CITY CLERK
Clause embodied in Report No. 9 of the North York Community Council, as
adopted by the North York Community Council at its meeting held on
September 16, 1998.
44(e)5 Percent Cash-in-Lieu of Parkland Dedication - 693316 Ontario Limited -
508-518 Coldstream Avenue - North York Spadina.
The North York Community Council reports having deferred the following report to
its next meeting scheduled for October 14, 1998, in order to provide the local
Councillors an opportunity to meet with the applicant and appropriate staff:
(August 18, 1998) from the Director of Policy and Development, Economic Development,
Culture and Tourism, recommending that the 5 percent cash-in-lieu of parkland dedication
payment remain applicable for this development.
August 18, 1998
To:Chairman and Members of the North York Community Council
From:Frank Kershaw
Director of Policy and Development
Subject:5% Cash-in-Lieu of Parkland Dedication Requirement
693316 Ontario Limited
508 - 518 Coldstream Avenue
Lots 2 - 7, R.P. 3171, Part of Lot 1, R.P. 3556
Ward 8 - North York Spadina
Purpose:
The purpose of this report is to clarify the application of the 5 percent cash-in-lieu of
parkland dedication payment attributable to the above noted development. The solicitor
acting on behalf of 693316 Ontario Limited wishes to make a submission to Community
Council to present his position with regard to the 5 percent cash-in-lieu payment (see
attached Schedule A).
Recommendations:
It is recommended that:
(1)The 5 percent cash-in-lieu of parkland dedication payment remain applicable for this
development.
Background:
1.0Subject Lands:
The subject lands involve 7 lots, Lots 2 to 7, R.P. 3171 and Part of Lot 1, R.P. 3556. These
lands are municipally known as 508, 510 and 518 Coldstream Avenue (see attached
Schedule B).
The above noted lands were the subject of amendment application UDOZ-96-12 which was
approved by the former City of North York Council at its meeting held on April 16, 1997.
Council approved the redevelopment of the subject lands to permit 10 new detached
dwellings and enacted By-law No. 32999 (see attached Schedule C). At the time of the
zoning amendment application 3 of the lots had existing detached dwellings located on them
and 4 of the lots did not have structures on them, were undeveloped and vacant.
2.0Planning Act, Section 42 and By-law No. 30152:
Section 42(1) of the Planning Act, RSO 1990, c. P.13, reads as follows:
"As a condition of development or redevelopment of land, the council of a local
municipality may, by-by-law applicable to the whole municipality or to any defined area or
areas thereof, require that land in an amount not exceeding, in the case of land proposed for
development or redevelopment for commercial or industrial purposes, 2 per cent and in all
other cases 5 per cent of the land be conveyed to the municipality for park or other public
recreational purposes."
The option for municipalities to request payment of cash-in-lieu of parkland dedication from
developers did not appear as a provision within the Planning Act until 1983 (Section 41,
Planning Act, 1983, S.O. 1983, C.1).
On March 9, 1987 the former City of North York enacted By-law No. 30152 (see attached
Schedule D). By-law No. 30152 still remains in full force and effect. This is the by-law
specified in Section 42(1) of the Planning Act, which enables the former municipality of
North York to apply a parkland dedication requirement to development or redevelopment of
land. That dedication can be in the form of land or cash-in-lieu of a land dedication
payment. By-law No. 30152 defines development and redevelopment of lands as follows:
"Development means the construction, erection or placing of one or more buildings or
structures on land or the making of an addition or alternation to a building or structure that
has the effect of substantially increasing the size or usability thereof, or the laying out and
establishment of a commercial parking lot.
Redevelopment means the removal of a building or structures from land and further
development of the land, or the substantial renovation of a building or structure and a
change in the character or density of use in connection therewith".
2.1Exemptions:
There are exemptions where the City does not apply a parkland dedication requirement.
Generally, developments such as places or worship, publicly funded schools and
institutional uses are exempt. Detached dwellings on an individual basis are exempt when
they are as-of-right development or redevelopment of an existing detached dwelling. Or if a
land conveyance was made by a previously registered plan of subdivision, that may fulfill
the statutory parkland dedication requirement.
2.2Current Practice:
There are two ways the City can apply the parkland dedication requirement as set out in
By-law No. 30152. The first is if the lands in question are the subject of a zoning
amendment application or a plan of subdivision application. The Parks and Recreation
Department determines, at time of application circulation, if a land dedication or cash-in-lieu
of parkland dedication is appropriate for the development. Parks and Recreation then reports
its requirements to the Planning Department for inclusion in their staff report on the
application and it becomes a condition of approval.
The second method of application is when the development is permitted as-of-right. If this is
the case, then it is determined by Parks and Recreation if a cash-in-lieu payment is
applicable or not.
At present, the majority of parkland dedication requirements secured in North York are by
means of zoning amendment or subdivision applications and are in the form of cash-in-lieu.
This is due to the fact that most development or redevelopment sites in North York are small
in size and do not warrant an on-site parkland dedication.
3.0Land Divisions:
North York also applies the practice of collecting a cash levy for parks through applications
for land divisions. If a land division is applied for, then the City has the ability to collect
$1,000 for each new lot created by means of a land division.
