Item - 2020.TE16.3

The Toronto and East York Community Council recommends that:

1. City Council amend Zoning By-law 438-86 for the lands at 33 Isabella Street substantially in accordance with the draft Zoning Bylaw Amendment attached as Attachment 6 to the report (February 24, 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 33 Isabella Street substantially in accordance with the draft Zoning By-law Amendment attached as Attachment 7 to the report (February 24, 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, City Council require the owner to:

a. Submit to the Chief Engineer and Executive Director, Engineering and Construction Services for review and acceptance, a revised Functional Servicing Report to determine the stormwater runoff, sanitary flow and water supply demand resulting from this development and whether there is adequate capacity in the existing municipal infrastructure to accommodate the proposed development;

b. Make satisfactory arrangements and enter into the appropriate agreement(s) with the City for the design and construction of any improvements to the municipal infrastructure, all to the satisfaction of the Chief Engineer and Executive Director, Engineering and Construction Services and the City Solicitor, should it be determined that upgrades are required to the infrastructure to support this development, according to the Functional Servicing Report accepted by the Chief Engineer and Executive Director, Engineering and Construction Services;

c. Provide space within the development for installation of maintenance access holes and sampling ports on private property, as close to the property line as possible, for both the storm and sanitary service connections, in accordance with the Sewers By-law Chapter 681-10 and to the satisfaction of the Chief Engineer and Executive Director, Engineering and Construction Services; and

d. Enter into a Section 37 Agreement satisfactory to the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, and the City Solicitor, and register the Section 37 Agreement on title to the subject property to the satisfaction of the City Solicitor, securing the matters of legal convenience outlined in Recommendation 5 below.

5. City Council authorize the City Solicitor to enter into an agreement pursuant to Section 37 of the Planning Act to secure the following matters as a legal convenience to support the development, with no cost pass-through to the residents of the existing rental building on the subject site, all to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning and the City Solicitor:

a. The owner shall continue to provide and maintain the 419 existing rental dwelling units at 33 Isabella Street as rental dwelling units, together with the new and retained associated facilities and amenities, for a period of at least twenty (20) years from the date of the Zoning By-law Amendments coming into full force and effect, with no applications for demolition or conversion from residential rental use made during such twenty (20) year period, to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning and the City Solicitor;

b. Prior to the earlier of either two years after issuance of the first above-grade building permit for the subject site or occupancy of the new building at 33 Isabella Street, the owner shall provide, repair, operate, or maintain at its sole expense the following facilities, amenities and improvements on the subject site as illustrated in the architectural plans and landscape plans dated December 16, 2019, with no pass-through of the costs to the existing tenants, to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning and the City Solicitor:

i. 434 Bicycle Parking Spaces, including 430 spaces within the underground parking, and 4 spaces at-grade;

ii. Indoor storage of garbage, recycling and composting, located at the P1 Parking Level and the ground floor of the new building;

iii. New Indoor amenity space of 373 square metres which shall include, but is not limited to: theatre/media room; gymnasium which shall include, nine cardiovascular and six weight machines, and space for stretching exercises; communal/multi-purpose space which shall include, lockers, seating and tables; party room which shall include, a kitchen, tables and chairs, and a direct connection to the adjacent outdoor amenity area; and a games room which shall include, a kitchen, table, seating and pool table;

iv. Two universal washrooms located on the ground floor of the retained building;

v. New outdoor amenity space of 868 square metres which shall include: outdoor seating, dining tables and five picnic tables; two outdoor cooking appliances, and associated food preparation surfaces and sinks; planting and landscape treatments; and play structure/equipment; and

vi. A total of 285 storage lockers accessible to tenants of the retained rental building and located within the three underground levels of the retained rental building, to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning.

