November 15, 1999

To: North York Community Council

From: Rob Dolan

Community Planning, North District

Subject: SUPPLEMENTARY REPORT:

Files: Zoning By-law Amendment UDZ-97-40 and Site Plan UDSP-97-222.

Ward: 10 - North York Centre

Purpose:

This report is supplementary to the Status Report, dated May 12, 1999, as amended and adopted by Council. Given the detail provided on this application in the Status Report, this Supplementary Report briefly reiterates the background, the specifics of the proposal and the applicable planning controls.

Finally, this report recommends that the City Solicitor be authorized to attend the OMB Hearing to defend the recommendations of this report and oppose the appeal of OPA 447 made by Premium Properties Limited, if necessary.

Financial Implications and Impact Statement:

Council is advised that an implication of the recommendations of this report is that the City will not achieve monies for the sale and transfer of its unused density to this proposed development.

Recommendations:

It is recommended that:

(1) Zoning By-law Amendment application UDZ-97-40 and Site Plan Approval application UDSP-97-222 be revised in accordance with the recommendations and comments made in this report;

(2) the applicant include, with a submission of revised plans pursuant to Recommendation (1) above, a use or development proposal and/or clarification on their intentions for their lands on the west side of Beecroft Road;

(3) the applicant's request to rezone their lands on the west side of Beecroft Road, including the Lansing United Church site, to implement the applicable policies of the Part D.2, Downtown Plan, as amended by OPA 393, which would permit densities to be transferred and used for residential purposes, is in principle supportable;

(4) if 31 Bogert Avenue and City-owned lands, described as a 186 m² strip of land adjacent to the east side of Beecroft Road and a 72 m² portion of the north-south public lane located west of Yonge Street, are acquired by Premium Properties Limited, while the current application remains active, that such lands be subject to the policies of the Part D.2, Downtown Plan, as amended by OPA 393;

(5) the applicant be advised that an application to amend the Part D.2, Downtown Plan, as amended by OPA 393, would be required:

(a) for indoor recreational amenity space to be considered for exemption from the calculation of density; and

(b) for the building heights proposed to be considered;

(6) the applicant be advised that a 1.5 metre wide conveyance is required across the Bogert Avenue frontage of the site to attain a 23-metre wide right-of-way, as discussed in the Status Report, dated May 12, 1999;

(7) the applicant be advised that the City will not sell and transfer densities from the Beecroft Road extension and the closed portion of Bogert Avenue to the development block as proposed by the Zoning By-law amendment application;

(8) should Council determine that densities should be sold and transferred from the Beecroft Road extension and the closed portion of Bogert Avenue to the applicant, that such densities be used for non-residential or commercial-only purposes;

(9) the applicant be requested to withdraw their appeal of OPA 447; and

(10) the City Solicitor and City staff be requested to attend the Ontario Municipal Board, scheduled to commence February 7, 2000, to defend the recommendations of this report and oppose the applicant's appeal of OPA 447, if necessary.

Background:

Origin:

At its meeting held June 9, 10 and 11, 1999, City Council adopted North York Community Council Report 5, Clause 24, containing this Department=s Status Report (May 12, 1999) on the proposal.

The May 12^th Status Report reviewed in detail:

· the applicant=s proposal;

· site context;

· applicable planning controls;

· the transfers of density and incentives being considered;

· land ownership status; and

· other planning issues.

When it considered the Status Report, North York Community Council recommended that:

$ the Status Report be received;

$ a further community consultation meeting be scheduled prior to Council=s consideration of all municipal density transfers; and

$ prior to the Administration Committee=s review of the real estate matters regarding the sale of lands and the associated densities, a Final Report be prepared evaluating the proposal and provide notice of the statutory public meeting at the appropriate time.

A second community consultation meeting has been scheduled for November 24, 1999, which is prior to North York Community Council consideration of this report at its meeting scheduled for December 2, 1999.

Proposal:

The applicant seeks permission to build two 29-storey buildings containing 1,140 m² of retail gross floor area (GFA) and 416 residential dwelling units, with 540 parking spaces in an underground garage. (See Schedules "G" to "K".)

Premium Properties Limited owns three parcels of land. (See Schedule "D".) The Lansing United Church property, at 49 Bogert Avenue, also forms part of the application site. Including the Lansing United Church, the four parcels of land that comprise the affected lands have a combined area of 8,793 m². Also, the applicant proposes to acquire 186 m² of City-owned lands on the east side of Beecroft Road and 72 m² of a public lane which runs north-south off Poyntz Avenue, which would increase the site area to 9,051 m². However, the site area of lands to be developed is a smaller 4,962 m², all on the east side of Beecroft Road.

