The Planning and Growth Management Committee recommends that:

1.         City Council amend the Official Plan substantially in accordance with the draft Official Plan Amendment submitted as Attachment 7 of the report (May 15, 2009) from the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, to provide for the reconfiguration of the Six Points Interchange.

2.         City Council amend the Official Plan substantially in accordance with the draft Official Plan Amendment submitted as Attachment 8 of the report (May 15, 2009) from the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, to provide for a new north/south public road linking Eva Road and Civic Centre Court.  

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

The Planning and Growth Management Committee held a public meeting on June 4, 2009, and notice was given in accordance with the Planning Act.

This City-initiated amendment is subject to the new provisions of the Planning Act and the City of Toronto Act, 2006.

This report recommends amendments to the Official Plan to provide for the approved reconfiguration of the Six Points Interchange and a proposed new mid-block north/south public road linking Eva Road with Civic Centre Court.

The Official Plan amendments will enable the City to protect for, and/or acquire property for the road works noted above through the development review process, and to allow construction of the projects to commence in a timely manner upon the procurement of funding.

The Planning and Growth Management Committee recommends that:

1.         City Council direct the Directors of Community Planning in both Toronto and East York and Etobicoke York Districts to report back, in two years from the date at which the By-laws come into force and effect, to their respective Community Councils on the status of development within their respective segments of St. Clair Avenue West.

2.         City Council amend the Official Plan substantially in accordance with the draft Official Plan Amendment attached as Attachment 1 to the Supplementary Report dated June 1, 2009 from the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning Division.

3.         City Council amend Zoning By-law 438-86 for the former City of Toronto substantially in accordance with the draft Zoning By-law Amendment attached as Attachment 3 to the report dated May 11, 2009 from the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning Division..

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

5.         City Council adopt, in principle, the Urban Design Guidelines for St. Clair Avenue West between Bathurst Street to Glenholme Avenue as provided in Section 4, pages 36 to 45 of the Final Consultant Report (dated December 2007), attached as Attachment 4 to the report dated May 11, 2009 from the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning Division.

6.         City Council adopt, in principle, the Urban Design Guidelines for St. Clair Avenue West between Keele Street to Glenholme Avenue, attached as Attachment 5 to the report dated May 11, 2009 from the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning Division.

7.         City Council direct City Planning staff to examine, either through a Local Area Study or as part of the 5-year Official Plan Review, the long term feasibility of the existing land use designations and uses for the Keele Street Node and Old Weston Road Node and to report back to Council on the findings of their review.

8.         City Council direct the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning in consultation with the General Manager, Economic Development, Culture and Tourism to report back on the feasibility of expanding the geographic area of the St. Clair Avenue West Community Improvement Plan as it relates to façade improvement.

9.         City Council adopt the findings contained in the Community Services and Facilities Review set out in Attachments 6 and 7 to the report dated May 11, 2009 from the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning Division.

10.       City Council adopt the St. Clair Avenue West Action Plan set out in Attachment No. 8 to the report dated May 11, 2009 from the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, and direct the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning to work with City staff to implement this Plan.

Letter from Councillor Mihevc, Ward 21, St. Paul's West, in support of the St. Clair Avenue Study.

The Final Report on the City-Initiated Avenue Study for St. Clair Avenue West, dated May 11, 2009 from the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning Division recommends approval of an amendment to the former City of Toronto Zoning By-law 438-86 to implement the findings and recommendations of the St. Clair Avenue Study conducted for the segment between Bathurst Street and Keele Street. 

This report recommends that the Draft Zoning By-law amendment included in the May 11, 2009 be replaced with the draft zoning by-law amendment contained in Attachment 1 to this report.  The proposed changes are minor in nature.  The first serves to clarify the definition and intent of an "Enhanced Lot".  The second change adds two provisions to the angular plane section to assist in clarifying the paramountcy of the angular plane to height permissions.  These changes add further clarity and certainty to these sections.

As requested by the Planning and Growth Management Committee, City Planning staff drafted an official plan amendment to encourage the development of units for households with children, particularly in the Downtown.  The draft amendment has been circulated to both internal and external stakeholders to solicit their comments and a meeting has been held with development industry representatives.

This report provides a summary of the comments that have been received on the proposed changes during this preliminary consultation process and offers some further refinements to the amendment in response to the stakeholder input.  It also suggests that a community consultation meeting and a statutory public meeting be scheduled in the Fall of 2009. 

The Planning and Growth Management Committee received the item for information.

The Planning and Growth Management Committee recommends that:

1.         City Council extend the two-year period of the Design Review Panel Pilot Project, including the length of membership term for Panel members, by a period of four months, to November 2009.

The purpose of this report is to request a 4-month extension of the Design Review Panel Pilot Project, including the length of membership term for Panel members.  This Project was approved by City Council to operate for a 2-year test period beginning in July 2007.  With the end of the test period approaching, staff are seeking Council's approval to continue operating the Panel in its Pilot phase until November 2009.  This extension will provide City Planning staff with time required to finalise the monitoring program, to evaluate the results of this program, and to incorporate findings into the overall evaluation of the Design Review Panel Pilot Project.

The Planning and Growth Management Committee:

1.         Directed that notice for the public meeting under the Planning Act be given in accordance with the regulations under the Planning Act with the public meeting targeted for Fall 2009.

2.         Directed staff to schedule consultation with stakeholders including the representatives of the development industry and the business community.

