless and until such time as the Owner has applied for and obtained all approvals necessary to do otherwise;

c. The Owner shall provide and maintain the twenty-four (24) purpose built affordable rental dwelling units at affordable rents for at least 15 years, beginning with the date that each such unit is first occupied. During the first 15 years of occupancy, increases to initial rents charged to tenants occupying any of the affordable rental dwelling units shall be in accordance with the Residential Tenancies Act and shall not exceed the Provincial rent guideline;

d. Prior to the issuance of the first above-grade building permit, the Owner shall provide a $250,000 cash contribution to be directed to improvements to parks facilities in the vicinity of the development, said financial contribution to be indexed upwardly in accordance with Statistics Canada Residential Building or Non-Residential Building Construction Price Index, as the case may be, for the Toronto Census Metropolitan Area, reported by Statistics Canada in the Building Construction Price Indexes Table 18-10-0135-01, or its successor, calculated from the date of the Section 37 Agreement to the date of payment; and

e. In the event the cash contribution referred to in Recommendation 4d. above has not been used for the intended purpose within three (3) years of the implementing Zoning By-law Amendment coming into full force and effect, the cash contribution may be redirected for another purpose, at the discretion of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, in consultation with the Ward Councillor, provided that the purposes are identified in Toronto's Official Plan and will benefit the local community.

5. City Council direct that the following matters be secured in the Section 37 Agreement as a legal convenience to support development:

a. The Owner shall continue to provide and maintain the 252 existing rental dwelling units on the lands at 3050 Pharmacy Avenue as rental housing, together with the new and retained associated facilities and amenities of the existing residential rental property, for a period of at least 20 years commencing from the date that the Zoning By-laws come into force and effect, and with no applications for demolition or conversion from residential rental use during such 20 year period, all to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning and the City Solicitor;

b. The Owner shall provide tenants of the existing rental dwelling units with access to all indoor and outdoor amenities on the lands, at no extra charge and with no pass-through costs to the tenants, including by way of an application to the Ontario Landlord Tenant Board or to any successor tribunal with jurisdiction to hear applications made under the legislation governing residential tenancies in Ontario for the purpose of obtaining an increase in residential rent above the applicable guideline.  Access to, and use of, these amenities shall be on the same terms and conditions as any other resident on the subject site;

c. The Owner shall undertake improvements to the existing rental apartment building, taking into account tenant responses to the required Tenant Survey related to programming of amenity space, to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning Division or their designate, including, but not limited to, the matters set out in d. and e. below;

d. Prior to the first above-grade building permit for any part of the development the Owner shall:

1. Upgrade the laundry room in the existing residential rental building, including accessibility improvements such as including push button automatic doors and a clothes folding table which is universally accessible within the laundry room;

2. Provide a minimum of 54 short-term bicycle parking spaces near the rear entrance of the Existing Building; and

3. Provide new indoor amenity space of 120 square metres within the existing residential rental building which shall include but not be limited to; a fitness room; communal/multi-purpose space which shall include, a kitchen, tables and chairs, and a washroom, with additional programming to be determined through the site plan application review process and secured in a Site Plan Agreement;    

e. Prior to first occupancy of any new residential units in the development the Owner shall:

1. Provide new outdoor amenity space, to be shared between residents of the existing and new residential rental building(s), having a minimum size of 856 square metres, including new, replaced and improved outdoor amenity space with programming to be determined through the site plan application review process and secured in a Site Plan Agreement;

2. Provide new outdoor amenity space of 606 square metres, and 386 square metres of replaced and improved existing outdoor amenity space, which shall include but not be limited to: outdoor seating; community garden; planting and landscape treatments; and, play structure/equipment with additional programming to be determined through the site plan application review process and secured in a Site Plan Agreement;   

3. Provide new outdoor amenity areas, to be shared between residents of the existing and new residential rental buildings, having a minimum size of 856 square meetings, with programming to be determined through the site plan application review process and secured in a Site Plan Agreement;

4. Improve the existing waste management facilities for the existing rental building, including indoor storage of garbage, recycling and composting, located at the New Residential Building; and

5. Ensure aesthetic and other improvements to the existing buildings garbage and recycling facilities be provided;

f. The costs of all improvements to the existing residential rental building and associated spaces, both within and outside the building, as described above, shall not be passed on to tenants of the existing building in any form, including by way of an application to the Ontario Landlord Tenant Board or to any successor tribunal with jurisdiction to hear applications made under the legislation governing residential tenancies in Ontario, for the purpose of obtaining an increase in residential rent above the applicable guideline;

g. Prior to Site Plan Approval for the development agrees to develop a Construction Mitigation and Tenant Communication Plan to mitigate the impacts of construction on existing tenants, all to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning Division;

h. Provide a minimum of 50 percent of all new units in the proposed 16-storey residential building as 2-bedroom units; and provide a minimum 17 percent of all new units in the proposed 16-storey residential building as 3-bedroom units; and

i. The Owner shall construct and maintain the development in accordance with Tier 1 performance measures of the Toronto Green Standard, as adopted by Toronto City Council at its meeting held on October 26 and 27, 2009 through the adoption of item PG32.3 of the Planning and Growth Committee, and as updated by Toronto City Council at its meeting held on December 5, 6 and 7, 2017, through the adoption of item PG23.9 of the Planning and Growth Committee, and as may be further amended by City Council from time to time.

Scarborough Community Council held a statutory public meeting on September 15, 2020 and notice was given in accordance with the Planning Act.

This application proposes to amend City of Toronto Zoning By-law No. 569-2013 and former City of Scarborough L'Amoreaux Community By-law No. 12466, as amended, to permit the construction of two additional 16-storey residential rental buildings connected by a five-storey base building at 3050 Pharmacy Avenue. 

A total of 303 rental units are proposed, adding to the existing 252 rental units on site, with a total of 565 parking spaces in the combined underground parking garage.  The existing 18-storey residential rental building, having a gross floor area of 26,978 square metres will remain largely unchanged. The additional gross floor area proposed is 55,276 square metres, resulting in an overall floor space index (FSI) of 3.25 times the area of the lot. 

Of the 303 rental units proposed, 24 are proposed to be secured at affordable rents for a period of 20 years through a registered agreement pursuant to Section 37 of the Planning Act.  Furthermore, rental tenure and improvements to the existing building have been agreed upon as an arrangement for the sharing of new amenity spaces between existing and new residents. These matters are recommended to be secured as a legal convenience through the Section 37 Agreement.

The proposed development is both consistent with the Provincial Policy Statement (2020) and conforms and does not conflict with A Place to Grow: Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe (2019). The proposal represents an appropriate type and scale of development in a strategic growth area that provides an acceptable transition of built form to adjacent low and medium scale areas while securing additional affordable rental units as part of a complete community.

The proposal conforms to the applicable Official Plan policies for lands designated Apartment Neighbourhoods and complies with the direction provided by the City's Tall Building Guidelines. The additional residential infill on the lands is deployed at an appropriate density and built form as provided for by the development criteria for this land use designation.

This report reviews and recommends approval of the application to amend the Zoning By-laws.