Item - 2022.TE34.40

The Toronto and East York Community Council recommends that:

1. City Council amend the Official Plan for the property at 888 Dupont Street substantially in accordance with the draft Official Plan Amendment attached as Revised Attachment 5 to the report (June 13, 2022) from the Director, Community Planning, Toronto and East York District.

2. City Council amend Zoning By-law 569-2013, for the property at 888 Dupont Street, substantially in accordance with the draft Zoning By-law Amendment attached as Attachment 6 to the report (June 13, 2022) from the Director, Community Planning, Toronto and East York District.

3. City Council authorize the City Solicitor to submit the necessary bill(s) to implement the foregoing recommendation(s) provided the City Solicitor is satisfied that the appropriate legal mechanisms are in place to ensure that no building permit will be issued until such time as the Section 37 Agreement is executed and registered.

4. City Council authorizes the City Solicitor to make such stylistic and technical changes to the Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendments as may be required.

5. City Council require the owner to enter into and register on title an agreement pursuant to Section 37 of the Planning Act and any other necessary agreement(s), in connection with 888 Dupont Street, all to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning Division and the City Solicitor, as follows:

a. the community benefits to be secured in the Section 37 Agreement are as follows:

i. The owner shall provide and maintain twenty (20) new affordable rental housing dwelling units on the lands at 888 Dupont Street (the "Affordable Housing Units"), comprised of at least ten (10) percent of the total residential Gross Floor Area of the new 14-storey mixed use building, all to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, in consultation with the Executive Director, Housing Secretariat, in accordance with the following terms:

A. at least forty (40%) per cent of the Affordable Housing Units shall be a two-bedroom or a three-bedroom rental dwelling unit;

B. one-bedroom Affordable Housing Units shall have a minimum unit size of 48.7 square metres and a minimum average unit size of 55 square metres and two-bedroom Affordable Housing Units shall have a minimum unit size of 60 square metres and a minimum average unit size of 67.3 square metres;

C. the general configuration, location and layouts of the Affordable Housing Units shall be to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning in consultation with the Executive Director, Housing Secretariat, provided that the Affordable Housing Units will be located in contiguous groupings of at least six rental units and that all the Affordable Housing Units will be located on the third floor or higher;

D. the owner shall provide and maintain the Affordable Housing Units as rental dwelling units for a minimum period of forty (40) years beginning from the date that each such unit is first occupied, (the "Affordability Period"). During the Affordability Period, no Affordable Housing Unit shall be registered as a condominium or any other form of ownership housing such as life-lease or co-ownership which provide a right to exclusive possession of a dwelling unit, and no application shall be made to demolish any Affordable Housing Unit or to convert any Affordable Housing Unit to a non-residential rental purpose. Upon the expiration of the Affordability Period, the owner shall continue to provide and maintain the Affordable Housing Units as rental dwelling units, unless and until such time as the owner has applied for, and obtained, all approvals necessary to do otherwise; 

E. the initial rent (inclusive of utilities) charged to the first tenants of any Affordable Housing Units shall not exceed 100percent the average rent for the same bedroom type in the City of Toronto, as reported by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation in its most recent annual Rental Market Report;

F. if an Affordable Housing Unit becomes vacant and is re-rented to a new tenant during the Affordability Period, the initial rent (inclusive of utilities) charged to the new tenant shall not exceed 100percent the average rent for the same bedroom type in the City of Toronto, as reported by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation in its most recent annual Rental Market Report;

G. after the first year of occupancy of any Affordable Housing Units, and for the duration of the Affordability Period, the rent (inclusive of utilities) charged to the first tenants or new tenants occupying such unit may be escalated annually by not more than the annual provincial rent guideline, regardless of whether such guideline is applicable to the units under the Residential Tenancies Act or any successor legislation governing residential tenancies in Ontario, until the tenancy ends;

H. notwithstanding the annual rent increases permitted in 5.a) i. G.. above, the rent (inclusive of utilities) charged to any first tenants or new tenants occupying an Affordable Housing Unit during the Affordability Period shall not be increased to an amount that exceeds 100percent of the average rent for the same unit type in the City of Toronto, as reported by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation in its most recent annual Rental Market Report;

I. the City's Centralized Affordable Housing Access System will be used to advertise and select tenants, provided it is in place. In addition, at least six months in advance of any new Affordable Housing Units being made available for rent, the owner shall develop and implement an Access Plan, which will outline how units will be rented to eligible households in consultation with, and to the satisfaction of, the Executive Director, Housing Secretariat;

J. the new Affordable Housing Units to be constructed shall be made ready and available for occupancy no later than the date by which seventy (70) percent of the new dwelling units in the new mixed use building are available and ready for occupancy, or to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, and the Executive Director, Housing Secretariat;

K. the owner shall provide all tenants of the Affordable Housing Units with access to, and use of, all indoor and outdoor amenities in the new mixed use building at no extra charge and on the same terms and conditions as any other resident of the mixed use building, without the need to pre-book or pay a fee, unless specifically required as a customary practice for private bookings;

L. the owner shall provide all of the Affordable Housing Units with central air conditioning and ensuite laundry facilities at no extra charge;

M. the owner shall provide all tenants of the Affordable Housing Units with access to visitor parking and permanent and visitor bicycle parking/bicycle lockers on the same terms and conditions as any other resident of the building in which the Affordable Housing Units are located, and in accordance with the Zoning By-law;