3.         Directed that the following proposed policies be the basis of consultation:

In order to provide local opportunities for small businesses and maintain the safety, comfort and amenity of the pedestrian strips, zoning regulations for ground floor commercial retail uses in new buildings in new neighbourhoods or in Mixed Use areas along traditional shopping streets and pedestrian strips where most storefronts are located at the streetline, may provide for a maximum store size based on the following considerations:

-           the prevailing sizes of existing stores in the area;

-           other indicators of opportunities for small business, such as vacancies in existing stores and commercial floorspace in other proposed development;

-           the provision of a range of store sizes to meet the range of local needs including day-to-day convenience shopping and other household goods and services;

-           the potential impact of large vacant stores on the safety and comfort of the strip for pedestrians,

-           the need for ‘eyes on the street’;

-           the rhythm and flow of storefronts on the strip; and

-           the ability to provide ‘flexible’ space so that larger stores may be accommodated through further rezoning if it is reasonable to permit them to meet local needs or ensure the ongoing health of the retail area.

This report responds to Planning and Growth Management Committee's request for a report on a by-law with thresholds for new development that replicates existing and established floorplate ratios. The main concerns are to ensure the provision of adequate opportunities for new and small businesses and provide a safe and comfortable pedestrian environment. Any response should also ensure that the shopping needs of the local population are met conveniently and adequately.

It is not practicable to develop a zoning by-law that would set commercial floorplate sizes in advance of development applications for new buildings. Nevertheless, it may be appropriate to include a policy in the Official Plan that provides for consideration of limits on floorplate sizes through the development approval process. Such a policy would require that existing retail commercial stores and opportunities be assessed in the development of such limits and would set out criteria to guide the setting of floorplate thresholds. This report recommends further consultation for such a policy.

This report responds to Council's request to review the amount of commercial floorspace that should be required in redevelopments on properties that the Official Plan has designated for Mixed Use, including consideration of making the replacement of the existing commercial space mandatory.

The report shows that the Official Plan's approach to the City's retail commercial sector generally meets the needs of retail and service businesses and the City's residents and consumers. It provides opportunities for new businesses and allows the retail system to evolve and adapt to changing economic social and technological conditions. It generally provides adequate retail space that is accessible and convenient for the City's residents. The Mixed Use designation plays a key role: it provides for additional retail development along with residential development, especially on the Avenues, in the Centres and in Downtown; and it provides flexibility for owners to redevelop retail floorspace for other uses if local market conditions warrant.

Nevertheless there may be some instances where proposals to eliminate the retail-commercial space may have a relatively large local impact, especially shopping centres upon which the local residents have relied to meet their day-to-day convenience needs. A proposed Official Plan policy would require that these impacts be considered through the rezoning process, and if appropriate, some or all of the existing space be retained or replaced in the new development. This report recommends further consultation for such a policy.

The Planning and Growth Management Committee recommends that:

1.         City Council approve, in principle, the recommended plan for the transportation network for Emery Village as proposed in the Emery Village Transportation Master Plan Study, and shown in Attachment 3 of the report (May 20, 2009) from the General Manager, Transportation Services, and the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning.

2.         City Council direct the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, to prepare an Official Plan Amendment that would provide for the approved transportation network, to be considered at a statutory public meeting to be held as part of a Fall 2009 meeting of Planning and Growth Management Committee.

3.         City Council direct that Notice for the statutory public meeting under the Planning Act be given according to the regulations under the Planning Act.

4.         City Council direct staff to schedule a Public Information Centre, together with the Ward Councillor, to present the draft Official Plan Amendment prior to the statutory public meeting under the Planning Act.

The Planning and Growth Management Committee requested staff to give consideration to the following:

1.         exploring the idea of tunnelling underneath the parking lot to the north of the extension to Rivalda Road, west of the train tracks, to protect the industrial use on site;

2.         extending bike lanes to serve any new GO Transit or Transit City hubs that are established in the area;

3.         paying the proposed construction and land acquisition costs for the new roads through Development Charges, Development Agreements and Section 37 agreements negotiated in this area without altering any pre-existing Section 37 agreements; and

4.         exploring further options other than Option 3(b) to connect Rivalda Road and Deerhide Crescent.

Recommendation from Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti.

The purpose of this report is to request that the Executive Director of Technical Services be given delegated authority to enter into Municipal Infrastructure Agreements to secure the construction of municipal infrastructure carried out by developers in connection with a Site Plan approval.

The Planning and Growth Management Committee deferred the item until its meeting on September 16, 2009, to allow questions and debate.

The purpose of this report is to update the members of the Planning and Growth Management Committee on the progress of the Mid-Rise Buildings Action Plan and to initiate the public consultation process.

The two primary components of the Action Plan are:

-           Staff consultation with the Mid-Rise Buildings Interdivisional Team, currently being undertaken by City Planning; and

-           the Avenues and Mid-Rise Buildings Study currently being undertaken by the consultant team of  Brook McIlroy Planning + Urban Design/Pace Architects together with Quadrangle Architects. The Executive Summary, draft Mid-Rise Buildings Performance Standards and a summary of completed Avenue Studies from this study is attached.

Public consultation will form an essential part of the Avenues and Mid-Rise Buildings Study. Planning Staff recognize the importance of providing the public with meaningful opportunities to learn about the Study, ask questions and provide comment and will be hosting City-wide consultation sessions once the full Consultant Study is complete and available on the internet by the late summer, 2009.

The Planning and Growth Management Committee referred the letter from Councillor Nunziata to the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, for a report to the Committee as soon as possible.

Requesting tthe Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, to report to the Planning and Growth Management Committee, on the interpretation of "retail use" on the Kodak lands - 3500 Eglinton Avenue West..