Item - 2020.TE16.2

The Toronto and East York Community Council recommends that: 

1. City Council amend former City of Toronto Zoning By-law 438-86, as amended for the lands at 625 Runnymede Road, 274 St. John's Road, and 40 Fisken Avenue substantially in accordance with the draft Zoning By-law Amendment attached as Attachment 5 to the report (June 22, 2020) from the Director, Community Planning, Toronto and East York District.

2. City Council amend City of Toronto Zoning By-law 569-2013 for the lands at 625 Runnymede Road, 274 St. John's Road, and 40 Fisken Avenue substantially in accordance with the draft Zoning By-law Amendment attached as Attachment 6 to the report (June 22, 2020) from the Director, Community Planning, Toronto and East York District.  

3. City Council authorizes the City Solicitor to make such stylistic and technical changes to the draft 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 an amending agreement pursuant to Section 37 of the Planning Act to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning and the City Solicitor, with such agreement to be registered on title to the lands at 625 Runnymede Road, 274 St. John's Road, and 40 Fisken Avenue in a manner satisfactory to the City Solicitor to be secured, as a legal convenience to support development, the additional 180 square metre Privately-Owned Publically Accessible Open Space (POPS) space abutting the existing 350 square metre POPS space at the northwest corner of St. John's Road and Fisken Avenue, as generally shown on the Site Plan attached as Attachment 7: Site Plan at the owner's sole cost and expense, subject to the following:

a. the owner is to own, provide, operate, maintain, and repair the consolidated landscaping of 530 square metres, inclusive of the existing 350 square metres POPS at the northwest corner of St. John’s Road and Fisken Avenue, and install and maintain a sign, at its own expense, stating that members of the public shall be entitled to use the POPS at all times of the day and night, 365 days of the year, and the specific location, configuration and design of the POPS shall be determined through the site plan approval process, pursuant to Section 114 of the City of Toronto Act, 2006, and secured in a Site Plan Agreement with the City; and,

b. in addition to the rights of public access to POPS as secured by the above provisions, the owner shall also grant an easement along the surface of the lands in a form and on terms acceptable to the City Solicitor, in perpetuity to the City, and at no cost to the City, to permit such public use of the publicly assessable open space.

c. 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.

The Toronto and East York Community Council held a statutory public meeting on July 16, 2020 and notice was given in accordance with the Planning Act.

This application proposes to construct a five-storey, 200-bed long-term care addition to the existing four-storey Runnymede Health Care Centre hospital at 625 Runnymede Road, 274 St. John's Road, and 40 Fisken Avenue. The site is subject to Site-Specific By-law 841-2002 which, in addition to permitting the existing hospital, also secured a Privately-Owned Publically Accessible Open Space (POPS) located at the southeast corner of the site. The application proposes to expand the POPS space.

A small renovation to the existing hospital is also proposed in this application to create additional interior space. The renovation includes an expansion of the hospital dining rooms by enclosing the terraces, and creating additional space for physiotherapy within the two open courtyards.

The proposed development is consistent with the Provincial Policy Statement (2020) and conforms to A Place to Grow: Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe (2019). The proposed use is consistent with the Official Plan's Institutional Lands land-use designation.

The proposal, at 5-storeys in height, articulated with a stepback of the mechanical penthouse, represents a scale of development that is appropriate for the neighbourhood, fitting in with the surrounding lower-scaled built form character, enhancing the public realm, and serving to create much needed additional long-term care service in the city.                   

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