Item - 2021.TE28.7

The Toronto and East York Community Council recommends that:

1.  City Council direct the City Solicitor and appropriate City staff to attend the Ontario Land Tribunal in opposition to the current application regarding the Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendment appeals for the lands at 1405-1409A Bloor Street West and 229-231A Sterling Road.

2.  In the event that the Ontario Land Tribunal allows the appeals in whole or in part, City Council authorize the City Solicitor to request that the issuance of any final Orders be withheld until such time as the City Solicitor advises that:

a. the final form and content of the draft Official Plan and Zoning By-law amendments are to the satisfaction of the City Solicitor and the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning;

b. the owner has addressed all outstanding issues raised by Engineering and Construction Services as they relate to the Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendment application as set out in their memo dated February 22, 2021 or as may be updated in response to further submissions filed by the owner, to the satisfaction of the Chief Engineer and Executive Director, Engineering and Construction Services;

c. the owner has provided a revised Functional Servicing Report, Stormwater Management Report, Municipal Servicing and Grading Plan, and any other reports or documents deemed necessary in support of the development to the City for review and acceptance by and to the satisfaction of the Chief Engineer and Executive Director, Engineering and Construction Services. These reports shall determine whether the municipal water, sanitary and storm sewer systems can support the proposed development and whether upgrades or improvements of the existing municipal infrastructure are required;

d. the owner has entered into a financially secured agreement for the construction of any improvements to the municipal infrastructure, at the owner's sole expense, should it be determined that upgrades are required to support the development as identified in the accepted Functional Servicing and Stormwater Management Reports or any other reports accepted by the Chief Engineer and Executive Director, Engineering and Construction Services; 

e. City Planning staff have confirmed whether a Rental Housing Demolition application under Chapter 667 of the Toronto Municipal Code pursuant to Section 111 of the City of Toronto Act, 2006 is required to demolish the existing rental dwelling units at 1405-1409A Bloor Street West and 229-231A Sterling Road and, if such an application is required, that City Council has made a decision on a future Rental Housing Demolition application for 1405-1409A Bloor Street West and 229-231A Sterling Road and the owner has entered into, and registered on title to the lands, one or more agreements with the City, to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning and the City Solicitor, securing all rental housing-related matters necessary to implement Council's decision; and

f. the parties have had an opportunity to negotiate community benefits and other matters in support of the development to be secured in an agreement pursuant to Section 37 of the Planning Act, and such agreement has been registered on title to the lands in a form satisfactory to the City Solicitor and the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning.

3. City Council authorize the City Solicitor and appropriate City staff to continue discussions with the applicant to address the issues outlined in the report (September 21, 2021) from the Director, Community Planning, Toronto and East York District.

4. City Council authorize the City Solicitor and City staff to take any necessary steps to implement  the recommendations above.

On October 6, 2020, an application to amend the Official Plan and Zoning By-law was submitted for the properties at 1405-1409A Bloor Street West and 229-231A Sterling Road (the "subject site"), in order to redevelop the lands with an 18-storey mixed use building with an overall building height of 67.5 metres, inclusive of the mechanical penthouse (the "application").

The application was deemed complete on November 6, 2020 and appealed by the applicant to the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal, now called the Ontario Land Tribunal (the "OLT"), on April 8, 2021 due to the City's failure to make a decision on the application 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 OLT in opposition to the application. The proposed Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendments are not consistent with parts of the Provincial Policy Statement (2020), do not conform to parts of A Place to Grow: Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe (2020), and do not conform to the City's Official Plan, in particular, the public realm, built form, and land use designation policies. Further, the proposed development does not adequately address the City's Tall Building Design Guidelines or Growing Up Guidelines, or meet the intent of those guidelines.