The Toronto Building Division recommends that:

1.         The North York Community receive the report from the Director and Deputy Chief Building Official, Toronto Building, dated April 7, 2010 for information only; and

2.         The request to demolish subject residential building at 2 and 10 Bonnington Place be approved with the following conditions:

a.        all debris and rubble be removed immediately after demolition and the excavation be filled in; and

b.        the site be maintained free of garbage and weeds, in accordance with the Municipal Code Chapter 623 – 5 and 629 – 10, Paragraph B.

The purpose of this supplementary report is to correct the information provided to the North York Community Council in a report dated April 7, 2010.  In that report, the North York Community Council was advised that the lands at 2 and 10 Bonnington Place would be transferred to the City of Toronto, Parks, Forestry and Recreation Division, free and clear of encumbrances and environmentally clean, for park purposes.  On April 15, 2010, the owner submitted a revised letter to indicate that the lands will be transferred to the City of Toronto for the North York Service Road network extension, in fulfillment of Section 4 of the Hullmark Centre Settlement Offer.

In accordance with Section 33 of the Planning Act and the City of Toronto

Municipal Code Ch. 363, Article 11, “Demolition Control”, applications for demolition permits at 2 and 10 Bonnington Place are referred to North York Community Council to refuse or to grant the demolition permit.

On December 16, 2009, Melissa Cristofoli, on behalf of Hullmark Centre Inc., submitted applications for the demolition of two vacant single family dwellings.  Replacement buildings will not be constructed on the properties as the lands are to be transferred to the City of Toronto.

If the North York Community Council grants issuance of the demolition permits, it may do so with or without conditions.

The City Planning Division recommends that:

1.         City Council authorize the City Solicitor to appear before the Ontario Municipal Board in support of the rezoning application in its current form.

2.         City Council authorize the City Solicitor to appear before the Ontario Municipal Board and support the applicant’s request to revise the Draft Plan of Subdivision Approval previously issued by the Board for the subject lands.  The revised Draft Plan of Subdivision is illustrated in Attachment 1 and is required to implement the following:

a.         The relocation of the commercial block to the intersection of Hucknall Road and Sentinel Road (Block 8);

b.         The provision of 47 residential townhouse units;

c.         The provision and conveyance of a public road (Street ‘A’) through the property from Sentinel Road to Hucknall Road to align with Madron Crescent to the satisfaction of the Executive Director, Technical Services Division;

d.         The provision and conveyance of a pedestrian walkway (Block 9) connecting the new public road to Sentinel Park; and

e.         Any reserves or easements that may be required.

3.         City Council endorse the Conditions of Draft Plan of Subdivision Approval presented in Attachment 8 and authorize the City Solicitor to present them to the Ontario Municipal Board and request the Board include them as conditions to its revised Draft Plan of Subdivision Approval.

4.         City Council authorize the City Solicitor to request the Ontario Municipal Board to return the authority for the Final Approval of the Plan of Subdivision back to the City of Toronto.

5.         City Council request the owner to submit an application for Site Plan Control Approval to implement the Zoning By-law Amendment that includes the following:

a.         The deletion of the proposed access to the commercial block from Hucknall Road and its replacement with a continuous sidewalk and boulevard treatment.

b.         The provision of a loading space of adequate size for the commercial building.

c.         The submission of elevation and site plan drawings for the commercial block which develop the northwest elevation of the proposed commercial building as a significant view terminus at the corner of Hucknall Road and Sentinel Road.

d.         The submission of elevation drawings for the proposed townhouse units south of Street ‘A’ that provide appropriate built form relationships with Sentinel Park.

e.         The submission of landscape drawings and details which augment landscaping on the residential lots adjacent to the proposed pedestrian pathway connection to Sentinel Park.

f.          The submission of landscape drawings which will replace the currently proposed Linden trees and ginko trees with more appropriate tree species for planting within municipal boulevards to the satisfaction of Urban Forestry Services.

This application was made on April 29, 2009 and is subject to the new provisions of the Planning Act and the City of Toronto Act, 2006.

The application proposes to amend an existing site-specific Zoning By-law for 102-134 Hucknall Road to permit the construction of 47 townhouse units and a single storey commercial building with a floor area of 1,022m2.  The application has been appealed to the Ontario Municipal Board as a decision was not rendered by City Council within the timelines established by the Planning Act.  The purpose of this report is to provide information on the application and seek City Council’s position on the matter for the upcoming Ontario Municipal Board hearing. 

