June 28, 1999

To:Toronto Community Council

From:Commissioner of Urban Planning and Development Services

Subject:Forwarding Report : Unlocking Toronto's Port Lands: Directions for the Future (Ward 25 - Don River)

Purpose:

To forward the "Summary Report - Unlocking Toronto's Port Lands: Directions for the Future" which will be before the Planning and Transportation Committee at its meeting of July 12, 1999.

Source of Funds:

Not applicable.

Recommendations:

It is recommended that Toronto Community Council:

1.Consider the recommendations in the attached report "Summary Report - Unlocking Toronto's Port Lands: Directions for the Future" dated June 28, 1999 from the Commissioner of Urban Planning and Development Services" addressed to Planning and Transportation Committee.

2. Forward its recommendations and those of the Planning and Transportation Committee to City Council for its meeting to be held on July 27, 1999.

Comments:

At its meeting of December 16 and 17, 1998, City Council directed the Commissioner of Urban Planning and Development Services to undertake a Part II Planning Study for the Port Lands.

The "Summary Report - Unlocking Toronto's Port Lands: Directions for the Future" is attached as Appendix 1. The direction to develop a new plan for the Port Lands came from Toronto Community Council in the context of a report on the Official Plan and Zoning By-law amendment application for a Home Depot store at Cherry Street and Lake Shore Boulevard East.

As the new plan for the Port Lands will have city-wide implications due to the size and significance of the area, this matter has been forwarded to Planning and Transportation Committee for comment, but without deputations. Deputations will be heard at the July 15, 1999 meeting of Toronto Community Council which will forward its recommendations and those of Planning and Transportation Committee to City Council for its meeting of July 27, 1999. Future reports will be submitted directly to the Planning and Transportation Committee.

Contact Name:Michael Major

Telephone: (416) 392-0760

Fax: (416) 392-1330

E-Mail: name@toronto.ca

Beate Bowron

Director, Community Planning, South District

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APPENDIX A

June 28, 1999

To:Planning and Transportation Committee

From:Commissioner of Urban Planning and Development Services

Subject:Summary Report - Unlocking Toronto's Port Lands: Directions for the Future (Ward 25 - Don River)

Purpose:

To provide a planning direction for the Port Lands which outlines:

-an urban design and open space framework

-options to improve access to the Port Lands for all modes of transport

-opportunities to allow for a wider mix of land uses while protecting, and allowing for expansion of the existing industrial base

-an implementation strategy and various tools which can be used to help achieve the revitalization of the area

The Directions report, which will be submitted under separate cover, will be the subject of public consultation over the next two months leading to the presentation of the final recommendations for a new Official Plan for the Port Lands to City Council at the end of 1999.

Source of Funds:

It will be necessary to allocate funds in the amount of $100,000.00 for a study to be undertaken by the City in partnership with TEDCO to investigate Land Management Partnership models for the Port Lands. This study will assist the City in identifying the most appropriate model to guide and attract reinvestment to the Port Lands. Funding for the study could be cost-shared between TEDCO and the City.

Recommendations:

It is recommended that:

1.City Council adopt in principle the planning directions outlined in the report "Unlocking Toronto's Port Lands: Directions for the Future".

2.The boundaries of the Port Lands Part II Official Plan Area be amended to include all of Tommy Thompson Park and the Ashbridges Bay Sewage Treatment Plant.

3.The Commissioner of Urban Planning and Development Services carry out a public consultation process over the next two months to solicit comment on the "Unlocking Toronto's Port Lands" report including the Port Lands Community Forum, other community groups, BIAs, area landowners, industrialists and other businesses.

4.City Council request the Ontario Municipal Board at its September 3, 1999 hearing on the East Bayfront Official Plan and Zoning By-law to amend the East Bayfront Zoning By-law 1997-0184 to repeal the permission for 4500 sq.m. of retail development per lot.

5.City Council endorse the hiring of a consultant to undertake a study of Land Management Partnership models for the Port Lands. The estimated $100,000 required for this purpose could be cost-shared between the City and TEDCO.

6.This report and the recommendations of the Planning and Transportation Committee be forwarded to the July 15, 1999 meeting of Toronto Community Council and that Toronto Community Council forward this report, its recommendations and the recommendations of Planning and Transportation Committee to City Council for its meeting of July 27, 1999.

7.All future reporting on the new Official Plan for the Port Lands be sent directly to the Planning and Transportation Committee, as this study is of City-wide interest.

Background:

At its meeting of December 16 and 17, 1998, City Council directed the Commissioner of Urban Planning and Development Services to undertake a Part II Planning study for the Port Lands. This study was recommended to address:

-a number of diverse interests in the area including development applications for residential, retail warehouses, the proposed 2008 Olympic Athletes' Village, recreational and open space interests and the need for transportation improvements;

-the request by area businesses for a comprehensive plan for the area to help them make long term business and investment decisions;

-the need for a plan which would support a reinvestment strategy for the area; and

-the need to address the interests of the new Toronto Port Authority in maintaining its Port operations and protecting for shipping on the Central Waterfront.

