Item - 2022.PH34.11

The Planning and Housing Committee:

1. Endorsed the Emerging Directions for the Update Downsview Study in Attachment 2 to the report (May 13, 2022) from the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning as the basis for consultation and engagement.

2. Requested the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning to consider the Emerging Directions of the Update Downsview Study in Attachment 2 to the report (May 13, 2022) from the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning in the review of the Official Plan Amendment application submitted by Canada Lands Company and Northcrest Developments, and any proposed District Plans and development applications within the revised Secondary Plan Area.

3. Endorsed the draft revised Downsview Area Secondary Plan boundary, as found in Attachment 1 to the report (May 13, 2022) from the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, as the basis for consultation and engagement.

4. Requested the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning to continue to advance the Update Downsview Study concurrently with the review of the Official Plan Amendment application submitted by Canada Lands Company and Northcrest Developments and any proposed District Plans, development applications, and/or aligned initiatives within the Secondary Plan Area.

5. Requested the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning to bring forward a draft Secondary Plan and draft Zoning By-law in the first quarter of 2023.

6. Requested the Executive Director, Social Development, Finance and Administration in consultation with the General Manager, Economic Development and Culture, the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, and the heads of other involved divisions, to bring forward a framework for a Community Development Plan in the first quarter of 2023, in the same Council cycle as the draft Secondary Plan and draft Zoning By-law.

7. Requested the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, the Chief Engineer and Executive Director, Engineering and Construction Services, the General Manager, Transportation Services, and the General Manager, Toronto Water to bring forward a draft Master Environmental Servicing Plan in the first quarter of 2023 in the same Council cycle as the draft Secondary Plan and draft Zoning By-law.

8. Requested the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning to expand the review of the conversion request at 695 Wilson Avenue and 90 and 100 Billy Bishop Way (Group 3 - Number 097) by adding the adjacent and nearby properties located at 151 Billy Bishop Way and 3501 Dufferin Street; 600 and 608 Wilson Avenue and 3673 to 3695 Dufferin Street; and 75 to 81 Billy Bishop Way for consideration of a re-designation from Core Employment Areas to Regeneration Areas as part of the Municipal Comprehensive Review.

9. Requested the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning to review the Core Employment Areas designation located at the northwest corner of Home Road and Ancaster Road for consideration of a re-designation from Core Employment Areas to Regeneration Areas as part of the Municipal Comprehensive Review.

This report provides a status update on the Update Downsview Study, a two-year inter-divisional and inter-agency project led by City Planning to update the in-force Downsview Area Secondary Plan. This report also provides an update on the review of the Official Plan Amendment application submitted by Canada Lands Company Ltd. and Northcrest Developments for the lands at 123 Garratt Boulevard and 70 Canuck Avenue, which includes the Bombardier Downsview Airport. The relevant boundaries are shown in Attachment 1: Update Downsview Context Map.

The Update Downsview Study ("Study") was initiated by the City in September 2021 following Bombardier's announced departure from the Downsview Airport by 2023, and the March 2021 approval of Site and Area Specific Policy ("SASP") 596. Site and Area Specific Policy 596 sets out conditions and requirements for the Secondary Plan review including a minimum amount of non-residential uses, the provision of affordable housing, and a number of other studies and analysis that must be undertaken through this Study.

To fulfill these requirements, the Study will deliver an updated Secondary Plan, and area-specific zoning by-law, revised and/or new Urban Design Guidelines, a Master Environmental Servicing Plan (including a Transportation Master Plan) and a Community Development Plan.

The anticipated decommissioning of the Bombardier airfield and the impact of that closure on the rest of the Secondary Plan Area presents a generational and transformative opportunity to reconsider the potential of a large (560 hectares) and strategically located site, and to implement innovative ways of addressing existing City challenges and opportunities. To this end, this report sets out 17 Emerging Directions which are intended to support the establishment of liveable, complete, resilient and transit-oriented neighbourhoods by prioritizing equity and reconciliation, climate action, health and wellbeing. The Emerging Directions will guide and inform the preparation of the Update Downsview Study deliverables, including an updated vision and policy framework, as well as inform the review of the Official Plan Amendment application. The Emerging Directions are:

1. Promote processes and outcomes that centre on equity and inclusion

2. Define a new Secondary Plan boundary

3. Improve physical connections throughout the Secondary Plan Area and to the surrounding City

4. Prioritize robust transit and active transportation networks

5. Improve connectivity through the provision of additional rail crossings

6. Build an extensive public, complete street network

7. Prioritize the delivery of a dedicated north-south active transportation corridor

8. Achieve transit-supportive densities

9. Create a complete community in every phase of development

10. Maximize affordable housing opportunities

11. Preserve the uses of the TTC Wilson Yard and the lands used by the Department

of National Defense

12. Achieve a net-zero emissions community and support climate resilience

13. Expand and enhance the natural environment and its ecological integrity

14. Secure an equitably distributed range of parks and open spaces

15. Create a central public space on and adjacent to the runway

16. Foster inclusive and diverse engagement opportunities

17. Establish Downsview as a hub for arts and culture

The lands subject to the Official Plan Amendment Application ("Application") (210 hectares), are located wholly within the existing Secondary Plan boundary. As a result, the Study is being undertaken concurrently with the review of the application to ensure the coordinated development of a new planning framework for the area.

The Application proposes to permit the development of a series of mixed-use, complete, and connected neighbourhoods to support 83,500 residents and 41,500 jobs by 2051. The Application identifies 10 districts where more detailed planning processes (e.g., District Plans, Zoning By-laws, and Plans of Subdivision) would occur sequentially over the next 30 years.

The City Planning Division is working closely with Canada Lands Company and Northcrest Developments to ensure revisions and refinements to the Application align with the vision and Emerging Directions of the Update Downsview Study.