N. prior to the issuance of the first building permit for a residential use on any part of the site, including permits for excavation and shoring, the owner shall enter into a municipal housing facility agreement with the City (the "Contribution Agreement"), for the Affordable Housing Units that are approved for Open Door incentives, on terms satisfactory to the Executive Director, Housing Secretariat and in a form satisfactory to the City Solicitor. The owner shall provide such Affordable Housing Units in accordance with such agreement(s);

b. the following be secured in the Section 37 Agreement as a legal convenience as matters required to support development:

i. the owner shall provide, prior to the earlier of Site Plan Approval or the issuance of any foundation permit, a more detailed Pedestrian Level Wind Study, including wind tunnel analysis report, to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, which shall include recommendations to mitigate wind impacts year-round for the pedestrian realm, including the POPS, new public park to the east, and the outdoor areas of the base buildings and outdoor amenity areas. The owner shall implement and maintain all recommended mitigation measures, in support of the development to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning;

ii. the owner shall provide an Interpretation Plan for the subject properties, to the satisfaction of the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning and thereafter shall implement such Plan to the satisfaction of the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning.

iii. the owner shall provide ten (10%) percent of all net new residential units in the proposed development on the Lands as three-bedroom units;

iv. the owner shall pay for and construct any improvements to the municipal infrastructure in connection with the accepted Functional Servicing Report, to be submitted for review and acceptance by the Chief Engineer and Executive Director, Engineering and Construction Services, should it be determined that improvements to such infrastructure are required to support this development.

v. the owner shall provide a staging pad abutting the front of the Type G loading space of at least 13.6 square metres, to the satisfaction of the Chief Engineer and Executive Director, Engineering and Construction Services.

vi. the owner shall submit documentation and/or cash contributions toward Transportation Demand Management measures, as listed below, and such cash contributions shall be paid by the owner prior to the issuance of the site plan approval for the development, in the form of certified cheques, to the satisfaction of the General Manger, Transportation Services, and such cash contribution shall be indexed upwardly in accordance with the Statistics Canada Non-Residential Construction Price Index for the Toronto Census Metropolitan Area, reported quarterly by Statistics Canada in Building Construction Price Indexes Publication No. 18-10-0135-01, or its successor, calculated from the date of the passing of the Zoning By-law Amendment to the date of payment:

A. The provision of a minimum of three (3) car-share parking spaces;

B. Written confirmation from a car-share operator that the allocated publicly-accessible car-share spaces, provided on-site, have been accepted and included in their services;

C. A payment of $50,000 to provide a new bike-share station on-site or in the area;

D. One (1) car-share membership per unit, offered for the first year of occupancy;

E. One (1) bike-share membership per unit, offered for the first five (5) years of occupancy; and

F. One (1) Presto card per unit, pre-loaded with the value of a monthly pass, offered at the time of occupancy.

vii. Prior to site plan approval and issuance of the first building permit, the owner shall revise and submit to the City, Landscape Plan and plan details, for review and acceptance, to the satisfaction of the Supervisor, Tree Protection and Plan Review, and address all comments made in the Urban Forestry memo dated May 20, 2022.

6. City Council authorize the Executive Director, Housing Secretariat to negotiate and execute the Contribution Agreement with the owner for the development of twenty (20) Affordable Housing Units at 888 Dupont Street to secure the financial assistance being provided and set out the terms of the operation of the Affordable Housing Units, on terms and conditions acceptable to the Executive Director, Housing Secretariat, in a form satisfactory to the City Solicitor.

7. City Council approve the provision of financial incentives pursuant to the City's Open Door Affordable Housing Program in relation to the Affordable Housing Units as follows:

a. City Council exempt the twenty (20) new affordable rental dwelling units at 888 Dupont Street from taxation for municipal and school purposes for the 40-year term of the municipal capital facility agreement; and

b. City Council authorize the twenty (20) new affordable rental dwelling units at 888 Dupont Street to be eligible for waivers of fees for planning applications, building permits and parkland dedication, and for development charges exemptions, unless already paid.

8. City Council authorize the Executive Director, Housing Secretariat, on behalf of the City, to execute any security or financing documents, or any other documents required to facilitate the delivery of the Affordable Housing Units, including any documents required by the owner to complete pre-development activities, construction and secure conventional financing, where required, including any postponement, confirmation of status, discharge or consent documents where and when required during the term of the municipal housing facility agreement, as required by normal business practices, and provided that such documents do not give rise to financial obligations on the part of the City that have not been previously approved by Council.

9. City Council authorize the Controller to cancel or refund any taxes paid after the effective date of the exemption from taxation for municipal and school purposes, as set out in the Contribution Agreement.

The Toronto and East York Community Council held a statutory public meeting on June 30, 2022 and notice was given in accordance with the Planning Act.

This report reviews and recommends approval of the application to amend the Official Plan and Zoning By-laws to permit a 14-storey mixed-use building at 888 Dupont Street. The building is proposed to contain 155 dwelling units, including 20 affordable housing units and 2,028 square metres of non-residential uses including retail, commercial, and light industrial uses. All units will have exanded home occupation (live/work) permissions. A 179 square metres Privately Owned Publicly-Accessible space (POPS) is proposed along both the Dupont Street and Ossington Avenue frontages. A one-level underground parking garage is proposed with 18 vehicle parking spaces and 174 bicycle parking spaces. Also proposed is the preservation and relocation of the existing chimney stack with heritage value which will be integrated into the public realm at the building's entrance. The proposal is targeting Tier 2 of the Toronto Green Standards Version 3.