Midtown Zoning Review

A community consultation about draft directions for an updated zoning by-law took place online on October 27, 2021. You can review the consultation summary and presentation from the meetings.

Zoning by-laws are tools cities use to control the use of land. They are authorized by Section 34 of the Planning Act. They contain criteria and requirements for development and they implement the City’s Official Plan. Zoning by-laws regulate permitted uses, building types, the location, height, density, spacing and character of buildings, as well as parking and loading requirements, among others.

Zoning in some areas of Midtown needs to be updated to reflect the City’s Official Plan and the Yonge-Eglinton Secondary Plan. City Council directed the zoning review for Midtown’s 22 Character Areas, as identified in the Yonge-Eglinton Secondary Plan.

Consultation materials on the Midtown Zoning Review and the Built Form Study, including meeting summaries and presentation materials, are available on the Get Involved page.

The Zoning Review includes three discrete components.

  1. The Zoning Background Report will help determine where zoning by-laws need to be updated or where further study may be required. The Background Report is now available.
  2. The Built Form Study will help establish specific height limits for buildings, minimum and maximum densities and appropriate building performance standards. It also includes the block study of the Broadway and Erskine area City staff were directed to undertake by Council in 2019. The Built Form Study is in progress.
  3. Updated Infrastructure Assessments will be prepared as part of the Infrastructure Strategies. This will assist the City in ensuring continued growth is supported by appropriate infrastructure.

 

A diagram showing the relationship between each component. The Zoning Background Report feeds into the Built Form Study, which in turn feeds into the Updated Infrastructure Assessments. All three components feed into a Zoning By-law Amendment.

Midtown Toronto encompasses the Yonge-Eglinton Secondary Plan Area, extending roughly from Blythwood Road to the Kay Gardner Beltline Trail, and from Chaplin Crescent to east of Bayview Avenue.

This 600 hectare area is home to a diverse population, a number of distinct neighbourhoods, a concentration of employment uses, and busy retail streets. There are currently over 62,000 residents and 33,000 jobs within Midtown. The area also includes two subway stations on the Yonge-University Line and several planned stops on the future Eglinton Crosstown LRT.

The area is represented by City Councillors for Wards 8 (Eglinton-Lawrence), 12 (Toronto-St. Paul’s) and 15 (Don Valley West).

The Yonge-Eglinton Secondary Plan introduced the concept of Character Areas for Midtown. In total there are 22 Character Areas that are organized into five groupings. Each grouping includes four or five character areas that share common development objectives or characteristics, such as land use, building types and built form.

The Midtown Zoning Review is considering updated zoning for these Character Areas to reflect the intent and purpose of the Yonge-Eglinton Secondary Plan.

 

A map of the Study Area, identifying the boundaries of each of the 22 Character Areas and their five categories.

Fall 2019 – Midtown Zoning Review launched

Early 2020 – Consultants retained for Built Form Study, to review and make recommendations on built form scenarios to implement the Provincially-approved OPA 405.

2020-2021 – Ongoing consultation on the zoning review and potential built form scenarios; preliminary population and employment estimates generated

Staff are targeting the following timeline for developing an area-wide zoning by-law for Midtown:

Fall 2021 – Public consultation on proposed zoning framework
Early 2022 – Draft zoning by-law released for consultation
Q2 2022 – Final recommended zoning by-law