Ontario Land Tribunal Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire

ISSUE DATE: October 17, 2023 CASE NO(S).: OLT-22-002152 (Formerly PL190576)

PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 22(7) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P. 13, as amended

Applicant and Appellant: Metroview Developments (Garden) Inc. Subject: Request to amend the Official Plan – Failure of the City of Richmond Hill to adopt the requested amendment Existing Designation: “Richmond Hill Centre” Proposed Designation: To maintain the existing “Richmond Hill Centre” designation but permit a maximum density of 6.54 Floor Space Index (FSI) and a maximum height of 54-storeys on a site-specific basis Property Address: 8700 & 8710 Yonge Street Municipality: City of Richmond Hill Approval Authority File No.: D01-18007 OLT Case No.: OLT-22-002152 Legacy Case No.: PL190576 OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-22-002152 Legacy Lead Case No.: PL190576 Case Name: Metroview Developments (Garden) Inc. v. Richmond Hill (City)

PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 34(11) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P. 13, as amended

Applicant and Appellant: Metroview Developments (Garden) Inc. Subject: Application to amend Zoning By-law No. 2523, as amended, of the former Township of Vaughan – Neglect of application by the City of Richmond Hill Existing Zoning: “General Commercial One (GC1) Zone” Proposed Zoning: “Residential Multiple Ten Special (RM10-S) Zone” with site-specific development standards in order to facilitate the proposed mixed-use development Property Address: 8700 & 8710 Yonge Street Municipality: City of Richmond Hill Municipality File No.: D02-18033 OLT Case No.: OLT-22-002155 Legacy Case No.: PL190577 OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-22-002152 Legacy Lead Case No.: PL190576

Heard: September 18, 2023 by Written Hearing

APPEARANCES:

Parties	Counsel
Metroview Developments (Garden) Inc.	Ian Andres
City of Richmond Hill	Carlton Thorne

DECISION DELIVERED BY S. Dixon AND ORDER OF THE TRIBUNAL

INTRODUCTION

1This Decision and Order arises from appeals filed by Metroview Developments (Garden) Inc. (“Appellant”) pursuant to sections 22(7) and 34(11) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended (“Act”), concerning Official Plan Amendment (“OPA”) and Zoning By-law Amendment (“ZBA”) applications (together, “Applications”) in the City of Richmond Hill (“City”) for lands known municipally as 8700 and 8710 Yonge Street (“Subject Lands”).

2The Applications initially sought to amend the City Official Plan (“COP”) and Zoning By-law No. 2523 (“ZBL”) to facilitate the redevelopment of the Subject Lands with a high-density mixed-use development consisting of two towers of 20 and 13 storeys, connected by a six-storey podium with commercial uses at grade, with 336 dwelling units and a Floor Space Index (“FSI”) of 4.01.

3At the statutory public meeting held by the City on May 8, 2019, members of City Council suggested that additional height and density could be accommodated on the Subject Lands given its location as a highly visible gateway into the City’s Urban Growth Centre.

4Council did not make a decision on the Applications within the statutory timeframe of the Act and the Applications were appealed on that basis. The Appeal noted the Appellant’s intention to submit a revised proposal to seek additional density and reconfigure the built form into a single taller tower with improved architectural design to address the prominence of the gateway location and its proximity to the future terminus of the Yonge Street subway line and other significant transit infrastructure.

SETTLEMENT

5The Applications were revised and a settlement was reached between the Parties that proposes to redevelop the Subject Lands with a single 30-storey mixed-use tower rising from an eight-storey podium, with 527 dwelling units and an FSI of 4.92 (“Settlement Proposal”). The Settlement Proposal also:

a) Incorporates a new north-south road with a 20-metre right-of-way, lined with street trees and townhouses, along the western boundary of the Subject Lands;

b) Provides parkland dedication in the form of a 4.5-metre strip of land along the northern boundary of the Subject Lands, which will ultimately contribute to the development of a 15-metre-wide pedestrian/cycling connection;

c) Incorporates over 2,100 square metres (“m2”) of outdoor amenity space and over 1,000 m2 of indoor amenity space;

d) Provides 440 residential parking spaces, 79 visitor parking spaces, and 11 commercial parking spaces; and

e) Provides 358 long-term and 52 short-term bicycle parking spaces.

6Extracts from a Special City Council Meeting, held on September 6, 2023, were received by the Tribunal (hereby marked as Exhibit 1), indicating a unanimous decision by City Council in support of the Settlement Proposal, and requesting that the Tribunal:

a) Approve the OPA attached to this Decision as Attachment 1;

b) Approve, in principle, the ZBA attached to this Decision as Attachment 2; and

c) Withhold the issuance of the Final Order with respect to the ZBA until such time as the City advises the Tribunal that a Site Plan Application has been finalised between the Parties.

7In support of the Settlement Proposal, the Tribunal is in receipt of a sworn Affidavit from Michael Goldberg (retained by the Appellant), which is hereby marked as Exhibit 2. Mr. Goldberg is the founding Principal of Goldberg Group, a Registered Professional Planner, and has been practicing land use planning for approximately 40 years. He has been qualified by the Tribunal to provide expert opinion evidence on matters pertaining to land use planning on numerous occasions and is hereby so qualified again.

8The Tribunal makes the following findings on the uncontested Affidavit evidence of Mr. Goldberg.

SITE AND AREA CONTEXT

Land Use

9The Subject Lands are located at the northwest corner of Yonge Street and Garden Avenue. Currently, the Subject Lands are occupied by a two-storey motel surrounded by surface parking, with two driveway access points from Garden Avenue.

