The City Planning Division recommends that:

1.         City Council authorize the City Solicitor and appropriate City Staff to attend the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) to oppose the OMB appeal made by the applicant for Official Plan Amendment and Zoning By-law Amendment Application No.07 289063 STE 27 OZ.

2.         City Council instruct the City Solicitor to advise the OMB that Council would support an alternate Development Strategy for the lands known municipally as 21 Avenue Road substantially as set out in Attachment No.10 to the report dated December 23, 2009 from the Director, Community Planning, Toronto and East York District, and as noted within this report.

3.         In the event the OMB allows the appeal and permits the proposed development, City Council also instruct the City Solicitor to request the OMB to require the applicant to enter into an agreement to secure the provision of public benefits and related matters as deemed appropriate by the Chief Planner, pursuant to Section 37 of the Planning Act.

The applicant has appealed the Official Plan Amendment and Rezoning Applications to the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) due to Council’s failure to make a decision within the time allotted by the Planning Act. A second pre-hearing conference on this file is set for February 1, 2010 and a hearing is set to commence on March 22, 2010.

The purpose of this report is to seek direction from City Council on the position to be taken at a forthcoming Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) hearing scheduled for March 22, 2010.

The application before the OMB is to permit the demolition of the existing Four Season Hotel and in its place proposes a 3-storey base building with three levels of retail. The proposed development would have at the north end of the base building an east-west orientated residential ‘slab like’ building of 28 storeys (90.5 metres to roof, 97 metres to the top of mechanical penthouse) and at the southern end of the base building, a 40-storey residential tower (136.75 metres to roof and 143.25 metres to the top of mechanical penthouse).Vehicular access to the site is proposed to be by way of a two-way north-south orientated driveway from both Yorkville Avenue and Cumberland Street.

The proposed massing represents an over-development of the site and would set a negative precedent in terms of the application of the City’s built form policies and guidelines for tall building development.

This report has identified that the proposal is located on a prominent site in terms of its relationship to an important vista of a sensitive historic environment (Ontario Legislative Assembly) within the City of Toronto. The proposed height of the building at the southern end of the site distracts and compromises this important vista. The report further demonstrates that when viewed from the north side of College Street, the tall building at the southern end of the site creates a negative visual impact.

The proposal in its current form does not meet the Official Plan policy of adequately limiting the impacts of shadows. In the context of a review of the building separation distance and proposed floor plate size, the proposal does not adequately address privacy impacts nor are views through and around the site sufficiently addressed.

After further review of applicable policies and guidelines, the findings of an independent view-shed analysis and review of the revised application materials, planning staff have compiled a Development Strategy where development may be considered at 21 Avenue Road (Attachment No.10).

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