Ontario Land Tribunal
Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire
ISSUE DATE: March 2, 2026
CASE NO(S).: OLT-25-000121
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 22(7) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P. 13, as amended.
Applicant/Appellant: Osmington Gerofsky Development Corp., PM Viewmount 1 Inc., PM Stayner 1 Inc., 1000563224 Ontario Inc., and 1000670323 Ontario Inc.
Subject: Request to amend the Official Plan – Failure to adopt the requested amendment
Description: Proposed development of two towers that are 35 and 39 storeys
Reference Number: 24 171220 NNY 08 OZ
Property Address: 253–263 Viewmount Avenue and 12-18 Romar Crescent
Municipality/UT: Toronto/Toronto
OLT Case No: OLT-25-000121
OLT Lead Case No: OLT-25-000121
OLT Case Name: 1000563224 Ontario Inc. et al. v Toronto (City)
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 34(11) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P. 13, as amended.
Applicant/Appellant: Osmington Gerofsky Development Corp., PM Viewmount 1 Inc., PM Stayner 1 Inc., 1000563224 Ontario Inc., and 1000670323 Ontario Inc.
Subject: Application to amend the Zoning By-law – Refusal or neglect to make a decision
Reference Number: 24 171220 NNY 08 OZ
Property Address: 253–263 Viewmount Avenue and 12-18 Romar Crescent
Municipality/UT: Toronto/Toronto
OLT Case No: OLT-25-000122
OLT Lead Case No: OLT-25-000121
Heard: February 23, 2026 by Video Hearing
APPEARANCES:
Parties
Counsel
Osmington Gerofsky Development Corp., PM Viewmount 1 Inc., PM Stayner 1 Inc., 1000563224 Ontario Inc., and 1000670323 Ontario Inc. (collectively, the “Applicant” / “Appellant”)
J. Park S. Kagan
Zvi Halpern-Shavim and Michelle Landy-Shavim
R. Kehar (in absentia)
Mark Nitz and Julie Saunders
S. Syed R. Kehar (in absentia)
TONLU Holdings Limited
A. Platt
City of Toronto (“City”)
J. Dexter S. Amini (in absentia)
MEMORANDUM OF ORAL DECISION DELIVERED BY S. TOUSAW ON FEBRUARY 23, 2026 AND ORDER OF THE TRIBUNAL
INTRODUCTION
1A Settlement Hearing was convened for the Applicant’s appeals to the absence of decisions by the City within the statutory time period for Official Plan Amendment (“OPA”) and Zoning By-law Amendment (“ZBA”) applications affecting 253-263 Viewmount Avenue (“Viewmount”) and 12-18 Romar Crescent (“Romar”), Toronto (the “site”).
2This Decision approves the proposed OPA and ZBA in principle, arising from the Parties’ settlement, that enable residential intensification with its attendant benefits of enhancing the supply and range of housing options, supporting available transit, and substantially limiting automobile usage.
3The Parties advised that the Added Party - Zvi Halpern-Shavim and Michelle Landy-Shavim – who are absent at this Hearing, may not accept the settlement but are not continuing to object to the development.
FINDINGS
4The Tribunal accepts the uncontroverted affidavit and oral evidence of Pino Di Mascio, Registered Professional Planner, whom the Tribunal qualified to provide opinion evidence in land use planning. Mr. Di Mascio’s affidavit was marked as Exhibit 1 and his affidavit and oral evidence are summarized as follows.
5This site of 0.56 hectares has 61 metres (“m”) frontage on Viewmount and extends through the block with 55 m frontage on Romar. The site contains eight existing detached dwellings. The site’s southeast side abuts Benner Park to the east.
6The Parties’ mediation and further discussions led to several design changes, including: reduced podium heights; amenable setbacks and stepbacks; a landscaped buffer along the west lot line beside the north-south lane; servicing functions located centrally within the building; animated and active street frontages; and new, direct access to Benner Park from Romar.
