Item - 2022.NY34.7

North York Community Council recommends that:

1. City Council approve the Rental Housing Demolition application under Chapter 667 of the Toronto Municipal Code to permit the demolition of 279 existing rental dwelling units located at 314, 315, 316, 317 and 325 Bogert Avenue and 306 and 307 Poyntz Avenue, subject to the following conditions:

a. the owner shall provide and maintain at least 279 replacement rental dwelling units for a period of at least 20 years beginning from the date that each replacement rental unit is first occupied. During such 20-year period, no replacement rental dwelling unit shall be registered as a condominium or any other form of ownership housing that provides a right to exclusive possession of a dwelling unit, including life-lease or co-ownership, and no application shall be made to demolish any replacement rental dwelling unit or convert any replacement rental unit to a non-residential rental purpose. The replacement rental dwelling units shall collectively have a total gross floor area of at least 24,288 square metres and be comprised of at seven (7) studio units, one-hundred and twenty-eight (128) one-bedroom units, one-hundred and thirteen (113) two-bedroom units, twenty-three (23) three-bedroom units, and eight (8) four-bedroom units;

b. within each phase of demolition and subsequent re-development full replacement by number of units, unit type and size will be provided. The replacement rental units will be similar in size and rent, by unit type, to the demolished rental units to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning. Floor plans for the replacement units identifying the sizes, layouts, and location of the replacement rental units by phase will be provided prior to the issuance of Notice of Approval Conditions for Site Plan Approval, to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning;

c. the owner shall provide and maintain at least 165 replacement rental units comprised of at least seven (7) studio units, seventy-eight (78) one-bedroom units, sixty-one (61) two-bedroom units, seventeen (17)  three-bedroom units, and two (2) four-bedroom units at affordable rents, as currently defined in the Toronto Official Plan, and 114 replacement rental units, comprised of fifty (50) one-bedroom units, fifty-two (52) two-bedroom units, six (6) three-bedroom units, and six (6) four-bedroom units at mid-range rents, as currently defined in the Toronto Official Plan, for a period of at least ten (10) years beginning from the date of first occupancy of each unit;

d. the owner shall provide an acceptable Tenant Relocation and Assistance Plan to all Eligible Tenants, addressing the right to return to occupy one of the replacement rental dwelling units at similar rents, the provision of alternative accommodation at similar rents in the form of rent gap payments, and other assistance to mitigate hardship. The Tenant Relocation and Assistance Plan shall be developed in consultation with, and to the satisfaction of, the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning;

e. the owner shall provide tenants of all replacement rental dwelling units with access to, and use of, all indoor and outdoor amenities in the proposed building containing the rental replacement units, at no extra charge, and on the same terms and conditions as any other resident of the building, without separate entrances or the need to pre-book or pay a fee unless specifically required as a customary practice for private bookings;

f. the owner shall provide laundry for each replacement rental dwelling unit on the same basis as other units in the new building. Where laundry is to be provided ensuite, it shall be at no additional cost to tenants;

g. the owner shall provide central air conditioning in each replacement rental dwelling unit within the proposed development at no additional cost to tenants;

h. at least 246 of the rental replacement units will have a private outdoor balcony, patio or terrace;

i. the owner shall provide and make available for rent a minimum of 130 vehicle parking spaces to tenants of the replacement rental dwelling units. Such parking spaces shall be made available firstly to returning tenants who previously rented a vehicle parking space, secondly to returning tenants who did not previously rent a vehicle parking space, and thirdly to new tenants of the replacement rental dwelling units. Existing tenants who rented parking in the existing building would have the right to rent a parking spot at a similar rate in the new building. The final terms and conditions for renting parking spots to tenants of the replacement units shall be to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning;

j. the owner shall provide tenants of the replacement rental dwelling units with access to all bicycle and visitor parking on the same terms and conditions as any other resident of the proposed development, and in accordance with the Zoning By-law;

k. the owner shall provide a proportionate share of storage lockers to tenants of the replacement rental dwelling units. The terms and conditions for renting storage lockers to tenants of the replacement units shall be to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning;

l. the rental dwelling units required in Recommendation 1.a and 1.b above shall be made ready and available for occupancy no later than the date by which seventy percent (70 percent) of the new dwelling units in the phase of redevelopment, exclusive of the replacement rental units, are made available and ready for occupancy, subject to any revisions to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning; and

m. the owner shall enter into, and register on title to the lands at 314, 315, 316, 317 and 325 Bogert Avenue and 305, 306, 307 and 308 Poyntz Avenue, one or more agreement(s) to secure the conditions outlined in Recommendations 1a. through 1l. above, including an agreement pursuant to Section 111 of the City of Toronto Act, 2006, all to the satisfaction of the City Solicitor and the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning.

