June 28, 1999
To:Planning and Transportation Committee
From:Commissioner of Urban Planning and Development Services
Subject: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; and
-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 jointly by TEDCO and the
City 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 for protecting
shipping on the Central Waterfront.
Comments:
In February, 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 these 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 also 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.
Green Corridors, natural areas and parks: Building 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 third 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.
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 made in concentrating 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 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;
and
-improvements to the local street grid within the Port Lands in keeping with the framework provided by the Structure
Plan and Open Space Plan.
- 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 any 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.
- 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; and
-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.
- Public Process
The attached "Unlocking Toronto's Port Lands: Directions for the Future", 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, 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.
- 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.
Reviewed by:
Paul J. BedfordVirginia M. West
Executive Director and Chief PlannerCommissioner of
City Planning DivisionUrban Planning and Development Services
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Appendix 1