The total GFA of the application is 42,179 m², including proposed density transfers and incentives, which is equivalent to approximately 8.5 FSI on the development site on the east side of Beecroft Road. Of this total GFA, 19,850 m² (or 4.0 FSI) is proposed to be achieved by way of density transfers and incentives. The applicant proposes to amend the zoning applicable to lands in their ownership on the west side of Beecroft Road and the Lansing United Church site in order to transfer unused density from these properties to the development site. In addition, the applicant proposes to acquire the density of adjacent City-owned lands.

Premium Properties Limited has not indicated, as part of this application, a use or development proposal and/or their intentions for their lands on the west side of Beecroft Road. I am recommending that the applicant provide clarification on this matter.

Applicable Official Plan policies:

North York Centre is governed by the policies of OPA 447, save and except for certain sections and polices which are subject to appeals before the OMB. (See Schedule "A-2", for OPA 447 designations.)

However, the City Solicitor has advised that this application is subject to the policies of the Part D.2, Downtown Plan, as amended by OPA 393, as these policies were still in effect at the time of receipt of the application. In addition, the lands are subject to Specific Policies, Part D.2, Downtown Plan, 3.14.7, 3.14.8 and 3.14.22 (OPA 393, Item 2, Clause 10). (See Appendices.)

Therefore, pursuant to the applicable policies, the applicant's lands east of Beecroft Road are designated "Mixed Use", which permits a mix of land uses up to a maximum 4.5 FSI. (See Schedule "A".) The lands west of Beecroft Road are designated "Minor Institutional". The Specific Policies set out principles to be used for finalizing zoning and provide policies respecting the transfer of densities. Specifically, unused density on the lands on the west side of Beecroft Road, to a maximum 3.0 FSI, can be transferred to the development block on the east side of Beecroft Road. The 4.5 FSI density assigned to the Beecroft Road extension, between Poyntz Avenue and Bogert Avenue, may also be transferred to the development block on the east side of Beecroft Road.

Notwithstanding that the applicant's lands are governed by the Part D.2, Downtown Plan, as amended by OPA 393, the applicant maintains an appeal to the OMB of certain sections and schedules of OPA 447. The Board has scheduled a 3^rd Prehearing Conference on the outstanding appeals to OPA 447 for December 16, 1999, with the full Hearing to commence February 7, 2000. Given that the policies applicable to the applicant's lands originate from the Part D.2, Downtown Plan, as amended by OPA 393, I am recommending Premium Properties Limited withdraw their appeal of OPA 447.

Applicable Zoning:

The land parcel which fronts on Yonge Street is zoned General Commercial (C1). All remaining parcels, including the City-owned lands, are zoned One-Family Detached Dwelling Fourth Density (R4). (See Schedule "B".)

The applicant proposes to rezone their lands west of Beecroft Road, including the Lansing United Church site, to increase the base density limits and transfer unused density to the development block on the east side of Beecroft Road.

Comments:

Land ownership:

Premium Properties Limited proposes to acquire portions of two City-owned properties: namely, a 186 m² strip of land adjacent to the east side of Beecroft Road and a 72 m² portion of the north/south public lane located west of Yonge Street.

Provided that these lands are successfully closed and conveyed, it would be reasonable, once these lands (and 31 Bogert Avenue) are in the ownership of the applicant, that they be governed by the still in-effect policies of the Part D.2, Downtown Plan, as amended by OPA 393. In this scenario, all lands on the development block in the ownership or control of the applicant would be subject to the same planning controls.

Density transfers:

As discussed above, Specific Policies 3.14.7 and 3.14.8 of the Part D.2, Downtown Plan, permit the following density transfers to be considered:

C unused density on the lands bounded by Frizzell Road, Poyntz Avenue, Bogert Avenue and Beecroft Road, which are designated Minor Institutional, may be transferred to the development block on the east side of Beecroft Road; and

C the 4.5 FSI density assigned to Beecroft Road, between Poyntz Avenue and Bogert Avenue, may be transferred to the development block and the Colonia Life lands on the east side of Beecroft Road.

Density transfers from the applicant's lands, including Lansing United Church:

Unused density on the west side of Beecroft Road belonging to the applicant is ultimately transferable to the development block on the east side of Beecroft Road, for residential GFA purposes, pursuant to the applicable policies of the Part D.2, Downtown Plan. These same policy provisions apply to the Lansing United Church site.

