Official Plan Review

A Place to Grow: Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe (Growth Plan (2019)) came into effect on May 16, 2019. The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing has established a deadline of July 1, 2022 for municipalities to update their Official Plans to achieve conformity with the Growth Plan (2019). This provincially legislated requirement is satisfied through a Growth Plan Conformity exercise and Municipal Comprehensive Review. On June 29, 2020, City Council approved a work plan (Item PH14.4) for the “Growth Plan Conformity and Municipal Comprehensive Review of the Toronto Official Plan”. Attachment 5 of the Council report lists the work plan components. The dropdown tabs below provide more information on key elements of the work plan including Managing Forecasted Growth through Intensification, Major Transit Station Areas, Protecting Employment Areas and Updating Environmental Policies.

The Official Plan review process, which the City is calling Our Plan Toronto, presents an opportunity to address, through planning policy, a number of the growth related challenges facing Toronto today and in the future. These challenges include: housing affordability, climate change, mobility, public health and others that will help inform the City’s response to, and recovery from, the current global pandemic.

Through Our Plan Toronto, the City of Toronto is undertaking an intensification strategy to satisfy the Growth Plan (2019) policies. This intensification strategy is intended to direct Transit Oriented Development (TOD) and prioritize growth where transit and other infrastructure currently exists or is planned, including in Major Transit Station Areas, Urban Growth Centres, and other Strategic Growth Areas. As part of the intensification strategy, City staff will lead a Land Needs Assessment, as required by the Growth Plan (2019), to assess the quantity of land required to accommodate forecasted growth to 2051.

MTSAs are defined in the Growth Plan (2019) as areas within an approximate 500-800 metre radius of a transit station and representing a 10-minute walk. The Growth Plan (2019) prescribes the following minimum density targets for MTSAs: 200 residents and jobs per hectare for subways; 160 residents and jobs per hectare for light rail transit; and 150 residents and jobs for GO Transit rail. Through Our Plan Toronto, to satisfy the Growth Plan (2019) requirements, the City is required to individually delineate the boundaries for the 180+ MTSAs within the City and to demonstrate that each MTSA is planned for the established minimum target for residents and jobs.

Protected Major Transit Station Areas (PMTSAs) will become a subset of the 180+ MTSAs. Under Policy 2.2.4.5 of the Growth Plan, the City can delineate PMTSAs before the Municipal Comprehensive Review is completed provided the delineation is in accordance with Section 16(15) of the Planning Act. The introduction of PMTSAs is part of Our Plan Toronto’s equity lens that prioritizes the delineation of PMTSAs to enable the implementation of Inclusionary Zoning as an affordable housing tool, where market conditions could support it.

Major Transit Station Areas progress:

• As Planning and Housing Committee considers draft delineations and minimum densities for each MTSA, they will be added onto the MTSA Interactive Engagement Tool
• Draft OPA 544 – Lower Targets Request
  At its meeting on October 18, 2021, Planning and Housing Committee approved the draft delineation of 11 Major Transit Station Areas that require lower density targets than are otherwise identified in the Growth Plan (Item PH27.5). Seven of these stations are identified at Protected Major Transit Station Areas (PMTSA).
• Draft OPA 524 – Downtown Plan PMTSAs
  At its meeting on April 22, 2021, Planning and Housing Committee approved the draft delineation of 16 Protected Major Transit Station Areas (Item PH22.6) within the Downtown Secondary Plan area, which builds off the planning work completed for the TOCore planning process.
• OPA 482 – Keele Finch Secondary Plan PMTSAs
  At its meeting on December 16, 2020, City Council adopted Official Plan Amendment No. 482 (Protected Major Transit Station Areas) and endorsed Official Plan Amendment 483 (Keele Finch Secondary Plan). Official Plan Amendment No. 482 is before the Province for consultation and approval.

MTSA Prioritization
Attachment 2 of the approved work plan groups all of the potential MTSAs into three phases.

Local Area Studies

Local area studies will inform the MTSA delineation and density calculation for some, but not all MTSAs. Considering the time and resources required to complete a local area study, the recommended prioritization approach will inform which MTSAs Council should consider as a priority (see Attachment 2).

The City of Toronto is developing inclusionary zoning policy that would require new residential developments to include affordable housing units, creating mixed-income housing. Inclusionary zoning is one solution among a range of City initiatives to help address Toronto’s housing needs. The policies that get developed through the Inclusionary Zoning Policy work currently underway will be aligned with Our Plan Toronto.

