Application for Amendment to the Etobicoke Zoning Code

Andrei Verbitsky, 10 Fairfield Avenue

File No. Z-2275 (Lakeshore-Queensway)

The Etobicoke Community Council after considering the deputations, written submissions filed and the report (April 20,1999) from the Director of Community Planning, West District, and for the reason that the proposal is an appropriate use of the lands, recommends that:

(1)the Condition to Approval No. 1 be amended by adding the following:

"submission of an accessibility plan showing barrier-free access to all floors within the building." so that Condition No. 1 reads as follows:

1.Prior to the enactment of an amending by-law:

(i)Submission of an accessibility plan showing barrier-free access to all floors within the building.

(ii)Submission of a landscape plan which shows, among other matters, barrier-free access to the dwelling, and the design and drainage of the rear parking pad, to the satisfaction of Urban Planning & Development Services and Works & Emergency Services.; and

(2) the application by Andrei Verbitsky to amend the Etobicoke Zoning Code to permit the conversion of an existing duplex dwelling to a lodging house for seniors at 10FairfieldAvenue, be approved.

The Etobicoke Community Council reports having held a statutory public meeting in accordance with Section 34 of the Planning Act, and that appropriate notice of this meeting was given in accordance with the Planning act and the regulations thereunder.

The Etobicoke Community Council further reports, for the information of City Council, having referred the following communication (May 26, 1999) from Mrs. Margaret Ciupa to the Board of Health for review and report to the Community and Neighbourhood Services Committee, and requested that Mrs. Ciupa and any interested parties be invited to attend at that time.

The Etobicoke Community Council submits the following report (April 20,1999) from the Director of Community Planning, West District:

Purpose:

To consider an application to amend the Zoning Code to permit the conversion of an existing duplex dwelling to a lodging house for seniors at 10 Fairfield Avenue.

Funding Sources, Financial Implications and Impact Statement:

City funding is not required. There are no impacts on capital or operating budgets.

Recommendation:

It is recommended that the application by Andrei Verbitsky be approved, subject to a Public Meeting to obtain the views of interested parties and, the fulfillment of the conditions outlined in this report.

Background:

The subject site is located on the north side of Fairfield Avenue between Twenty-Fourth and Twenty-Sixth Streets in the former Village of Long Branch. The site is occupied by a 2-storey duplex dwelling containing an illegal basement apartment, and a detached 2-car garage. The duplex dwelling is currently being used illegally as a lodging house.

The front yard of the site is landscaped, except for the driveway. The rear yard contains additional landscaping, as well as the detached garage and a 2-car parking pad.

Proposal:

The applicant proposes to convert the duplex to an 8-bedroom lodging house for up to 14 seniors. The bedrooms and common rooms would be on the first and second floors. The kitchen, dining room, office, laundry and staff room would be in the basement.

The exterior of the dwelling would not be altered. Existing landscaped areas on the property would be maintained except that a new walkway would be added from the municipal sidewalk to the front door of the dwelling and the rear yard parking pad would be expanded slightly.

Exhibit No. 1 is a map showing the location of the subject property and surrounding zoning. ExhibitNos. 2, 3 and 4 are reductions of the site plan and elevations, respectively. A summary of the site data is listed in Table 1.

The surrounding lands are generally zoned Residential Multiple-1 (RM-1)(Long Branch) and occupied by a mix of single detached, semi-detached and duplex dwellings. The property to the south directly across Fairfield Avenue is zoned Residential Multiple Apartments (RMA) and occupied by an 81-unit, 8-storey apartment building.

The applicant has applied to Toronto Health Services for a 'Type B' lodging house licence, which would permit up to 1.5 hours of daily care for the occupants. The facility would not be owner-occupied. A staff person would be on duty on a 24 hour basis.

Table 1

Comments:

Official Plan:

The site is designated Low Density Residential in the Official Plan, which permits a range of grade-related housing including lodging houses. Where lands within this designation are not zoned to permit lodging houses, the Plan provides that they may be permitted by site-specific by-law amendment subject to criteria set out in the Plan (Section 4.2.20).

