Ontario Land Tribunal
Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire
ISSUE DATE: December 17, 2021
CASE NO(S).: PL171230
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 34(11) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended
Applicant and Appellant: York London Holdings Limited
Subject: Application to amend Zoning By-law No. 438-86 - Refusal or neglect of the City of Toronto to make a decision
Existing Zoning: Reinvestment Area (RA)
Proposed Zoning: Site Specific (to be determined)
Purpose: To permit a 17-storey mixed-use building development
Property Address/Description: 187 King St East and 65 George Street
Municipality: City of Toronto
Municipality File No.: 17 147290 STE 28 OZ
OLT Case No.: PL171230
OLT File No.: PL171230
OLT Case Name: York London Holdings Limited v. Toronto (City)
Heard: December 10, 2021 by video hearing
APPEARANCES:
| Parties | Counsel |
|---|---|
| York London Holdings Limited | D. Bronskill |
| City of Toronto | M. Longo |
MEMORANDUM OF ORAL DECISION DELIVERED BY S. BRAUN ON DECEMBER 10, 2021 AND ORDER OF THE TRIBUNAL
INTRODUCTION
1The parties have reached a settlement in the matter of an appeal under s. 34(11) of the Planning Act 1 (“Act”) by York London Holdings Limited (“Appellant”) from the decision of the City of Toronto (“City”) to refuse the Appellant’s application for a Zoning By-law Amendment (“ZBLA”). The ZBLA is required to facilitate the development of a 17-storey residential condominium at 65 George Street and 187 King Street East (collectively referred to as “the subject site”).
2The subject site is located at the southeast corner of King Street East and George Street, within the St. Lawrence Neighbourhood. It is “L” shaped with a size of approximately 683 square metres, having roughly 7.9 metres (“m”) of frontage on King Street East and 36.6 m along George Street.
3187 King Street East is occupied by the former “Little York Inn”, a four-storey building designated under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act 2 (“OHA”) and is currently used as office space. 65 George Street is occupied by a two-storey building that is currently used as a commercial art gallery. The first floor of this building was designated under the OHA in November 2020, given its previous function as stables for the Little York Inn.
PLANNING EVIDENCE
4The Tribunal heard uncontested expert opinion evidence from Andrew Ferancik, who provided a detailed contextual and land use planning rationale to support the settlement. He opined the ZBLA and the development it will permit satisfy all legislative tests under the Act and represent good planning in the public interest. He ultimately recommended the Tribunal approve the ZBLA in principle, subject to a number of conditions.
5Mr. Ferancik noted the subject site is located within the St. Lawrence Neighbourhood, which forms part of the City’s original ten blocks and, as such, and a number of properties in the area are designated under the OHA or are listed on the City’s heritage register.
6He went on to describe the more recent history of the surrounding area, remarking that it had fallen into disrepair until the 1980s and 1990s, when the City began to focus on revitalization and regeneration by encouraging new development. The result has been the evolution of a dynamic neighbourhood which now boasts a diverse mix of uses and building heights, where heritage elements and new development have been successfully integrated
7Mr. Ferancik described both King Street East and George Street as pleasant walking streets with a mix of residences, restaurants and retail. He also provided an overview of the surrounding area, drawing the Tribunals attention to a number of photographs contained within Exhibit 1.
8To the north of the subject site across King Street East are low to mid rise buildings which form part of the campus of George Brown College. To the south is a ten (10)-storey building containing a mix of retail, office and residential units. Immediately east of the subject site are a series of three (3) and four (4) storeys buildings and further east are nine (9) and ten (10) storey buildings. Similarly, immediately west of the site are three (3) to four (4) storey buildings and further west, buildings ranging in height from ten to 39 storeys.
Development Proposal
9The original development proposal submitted in April of 2017 contemplated a 17-storey mixed use building containing 16 two-bedroom plus den residential units. The ZBLA application proposed the retention and restoration of the existing building at 187 King Street East and the demolition of the existing building at 65 George Street in order to facilitate the development.