The current proposal increases the amount of commercial space from 560m2 to 1,022m2 and reconfigures the space in a single storey building to allow for larger retail units.  The residential density of the proposal has been reduced by one unit from the approved 48 units.  The residential units are designed with front yard driveways and garages which allow for the provision of rear yards and additional landscaping on site.  Staff are recommending City Council support the application in its current form and direct the City Solicitor to appear before the Ontario Municipal Board accordingly.  Staff also recommend that City Council direct the City Solicitor to support the applicant’s request to have the Municipal Board revise a previously issued Draft Plan of Subdivision approval to reflect the changes required to implement the proposal.

There are no financial implications resulting from the adoption of this report.

The City Planning Division recommends that:

1.         City Council amend the North York Centre Secondary Plan, substantially in accordance with the draft Official Plan Amendment attached as Attachment No. 11.

2.         City Council amend Zoning By-law 7625, substantially in accordance with the draft Zoning By-law Amendment attached as Attachment No. 12.

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

4.         Before introducing the necessary Bills for the Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendments to City Council for enactment:

a.         the applicant for the Emerald Park development shall enter into an agreement with the City pursuant to Section 37 of the Planning Act, to the satisfaction of the City Solicitor, to secure and provide the facilities, services and/or matters as generally outlined below:

i.          at grade bicycle rooms containing racks or lockers, at a combined minimum rate of 0.1 bicycle parking spaces for each dwelling unit and 1 bicycle parking space for every 2,000 square metres of commercial gross floor area;

ii.          a minimum of 1.5 m2 per dwelling unit of indoor recreational amenity area;

iii.        a minimum 1528 m2 of street related retail and service commercial uses, fronting onto and directly accessible from Yonge Street and Poyntz Avenue and located within 30 metres of the property line;

iv.         a continuous indoor and underground pedestrian connection to the transit terminal;

v.         the transfer of approximately 15,336 m2 of density from the Lansing United Church lands, west of Beecroft Road, and municipally known as 49 Bogert Avenue;

vi.        to submit to the City a monetary contribution, equal to the market value of the 10,440 m2 of gross floor area obtained through the incentive for social facility space, as outlined in Figure 3.3.1 of the North York Centre Secondary Plan, in the form of a certified cheque, to the satisfaction of the Director Real Estate Services;

vii.        make a Public Art  contribution of $250,000.00 for a public art program to the satisfaction of the Director, Community Planning, North York District.

b.         the owner of the Lansing United Church lands shall enter into an agreement with the City pursuant to Section 37 of the Planning Act, to the satisfaction of the City Solicitor, to secure and provide the facilities, services and/or matters as generally outlined below:

i.          to construct, provide and maintain at its own cost a building with social facility space of a minimum 2,610 m2 of gross floor area, consisting of a non-profit private community centre space that meets the requirements of the Director, Parks, Forestry and Recreation Department and a non-profit child care centre that meets the requirements of Children’s Services, as outlined in the draft term sheet (Attachment 15) and to be secured in the necessary agreements with the City;

ii.         the City to transfer the monetary contribution referred to in 4 (a) (vi) above to  Lansing United Church once Lansing United Church has obtained the first above grade building permit for the construction of the social facility space on its lands, in accordance with the approved zoning by-law and site plan drawings;

iii.        if Lansing United Church does not obtain the first above grade building permit to construct the social facility space on its lands within 2 years of the approval of the zoning by-law being in full force and effect, the City shall put the monetary contribution towards the cost of constructing and furnishing social facilities at another location serving the North York Centre.

c.         subject to the necessary procedural steps required to sell the public lane described as PART 3 on Reference Plan 66R-24757 having an area of approximately 204.5 m2 being completed, Director of Real Estate Services report to City Council;

d.         the Director of Real Estate Services report to City Council on the terms and conditions of the sale of the portion of the Beecroft Road allowance, previously surplused by the City, described as PART 1 on Reference Plan 66R-24757, and having an area of approximately 180.4 m2;

e.         the applicant for the Emerald Park development shall satisfactorily address Toronto Transit Commission (“TTC”) requirements in their letter dated March 30, 2010;

f.          the applicant for the Emerald Park development shall satisfy the required off-site parkland dedication requirements to the satisfaction of the General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation;

5.         City Council approve in principle the Site Plan drawings and draft Conditions of Site Plan Approval listed in Attachments “13“ and “14“, subject to stylistic and technical changes.