4.0Registered Plans 3171 and 3556:
The majority of the subject lands, Lots 2 to 7, are lots found within Registered Plan 3171
which was registered on July 13, 1944. The plan consists of 68 detached dwelling lots, 4
commercial blocks and public roadways. Part of Lot 1, R.P. 3556 also forms part of the
subject lands. This plan consists of 36 detached dwelling lots and public roadways and was
registered on April 26, 1948. No conveyance of parkland blocks are indicated on either of
these plans of subdivision.
5.0UDOZ-96-12:
Amendment application UDOZ-96-12 was received by the Planning Department on April 2,
1996 and then circulated to other departments and agencies for comments. The original
proposal was for development of the site with 14 multiple attached dwelling units.
In its comments to the Planning Department dated August 8, 1996 (see attached Schedule E)
the Parks and Recreation Department advised that if this application was approved by
Council, it would be subject to a 5 percent cash-in-lieu of parkland dedication payment. A
copy of these comments were forwarded directly to the applicant by Planning Department
staff (see attached Schedule E1).
On November 26, 1996 the Planning Department recirculated amendment application
UDOZ-96-12 to other departments and agencies for comments, as the applicant had
modified their proposal. The applicant was now requesting permission to develop the
subject lands with 10 detached dwellings.
In its revised comments to the Planning Department dated January 7, 1997 (see attached
Schedule F) the Parks and Recreation Department advised that if this application was
approved by Council, it would be subject to a 5 percent cash-in-lieu of parkland dedication
payment.
The Planning Department prepared a staff report on this application dated February 4, 1997.
The report was received by Planning Committee on February 12, 1997. The statutory public
meeting was held on March 26, 1997 and former City of North York Council approved this
amendment application at its meeting held on April 16, 1997. By-law No. 32999 was
enacted by former City of North York Council on May 28, 1997 and is now deemed to be in
force.
Comments and Discussion:
6.0Current Status:
The land owner has made application to the City for building permits for the 10 detached
dwellings. At time of building permit application, the applicant was informed that the
development would be subject to a 5 percent cash-in-lieu of parkland dedication payment. In
a memorandum dated May 4, 1998 (see attached Schedule G), the Property Section of the
Finance Department assessed the 5 percent cash-in-lieu of parkland dedication payment for
the 10 detached dwellings at $90,000 or $9,000 per dwelling. The land owner has been
advised of this information.
At the time of writing this report, the land owner has made two payments to the City of
$9,000 each for cash-in-lieu of parkland dedication. This fulfills the parkland dedication
requirement for two of the ten building permits. These payments have been made under
protest.
7.0Legal Department Interpretation:
The solicitor acting on behalf of the land owner wrote a letter to the Parks and Recreation
Department dated March 25, 1998 (see attached Schedule H) questioning the applicability of
the 5 percent cash-in-lieu of parkland dedication payment for his client's development.
The Parks and Recreation Department forwarded the March 25, 1998 letter from the land
owner's solicitor to the Legal Department for interpretation and response. In a letter dated
March 26, 1998 (see attached Schedule I) the Legal Department advised the land owner's
solicitor of the following:
- The Planning Act of Ontario gives authority to all local municipalities to require a
parkland dedication, or cash-in-lieu thereof, as a condition of development or
redevelopment of land.
- Within the text of By-law No. 30152, development and redevelopment are defined. It is
the City's position that the proposal for 10 detached dwellings on the above noted lands,
which was approved by Council by means of an amending by-law, constitutes
development of the subject lands. Therefore, you are subject to, in this case, a 5 percent
cash-in-lieu of parkland dedication payment prior to the issuance of any building permits
for the subject lands.
- By-law No. 30152 does not require that you receive notice in advance of this levy. This is
a levy recognized by public statute and must be paid prior to building permit issuance.
Conclusions:
Despite the fact the land owner has said he was unaware of the cash-in-lieu of parkland
dedication requirement of Parks and Recreation when the property was purchased, the
Ontario Planning Act permits municipalities the ability to apply a parkland dedication
requirement as a condition of development or redevelopment of land. The land owner was
advised of this requirement at time of building permit application.
Former City of North York By-law No. 30152 is the enabling by-law which gives the City
the authority to implement a parkland dedication, or cash-in-lieu thereof, for development or
redevelopment of land. By-law No. 30152 remains in full force and effect. The lands in
question were the subject of an amendment application that represented both development
and redevelopment of these lands.
Therefore, the City was operating within its authority to request a cash-in-lieu of parkland
dedication from this land owner for this development.
Contact Names:
Ed Newhook, Manager Policy and Planning
Phone: 395-7907Fax: 395-7886
Tim Park, Land Use Planner
Phone: 395-0221Fax: 395-7886
Frank Kershaw
Director of Policy and Development
Schedules:
ALetter from solicitor representing 693316 Ontario Limited dated June 29, 1998
BZoning Map
CBy-law No. 32999
DBy-law No. 30152
EParks and Recreation memorandum dated August 8, 1996
E1Letter to applicant dated August 13, 1996 with Parks and Recreation comments attached.
FParks and Recreation memorandum dated January 7, 1997
GFinance Department memorandum dated May 4, 1998
HLetter from solicitor representing land owner dated March 25, 1998
ILetter from Legal Department dated March 26, 1998
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