Ontario Land Tribunal
Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire
ISSUE DATE:
November 01, 2023
CASE NO(S).:
OLT-22-004067
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 22(7) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended
Appellant/Appellant:
Bayview Sheppard Developments Limited
Subject:
Request to amend the Official Plan – Failure to adopt the requested amendment
Description:
To permit two towers (35 and 39 storeys)
Reference Number:
21 235569 NNY 18 OZ
Property Address:
500 Sheppard Avenue East
Municipality/UT:
Toronto/Toronto
OLT Case No.:
OLT-22-004067
OLT Lead Case No.:
OLT-22-004067
OLT Case Name:
Bayview Sheppard Developments Limited v. Toronto (City)
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 34(11) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended
Subject:
Application to amend the Zoning By-law – Refusal or neglect to make a decision
Reference Number:
21 235569 NNY 18 OZ
Property Address:
500 Sheppard Avenue East
Municipality/UT
Toronto/Toronto
OLT Case No.:
OLT-22-004068
OLT Lead Case No.:
OLT-22-004067
Heard:
September 6, 2023 by Video Hearing
APPEARANCES:
Parties
Counsel
Bayview Sheppard Developments Limited
City of Toronto
D. Bronskill
R. Kallio
Y. Peer
MEMORANDUM OF ORAL DECISION DELIVERED BY p. tomilin ON september 6, 2023 AND INTERIM ORDER OF THE TRIBUNAL
Link to Final Order
INTRODUCTION
1This was a hearing with respect to the appeals by Bayview Sheppard Developments Limited (“Applicant”/“Appellant”) from the failure of the City of Toronto (“City”) to adopt an amendment to the Official Plan (“OPA”) and to make a decision on an application for a Zoning By-law Amendment (“ZBA”), pursuant to subsections 22(7) and 34(11) of the Planning Act (“Act”), for the property located at 500 Sheppard Avenue East (“subject property”/“Site”). The Parties have resolved their issues.
2Michael Goldberg, a Registered Professional Planner, provided a Sworn Affidavit (Exhibit 1) and was qualified by the Tribunal to provide land use planning opinion evidence in relation to the matter under appeal. Mr. Goldberg delivered a detailed contextual and land use planning rationale in support of the settlement.
SITE CONTEXT
3The Site is an irregular L-shaped parcel, with the immediate southeast portion of the corner cut out from the Site to form Bayview Parkette, a public park located at the northwest corner of Sheppard Avenue East and Bayview Avenue and is adjacent to the Bayview Subway Station. The subject property has 71.5 metres (“m”) of frontage along Sheppard Avenue East and 38.3 m along Bayview Avenue and an area of approximately 5,731 square metres (“m2”). The Site is currently occupied with a three-storey commercial building and surface parking spaces.
THE DEVELOPMENT PROPOSAL
4Mr. Goldberg stated that the Site has existing approvals for a 25-storey building on a nine-storey podium fronting onto Sheppard Avenue East. The Applicant proposes to demolish the existing three-storey office building and replace it with two mixed-use towers of 37- (Tower 1) and 41-storeys (Tower 2), with an L-shaped, four-storey shared podium that fronts onto both Sheppard Avenue East and Bayview Avenue. Tower 1 would have a total base building of nine-storey, stepping back along the north and east façade to the tower portion at levels 10-37. The proposal includes retail at grade along both the Sheppard Avenue East and Bayview Avenue frontages.
5Tower 1 will be located parallel to Sheppard Avenue East and has a total height of 122.60 m to the top of the roof slab and 130.10 m to the top of the mechanical penthouse. Tower 2 will be located parallel to Bayview Avenue and has a total height of 134.90 m to the top of the roof slab and 142.40 m to the top of the mechanical penthouse.
6The development proposal includes an at-grade parkland dedication of 573.0 m2, which represents 10 percent of the total site area and is proposed to be located along Sheppard Avenue East, immediately west of, and contiguous with, the existing Bayview Parkette.
7A 2.1-m-wide pedestrian walkway is proposed along the western property line connecting Sheppard Avenue East in the south and Mallingham Court in the north.
8A total of 61,000 m2 of Gross Floor Area (“GFA”) is proposed, which includes 57,600 m2 of residential GFA and 3,400 m2 of non-residential GFA, resulting in a floor space index (“FSI”) of 10.64.
9Vehicular access to the subject property will be maintained by the two existing driveways from Sheppard Avenue East and Bayview Avenue. Mr. Goldberg proffered that a gap study will be submitted to the satisfaction of the City to determine the operation of the driveway from Sheppard Avenue East.
10Type B, C, and G Loading spaces have been integrated into the podium of Tower 1, and one Type C Loading space is internalized into the podium of Tower 2.
11Mr. Goldberg explained that the proposed building includes 1,072 condominium units that include the following number of units: 143 (13.2%) Studio, 631 (58.9%) one-bedroom, 190 (17.8%) two-bedroom, and 108 (10.1%) three-bedroom.