6.         Prior to the Director, Community Planning, North York District issuing the Notice of Site Plan Approval Conditions for the Emerald Park project:

a.         the Official Plan Amendment and Zoning By-law Amendment shall be in full force and effect;

b.         the applicant is required to comply with conditions referenced in the Technical Services Division comments dated March 31, 2010,

c.         the applicant shall address the following comments to the satisfaction of Toronto Transit Commission (“TTC”) and obtain TTC’s written acknowledgement that the conditions have been satisfied;

i.          Undertaking Agreement:

Prior to the issuance of the first or any building permit the Developer shall enter into an undertaking agreement with the City of Toronto (”City”) and/or TTC and post with the City and/or TTC letters of credit, satisfactory to the City and/or TTC, providing for the construction of the Sheppard Station Entrance Connection and replacement air pressure relief shaft at the southeast corner of the development site.

ii.         Construction Agreement:

Prior to the issuance of the demolition and shoring and excavation permits for the construction of this development or any phase or stage of this development the Developer shall enter into a construction agreement(s) with the TTC. In the case of phased or staged construction, TTC may require that the Developer enter into a construction agreement with the TTC particular to that phase or stage.

iii.        Demolition Plans:

Prior to the issuance of the first or any building permit, including the demolition permit, for the construction of this development the Developer shall provide the City and the TTC with a plan and method for the demolition of:

a.         Existing TTC facilities to be demolished, relocated, and reconfigured to facilitate this development; and

b.         The proposed development at a future date in case of its redevelopment or partial destruction.

iv.        Noise Attenuation and Exhaust Emissions:

a.         The Developer shall undertake a noise and vibration study; and

b.         The Developer shall have a qualified Engineer certify that the impact of TTC’s current and known future operations, including fan shaft noise and exhaust emissions, have been taken into account in the design and construction of this development.  This report shall include analysis of the Ministry of the Environment requirements governing the location and positioning of air intake and exhaust systems in relation to the proposed building.  

v.         TTC Technical Review:

Prior to starting any demolition or construction, or the issuance of the first or any building permit(s), the Developer shall complete a Toronto Transit Commission (“TTC”) Level 3A Technical Review of the proposed development as applicable to the particular permit applied for and obtain the TTC’s written acknowledgement that the Developer has satisfied all of the conditions arising out of the review. If design of the development is phased or staged, each phase or stage will require a separate Technical Review and attract its own Technical Review Fee. The level of the Technical Review will be confirmed at the time the stage or phase is submitted for review. As part of the technical review process, the Developer shall provide the requisite information and pay the associated review fees to the TTC for each phase or stage.       

7.         Prior to the Director, Community Planning, North York District issuing the Notice of Site Plan Approval Conditions for the Lansing United Church project:

a.         the Official Plan Amendment and Zoning By-law Amendment shall be in full force and effect;

b.         the applicant is required to amend the applicable site plan drawings and the floor plans for the Child-Care Centre, as required, to the satisfaction of Children’s Services; and

c.         the applicant is required to comply with the conditions referenced in the Technical Services Division comments dated March 12, 2010.

8.         City Council authorize the Director of Transportation Services North York District to amend the Downtown Service Road and Associated Road Network Environmental Study Report (April 1991) in accordance with the modified design for the intersection of Poyntz Avenue and Beecroft Road.

The Official Plan Amendment and Zoning By-law Amendment application was submitted on July 7, 2008.  The Site Plan Control Approval applications were submitted on September 17, 2009 for the Lansing United Church site and October 20, 2009 for the Emerald Park site.  All applications are subject of the new provisions of the Planning Act and the City of Toronto Act, 2006.

The Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendment application proposes to amend the North York Centre Secondary Plan and Zoning By-law 7625, as amended, to permit the comprehensive development of the block bounded by Yonge Street, Poyntz Avenue, Beecroft Road and Bogert Avenue.  The proposed Emerald Park development would consist of two residential towers, 40 and 30-storeys in height including a 4-level base building with commercial uses on the first 3-levels.

The application would also permit the renovation and expansion of the existing Lansing United Church building to allow for the establishment of a non-profit social facility with a non-profit Child Care facility and community meeting room space for a number of community programs. The Lansing United Church lands are included in the application to permit the transfer of density arising from the provision of a social facility space as the remaining land density to the Emerald Park site.

This report reviews and recommends approval of the Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendment application and the Site Plan Control Approval applications for Emerald Park and Lansing United Church, subject to the conditions outlined in this report.

The City Planning Division recommends that:

1.         City Council amend Zoning By-law 7625 of the former City of North York substantially in accordance with the draft Zoning By-law Amendment attached as Attachment No. 5 and that the Zoning By-law Amendment shall append a holding symbol “H” to the lands that requires conditions to be met prior to its removal for future development.

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

3.         City Council direct the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning to consider the redesignation of the Provincial Campus from Mixed Use Areas to Institutional Areas within the context of the five-year municipal comprehensive review of the City’s Official Plan.

4.         The Province be required to fund and/or provide the identified transportation network/road improvements as outlined in the Technical Services Memorandum dated April 19, 2010 (Attachment 6), at no cost to the City of Toronto.

