Item - 2021.TE23.26

 The Toronto and East York Community Council recommends that:  

1. City Council direct the City Solicitor, together with City Planning staff and other appropriate staff, to attend the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal hearing to oppose the Zoning By-law Amendment Application for 1521 Queen Street West (19 247355 STE 04 OZ) in its current form.

2. City Council defer making a decision on any forthcoming Rental Housing Demolition Application under Chapter 667 of the Toronto Municipal Code pursuant to Section 111 of the City of Toronto Act, 2006, which would allow for the demolition of eight (8) rental dwelling units at 1521 Queen Street West, and instruct staff, if necessary, to report on the Rental Housing Demolition application to City Council at such time as an Local Planning Appeal Tribunal decision has been issued regarding the Zoning By-law Amendment Application for 1521 Queen Street West.

3. In the event the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal allows the appeal, in whole or in part, City Council direct the City Solicitor to request the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal to withhold its final Order on the Zoning By-law Amendments until:

a. draft Zoning By-law Amendments are provided in a form and with content satisfactory to the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning and the City Solicitor, including securing the replacement rental dwelling units and rents, the tenant relocation and assistance plan and any other rental related matters as required to conform with Section 3.2.1.6 of the Official Plan;

b. the owner has submitted a revised Transportation Impact Study and Parking Study acceptable to and to the satisfaction of the General Manager, Transportation Services;

c. City Council has approved a Rental Housing Demolition Application in accordance with Chapter 667 of the Toronto Municipal Code and pursuant to Section 111 of the City of Toronto Act, 2006, which allows for the demolition of eight (8) rental dwelling units at 1521 Queen Street West; and

d. the owner has entered into and registered on title a Section 111 Agreement with the City securing the rental housing matters in Recommendation 3.a. above, all to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning and the City Solicitor.

4. City Council authorize the City Solicitor and appropriate City staff to take such necessary steps, as required, to implement the recommendation above.

5. City Council condemn the illegal eviction of tenants at 1521 Queen Street West by the BSaR group of companies.

On November 8, 2019, a Zoning By-law Amendment application was submitted for the property at 1521 Queen Street West (the "Site"), proposing to amend Zoning By-laws 569-2013 and 438-86 to permit the construction of a new eight-storey mixed-use building with an overall height of 30.9 metres, including the mechanical penthouse (the "Zoning By-law Amendment Application"). The Zoning By-law Amendment Application proposes 78 new residential units and approximately 300 square metres of retail space on the ground floor. The total gross floor area of the proposed building is approximately 5,923 square metres.

With the exception of three car-share spaces, no vehicle parking is proposed. A total of 84 bicycle parking spaces are proposed. A loading area is also proposed at the rear of the Site that includes a Type "G" loading space and a staging area.

The existing building has a long history of being used for rental housing. However, the Housing Issues Report accompanying the Zoning By-law Amendment Application provided the opinion that a Rental Housing Demolition Application is not required for this proposal. Staff have requested since February 25, 2020 that the applicant provide an updated Housing Issues Report containing additional information on the use of the property to support the opinion that a Rental Housing Demolition Application is not required, but have received no satisfactory response. Based on the City's evaluation, a Rental Housing Demolition application under Section 111 of the City of Toronto Act is required for the proposed development.

The Zoning By-law Amendment Application was deemed complete on December 6, 2019. The application was appealed to the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (the "LPAT") on November 2, 2020 due to the City's failure to make a decision within the prescribed time period set out in the Planning Act. .

This report recommends that the City Solicitor, together with City Planning staff, and other appropriate City staff, attend the LPAT in opposition to the proposed development. As proposed, the Zoning By-law Amendment Application is not consistent with the Provincial Policy Statement (2020), does not conform to A Place to Grow: Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe (2020), and does not conform to the City’s Official Plan.

Staff recommend that Council defer its decision on any forthcoming application for Rental Housing Demolition under Chapter 667 of the Municipal Code pursuant to Section 111 of the City of Toronto Act for this Site. Council's decision under this statute is not appealable to the LPAT. Following the LPAT decision on the Zoning By-law Amendment Application, the Rental Housing Demolition application will return to Council for consideration.