Based on a review of these Official Plan criteria (Exhibit No. 5), staff are satisfied that the site is suitable for the proposed lodging house. It is located near Lake Shore Boulevard, an arterial road with public transit, is sufficiently large to provide adequate landscaping and parking, and is well-separated from existing lodging houses and similar facilities. As well, Health Services have advised that the proposed facility can accommodate the proposed number of residents without overcrowding.

Zoning Code:

The subject property is zoned Residential Multiple-1 (RM-1)(Long Branch) in the Etobicoke Zoning Code, which permits single and semi-detached, duplex, threeplex and fourplex dwellings, but not lodging houses.

Supplementary regulations for lodging houses (Section 330-33) in the Zoning Code restrict the use, location and development standards for lodging houses. The proposed lodging house generally complies with the supplementary regulations except that it is not owner-occupied, has over 10residents (i.e. up to 14), and is slightly below the minimum side setback required due to the existing location of the dwelling and detached garage.

Therefore, in order to permit the conversion of the duplex to a lodging house, site-specific by-law amendments will be required to permit the proposed "retirement home" lodging house in the Residential Multiple zone, and exempt the facility from certain supplementary regulations for lodging houses.

Agency Comments:

Toronto Health Services, Toronto Realty Services, Toronto Fire Services, Toronto Hydro, Canada Post and Economic Development, Culture & Tourism have expressed no concern with the proposal. The Transportation Services Division of Works & Emergency Services has advised that the proposed parking supply is acceptable, but requires more details regarding the design and drainage of the rear parking pad.

Community Meeting:

A community meeting attended by approximately 16 area residents was held on March 1, 1999.

Residents were primarily concerned that the lodging house had opened illegally without seeking municipal approvals. They requested that the lodging house use be restricted to a retirement home for senior and elderly persons and have barrier-free access. They also suggested that the interior of the building be adapted to provide barrier-free access but Health Services advised that the proposal meets current standards in the lodging house by-law. As noted earlier, if the application is approved, the by-law amendment would restrict the lodging house to a retirement home facility. Prior to the passing of the by-law, a landscape plan detailing matters including barrier-free access to the dwelling will be required. As requested by the ward Councillors, a chronology and copies of explanatory letters from the applicant are attached to this report (Exhibit Nos. 6 and 7).

Conclusions:

The proposed lodging house would be in conformity with the relevant Official Plan policies. The proposal is compatible with surrounding land uses and could be accommodated from a design and transportation perspective.

Conditions to Approval:

1.Prior to the enactment of an amending by-law, submission of a landscape plan which shows, among other matters, barrier-free access to the dwelling, and the design and drainage of the rear parking pad, to the satisfaction of Urban Planning & Development Services and Works & Emergency Services.

2.The amending by-law shall confirm the existing Residential Multiple-1 (RM-1) zoning of the site and permit a lodging house subject to the following conditions:

(i)The lodging house use shall be restricted to a retirement home facility for seniors and the elderly.

(ii)A maximum of 14 residents and one staff person shall be accommodated in the lodging house.

(iii)The lodging house is not required to be owner-occupied.

(iv)The existing east side setback of the dwelling may be reduced from the 1.8 m required to approximately 1.79 m. The existing west side setback of the detached garage may be reduced from the 0.4 m required to approximately 0.3 m. The affected setbacks of the eaves of the dwelling and garage may also be reduced to reflect their existing location.

(v)No exterior alterations or additions to the dwelling shall be permitted to accommodate the permitted use except as required to comply with other municipal and provincial regulations.

Contact Name:

Jamie McEwan, Senior Planner Tel: (416) 394-8878

Community Planning, West District Fax: (416) 394-6063

(A copy of Exhibits Nos. 1-7, referred to in the foregoing report, was forwarded to all Members of Council with the agenda for the Etobicoke Community Council meeting of May 26, 1999, and a copy of each is on file in the office of the City Clerk.)

The Etobicoke Community Council also submits the following communication (May 26, 1999) from Mrs. Margaret Ciupa:

The process for this application has been abused prior to the application and contravenes many of our existing by-laws. The Background information in the Planning Report indicates that this dwelling is being used as an illegal lodging house. The City has allowed the applicants to continue to operate an illegal lodging house business for the past ten months without any charges being laid against the owners or operator. Does this place the City in any position of liability by the residents of the home, e.g. a fire or injury?