10Although the proposal currently before the Tribunal still contemplates a 17-storey mixed use building with 16 two-bedroom plus den units, Mr. Ferancik explained that a number of important changes have been made which, in his view, appropriately respond to the City’s concerns with the original proposal. The most important of these changes is the retention and reuse of the first story of the former stables at 65 George Street. In Mr. Ferancik’s opinion, the heritage wall and archway at 65 George Street has been artfully integrated into this development in a truly unique way, enhancing the visual appearance of the street corner and allowing for the building to be safely accessed “in an old-world way” by both vehicles and pedestrians.
11With reference to the proposed development’s preservation and unique use of heritage attributes as well as the diverse range of building heights in area surrounding the subject site, Mr. Ferancik opined that this 17-storey building will fit in well with both its immediate and surrounding area.
12Other notable changes in the current proposal include: the incorporation of private terraces and balconies; additional step backs at both the front and rear of the building; changes to the ground floor functional layout; lowering of the tower portion of the building at the north wall;and the deliberate locating of windows to ensure privacy and the protection of future development of adjacent properties.
Legislative Framework
13Mr. Ferancik opined that the proposal has appropriate regard for matters of Provincial interest in s. 2 and is consistent with the Provincial Policy Statement (“PPS”), as it is an efficient use of land and infrastructure which contributes to an affordable and market-based range of housing in the area and reduces automobile dependency by leveraging available transit and supporting various forms of active transportation. He further opined that the proposal conforms to the policies of the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe (“GP”), as it represents an appropriate form of intensification in a downtown growth centre which already benefits from excellent transit connectivity and is to be a future major transit station area.
14With respect to the City of Toronto Official Plan (“OP”), Mr. Ferancik explained that the subject site is in a Regeneration Area within which significant revitalization and development is planned. He explained that, although a number of Official Plan Amendments have been enacted which alter the built form policies that were in force at the time of the initial application, in his opinion, the proposed development achieves the goals of those more recent built form policies including, but not limited to: allowing for “eyes on the street” and the retention of heritage attributes.
15As regards heritage conservation policies and heritage concerns in particular, Mr. Ferancik explained that the preservation of the Little York Inn is of great importance to the City and the current proposal’s preservation of the former stables at 65 George Street allows for the retention of a significant part of this heritage. He noted that although the St. Lawrence Neighbourhood Heritage Conservation District only recently came into effect, the Toronto Preservation Board has reviewed the current proposal and is in agreement that it will preserve and enhance the heritage attributes on the subject site.
16Mr. Ferancik highlighted housing policies in the OP and explained that the building is quite unique for the City because the residential units are exceptionally large, spanning the entire floorplate of the building. Essentially, each unit occupies one entire floor of the building. In his opinion, such large units will contribute to the City’s housing goals by encouraging families to locate downtown, which will contribute to the revitalization of the area and reduce automobile dependency and the need for commuting.
17With reference to the King-Parliament Secondary Plan (“KPSP”) and the encouragement of the creation of vital mixed use communities through significant growth and investment to the area as well as the retention and reuse of heritage buildings, Mr. Ferancik opined that the proposal which contributes to growth and has significant regard to the heritage attributes of the subject site conforms to and will aid in the implementation of the policies of the KPSP.
18Mr. Ferancik made brief references to policy documents enacted following the initial application (new secondary plan for the King-Parliament area, which is currently under appeal, as well as the Downtown Secondary Plan). He testified that he had reviewed both documents but neither led him to change is opinion on the appropriateness of the proposal. He opined that the policies in the new secondary plan for the King-Parliament area are similar to its predecessor, encouraging revitalization and regeneration of the area. With respect to the Downtown Secondary Plan, Mr. Ferancik’s opinion remains that the proposal is appropriate for the area at a height which helps to create a transition toward the buildings of 30 storeys and greater. Overall, in his view, the proposal has significant regard for these two more recent policy documents.
