Item - 2022.PH35.16

The Planning and Housing Committee, recommends that:

1. City Council adopt Official Plan Amendment 540, Official Plan Amendment 544, Official Plan Amendment 570, and Official Plan Amendment 575 substantially in accordance with Attachments 3, 4, 5 and 6 of the report (June 20, 2022) from the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, as amended by the following:

a. amend the proposed Official Plan Amendment 575, in Attachment 6 by revising the Major Transit Station Area delineations for Downsview Park Station, Sheppard West Station, and Wilson Station to  reflect the delineations shown in the Site and Area Specific Policy maps 732, 711 and 712 attached to motion 1 by Councillor Paula Fletcher. 

2. City Council authorize the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning to forward Official Plan Amendment 540, Official Plan Amendment 544, Official Plan Amendment 570 and Official Plan Amendment 575, as amended by Recommendation 1 above, to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing for approval under the Planning Act.

3. City Council authorize the City Solicitor to make such stylistic and technical changes to the recommended Official Plan Amendments, as may be required.

4. City Council declare by resolution to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing that Official Plan Amendment 540, Official Plan Amendment 544, Official Plan Amendment 570 and Official Plan Amendment 575 conform with Provincial Plans or do not conflict with them; has regard to the matters of Provincial Interest in Section 2 of the Planning Act; and are consistent with policy statements issued under subsection 3(1) of the Planning Act.

5. City Council request the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning to include capital and staffing resources in the 2023 capital budget in order to undertake the necessary work programs to identify opportunities for increased density to support the creation of affordable housing throughout the City.

The Planning and Housing Committee held a special statutory public meeting on July 5, 2022 and notice was given in accordance with the Planning Act.

The Senior Planner, Planning Research and Analytics, City Planning gave a presentation on Our Plan Toronto: City-wide 115 Proposed Major Transit Station Area/Protected Major Transit Station Area Delineations - Final Report.

This report recommends adoption of four Official Plan Amendments that include a total of 115 Major Transit Station Areas/Protected Major Transit Station Areas:

· Official Plan Amendment 540 (Bloor-Danforth corridor) includes 23 stations, all of which are Protected Major Transit Station Areas;

· Official Plan Amendment 544 (lower density targets) includes 10 stations, including six Protected Major Transit Station Areas and four Major Transit Station Areas;

· Official Plan Amendment 570 (city-wide) includes 57 stations, all of which are Protected Major Transit Station Areas;

· Official Plan Amendment 575 (city-wide) includes 25 stations, all of which are Major Transit Station Areas.

These four Official Plan Amendments are to be considered at a Special Statutory Public Meeting under Section 26 of the Planning Act regarding the City's phased Official Plan and Municipal Comprehensive Review. This Municipal Comprehensive Review phase has concluded after an extensive public engagement process that will continue to inform subsequent Municipal Comprehensive Review phases.

The 115 recommended Major Transit Station Areas/Protected Major Transit Station Areas delineations in this report address the conformity requirements of A Place to Grow: Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe (2020) (the "Growth Plan"). The recommended Protected Major Transit Station Areas also address requirements under Section 16(15) of the Planning Act in order to enable inclusionary zoning.

A subset of Major Transit Station Areas will be identified as Protected Major Transit Station Areas, where the Council-approved inclusionary zoning policy framework can be implemented. Official Plan Amendment 540, Official Plan Amendment 544, and Official Plan Amendment 570 delineate a total of 86 Protected Major Transit Station Areas in areas where: the station area overlaps with the Council approved inclusionary zoning market areas; Council has directed staff to identify the stations as a Protected Major Transit Station Area; or where there was an ongoing study which could meet the Protected Major Transit Station Area requirements. An equity lens was applied to this work program by prioritizing the delineation of Protected Major Transit Station Areas to advance the implementation of inclusionary zoning as an affordable housing tool to create inclusive communities.

For each of the 115 station areas, a Site and Area Specific Policy includes the following in accordance with Growth Plan requirements:

1) a delineation of the station area with a radius of approximately 500-800m (or a 10-minute walk);

2) a minimum planned density target (measured in residents and jobs per hectare);

3) identification of the authorized uses of land within the delineated area; and

4) within Protected Major Transit Station Areas only, a minimum development density, expressed in Floor Space Index or in certain cases a minimum number of units.

It is important to note that the density measures included in the Site and Area Specific Policies are minimums only and do not preclude the submission, staff review, and Council approval of any new development applications that may exceed these minimums. The minimum density measures are based on existing Council-approved development frameworks, including: in effect Official Plan land use designations within the identified areas; as-of-right zoning by-law permissions; density permissions included in secondary plans; and approved developments that have not yet been built.