2. City Council authorize the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning Division, to issue Preliminary Approval for the Rental Housing Demolition Permit under Chapter 667 of the Toronto Municipal Code for the demolition for any of the 279 existing rental housing buildings in any specific phase of the development at 314, 315, 316, 317 and 325 Bogert Avenue and 306 and 307 Poyntz Avenue after all of the following have occurred:

a. the satisfaction or securing of the conditions in Recommendation 1 above;

b. the site-specific Zoning By-law Amendments have come into full force and effect;

c. the issuance of the Notice of Approval Conditions for site plan approval for the phase the existing rental units are located in by the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning Division, or their designate, pursuant to Section 114 of the City of Toronto Act, 2006;

d. the issuance of excavation and shoring permits for the proposed building which includes the replacement rental units on the subject site;

e. the City's receipt of confirmation that the existing rental dwelling units to be demolished are vacant;

f. a tenant meeting with the existing tenants affected by the current phase of demolition and/or redevelopment has taken place, to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning; and

g. the replacement units for any existing rental units at 314, 315, 316, 317 and 325 Bogert Avenue and 306 and 307 Poyntz Avenue previously approved for demolition as part of a previous phase of development have been completed and are ready for occupancy.

3. City Council authorize the Chief Building Official to issue the Rental Housing Demolition Permit under Chapter 667 of the Toronto Municipal Code after the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, has given Preliminary Approval referred to in Recommendation 2 above.

4. City Council authorize the Chief Building Official to issue a Residential Demolition Permit under Section 33 of the Planning Act no earlier than the issuance of the excavation and shoring permit for the proposed development, and after the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, has issued the Preliminary Approval referred to in Recommendation 2, which may be included in the demolition permit for Chapter 667 under 363-6.2, of the Toronto Municipal Code, on condition that:

a. the owner shall remove all debris and rubble from the site immediately after demolition;

b. the owner shall erect solid construction hoarding to the satisfaction of the Chief Building Official and Executive Director, Toronto Building;

c. the owner erects a building containing the replacement rental dwelling units on the site no later than three (3) years from the day demolition of the existing buildings is commenced, subject to the timeframe being extended to the discretion of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning; and

d. should the owner fail to complete the new building within the time specified in condition 4 (c) above, the City Clerk shall be entitled to enter on the collector’s roll, to be collected in a like manner as municipal taxes, the sum of twenty thousand dollars ($20,000.00) for each rental dwelling unit for which a demolition permit is issued, and that each sum shall, until payment, be a lien or charge upon the land for which the demolition permit is issued.

5. City Council authorize the appropriate City Officials to take such actions as are necessary to implement the foregoing, including execution of the Section 37 which was secured through the rezoning application (File Number 16 272007 NNY 23 OZ) and Section 111 Agreement.

The North York Community Council held a statutory public meeting on July 8, 2022 and notice was given in accordance with the City of Toronto Act, 2006.

This application proposes to demolish 281 existing dwelling units, 279 of which are rental units, located at 314, 315, 316, 317 and 325 Bogert Avenue and 306 and 307 Poyntz Avenue. An additional 147 existing rental units at 325 Bogert Avenue will be retained. The lands will be redeveloped with 5 new buildings: 5 buildings of 11, 17, 19, 27 and 29 storeys. The development will include 1,538 residential units, inclusive of the 426 replacement and retained rental units. The remaining proposed 1,112 units are proposed as market units.

The proposal also includes a Tenant Relocation and Assistance Plan that addresses the right for existing tenants to return to a replacement rental unit at similar rent and financial compensation to mitigate hardship.

The properties are the subject of Official Plan Amendment and Zoning By-law Amendment applications (16 272007 NNY 23 OZ), which were appealed to the Ontario Municipal Board, now the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) (Case No. PL170905). A settlement offer was endorsed by City Council on October 1, 2021. Council deferred making a decision on the Rental Housing Demolition application and directed staff to request the OLT to withhold its Order on the appeals until such time as the Rental Housing Demolition application has been approved by Council and all appropriate conditions associated with the Rental Housing Demolition Permit have been satisfied, including the execution of any necessary agreements.

On June 1, 2022, the OLT held a settlement hearing and approved the Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendment application through an interim oral decision. A final decision and Order will be provided later in 2022. Staff have requested that the OLT withhold its final Order until outstanding matters, including a decision by City Council on the Rental Housing Demolition application, are resolved.

This report recommends approval of the Rental Housing Demolition application under Chapter 667 of the Toronto Municipal Code and the demolition permit under Chapter 363 of the Toronto Municipal Code, subject to conditions.