7The proposed two towers of 36 and 39 storeys, atop a shared podium of four to seven storeys, will contain 1,033 dwelling units, of which a minimum 10% will be three-bedroom units and 20% will be two-bedroom units. The low parking rate of 0.22 parking spaces per unit will substantially reduce automobile ownership and use, in support of transit and active transportation. Retail space will front Viewmount, parkland will be dedicated to enlarge Benner Park, and a public access easement over the driveway will connect Viewmount to Romar along the site’s west side.
8The OPA will designate the site as Apartment Neighbourhoods and Parks, and the ZBA will zone the site to Residential Apartment Exception Zone and Open Space, with performance standards that reflect the settled built form and site requirements.
9Mr. Di Mascio explains that intensification is just beginning in the vicinity of this site, with seven nearby proposals demonstrating a shift towards a more compact, walkable, and transit-supportive neighbourhood. The area is well served by the existing and planned higher-order transit, including bus routes, cycling infrastructure, and the TTC Glencairn Station just 100 m to the east of the site. The TTC Line 1 Subway is a Priority Transit Corridor and the Glencairn Station is expected to be designated as a Major Transit Station Area with a minimum density target of 200 residents and jobs per hectare.
10The location and degree of intensification display due regard for s. 2 of the Planning Act (“Act”) including: orderly development; a safe and healthy community; a full range of housing; the appropriate location of growth and development; support for public transit; oriented to pedestrians; and a built form that encourages a sense of place.
11The OPA and ZBA are consistent with the Provincial Planning Statement, 2024 by enabling: a range and mix of housing; a more complete community; the efficient use of land and infrastructure through intensification; support for transit; and a scale and setbacks that enable compatibility with the surrounding area.
12The OPA aligns with the City Official Plan (2024 consolidation) (“OP”), and the ZBA conforms with the OP, as amended by the OPA, regarding: intensification in areas supported by transit; reduced automobile dependency; compatible infill within an evolving built form area; enhancing the public realm with parkland; public access through a midblock connection; fit with the existing and planned context; transition to adjacent uses with setbacks and stepbacks; a pedestrian-scale street wall; regard for the Tall Building Guidelines; and minimizing shadow impacts on surrounding low-rise neighbourhoods.
13Having found above that the proposed OPA and ZBA meet all statutory requirements of the Act, and having considered the decisions of City Council on these applications, the Tribunal finds the proposed development to represent good planning in the public interest, and will allow the appeals, in part, through an Interim Order, subject to the conditions as agreed by the attending Parties and set out below.
INTERIM ORDER
14THE TRIBUNAL ORDERS, on an interim basis, that:
The appeals by Osmington Gerofsky Development Corp., PM Viewmont 1 Inc., PM Stayner 1 Inc., 1000563224 Ontario Inc., and 1000670323 Ontario Inc. (“owner”), for the lands known municipality as 253- 263 Viewmount Avenue and 12-18 Romar Cresent in the City of Toronto, are allowed, in part;
The Official Plan Amendment, attached to this Order as Schedule A, is approved in principle;
The Zoning By-law Amendment, attached to this Order as Schedule B, is approved in principle;
The Final Order of the Tribunal shall be withheld until the Tribunal is in receipt of written confirmation from the owner and the City that the following conditions have been satisfied:
i. The final form of the Official Plan Amendment is to the satisfaction of the City Solicitor and the Executive Director, Development Review;
ii. The final form and content of the Zoning By-law Amendment is to the satisfaction of the City Solicitor and the Executive Director, Development Review;
iii. The owner or applicant, at their sole cost and expense, has submitted a revised Functional Servicing and Stormwater Management Report to demonstrate that the existing sanitary sewer system and watermain and any required improvements to them have adequate capacity and supply to accommodate the development of the lands, to the satisfaction of the Director, Engineering Review, Development Review;
iv. The City has received, reviewed, and accepted the updated Transportation Impact Study, to the satisfaction of the General Manager, Transportation Services;