c. The owner shall provide residents of the existing residential rental units with access to the new indoor and outdoor amenity spaces of the new and retained building at 33 Isabella Street at no extra charge to the tenants and with no pass-through cost to the tenants of the existing building. Access and the use of these amenities shall be on the same terms and conditions as any other resident on the subject site;

d. Prior to the issuance of any below grade building permit for the subject site, the owner shall develop a Construction Mitigation Strategy and a 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; and

e. The owner shall provide existing tenants occupying the retained rental units which will directly face the new mixed-use building with the option to relocate to a comparable rental dwelling unit elsewhere in the retained building, should such a comparable rental dwelling unit become vacant and should the existing tenant choose the option to relocate within the retained rental building. The tenant's rent for such comparable rental dwelling unit shall not exceed the rent last paid by the tenant. The order of priority for consideration for relocation shall be based on tenant seniority. The retained rental units identified above include the bachelor units located on the west side of the retained rental building, from the second floor to the seventh floor, inclusive. These studio units are typically identified as Unit 5 on the Typical Floor Plans submitted as part of the Existing Architectural Plans. The unit number will vary depending on the floor on which it is located. The order of priority for consideration for relocation shall be based on tenant seniority.

6.  City Council adopt the recommendation in the supplementary report (June 24, 2020) from the Director, Community Planning, Toronto and East York District, for information.

7.  City Council adopt the recommendation in the supplementary report (July 14, 2020) from the Director, Community Planning, Toronto and East York District, for information.

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 amend former City of Toronto Zoning By-law No. 438-86 and City-wide Zoning By-law No. 569-2013 to permit the construction of a 4-storey mixed-use infill building at 33 Isabella Street. The site currently contains a 27-storey apartment building with 419 rental dwelling units, which will be retained. The proposed development will be located on the western portion of the 33 Isabella Street site and will include 388 square metres of office space and 15 new rental dwelling units. A total of 95 parking spaces (74 spaces for residents, 14 spaces for visitors, and 7 spaces for office use) along with 434 bicycle parking stalls will be provided, for both the new and current tenants, in the existing 2-level underground garage.

Rental tenure and improvements to the existing building have been agreed upon and will be secured as a legal convenience through an agreement pursuant to Section 37 of the Planning Act.

The application represents an appropriate and desirable infill redevelopment of the site, has a built form and public realm that are compatible with the surrounding context and meets the intent of the Official Plan. The proposed development is consistent with the Provincial Policy Statement (2014) and conforms with A Place to Grow: Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe (2019).

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

The Toronto and East York Community Council:

1. Deferred their decision on the Zoning By-law Amendment Application for 33 Isabella Street until a revised public notice has been provided to the property owners at 30 Gloucester Street.

The purpose of this supplementary report is to recommend that Toronto and East York Community Council defer the final report for the Rezoning application at 33 Isabella Street. The City Planning Division and the City Clerk's Office both recommend the deferral in order to provide revised public notice to the property owners at 30 Gloucester Street, whose lands could be affected by an amendment to the prevailing site-specific by-laws 188-68 and 310-69.

City Planning will target a future Toronto and East York Community Council meeting (within the next two cycles) for a decision on the final report and the associated draft zoning by-law amendments, once proper public notice has been provided.

The Toronto and East York Community Council recommends that:

1.  City Council receive this supplementary report for information purposes.

The Final Report for this application dated February 24, 2020 was deferred (Item 14.9 TEY) at the March 12, 2020 Toronto and East York Community Council meeting at the recommendation of City Planning and the City Clerk's Office. The deferral was requested so that the owners at the adjacent property, 30 Gloucester Street, received sufficient notice.

This Supplementary Report provides additional details on the draft zoning by-law amendment as it specifically relates to the 30 Gloucester Street site; in addition it reviews the application for consistency with the new Provincial Policy Statement (PPS) 2020.

The Final Report for this application dated February 24, 2020 was deferred (Item 14.9 TEY) at the March 12, 2020 Toronto and East York Community Council meeting at the recommendation of City Planning and the City Clerk's Office. The deferral was requested so that the owners at the adjacent property, 30 Gloucester Street, received sufficient notice.

A Supplementary Report, dated June 30, 2020, provided additional technical details on the draft zoning by-law amendment as it specifically relates to the 30 Gloucester Street site; in addition, it reviewed the application for consistency with the new Provincial Policy Statement (PPS) 2020.

Due to recent revisions to the draft zoning by-law amendment, a revised Supplementary Report was required. In the Zoning section of the Supplementary Report (dated June 30, 2020), references were made to specific provisions in the draft zoning by-law amendment. The alpha designations of those provisions have changed and therefore the Zoning section of the Report required updating. The intent of the site-specific by-law amendments that were described in the previous Report have been maintained.