19Finally, with respect to zoning and building heights, Mr. Ferancik indicated the subject site is currently zoned CR (Commercial-Residential) and in 2021, the City rezoned portions of the area including 65 George Street to allow buildings of 90 m in height, which is in excess of the height of the proposed development. He further noted that the proposal has appropriate regard for the City’s design guidelines including the Tall Building Design Guidelines.
ANALYSIS AND DISPOSITION
20The Tribunal accepts the uncontested planning evidence of Mr. Ferancik in support of the settlement between the parties that the ZBLA and the development it will permit have appropriate regard for matters of Provincial interest, are consistent with the PPS, conform to the GP and the OP and overall, represent good planning in the public interest.
21The Tribunal is satisfied that the proposal is an appropriate form of infill intensification on an underutilized site, which makes efficient use of land and transit. It sensitively balances heritage protection with new development and will assist in the fulfillment of provincial and municipal policies which speak to providing an appropriate range and mix of housing by providing large, family-sized residential units in the downtown area.
INTERIM ORDER
22The Tribunal orders that the appeal is allowed in part and the proposed development of the lands in accordance with the plans dated August 9, 2021 (and filed with the Tribunal as Exhibit 2), is approved in principle.
23The Tribunal will withhold the Final Order pending written confirmation from the Parties that:
a. the proposed zoning by-law amendments are in a form satisfactory to the Parties;
b. the owner has provided a satisfactory Functional Servicing Report and resolved any remaining engineering issues, to the satisfaction of the Chief Engineer and Executive Director, Engineering and Construction Services and the General Manager, Toronto Water;
c. in the event it is determined that improvements or upgrades are required to support the development as may be identified in the accepted Functional Servicing Report, the owner has entered into an agreement or has otherwise secured the design, construction, and provided financial securities for such upgrades to the existing municipal infrastructure to the satisfaction of the Chief Engineer and Executive Director, Engineering and Construction Services and the General Manager, Toronto Water;
d. the owner has entered into an agreement under Section 37 of the Planning Act to the satisfaction of the City Solicitor and the Chief Planning and Executive Director to secure the matters set out in City Council's approval of Item PB26.7 with respect to alterations to 187 King Street East and demolition and reconstruction of 65 George Street;
e. the owner has satisfied any and all conditions imposed by City Council with respect to alterations to 187 King Street. East and demolition and reconstruction of 65 George Street;
f. the owner has withdrawn its appeal of the St. Lawrence Heritage Conservation District;
g. the owner has withdrawn its appeal of Official Plan Amendment 525 (King Parliament Secondary Plan Review) and associated Zoning By-laws (391-2021, 392-2021, 393-2021, 394-2021, 395-2021); and
h. the owner has made arrangements that are acceptable to the City Solicitor for the withdrawal or resolution of its site-specific appeals to Official Plan Amendment 352 (Downtown Tower Separation) and the associated Zoning By-laws (1106-2016 and 1107-2016).The Tribunal may be spoken by way of telephone conference call regarding issues arising from the implementation of this Order.
24The Tribunal may be spoken to regarding issues arising from the implementation of this Order.
25The Parties are expected to provide a status update on the progress in fulfilling these conditions no later than 120 days from the date of the issuance of this Order.
“S. Braun”
S. BRAUN MEMBER
Ontario Land Tribunal Website: olt.gov.on.ca Telephone: 416-212-6349 Toll Free: 1-866-448-2248
The Conservation Review Board, the Environmental Review Tribunal, the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal and the Mining and Lands Tribunal are amalgamated and continued as the Ontario Land Tribunal (“Tribunal”). Any reference to the preceding tribunals or the former Ontario Municipal Board is deemed to be a reference to the Tribunal.
Footnotes
- R.S.O. 1990, c. P. 13, as amended.
- R.S.O. 1990, c. O. 18, as amended.