September 20, 1999

To:Planning and Transportation Committee

From:Acting Commissioner of Urban Planning & Development Services

Subject:Cash-In-Lieu of Parkland Dedication

Purpose:

The purpose of this report is to comment on policy initiatives directed at acquiring parkland in areas of the city which are parks deficient, including the consideration of adjustments to the City's interim policy on the use of funds collected in-lieu of parkland dedication through Section 42 of the Planning Act.

Financial Implications:

The findings of this report do not have financial implications.

Recommendations:

1.That this report be received for information; and,

2.That this report be forwarded to the Economic Development and Parks Committee.

Council Reference:

At its meeting of July 27, 28, and 29, City Council considered Clause No. 1 of Report No. 2 of the Planning and Transportation Committee, titled: Further Report on Proposed Use of Funds Generated from Cash-in-lieu of Parkland Dedication. The clause contained a recommendation by the Planning and Transportation Committee - to adopt an interim policy on the use of funds collected in-lieu of parkland dedication through Section 42 of the Planning Act, pending the adoption of a further report on adjustments to the policy which would build in initiatives for acquiring parkland in parks deficient areas of the City.

Council amended the clause, thereby adjusting the interim policy, to provide that the Community Councils have the option of recommending that up to 100 percent of their cash-in-lieu allocations be used to acquire parkland, if they deem it necessary.

Also, Council requested that the report by the Acting Commissioner of Urban Planning & Development Services, regarding adjustments to the policy to build in initiatives for acquiring parkland in park deficient areas of the City, was to be submitted no later than the October 1999 meeting of the Planning and Transportation Committee. Further, Members of Council who have concerns regarding this matter were requested to forward such concerns to the Acting Commissioner of Urban Planning & Development Services, for a report - to be written following the completion of the cash-in-lieu of parkland dedication policy. This report has been prepared in consultation with the Commissioner of Economic Development, Culture & Tourism.

Comments:

An important adjustment to the City's interim policy on the use of funds collected in-lieu of parkland dedication through Section 42 of the Planning Act has already been made by Council, when it gave the Community Councils the option of recommending to City Council that expenditures of up to 100 percent of their portion of cash-in-lieu funding be allocated to the acquisition of parkland, if they deem it necessary.

Further adjustments to the City's interim cash-in-lieu policy are premature until such time as the findings of a number of studies related to the larger issues of parkland adequacy and acquisition are complete and available to members of Council. 1998 cash-in-lieu revenues for the former municipalities were $6.48 million including some funds carried over from previous years - a portion of the larger pool of annual capital budget funds used for parkland acquisition and development. Clearly, there is much more to the acquisition of new parkland in parks deficient areas of the city than the allocation of revenues from the parks levy. In the longer-term, the process for priority setting for parkland acquisition should be the capital budget process, informed by the extensive analysis currently underway in Economic Development, Culture & Tourism, and Urban Planning & Development Services.

Staff of Economic Development, Culture & Tourism, and Urban Planning & Development Services are working collaboratively on a number of related studies which will provide Council with information and a framework for priority setting and decision making for parkland acquisition. The apportionment of funds secured through Section 42 of the Planning Act should be consistent with that overall framework, as should the overall priority setting for the multi-year capital program. Staff of Economic Development, Culture & Tourism, and Urban Planning & Development Services are preparing the following studies:

1.A Parkland Adequacy Study, on areas of the city which are deficient in parkland (by December of 1999);

2.Official Plan policy proposals, related to parkland adequacy and acquisition (by the spring of 2000); and,

3.A Parkland Acquisition Strategy, for providing and acquiring parkland in the city, including areas that are parks deficient (by the summer of 2000).

By the end of 2000, after the above-mentioned studies have been completed, staff will report to Council on a long-term policy regarding the use of funds collected in-lieu of parkland dedication through Section 42 of the Planning Act, including adjustments to the interim policy.

Staff have initiated these studies and will need a number of months to complete the analysis necessary to provide Council with the information and decision-making framework that it needs to address the larger issues of parkland adequacy and acquisition in the new City of Toronto. In each of the former municipalities, information on parkland and facilities was kept in a variety of formats. A variety of standards were used to measure parkland adequacy and some municipalities had more than one standard. For example, Toronto's standard for local municipal parkland in neighbourhoods outside of the core (.6 ha per 1,000 population) was half of Scarborough's city-wide objective (1.2 ha per 1,000 population); East York did not have a standard at all. Judgements about relative deficiencies across the city in this context are extremely difficult. Different tools were used to secure new parkland in areas deemed to be deficient. For example, some former municipalities secured new parks through Section 37 agreements; others did not. Section 42 of the Planning Act was used differently by different municipalities; some accepted a mix of land and cash while others accepted the cash on a consistent basis. In some cases, the use of Section 42 was a long standing practice, while in others, it was relatively new. Contribution levels to cash-in-lieu, under these old practices, continues to be variable. Put simply, staff have had to start from the beginning with respect to parkland adequacy and acquisition issues - in working towards a comprehensive and consistent city-wide parkland acquisition framework.