We have all heard horror stories about the lodging houses in Toronto and other cities where vulnerable people have lived and major problems have caused injury and death to occur because of lack of regulations being in place and monitoring of same.

Etobicoke has by-laws in place to protect our neighbourhoods and to protect the residents who pay their way in the lodging houses. The goal was to ensure that the residents, many of whom are vulnerable and frail, would have the opportunity to live in a caring, safe environment in their older years.

The City of Etobicoke and the Etobicoke Board of Health have been leaders and away ahead of other municipalities in Toronto and other cities in the province with their implementation of the by-laws that affect the zoning, and licensing for standards of care and the surveillance of lodging houses Type A and B. Something that I have been proud of for many years.

The Board of Health revised this by-law due to some major problems that had occurred in some of the lodging houses that were operating in the City. It was tightened up to protect the residents and the City Solicitor agreed that it had enough substance to be enforced and that it would stand up in Court.

The process for rezoning allows the neighbours to be informed of any changes of zoning that are to occur in their area and the opportunity to speak to the proposed changes. Many questions were answered at the community meeting that our Councillors had. This does still not make the process that happened correct.

Article II of the Lodging House By-law states that ..no person shall, within the City of Etobicoke, carry on a lodging house or be an operator of a lodging house unless or until a license has been obtained therefor from the Board of Health for the City of Etobicoke.

The Owners of this property and the Operator ignored the requirement and started to operate an illegal lodging house - Type B, without the zoning or lodging house license in place. They have continued to house residents while they were waiting for their application to be approved. The Fire Department was not in the loop until February 1999, six months after the residents started to reside there. As of March 1, 1999, eight residents were living there.

The Staff report indicates that barrier free access to the building will be required. Barrier Free Access is very difficult in a three-level building with a split entrance. You come in at ground level onto a landing and must go up to the main level or down to basement level from the front door. Is this classified as accessible?

This applicant is knowledgeable about acquiring City approvals for zoning changes and the operator of Mrs. Casey Homes is experienced and knowledgeable about lodging house regulations.

Therefore my recommendations re 10 Fairfield Avenue are:

-that the applicant for 10 Fairfield be required to put in a chair lift so that all three floors and the entrance are accessible. This would ensure that residents have access to the front door and to the dining room that is in the basement;

-that the applicant be required to pay the costs of two times the licensing fee for the lodging house and twice the building permit fee and the costs of visits by the Health, Fire and Traffic Departments for the time spend in processing this illegal operation; and further

-that the Lodging House By-law be reviewed and revised in order that better standards for zoning and licensing and charges be in place for the protection of the residents living in lodging houses and for the neighbourhood;

-that the Board of Health for the City of Toronto determine the best possible vehicle in order to ensure that the care of the elderly in lodging houses is safe and will provide for the quality of life they deserve;

-that the Health Inspection and the Nursing Staff be allocated more time to ensure that business operators of the lodging houses are meeting the requirements of the by-law;

-that anyone found operating an illegal lodging house business be charged and that alternate accommodation for the residents in an illegal lodging house Type B be found until the zoning and licensing are in place;

-that any expenses incurred by the City in dealing with an illegal lodging house be included in the charges laid against the owner of the property.

In conclusion I do not want to infer that safety and good quality care will not be provided in this lodging house if it is approved. I am sure that the City staff will monitor it sufficiently to ensure that the by-law is enforced.

My concern is that our City by-laws are not being enforced and that this dwelling continued to operate in violation of our existing by-laws without intervention by the City.

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The Etobicoke Community Council reports, for the information of City Council, also having had before it during consideration of the foregoing matter, a communication (May 20, 1999) from Mr.and Mrs. Andrei Verbitsky, submitting additional information with respect to their application to amend the Zoning Code to permit the conversion of an existing duplex dwelling to a lodging house for seniors.

The following persons appeared before the Etobicoke Community Council in connection with the foregoing matter:

-Mr. Yuri Ihnatko, on behalf of Andrei Verbitsky; and

-Mrs. Margaret Ciupa.