Item - 2022.PH30.10

The Planning and Housing Committee:

1. Directed the Manager, Strategic Initiatives Policy and Analysis along with the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning to continue the work but report back to the April 27, 2022 meeting of the Planning and Housing Committee on additional initiatives including Save Main Street and Small Businesses, the Downtown East Action Plan, Cultural Districts, and Ontario Line impacts.

This report provides the City Planning Division's annual update on its Study Work Program. It outlines the Division's 68 completions and approvals in 2021, highlighting a broad range of city building work across Toronto. The report also provides a forecast for the Division's 2022 Study Work Program.

The Study Work Program Update highlights City Planning's contribution to Toronto's recovery story, working with other divisions, agencies and residents to build back better with a greater focus on resilient and equitable complete communities. The Division is actively examining how its city building work can better deliver planning outcomes that advance social equity and economic inclusion for current and future residents; encourage appropriate kinds of growth and development across Toronto; and guide investment in community improvements and infrastructure. The overarching driver is to focus City Planning's integrated and cross-disciplinary city building approach in support of a more inclusive and climate adaptive city.

In 2021 City Planning advanced studies and initiatives aligned with the City's Corporate Strategic Plan's four Strategic Priorities on affordable housing, mobility, quality of life, and climate change and resiliency. Deliverables included affordable housing policy and programs, such as inclusionary zoning and approvals for Housing Now, Modular Housing and Rapid Housing sites; modernizing parking standards to help reduce auto dependency and contribute to building more sustainable and healthy communities; planning frameworks and implementation strategies to guide future investment, for example, the King-Parliament Secondary Plan, Geary Works Planning Study, and the Downtown Parks and Public Realm Plan; and environmental initiatives, such as Toronto Green Standard Update, to support city-building resiliency and adaptation practices.

City Planning also provided key research and analytics, such as the Right-Sizing Housing and Generational Turnover bulletin and Toronto Employment Survey findings, to support evidence-based recommendations to City Council on policy and programs. A substantial work program also advanced in response to various provincial legislative and regulatory requirements including the Official Plan Growth Plan Conformity and Municipal Comprehensive Review, the new Community Benefits Charge and changes to heritage designation processes. Design expectations to influence better design and development outcomes were championed with the publication of the Mall Redevelopment Guide and monitoring findings from the Townhouse and Low-Rise Apartment Guidelines.  

Looking ahead to 2022, the Study Work Program captures a range of city building activities under the Corporate Strategic Plan's 4 Strategic Priorities, and reflects the Division's shared responsibility to sustain and create more complete and inclusive communities, and improve options for greater local living for future generations.

Affordable Housing and More Options - facilitating new housing across Toronto will continue to be a key priority for the Division through timely development review, initiatives such as Housing Now, Modular Housing and Rapid Housing, Expanding Housing Options in Neighbourhoods and Inclusionary Zoning implementation. The Division will continue to support the development of all forms of housing, with an emphasis on affordable housing across the market and in every neighbourhood of the city.

Keeping Toronto Moving - mobility is a foundational component for a growing, liveable city. The Division will continue to emphasize the importance of mobility and connectivity integration at both the large scale, such as transit expansion projects, and the local scale through coordinated public realm planning that is responsive to multi-modal needs. In practice, this means continuing to articulate and advance city building objectives, including transit equity and design excellence, around Provincial Priority Project lines and station planning; and continuing to work on local area studies, such as the Sheppard Corridor Monitoring Study and the Yorkdale Transportation Study.

Investing in people and neighbourhoods – the Division will continue working in inner suburban communities and areas experiencing change, such as the Keele-St. Clair Planning Study, the Little Jamaica Initiative, Weston Village Planning Framework Study, the Jane Finch Initiative, Update Downsview, Scarborough and North York Centres, and Port Lands implementation. The Division will continue to expand its community partnerships to strengthen collaborative study processes and shared outcomes. Centering equity in city-building conversations has become more important than ever. The Division's new Equity Toolkit will support this work by providing staff with action-oriented resources to engage effectively with equity-deserving communities.

Taking Action on Climate Change and Building Resilience – a changing climate is the background context to all present and future planning. Complete communities must be climate resilient, incorporating sustainable site and building designs that address the City’s environmental pressures, including air and water quality and energy efficiency, and the stewardship and enhancement of Toronto's natural areas. The Division will continue its leadership role in the City's efforts to tackle climate change and build a more resilient city.  This includes supporting initiatives such as Port Lands Flood Protection, the implementation of Ravine and Biodiversity Strategies and Transform TO, updating Official Plan policies and the evolution of the Toronto Green Standard.