The need for the above-mentioned studies is highlighted by the fact that throughout the lengthy discussion on the interim policy on the use of funds collected in-lieu of parkland dedication, it has been difficult to keep the issues associated with the interim policy separate from those associated with the larger topics of parkland adequacy and acquisition. Accurate information on parkland adequacy in the new City of Toronto and proposals for acquiring and developing new parks in areas of the city which are inadequately served by parkland is needed for Council to make informed decisions on Capital Budget priorities. The interim cash-in-lieu policy, harmonizing the use of parkland dedication funds, is a very small piece of a much larger set of issues. To address this larger set of issues, the priority must be to complete the work underway and provide Council with a rational framework for decision-making.

1.Parkland Adequacy Study

Staff of Economic Development, Culture & Tourism, and Urban Planning & Development Services are working collaboratively to identify park deficient areas of the city. Our analysis will include the use of maps to illustrate the relationship between the City's parks and the local populations that they serve. Deficiencies will be measured using a number of criteria. A list of parks-deficient areas will be defined and a framework for the prioritization of these areas will be presented for Council's consideration. This study, initiated this past June, will take until the end of the year to complete.

2.Toronto Plan - The New Official Plan

Staff of Economic Development, Culture & Tourism, and Urban Planning & Development Services are developing policies related to parkland and natural heritage lands for the City's new Official Plan. The Official Plan will identify mechanisms that are to be used to acquire additional parkland, including parkland dedication. If necessary, adjustments to the City's interim policy on the use of funds collected in-lieu of parkland dedication through Section 42 of the Planning Act can be made. Members of Council will be involved in the development of Official Plan through the project's Council Reference Group. Those policy proposals that relate to parkland adequacy and acquisition, including those related to parkland dedication, are expected to be available for Council's consideration in the spring of 2000.

3.Parkland Acquisition Strategy

Staff of Economic Development, Culture & Tourism, and Urban Planning & Development Services will be retaining a consultant to develop a strategy for acquiring new parkland in the newly amalgamated Toronto. The strategy will address the City's parkland needs and provide a framework for balancing and prioritizing its acquisition objectives. The strategy will identify barriers to acquiring parkland and recommend a set of strategies for overcoming these barriers. The strategy will make recommendations regarding the use of a variety of mechanisms (parkland dedication, Development Charges, purchase through capital budget, etc.) for acquiring and developing additional parkland, as well as the City's top acquisition priorities for the near future. The City's interim policy on the use of funds collected in-lieu of parkland dedication through Section 42 of the Planning Act will be evaluated through this study; subsequent adjustments to the interim policy can be made if necessary. This study will be completed in the summer of 2000.

4.Interim Policy on Use of Funds Generated from Cash-in-lieu of Parkland Dedication

The adoption of this report establishes the interim policy on the use of funds collected in-lieu of parkland dedication through Section 42 of the Planning Act as per Council's decision of July 27, 28, and 29. This interim policy will be reviewed as part of the above-mentioned studies associated with parkland adequacy and acquisition, including the work related to mechanisms for acquiring additional parkland that will be part of the Parkland Acquisition Strategy and the Official Plan review.

Staff recognize that the allocation of cash-in-lieu of parkland dedication revenues is central to the larger task of allocating resources for the acquisition of parkland in parks-deficient areas throughout the new City of Toronto. The proposed policy for the use of cash-in-lieu of parkland dedication revenues was meant as an interim arrangement until a policy framework can be established to address the larger issues of parkland adequacy and acquisition. This interim arrangement was needed to provide direction on the allocation of revenues for the 2000 and 2001 Capital Budget program for the Parks and Recreation Division of the Department of Economic Development, Culture and Tourism.

5.Concerns of Members of Council

Members of Council who have concerns regarding parkland adequacy and acquisition have been requested to forward such concerns to the Acting Commissioner of Urban Planning and Development Services, for report thereon, following completion of the cash-in-lieu of parkland dedication policy. To-date, comments have been received from one Councillor. The concerns of members of Council will be addressed in the above-described studies. A further report that describes and responds to the comments received will be submitted for Council's consideration.

Conclusion:

The debate over the allocation of funds collected in-lieu of parkland dedication through Section 42 of the Planning Act has diverted attention away from the larger questions associated with parkland adequacy and acquisition. A rational framework for priority setting, tailored to the new City of Toronto, will address these questions and provide direction with respect to the allocation of cash-in-lieu revenues. Further adjustments to the City's interim cash-in-lieu policy are premature until this rational framework is in place. This report has been prepared in consultation with the Commissioner of Economic Development, Culture & Tourism.

Contact Names:

David Stonehouse

Planner

Tel: (416) 392-1255

Fax: (416) 397-4080

E-mail: dstoneho@toronto.ca

Reviewed by:

__________________________________________________________________

Paul J. BedfordJames Ridge

Executive Director and Chief PlannerActing Commissioner

City Planning DivisionUrban Planning & Development Services