Comments:

In March, 1999 City planning staff held a public open house and participated in a Community Forum hosted by area Councillors Layton, McConnell, Bussin and Jakobek to solicit community ideas on the future of the Port Lands. In addition, planning staff participated in three Reinvestment Workshops hosted by Economic Development staff and attended by local businesses. The preliminary conclusions from the Economic Development workshops are attached as Appendix 1 to this report. Planning staff have also consulted with staff from all City Service Areas, SETIAO, the Task Force to Bring Back the Don, Toronto Regional Conservation Authority, individual landowners, industrialists and other businesses to solicit comments. Staff have received numerous letters and communications from interested groups and individuals forwarding ideas for the future of the Port Lands.

1.The Port Lands Today

The Port Lands are unique within the City of Toronto. The majority of this 400 hectare (1,000 acre) site is in public ownership, primarily in City ownership through TEDCO with substantial parcels in Provincial and Federal ownership. The Port Lands include a large amount of parkland and open space: the North Shore Park, Tommy Thomson Park and the Baselands at the north end of Tommy Thompson. This is the only area in the amalgamated city where road, rail and shipping meet.

The area is characterized by land intensive uses and businesses which take advantage of the proximity to the downtown, and access to both the Don Valley Parkway and Gardiner/Lake Shore Corridor. Existing businesses include aggregates, salt, recycling, cement batching, Toronto Hydro (the area's major employer) and film/studio uses. In spite of its prime location, only 3,000 jobs are located in the Port Lands and 45% of the land is vacant.

2.Directions

The Directions report sets out a comprehensive plan to take advantage of the significant opportunities for reinvestment and development in the area and ways to address some of the challenges.

The Directions report is focussed on three organizing principles: a Structure Plan including a system of green corridors, natural areas and parks and other aspects of the built environment; placemaking; and transportation directions.

Structure Plan: The structure plan sets out a framework for development identifying a streets and blocks pattern, major view corridors and view termini and major features of the Port Lands, natural or man-made, to be protected and enhanced. The structure plan identifies green corridors, natural areas and parks and buildings on the "Greening the Port Lands" report prepared by the Waterfront Regeneration Trust. The proposed open space plan for the Port Lands envisions:

-a continuous waterfront promenade, interrupted only where heavy industry and shipping use of the dockwall make the promenade impractical or unsafe

-a ring of parks along the waterfront similar to the waterfront park system being built in Harbourfront

-natural areas such as the mouth of the Don River, Tommy Thompson Park, the Baselands (at the north end of Tommy Thompson) and the east end of the North Shore Park, providing habitat zones and areas for the City to achieve some of its environmental objectives

-more parks, such as McCleary Park on Lake Shore Boulevard East, which provide for active recreation and play space

-recreational pathways, like the Martin Goodman Trail, which provide continuous off-road bike and pedestrian trails from Cherry Street and Lake Shore Boulevard, south to the North Shore Park and south of the Ashbridges Bay Sewage Treatment plant to the Eastern Beaches.

The second major portion of the report addresses the issue of Places in the Port Lands. Encompassing 400 hectares of land, the Port Lands presents the opportunity to accommodate a diverse mix of uses to provide activity in the area seven days a week, 24 hours a day. This large land area and the separation of areas by major waterways allow ample opportunity to provide buffers between diverse uses. Following is a brief description of the six major Places proposed for the Port Lands.

The Quays and Inner Harbour District - Polson and Cousins Quay are extraordinary waterfront development sites - this place is identified for a wide mix of uses (with the eventual relocation of some heavy industrial uses) to create a diverse urban community where people work, play and live.

Cherry Street Corridor - this corridor is an important gateway to the Port Lands and will become one of the area's main streets with a range of commercial uses.

Port Lands Business District - between Cherry and Saulter Streets, this area will attract business and lighter industrial uses.

Industrial Employment District - from Saulter Street to Leslie Street, an area for a broad range of employment uses, in addition to what has been traditionally considered industrial, opportunities for expansion of the film/studio uses already in this area.

Leslie Street Corridor - like Cherry Street, Leslie Street is an important gateway to the Port Lands. This green street will be characterized by wide landscaped setbacks and recreational trails.

Port and Shipping District - the working heart of the Port Lands, the lands around the Turning Basin and the unserviced lands south of the Ship Channel are reserved for heavy industrial, land intensive uses, many of which rely on shipping.