v. The Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning or their designate has approved Rental Housing Demolition Application 24 191529 NNY 08 RH under Chapter 667 of the Toronto Municipal Code pursuant to Section 111 of the City of Toronto Act, 2006, to permit the demolition of the three (3) existing rental dwelling units on the lands and the owner has entered into, and registered on title to the lands, an agreement pursuant to Section 111 of the City of Toronto Act, 2006 to secure, among other matters, the following:
- the provision of an acceptable Tenant Relocation and Assistance Plan for all Eligible Tenants of the three (3) existing rental units proposed to be demolished, addressing financial compensation and other assistance to lessen hardship, including the provision of rent gap payments; the Tenant Relocation and Assistance Plan shall be developed in consultation with, and to the satisfaction of, the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning;
vi. The owner has satisfactorily addressed the Transportation Services and Engineering and Construction Services matters in the Engineering and Construction Services Memorandum dated September 13, 2024, and any outstanding issues arising from the ongoing technical review of the Proposed Development (which may require provision of acceptable reports and studies), as they relate to the Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendment application, to the satisfaction of the General Manager, Transportation Services and the Director, Engineering Review, Development Review;
vii. The owner has submitted a revised Travel Demand Management Plan to the satisfaction of the General Manager, Transportation Services;
viii. The owner has satisfactorily addressed matters from the Urban Forestry, Tree Protection and Plan Review, Memorandum dated September 10, 2024, or any outstanding issues raised by Urban Forestry arising from the ongoing technical review of the Proposed Development (which may require provision of acceptable reports and studies), as they relate to the Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendment application, to the satisfaction of the Executive Director, Environment, Climate and Forestry;
ix. The owner has provided a revised wind study including a wind tunnel test, and all recommended mitigation measures are secured in the Zoning By-law Amendment and/or through the Site Plan approval process, to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning and the Executive Director, Development Review;
x. The owner has, at its sole cost and expense, facilitated the City undertaking a peer review of the submitted Noise and Vibration Assessment, and has secured any recommended mitigation measures in the Zoning By-law Amendment, all to the satisfaction of the Executive Director, Development Review;
xi. The owner has submitted an updated and complete Toronto Green Standard Checklist and Statistics Template, to the satisfaction of the Executive Director, Development Review; and
xii. The owner has registered on title to the lands a Limiting Distance Agreement, to which the City will be a party, to the satisfaction of the City Solicitor and the Executive Director, Development Review, that ensures a minimum 28.0 metres separation distance between Tower A and any building on the abutting property to the west of Tower A.
The Tribunal may be spoken to in the event any matter or matters should arise in connection with the implementation of this Interim Order.
“S. Tousaw”
S. TOUSAW
VICE CHAIR
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.
Schedule A
City of Toronto By-law XXX-202X
Authority: Ontario Land Tribunal Decision dated _____ and Order dated _____ and its Final Order issued on _________, in OLT Case No. OLT-25-000121
CITY OF TORONTO
BY-LAW XXX-202X
To approve Amendment ____ to the Official Plan for the City of Toronto respecting the lands municipally known in the year 2025 as 253, 255, 259 and 263 Viewmount Avenue and 12, 14, 16 and 18 Romar Crescent
Whereas the Ontario Land Tribunal has approved amendments to the City of Toronto Official Plan in its Final Order issued on __________, in Ontario Land Tribunal File OLT-25-000121 with respect to the lands known municipally as 253, 255, 259 and 263 Viewmount Avenue and 12, 14, 16 and 18 Romar Crescent;
The Ontario Land Tribunal Orders:
- The attached Amendment ______ to the Official Plan is hereby approved pursuant to the Planning Act, as amended.
City of Toronto By-law XXX-202X
AMENDMENT NO. XXX TO THE OFFICIAL PLAN
LANDS MUNICIPALLY KNOWN IN THE YEAR 2026 AS 253, 255, 259 and 263 VIEWMOUNT AVENUE AND 12, 14, 16, AND 18 ROMAR CRESCENT
The Official Plan of the City of Toronto is amended as follows:
- Map 17, Land Use Plan, is hereby amended by redesignating the lands known as 253, 255, 259 and 263 Viewmount Avenue And 12, 14, 16, and 18 Romar Crescent, contained within heavy black lines on Schedule 1 from Neighbourhoods to Apartment Neighbourhoods and Parks.
City of Toronto By-law XXX-202X