5.         The Province be required to develop and implement, within six months of the enactment of the By-law, in conjunction with City staff and the assistance of a TDM consultant, a TDM strategy/plan that would minimize the impact of the proposed campus’ trip generation and parking by implementing a strategic plan with a focus on multi-modal transportation planning, demand management program, and stakeholder outreach.

6.         The Province be required to appoint a permanent full time on-site Transportation Demand Management (TDM) coordinator to manage, monitor and implement the approved TDM strategy for the entire Provincial Campus.

7.         To address the requirement for sustainable transportation impact mitigation measures, including better transit accessibility and connectivity, the Province be required to provide $250,000 to the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) to fund the procurement of a consultant to work with the TTC, City staff and the Province to prepare a feasibility study for a potential bus rapid transit route along:

 i.         Keele Street – from the proposed Finch West and/or Sheppard West subway stations on the Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension; or

ii.         Wilson Avenue – from the Wilson subway station.

8.         City Council determine that since the applicant is ORC acting on behalf of the Province of Ontario, the City’s standard requirements for indemnification, and financial security in the form of letters of credit and deposits will not be required, but that the following requirements will be imposed on the approval of the Draft Plan of Subdivision for the Provincial Campus, or any related municipal infrastructure or other servicing agreements as may be required by the City:

i.          All development, and any new municipal infrastructure and relocated municipal infrastructure, will be constructed in accordance with the City’s standards;

ii.         Enhanced insurance will be provided, to the satisfaction of the City’s Manager of Insurance and Risk Management; and

iii.        Future public roads to be shown as Blocks on the Draft Plan of Subdivision, and such Blocks not to be conveyed to and/or assumed by the City until such time as they are constructed, inspected and accepted and the two year maintenance period has expired.

9.         City Council endorse the attached Urban Design Guidelines (Attachment No. 7) that will be used for reviewing the design of public streets, accessible open spaces and individual Site Plan Control applications.

10.       The Province provide public art contributions in accordance with the City’s Percent for Public Art Program for a value not less than one percent of the gross construction cost of all buildings and structures on the lands.  This is to be secured as a condition of the subdivision agreement.

11.       The Province develop a Public Art Master Plan for the Provincial Campus and that it be approved by the City’s Toronto Public Art Commission prior to the issuance of the Site Plan Control Agreement for Block 2 (Humber River Regional Hospital).

12.       City Council determine that the development of the lands at 1201 Wilson Avenue  would not set a precedent for the ‘Avenue’ segment in which it is located, will not adversely impact the adjacent Neighbourhoods and is partially supportable by available infrastructure and therefore can proceed prior to the completion of an Avenue study.

This application was submitted on February 2, 2009 and is subject to the new provisions of the Planning Act and the City of Toronto Act, 2006.

This application proposes to develop the provincially owned lands at 1201 Wilson Avenue as an institutional campus that will be phased over a number of years.   Proposed uses include a hospital, a forensics laboratory, coroner’s complex, an OPP detachment and government offices as shown on “Attachment 1: Concept Plan”.  A total of 309,525 m2 of institutional uses has been proposed by the Province.

This application is an Infrastructure Stimulus Project with a funding commitment from the Provincial Government and has been identified by the City as a “Gold Star” application.  The Forensics Services and Coroners’ Complex and Humber River Regional Hospital are being developed as part of Infrastructure Ontario’s Design, Build, Finance and Maintain model (DBFM) with demanding timelines built into the contract.  Site servicing for the Forensics Services and Coroners’ Complex has commenced and the Humber River Regional Hospital is scheduled to begin construction in the fall of 2011.

The proposal represents a long-term master plan to redevelop the site as a Provincial Campus with major institutional and office uses.  With an existing 2,350 Provincial employees and approximately 6,000 new employees, this campus will become a significant employment generator in northwest Toronto and would provide a range of public service functions.  The new buildings, cycling paths, public spaces and new public roads would modernize the site, provide attractive streetscapes and integrate this Provincial Campus with the neighbourhood.

While the benefits of this proposed Provincial Campus are recognized, staff have concerns related to the ability of the infrastructure in the area to support this level of development.  To address these concerns, a total of 233,375 m2 of institutional uses are proposed to be permitted on these lands, subject to finalizing site servicing matters through the Draft Plan of Subdivision and implementing the Transportation Demand Management (TDM) measures and limiting parking as described in this report.    Future development will be subject to a holding symbol “H” that will require further studies to demonstrate that sufficient site servicing and transportation capacity is available, and that the TDM measures are implemented and effective prior to allowing the remaining 76,150 m2 of development to proceed.

This report reviews and recommends approval of the application to amend the Zoning By-law with a holding provision for future development.

The recommendations in this report have no financial impact.