The vision identified for the Places in the Port Lands will allow the City to focus investment in each of these areas which can best benefit the predominant use in each area or revitalize largely vacant areas. For example, south of the Ship Channel investment can be concentrated on the convergence of rail, ship and truck access to this area. Along the Cherry Street Corridor, the City can pursue streetscape improvements and work with local retailers and service providers to accommodate stores and restaurants to provide amenities to the people who work in the area.

The report also outlines transportation directions which describe opportunities and options to improve access to the Port such as:

-improvements at Cherry Street and Lake Shore Boulevard East to allow for the extension of Queen's Quay West, creation of a gateway and accommodation of the naturalized mouth of the Don River

-transportation improvements and creation of gateways at the Don Roadway, Carlaw Avenue and Leslie Street

-the southward extension of the Don Roadway and potentially a bridge across the Ship Channel on the Don Roadway alignment

-the realignment of Unwin Avenue and connection as a public road which can accommodate truck traffic to Leslie Street

-improvements to the local street grid within the Port Lands in keeping with the framework provided by the Structure Plan and Open Space Plan

3. Fitting In

Although the proposals set out above accommodate a very diverse mix of uses, my position on large retail warehouses in the Port Lands remains unchanged from my November, 1998 report on the proposed Home Depot at Cherry Street and Lake Shore Boulevard East. The Port Lands are not planned to become a destination shopping area and retail warehouses are not an appropriate waterfront use. These uses have been and continue to be accommodated in other areas of the city where they fit within the planned structure.

The Port Lands have the potential of growing into an exciting, diverse urban community- with a strong and expanding employment base - quite unique in the new City of Toronto. Large and smaller scale retail warehouses do not fit with this long term vision. Market studies to date, show that, on their own, individual "big boxes" do not damage the economic health of existing retail strips. However, agglomerations of two, three or more, may have a negative impact.

This is an issue not only in the Port Lands, but in the East Bayfront as a whole. In the East Bayfront, the by-laws currently before the Ontario Municipal Board permit 4,500 square metres per lot, based on the recommendations of the East Bayfront Working Committee. This permission was intended to encourage new commercial investment appropriate for the area. However, outside of the Home Depot application which proposed to double the permitted floor area, no development proposals have come forward.

The Home Depot application, which was refused by City Council, highlights the unintended consequences of this permission. To rectify the situation, I am recommending that the 4,500 square metre permission be rescinded and that the Ontario Municipal Board be so advised.

While the market impacts may be subject to debate, large or small scale retail warehouses are car oriented and require large amounts of surface parking. From a planning point-of-view, they are inappropriate in a waterfront location.

4. Implementation

As has happened in many waterfront cities - London, New York, Boston - the implementation of a bold vision to revitalize an area as large and as important as the Port Lands requires a focussed implementation plan and a strong commitment both to the idea of the plan and to its financing. A number of tools are available, or could be pursued to move a plan like this forward, such as:

-Planning Legislation which allows for designation of Community Improvement Areas and Section 37 Agreements to help fund infrastructure improvements

-Tax Incentives such as Tax Increment Financing and accelerated tax decreases for commercial users

-senior government funding programs such as the current Federal Millennium funding

These tools, however, have not traditionally been successful on the scale of an area like the Port Lands in the absence of a single-minded, dedicated agency with the full support and buy-in from both the public and private sectors. In order to achieve this, I am recommending that the City, in partnership with TEDCO, hire a consultant to investigate various models for a Land Management Partnership which could include all stakeholders in the area and pool resources to implement an overall plan and reinvestment strategy for the Port Lands.

After years of debate and many competing interests, it is essential to focus on a vision that can unlock the true potential of the Port Lands and achieve numerous City objectives. It is essential to take the time to get it right.

5. Public Process

The "Unlocking Toronto's Port Lands: Directions for the Future" report is meant to be a discussion paper to focus comments and build consensus on the future vision for the Port Lands. Staff of Urban Planning and Development Services will lead a public consultation process on this paper over the next two months. This process will include input from the area Councillors and from as many groups as possible including community groups, BIAs, area landowners, SETIAO, industrialists and other businesses. Planning staff will also continue to consult with all City Services Areas and public agencies with an interest in the area.

6. Next Steps

I will report to Planning and Transportation Committee in the fall of 1999 on the outcome of the public consultation process and any changes or refinements to the Directions report as a result of that process and ongoing planning studies for the area.

Conclusion:

Based on current research and preliminary public consultation, the attached report, "Unlocking the Toronto Port Lands: Directions for the Future", provides a broad vision for the Port Lands which recognizes the need for a diversity of uses and the need for a bold vision to unlock this very important part of the Central Waterfront. With ongoing consultation and identification of an appropriate land management strategy, I am confident that the revitalization of the Port Lands is an achievable goal.

