September 10, 1998

To:Urban Environment and Development Committee

From:Barry H. Gutteridge, Commissioner, Works and Emergency Services and

Virginia West, Commissioner, Urban Planning and Development Services

Subject:Cash Payment-in-lieu of Parking Related to Development Applications (all Wards)

Purpose:

To provide background information and a brief summary of the current policies and procedures in the former municipalities with respect to cash payment-in-lieu of parking related to development applications, prior to recommending consolidated policies and procedures for the new City.

Funding Sources, Financial Implications and Impact Statement:

No funds are required in connection with this report.

Recommendation:

That the Commissioners of Works and Emergency Services and Urban Planning and Development Services be requested to report jointly at the appropriate time, to the Urban Environment and Development Committee recommending consolidated policies and practices for the new City with respect to cash payment-in-lieu of parking related to development applications.

Background:

Currently, each of the former municipalities comprising the City of Toronto uses its own fee schedule or formulas to determine the amount of cash payment required, if appropriate, in lieu of providing parking for developments. As a result, the payment required from developers could vary significantly within the new City, even for developments which are similar in use and in scale. Consequently, staff of Works and Emergency Services and Urban Planning and Development Services have initiated a joint review of the current payment-in-lieu of parking policies and practices of the former municipalities in order to develop consolidated policies and practices to be implemented in the new City and eliminate any existing disparities.

Comments:

Introduction

Section 40 of the Planning Act makes provision for a municipality, if it chooses to do so, to accept cash payments from the owners or occupants of buildings in lieu of providing parking which otherwise would be required by the applicable Zoning By-law. The intent of payment-in-lieu is to assist developers in satisfying their parking requirements in those cases where it is not physically possible or desirable to provide the parking on-site, and when there are no opportunities for the applicant to secure off-site parking within a reasonable distance of the project, but only if the municipality determines that the parking generated by the project can be adequately accommodated in the off-street public parking facilities located in the area. Section 40 reads, in part, as follows:

40(1)"Where an owner or occupant of a building is required under a by-law of a local municipality to provide and maintain parking facilities on land that is not part of a highway, the council of the municipality and such owner or occupant may enter into an agreement exempting the owner or occupant, from the requirement of providing or maintaining the parking facilities."

40(2)"An agreement entered into under sub-section (1) shall provide for the making of one or more payments of money to the municipality as consideration for the granting of the exemption and shall set forth the basis upon which such payment is calculated."

Current Payment-in-lieu Policies

Although there are considerable differences in the manner in which the former municipalities currently calculate cash payment-in-lieu of parking, the payment-in-lieu policies are generally consistent. To summarize, the current policies are as follows:

- payment-in-lieu of parking is not intended to be an automatic right of the proponent, rather it is applied at the discretion of the municipality only if planning and transportation objectives are not jeopardized;

- payment-in-lieu is only considered for non-residential developments or the non-residential components of mixed-use developments;

- payment-in-lieu is generally considered a last resort and in most cases, it is preferable for the applicant to provide on-site or, in some circumstances, off-site leased parking to satisfy the Zoning By-law requirements of a project;

- the applicant must demonstrate why the existing parking provisions of the Zoning By-law cannot be accommodated on site (site access constraints, size of development parcel, retention of an existing building, etc.);

- staff assess the existing parking situation in the area of the application and the impact of the proposed exemption on the surrounding neighbourhood;

- all applicants must enter into an agreement with the municipality for the payment-in-lieu; and

- all payments received by the municipality are placed in a Parking Reserve Fund for the acquisition, development and improvement of municipal parking facilities.

Current Calculation of Payment-in-lieu Contributions

While the general payment-in-lieu policies of each of the former municipalities are consistent, the fees and formulas used to calculate the required payments differ considerably. Some municipalities have established set payment-in-lieu fees based on the size and type of the development whereas other municipalities have adopted formulas, which are a function of the land values and construction costs in the area, to determine the payment.

Issues

Several issues must be considered in the development of new policies and practices for payment-in-lieu of parking. Some of the key issues are summarized below:

- should payment-in-lieu of parking be retained as an option, to be applied at the discretion of the City, in cases where the provision of on-site or off-site parking is not feasible or desirable;

- should the existing fees and formulas be retained or should there be a uniform fee or formula across the new City for determining the required payment;

- should the fee or formula be based on the type or size of development, or as a function of the land values in the area for which the application has been made;

- should the funds from payment-in-lieu be earmarked for the area in which the funds are collected or placed in a general fund;

- who administers the funds and how should they be used; and

- who processes the payment-in-lieu applications, how should they be processed, and should there be any public consultation in dealing with these applications.

These issues, as well as others, will be addressed in the development of the proposed payment-in-lieu policies and practices for the new City and, as recommended above, will be the subject of a further joint report to your Committee.

Contact Name and Telephone Number:

John Mende, Manager

Development and Transportation

Infrastructure Planning and Transportation Division

392-7713

______________________________ ____________________________

David C. KaufmanPaul Bedford

General ManagerExecutive Director

Transportation Services Urban Planning

__________________________________________________________

Barry H. GutteridgeVirginia West

CommissionerCommissioner

Works and Emergency ServicesUrban Planning and Development Services

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JM/sah