An integral component of the City’s economic health are the 8,100 hectares of lands designated as Core Employment Areas and General Employment Areas. These two designations account for 13 per cent of all lands in the City. As part of Our Plan Toronto, the City will be reviewing the land use policies for these areas. The Growth Plan (2019) requires municipalities to: prohibit certain land uses (residential); prohibit or limit other sensitive land uses; prohibit or establish size or scale thresholds for major retail uses; and address compatibility issues between Employment Areas and non-employment areas. As part of the employment lands strategy that will be prepared through Our Plan Toronto, City staff will undertake a review of the recently approved policies and advance recommendations for Council’s consideration that may be necessary.

The City Planning Division has received approximately 150 requests to convert lands designated Core Employment Areas or General Employment Areas for non-employment uses as part of the city-initiated MCR.  The year-long City Council approved window to receive conversion requests closed on August 3, 2021.

City Planning and Economic Development and Culture staff are currently reviewing the conversion requests.  A preliminary assessment will be prepared for each conversion request for consideration by Planning and Housing Committee.  The preliminary assessment will form the basis for consultation with key stakeholders and the public, including landowners and businesses, to obtain comments and feedback.

Staff’s final recommendation for each conversion request will be considered by Planning and Housing Committee and Council before the July 1, 2022 Growth Plan conformity deadline established by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

Requests received on or after December 18, 2020 to August 3, 2021 are subject to the Employment Areas Conversion Request User Fee of $20,000 per request. The fee is waived in circumstances where a complete application for an Official Plan Amendment (OPA) has been received for the same address(es), including payment of the OPA application fee.

If you have any questions, please contact, Christina Heydorn, Project Manager, Strategic Initiatives, Policy & Analysis, City Planning Division at 416-397-5616 or christina.heydorn@toronto.ca.

KSC = Conversion requests that will be considered through the Keele-St. Clair Local Area Study.

As part of Our Plan Toronto, City Staff will review and recommend changes to Official Plan policies based on conservation objectives related to: water, energy, air quality improvement, integrated waste management, and stormwater master plans. As the City continues to implement TransformTO, the Growth Plan (2019) requires municipalities to develop policies that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and address climate change adaptation and mitigation goals that are aligned with other provincial plans and policies for environmental protection.

Through Our Plan Toronto, staff will review the in-effect environmental policies in light of the City’s declaration of a climate emergency and any revisions necessary to further advance climate change mitigation and resilience.

As a major undertaking that will direct the future growth of the City for the next 30 years, Our Plan Toronto includes engagement opportunities for all Torontonians, businesses, and other stakeholders, including First Nations and Métis communities to have the opportunity to participate and engage with the City on this important project. Engagement opportunities will include online consultation, surveys, interactive mapping and virtual meetings. Engagement activities must accommodate physical distancing measures, given the City’s current inability to host public gatherings.

You can access the Engagement Summaries

• Phase 1 Engagement Summary Report
• Phase 2 Engagement Summary Report
• Attachment – Phase 2 Stakeholder Group and Community Leaders Circle Meeting Summaries
• Stakeholder, Community Leaders Circle and Indigenous Engagement Contact Lists

The MTSA interactive engagement tool provides some introductory information and Major Transit Station Areas and an ability to interact with our map.

Through the course of Our Plan Toronto, City staff may determine that additional Official Plan policy matters may need to be reviewed and amended.

The City of Toronto Official Plan was approved by the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT) in 2006. The first statutory Five Year Review subsequently began in 2011. Updated policies have been adopted by Council for a number of thematic policy areas and are either in effect, being reviewed by the Province, or are being adjudicated at the LPAT.

Environment

OPA 262 was approved by the Province in May 2016. The OPA is in full force and effect.

Employment

OPA 231 is currently being adjudicated by the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT). The majority of the policies and mapping are in full force and effect.

An April 2021 consolidated version of OPA 231 is available.

Heritage

OPA 199, which won the Canadian Association of Heritage Professionals Award of Excellence, was approved with modifications by the Ontario Municipal Board in April 2015. The OPA is in full force and effect.

Housing

OPA 214 was approved by City Council in July 2013. The OPA is in full force and effect.

On April 6, 2016, Planning and Growth Management Committee considered a new Official Plan definition for Affordable Ownership Housing.

Neighbourhoods & Apartment Neighbourhoods

OPA 320 was approved with modifications by the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT) in December 2017 and December 2018. The OPA is in full force and effect.

Urban Design

OPA 479 and OPA 480 were approved by the Province with one modification on September 11, 2020. The OPAs are in full force and effect.

Transportation

OPA 274 was approved by the Province on December 31, 2014. The OPA is in full force and effect.

OPA 456 was adopted by City Council on February 26, 2020. The OPA is currently being reviewed by the Province and is not in effect.