Contact:Michael Major

Telephone: (416) 392-0760

Fax: (416) 392-1330

E-mail: mmajor@toronto.ca

Reviewed by:

Paul J. Bedford Virginia M. West

Executive Director and Chief Planner Commissioner of

City Planning Division Urban Planning and Development Services

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Appendix 1

Port District Investment Strategy Forum

Summary of Key Issues and Recommendations

From the Meetings of June 7^th and 17^th, 1999

The following issues and recommendations are divided into four categories: Land Use, Zoning, Image and Operational, and Competitiveness. Participants at the forum sessions did not reach a consensus on the main land issue related to the introduction of residential uses. The majority of participants opposed the introduction of residential uses into the area. With respect to the other categories, there was a general consensus in support of the issues and recommendations identified.

Land Use Issues and Recommendations

-Create a stable climate for investment by making a firm Council decision with respect to the land use policies for the area that will then give businesses some certainty about what is realistically going to happen in the District over the next ten years.

-Maintain the integrity of the District for industrial and business uses by not permitting the introduction of residential uses within the District.

-Ensure that land use policies support the retention and growth of core activities in the District which includes Manufacturing, Distribution Businesses, Recycling, Power Generation and Distribution, Public Works, Cement and Aggregate Distribution and Port Shipping activities.

-Establish policies that encourage the retention and further growth of Film/ Media/ Recording activities and private recreation businesses and that address issues related to compatibility between businesses.

-Establish policies that would allow the establishment and growth of new business activities in the waterfront tourism sector, larger scale retail sector and business services sector. Support the creation of a business campus in the Port District.

-Promote other areas of the City, such as the railway lands and east and west downtown, for additional residential development as they are better suited for that purpose. Recognize that employment lands must be maintained to ensure the long term growth of the City as it is becoming increasingly difficult to find industrial/commercial sites in the City.

-Allow mixed uses on the Quays, including residential.

-Use the introduction of residential uses as part of an overall investment strategy as it will assist in the revitalization of the area and encourage the 24 hour use of the District.

Zoning Issues and Recommendations

-Develop a flexible zoning approach that will allow the introduction of new business uses.

-Ensure that existing operations can continue as permitted uses and do not become legal non-conforming uses.

-Develop Performance Zoning that would address issues of business compatibility related to noise, emissions and storage and that may have different performance standards for subareas within the District.

Image and Operational Issues and Recommendations

-Build a business park for the next century that will incorporate the features that businesses will need such as telecommunications, transportation, public transit and an attractive and safe environment.

-Upgrade the image, landscaping and physical infrastructure of the area by adding lighting, curbing, sidewalks, fibre optic cable, signage, tree planting and other amenities to a level that is competitive with business parks. Recognize the physical limitations related to introducing landscaping along the dock walls.

-Continue with the "Greening of the Port District" plan as a means of improving the image of the area.

-Commit the financial resources to the strategic transportation improvements that are necessary for the short and long term functioning and growth of the area as a business district. This would include maintaining and enhancing all of the existing modes of transportation including rail, shipping and roads. At a minimum, improvements to the Cheery Street bridge and intersection, the Don Roadway entrance and realignment of Unwin around the cooling channel should be made in the short term.

-Maintaining and improving public transit access into the Port District is essential to the area's ability to maintain existing companies and attract future businesses and employees. Establishing regular and rapid service to the area is a priority and should be undertaken regardless of the TTC's current service standards.

-Establish Cherry and Leslie Streets as the public's main routes into the District while continuing to minimize car, truck and recreational conflicts by separating traffic modes as much as possible.

-Establish the Lake Shore intersections at Cherry Street, the Don Roadway, Carlaw Avenue and Leslie Street as transportation gateways into the District and ensure that they are designed to handle truck movements.

Competitiveness Issues and Recommendations

-Look beyond the land use policies for the District and develop mechanisms and programs that:

- provide land and operating costs at competitive levels with other industrial and port areas,

- offset the price premium for constructing in the area,

- allow for longer term leases at fair rates that approach the equivalent of property ownership,

- allow for land price differences for varying uses.

-Recognize and build upon TEDCO' Soil and Groundwater Management Plan in order to address concerns about possible soil contamination so that companies can have access to reliable information about site conditions, develop cost effective programs for clean-ups if necessary and obtain financing for future investment. Mechanisms related to the provision of incentives or compensation for environmental remediation should be developed.

-TEDCO should meet with all existing tenants to review their present and future requirements and to provide help and encouragement to these businesses to that they will make further commitments and investments.

-A comprehensive marketing strategy for the Port area needs to be developed and implemented in order to attract businesses to the area.

-Support companies that want to make new investment in the very near future by developing lease structures and terms that will allow this development to proceed as soon as possible.

-Use business relocation as a strategy for stabilizing the area by moving heavier industrial uses to more suitable and affordable locations.

-Develop new tools and mechanisms for financing the improvements that need to be made to the area including the possible use of tax grants under a Community Improvement Plan and tax increment financing.