12He further explained that the development proposal has been modified from the version submitted at the time of filing the Appeal, as outlined below:
Table 1: Site and Building Statistics
Original Proposal
Revised Proposal
Total Site Area
5,730.9 m2
unchanged
Parkland Dedication (10%)
573.0 m2
unchanged
Road Widening Areas
222.0 m2
unchanged
Net Site Area
4,935.9 m2
unchanged
Residential GFA
55,850 m2
57,600 m2
Non-Residential GFA
3,000 m2
3,400 m2
Total Proposed GFA
58,000 m2
61,000 m2
FSI (based on gross site area)
10.12
10.64
FSI (based on net site area)
11.75
12.35
Dwelling Units
928
1,072
Indoor Amenity Space
1,850 m2
1,837 m2
Outdoor Amenity Space
1,903 m2
2,170 m2
Tower Floor Plates
Tower 1
Tower 2
750 m2
750 m2
775 m2
772 m2
Building Height (excluding MPH) Tower 1
Tower 2
115.15 m (35-storeys)
127.25 m (39-storeys)
122.60 m (39-storeys)
134.90 m (41-storeys)
Number of Vehicle Parking Spaces
291
216
Number of Bicycle Parking Spaces
703
824
PROPOSED OPA AND ZBA
13Mr. Goldberg suggested that in order to implement the development, the OPA to the Sheppard East Subway Corridor Secondary Plan (“SESCSP”) and the ZBA to the site-specific By-law No. 1049-2016, former City of North York Zoning By-law No. 7625, and City of Toronto By-law No. 569-2013 are required.
14He stated that the OPA application proposes to amend the SESCSP (and OPA 318) by increasing the overall site density from 3.99 FSI (or 4.58 FSI with commercial space) to 10.85 FSI. The applications seek to redesignate the lands previously identified as future parkland dedications along Bayview Avenue to those lands immediately west of Bayview Parkette. He opined that the portion of the subject site designated Parks will need to be redesignated as Mixed-Use Areas, while those lands designated Mixed-Use Areas along Sheppard Avenue East, where the new parkland is proposed, will need to be redesignated as Parks.
15Mr. Goldberg further provided that the parkland expansion by the redevelopment application increases the parkland from 381 m2 to 573 m2. He proffered that the development proposal includes 795 m2 of dedications, resulting in a new net site area of 4,935.9 m2, which is less than the previously contemplated net site area of 5,190.4 m2.
PLANNING RATIONALE
16The planning policy documents related to these amendments are in s. 2 of the Act, the Provincial Policy Statement, 2020 (“PPS”), the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, 2019 (“Growth Plan”), the City’s Official Plan (“COP”), the policies of Growth Management, Mixed-Use Areas Designation, Built Form, Housing and Implementation of the COP, the Tall Building Design Guidelines, and SESCSP.
17The Tribunal accepts the following findings, based on Mr. Goldberg’s uncontroverted evidence.
18The proposed development has appropriate regard for the matters of Provincial interest in s. 2 of the Act, is consistent with the PPS, conforms to the COP, its policies, and SESCSP, and overall represents good land use planning. For a more detailed report, please see Exhibit 1.
ORDER
19THE TRIBUNAL ORDERS that the appeals are allowed, in part, and the proposed development is approved in principle.
20The Tribunal’s Final Order is withheld pending written confirmation from the City Solicitor that:
a) The final form and content of the draft Official Plan Amendment and Zoning By-law Amendment are to the satisfaction of the City Solicitor and the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning;
b) The Applicant has submitted any updated reports confirming adequate water, sanitary, and stormwater capacity, to the satisfaction of the Chief Engineer and Executive Director, Engineering and Construction Services, and the General Manager, Toronto Water, or the Chief Engineer and Executive Director, Engineering and Construction Services and the General Manager, Toronto Water, have determined that no holding provisions are required in the Zoning By-law Amendment(s);
c) In the event the updated servicing reports require upgrades to the servicing or functional items above, the Applicant has entered into agreement(s) for the construction of any such improvements to such services, as required, at no cost to the City and to the satisfaction of the Chief Engineer and Executive Director, Engineering and Construction Services, and the General Manager, Toronto Water;
d) The Applicant has submitted a revised Travel Demand Management Plan acceptable to and to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, and the General Manager, Transportation Services, and that such matters arising from such a study be secured, if required;
e) The Applicant has incorporated the design of the cycle-track along Sheppard Avenue East as part of the Sheppard Avenue East Complete Street project, to the satisfaction of the Manager, Transportation Development Planning and Review;
f) The Applicant has resolved transportation-related matters, including an updated Traffic Impact Study Report to reassess the proposed driveway access points, to the satisfaction of the Manager, Transportation Development Planning and Review;
g) The Applicant has addressed all outstanding issues raised in the Urban Forestry, Tree Protection, and Plan Review memo as they relate to the Zoning By-law Amendment application, to the satisfaction of the Supervisor, Tree Protection, and Plan Review; and,
h) The Applicant has submitted a complete Wind Impact Study that provides the necessary details to evaluate the proposed wind conditions at the pedestrian level, acceptable to, and to the satisfaction of, the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning.
“p. Tomilin”
P. tomilin
MEMBER
Ontario Land Tribunal
Website: www.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.