Appeal of Committee of Adjustment Decision and

Site Plan Approval - 1107 Avenue Road (North Toronto)

The Toronto Community Council recommends that City Council instruct the City Solicitor and the Commissioner of Urban Planning and Development Services to attend the Ontario Municipal Board hearing in support of the Committee of Adjustment decision dated September 9, 1998 on minor variances and a consent by Ferracorp 2000 Inc respecting 1107 Avenue Road.

The Toronto Community Council submits the following report (October 7, 1998) from the Commissioner of Urban Planning and Development Services:

Purpose:

To advise Council of the appeal and seek Council direction on staff attending the Ontario Municipal Board hearing on this appeal.

Source of Funds:

Not applicable.

Recommendation:

That, should City Council wish to support the Committee of Adjustment decision regarding 1107 Avenue Road, it could instruct the City Solicitor and the Commissioner of Urban Planning and Development Services to attend the Ontario Municipal Board hearing in support of the Committee of Adjustment decision dated September 9, 1998 on minor variances and a consent by Ferracorp 2000 Inc.

Background:

(1)Minor Variances and Consent

The applicant applied to the Committee of Adjustment to permit minor variances to the height and depth limits of the Zoning By-law for both the addition to the school building and the residential structure. The existing and proposed height and depth limits in the Zoning By-law, which are in metres, are shown in the table below:

HeightDepth

ExistingProposedExistingProposed

School 9 9.6 14 83.8

Residence 910.5 - 12.75 14 73

The applicant also applied for a minor variance to the Zoning By-law to permit the use of the Hunt Club for apartment uses, as it was not originally constructed for this use. The applicant applied for a consent to sever the residential portion of the site so that the school and residential buildings will each have their own site.

(2)Committee of Adjustment Decision

The Committee of Adjustment in a decision dated September 9, 1998 granted the variances, conditional upon the applicant entering into a heritage easement agreement, and the consent, conditional upon a registered Reference Plan of Survey and satisfactory municipal numbering. The Committee, in granting the variances, considered them Aas being reasonable, minor, within the general intent and purpose of the Zoning By-law and the Official Plan, desirable for the appropriate development or use of the property and within the jurisdiction of the Committee to allow@.

(3)The Appeal

The Avenue Road Eglinton Community Association, through their solicitors, Gowling, Strathy & Henderson, has appealed the decision of the Committee of Adjustment to the Ontario Municipal Board. A date for the Board hearing has not been established. Various reasons for the appeal are cited in their solicitor=s letter dated September 28, 1998. These include and are summarized as: prematurity pending site plan approval and the owner entering into a site plan agreement; prematurity pending completion of a Transportation Demand Management Plan; adverse traffic impacts; lack of conformity with the Zoning By-law and Official Plan; inappropriate shape of the residential building lot; variances are not minor; overview and shadow impacts; and prematurity pending a traffic and parking study for the area.

(4)Site Plan

On October 1, 1998, City Council approved the Site Plan for 1107 Avenue Road which permits the construction of an addition to the existing school structure for Marshall McLuhan Secondary School of the Toronto Catholic District School Board and a forty-four unit, 3-4 storey residence on the north-west corner of the site. Parking would be provided on-site, 75 spaces for the school in a surface parking lot and 44 for the residence in an underground parking lot. The Site Plan is dependent on the approval of the variances to the Zoning By-law.

In approving the Site Plan, Council required an Undertaking to which the owner has agreed. This Undertaking requires retention of the Hunt Club building which Heritage Toronto has requested. The Undertaking obliges the owner to provide, in addition to the standard requirements, extensive landscaping, a transportation demand management plan, on-site and adjacent transportation improvements, a $75,000 contribution to transportation improvements in the neighbourhood and a construction management plan and to enter into a heritage easement agreement.

Discussion

The need for this school has been determined by the Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB). As indicated in the report from the Commissioner of Urban Planning and Development Services to the Toronto Urban Environment and Development Committee on school facility reviews, dated September 28, 1998, Athe provincial funding formula allows for additional secondary school space within the TCDSB, which the Board will be seeking in order to redress this shortage@.

The proposed development conforms to the Official Plan. The proposed density and the use of the site for a school and a multi-unit residential building conforms to the Zoning By-law. Both the Official Plan and the Zoning By-law contemplate school uses and a variety of residential forms within residential designations and zones. With the exception of the previously noted minor variances, the development conforms to the Zoning By-law. Approval of the height variance would permit buildings which will be similar in height to existing buildings on the site.

Council has approved a Site Plan for the development which is dependent upon the approval of the minor variances to the Zoning By-law. During the site plan approval process, City staff reviewed a traffic impact study and additional traffic data which demonstrated that the proposed access arrangements are acceptable and, with minor alterations which will be paid for by the owner, within the capacity of the existing road network. City staff are working with residents of the area to assess the impact of alternative access arrangements and, if the neighbourhood agrees, the applicant will accept those alternative arrangements. Development cannot reasonably be prohibited while alternative access arrangements, which may or may not be acceptable to residents of the area, are considered. As a condition of Site Plan Approval, an Undertaking has been required by City Council and agreed to by the applicant which would secure various aspects of the site plan, including a $75,000 contribution to neighbourhood traffic improvements and significant public benefits including conservation of a heritage building, widening of the Avenue Road sidewalk and open space facilities which will be available to the neighbourhood after school hours.

Conclusions

The decision of the Committee of Adjustment with respect to these variances and consent supports Council=s position on the Site Plan for this development. If Council supports the decision of the Committee of Adjustment, it may wish to direct the City Solicitor and the Commissioner of Urban Planning and Development Services to appear before the Ontario Municipal Board in support of the Committee=s decision.

Contact Name:

Wayne Morgan

City Planning Division, North Section

Telephone 392-1316

Fax 392-1330

E-mail wmorgan@city.toronto.on.ca

CCCC

(A copy of the following was forwarded to all Members of the Toronto Community Council with the agenda for its meeting on October 14, 1998, and a copy thereof is on file in the office of the City Clerk:

-Committee of Adjustment Decision dated September 9, 1998 regarding 1107 Avenue Road; and

-Communication (September 28, 1998) from Mr. David Tang, Gowling, Strathy & Henderson, addressed to the Deputy Secretary/Treasurer, South District, City of Toronto and the Ontario Municipal Board Secretary).