10The Subject Lands are within the Richmond Hill Centre, as shown on Schedules A1 and A2 of the COP. Richmond Hill Centre is an Urban Growth Centre as defined by the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, 2019, as amended (“Growth Plan”).

11A single detached residential neighbourhood exists to the immediate north, northwest and west of the Subject Lands. The dwellings to the north are part of Richmond Hill Centre and are intended to redevelop with high-density mixed-use buildings.

12Retail plazas exist to the east and northeast of the Subject Lands – on the east side of Yonge Street – which are also part of the Richmond Hill Centre and are likewise intended to redevelop with high-density mixed-use buildings.

13A gas station exists to the immediate south of the Subject Lands. A wooded area and stormwater management pond are to the southeast.

Transportation

14Yonge Street is a major regional transportation/transit corridor running north-south through the Region of York (“Region”) from downtown Toronto in the south to beyond Newmarket in the north. It is identified in the COP as a Regional Corridor and is designated as an Arterial Street. Garden Avenue is designated as a Collector Street. East of Yonge Street, Garden Avenue turns into Connector Road, which curves south to connect with Highway 7.

15Highway 7 and Highway 407 are immediately south of the intersection of Yonge Street and Garden Avenue/Connector Road. Highway 407 includes on and off ramps at Yonge Street, while access to Highway 7 is limited to Connector Road. Highway 7 provides east-west connectivity throughout the Region and beyond.

16Richmond Hill Centre Terminal is located approximately 350 metres east of the Subject Lands along Connector Road, servicing the VIVA and GO Transit surface routes traveling east-west and north-south. Langstaff GO Station is located to the southeast of Richmond Hill Centre Terminal on the east side of the rail tracks, connected by a pedestrian bridge. The area surrounding Richmond Hill Centre Terminal and Langstaff GO Station is proposed to be significantly expanded as a major transit hub, accommodating the new Richmond Hill Centre subway station of the Yonge Street subway line extension.

17Bus Rapid Transit is currently operational in dedicated centre lanes along Yonge Street, with the closest station approximately 130 metres to the north of the Subject Lands.

18Many existing transit routes operate in the vicinity of the Subject Lands and utilise the Richmond Hill Centre Terminal to provide transit accessibility throughout Richmond Hill and beyond.

PLANNING ANALYSIS

19Mr. Goldberg proffered that the Subject Lands are located within an Urban Growth Centre, a Protected Major Transit Station Area, and on an Intensification Corridor, which collectively are expected to accommodate reurbanisation and intensification that is compact, optimised, and transit supportive.

20He proffered that the OPA is required to increase the permitted height and density on the Subject Lands, and to provide relief from the current transition policies requiring development to fit within a 45-degree angular plane from the neighbourhood to the west.

21The ZBA, he proffered, is required to rezone the Subject Lands from “General Commercial (GC)” to “Multiple Residential Ten Special (RM 10-S)”. The ZBA will also introduce site-specific development standards required to implement the Settlement Proposal, including standards pertaining to height, density, parking, lot coverage, setbacks, and landscaping.

22In Mr. Goldberg’s opinion, the Settlement Proposal appropriately responds to the unique context of the Subject Lands as a gateway site to the City’s downtown, and the planned context on the east side of Yonge Street, which includes permissions for 85- to 89-storey towers immediately adjacent to the future subway station.

23In Mr. Goldberg’s opinion, the combination of the open space and public realm treatment of the Settlement Proposal, and the proposed high-quality architecture, will create a built form presence befitting of a significant gateway to the City.

24Mr. Goldberg proffered that the Settlement Proposal appropriately addresses the neighbourhoods to the north and west of the Subject Lands by contributing to a transitional decrease in height from the east and through the use of generous setbacks, the new landscaped public road to the west, and the new linear public park to the north. Shadow implications, he proffered, have been considered and evaluated and no adverse impacts arise from the Settlement Proposal on any nearby or adjacent properties.

25In Mr. Goldberg’s opinion, the Settlement Proposal has appropriate regard to the matters of provincial interest set out in the Act – particularly matters 2(f), 2(h), 2(n), 2(p) and 2(q) – and is consistent with the Provincial Policy Statement, 2020, conforms with the Growth Plan, and conforms with the Region Official Plan.

26Mr. Goldberg further opined that the Settlement Proposal generally advances the policy and urban structural intent of the COP and warrants an amendment to same, to the extent proposed, given the location of the Subject Lands and planned context in the immediate vicinity.

27Finally, it is Mr. Goldberg’s opinion that the Settlement Proposal is premised on sound and reasonable planning analysis, represents good planning, and is in the public interest.

FINDINGS

28Based on the uncontroverted planning evidence of Mr. Goldberg, the Tribunal finds that the Settlement Proposal satisfies all statutory tests as referenced above, represents good planning, and is in the public interest.

ORDER

29THE TRIBUNAL ORDERS that the appeal pursuant to subsection 22(7) of the Planning Act is allowed in part and the Official Plan for the City of Richmond Hill is amended as set out in Attachment 1 to this Order.

INTERIM ORDER

30THE TRIBUNAL ORDERS that the appeal pursuant to subsection 34(11) of the Planning Act is allowed in part and the amendment to Zoning By-law No. 2523 of the Corporation of the Former Township of Vaughan (i.e., the City of Richmond Hill) set out in Attachment 2 to this Order is approved in principle.

31The final approval of the ZBA shall be withheld by the Tribunal until such time as counsel for the City advises the Tribunal that a Site Plan Application has been finalised for the Subject Lands.

32The Tribunal may be spoken to in the event the Parties require the Tribunal’s assistance regarding the implementation of the Interim Order above.

“S. Dixon”

S. DIXON 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.

ATTACHMENT 1

ATTACHMENT 2