In North York Centre, it is accepted practice that when, as part of a redevelopment application, a developer is required to convey a portion of the application site for Service Road purposes, the density attributed to the lands to be conveyed are retained by the developer for use on the remaining development parcel. In a case such as the Premium Properties site, where the City has acquired lands for Service Road purposes, thereby bisecting the subject lands, it would not be unreasonable to allow the transfer of allocated densities from the west side of Beecroft Road to the development site as part of a comprehensive development scheme.

In principle, therefore, I do not object to the applicant's request to rezone their lands on the west side of Beecroft Road, including the Lansing United Church lands, to implement the applicable Official Plan policies, which would permit density to be transferred. However, as stated previously, it is important to determine what is proposed for the lands on the west side of Beecroft Road, to ensure that, among other matters, the capacity of the public infrastructure is not exceeded.

Density transfers from City-owned lands:

As stated, Specific Policies 3.14.7 and 3.14.8 also permit the City to sell and transfer its unused density. The City may sell and transfer densities, up to certain maximums, from the Beecroft Road extension and a now-closed portion of Bogert Avenue north of the Lansing United Church site, to the block on the east side of Beecroft Road, including the Colonia Life lands at 4750 Yonge Street and 1, 3 and 9 Bogert Avenue. This was established in the policy, in part, to allow the City to recoup, if possible, some of the costs that accrued from acquisition and construction of the Beecroft Road extension.

Most importantly, however, OPA 447 outlines the City's current planning and urban design objectives for North York Centre. OPA 447 policies, if compared for the type and the form of development envisioned on the application lands, would restrict development of the Premium Properties site to non-residential-only uses and limit the amount of density transfers and incentives to one-third of the permissible GFA. In other words, OPA 447, if applicable, would only permit non-residential uses up to a maximum 6.0 FSI.

Pursuant to the Part D.2, Downtown Plan, the applicant is allowed 4.5 FSI, which can be used for residential purposes. Should the applicant acquire the City-owned strip of land adjacent to the east side of Beecroft Road and a portion of the north-south public lane located west of Yonge Street, the applicant's developable GFA would increase by 1,161 m². The 4.5 FSI limit would remain unchanged because the site area also increases with the acquisition of these City-owned properties. However, the transfer of an allocated portion of densities, from the applicant's lands on the west side of Beecroft to the development block on the east side of Beecroft Road, would increase the density available on the development block to approximately 6.7 FSI.

The 6.7 FSI, proposed primarily for residential uses, does not include the sale and transfer of a portion of the unused densities from the City-owned Beecroft Road extension and the now-closed portion of Bogert Avenue.

I have consulted with Corporate Services, Real Estate Division, on this matter. I am advised that no agreements exist between the City and Premium Properties Limited to sell densities from lands which will remain in the ownership of the City.

To maintain the integrity of the planning objectives for this area, as described in the new North York Centre Secondary Plan, I recommend that the City not sell and transfer its densities from the Beecroft Road extension and the closed portion of Bogert Avenue.

Council must be made fully aware that, if Council supports this recommendation, the City will not achieve potentially significant monies for the sale and transfer of its unused density. However, should Council determine that it wishes to sell its densities from the lands that will remain in its ownership, it should do so with a condition that the GFA be restricted to commercial-only uses, in keeping with the City's land use vision for the area.

Density Incentives:

The proposed development contains 1,140 m² of at-grade retail uses. The applicant proposes that this GFA be exempted from the calculation of density. Section 3.3.0 (d) of the Part D.2, Downtown Plan, states that the floor area of grade level shopping facilities fronting on a public sidewalk or pedestrian concourse may be exempted in whole or in part from the calculation of GFA to enhance the continuity of retail and service commercial uses at appropriate locations and to encourage interesting and active streetscapes. However, the exemption cannot exceed 0.5 FSI. The proposed retail GFA represents 0.2 FSI. In principle, and as part of a supportable application package, I would have no objection recommending that the 1,140 m² of retail GFA be exempted.

The applicant also proposes that 624 m² of indoor recreational amenity space be exempted from the calculation of density. While Section 3.3 of OPA 447 does allow GFA used for private recreational purposes to be exempted, up to a maximum of 1.5 m² per dwelling unit, the applicable Part D.2, Downtown Plan, did not provide for a similar exemption. An amendment to the Part D.2, Downtown Plan, as amended by OPA 393, would be required to achieve an exemption for indoor recreational amenity space. The applicant has not applied for an Official Plan Amendment. Therefore, for this technical reason, this exemption request cannot be supported.

Recommended Density Transfers and Incentives - Summary Table: