TE13.16 ACTION Referred Ward:20, 27, 28 Downtown Tall Buildings Project - Consultant's Study, Public Consultation and Implementation Committee Decision The Toronto and East York Community Council: 1. Referred back to the Director, Community Planning, Toronto and East York District, the report dated January 27, 2012, with a request that consultation take place with the affected Councillors with respect to the recommendations of the consultant contained in the report under the heading "Height Incentives Related to Provision of Community Benefits in Downtown Toronto"; and that the Director, Community Planning, Toronto and East York District, report back to the April 17, 2012, meeting of the Toronto and East York Community Council. 2. Requested the Director, Community Planning, Toronto and East York District, to submit a report to the Toronto and East York Community Council on implementing a Development Permit System (DPS) for Downtown Toronto, to replace Section 37 Agreements, as a mechanism to make sure neighbourhoods experiencing rapid intensification acquire the appropriate resources to shoulder fast paced growth. Benefits should include, but would not be limited to: - Affordable Housing; - Family Housing; - Rental Housing; - Minimum requirements for institutional and/or commercial and/or cultural components or new projects; - Funds for public realm improvements (parks, streetscapes, Heritage Conservation Districts [HCDs], transit, etc); and - Public squares as being eligible for parks levies. 3. Requested the Director, Community Planning, Toronto and East York District, to review the policy context for Spadina Avenue generally from Front Street West to Bloor Street West and College Street generally from University Avenue to Bathurst Street, as outlined below, and report back to Toronto and East York Community Council on preliminary findings for both reviews along with recommendations for a community consultation process: For Spadina Avenue, in order to reinforce the character and scale of the street, the review will address: - heritage, including the appropriateness of Heritage Conservation District; - building scale and height; - public realm, including special places and pedestrian improvements; and - views, vistas and view termini. For College Street, in order to support the institutional character of the area, the study will address: - land use and the inclusion of institutional uses within mixed-use buildings; - building scale and height; and - public realm, including special places and pedestrian improvements. 4. Requested the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, in consultation with the General Manager of Economic Development and Culture, General Manager of Transportation Services and the Executive Director of Social Development, Finance and Administration, to submit a report to the Toronto and East York Community Council by the third quarter of 2012 to identify, examine measurements and review remedies for urban planning, economic development, transportation, public infrastructure, community amenity and social planning impacts created by the density intensification from the ongoing development of tall buildings in downtown Toronto, as promoted by the Ministry of Infrastructure in the 2006 provincial policy, "Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe." 5. Referred the following motion by Councillor McConnell to the Director, Community Planning, Toronto and East York District; and further tabled such motion until the meeting of the Toronto and East York Community Council to be held on April 17, 2012: "Motion by Councillor McConnell: 'That Performance Standard #20, Sunlight Protection for Parks and Open Space, contained in the Downtown Tall Buildings Vision and Performance Standards Design Guidelines, attached to the report dated January 27, 2012, from the Director, Community Planning, Toronto and East York District, be amended by adding the following additional protection: That all shadow studies for buildings within the proximity of the St. James Cathedral be reviewed with a view to consider the mitigation of any additional shadowing of the Cathedral's park, lawn and spire, in all seasons of the year.'" Decision Advice and Other Information The Toronto and East York Community Council received a presentation by Helen Bulat, Manager, Community Planning, on the Downtown Tall Buildings Project - Consultant's Study, Public Consultation and Implementation. Origin (January 27, 2012) Report from the Director, Community Planning, Toronto and East York District Summary The purpose of this report is to inform City Council of the “Tall Buildings, Inviting Change in Downtown Toronto” Consultant’s Study, including public consultation outcomes, and to seek City Council adoption of a set of Vision, Height and Typology Criteria and Performance Standards to guide Downtown Tall Buildings development. The report also identifies further implementation options for the criteria and performance standards noted above. City Planning Division commissioned Urban Strategies Incorporated to complete a study within Downtown Toronto that identifies where tall buildings should be located, how high they should be and how they should behave towards each other and the public streets and spaces around them. The “Tall Buildings, Inviting Change in Downtown Toronto” Consultant's Study follows previously completed planning studies which looked at the behaviour of tall buildings, but not their appropriate location, building upon pre-existing city-wide tall building design guidelines known as the “Design Criteria for Review of Tall Building Proposals”. In addition to addressing the issue of appropriate site location for Downtown tall buildings, the Consultant's Study also provides performance standards to be applied in the assessment and approval of Downtown tall building development. These performance standards relate to the design, spacing, placement and orientation of tall buildings. They have been derived from a detailed on-the-ground assessment of local conditions within Downtown Toronto, through selective testing of chosen sites and through an assessment of best practices relating to tall building development in cities from across North America. The Consultant's Study area is bounded by Bathurst Street on the west, the rail corridor north of Dupont Street on the north, the Don Valley Parkway on the east and the Toronto Harbour on the south. Secondary Planning Areas falling within this Study area boundary do not form part of the Consultant's Study recommendations. The Consultant's Study recommendations with regard to Downtown tall building locations, heights, typologies and performance standards have been revised by staff following public consultation and further staff assessment, as will be detailed in this report. It is staff's intention to consolidate the city-wide tall building design guidelines with the Downtown tall building design guidelines into one comprehensive document which is able to accommodate locational criteria and performance standards relating to unique challenges faced by tall building development in the Downtown in the Second Quarter of 2012. Background Information (January 27, 2012) Report from the Director, Community Planning, Toronto and East York District and the Director, Urban Design - Downtown Tall Buildings Project - Consultant's Study, Public Consultation and Implementation (http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2012/te/bgrd/backgroundfile-44938.pdf) Attachment - Downtown Tall Buildings Project - Consultant's Study, Public Consultation and Implementation (http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2012/te/bgrd/backgroundfile-44939.pdf) Communications (February 9, 2012) Letter from Patrick J. Devine, Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP, on behalf of the applicant for 64-70 Shuter Street (TE.Supp.TE13.16.1) (February 13, 2012) Letter from David Bronksill, Goodmans LLP, on behalf of the applicants for 297 College Street, 454-464 Yonge Street, 33-45 Avenue Road and 140-144 Avenue Road, 245-251 College Street and 39 and 40 Glasgow Street (TE.Supp.TE13.16.2) (February 13, 2012) Letter from Brian Brown, Vice President, Lifetime Developments (TE.Supp.TE13.16.3) (February 13, 2012) Letter from Michael Pearl, BLVD Developments (TE.Supp.TE13.16.4) (February 13, 2012) Letter from Norman C. Waite, President, Bay Cloverhill Community Association (TE.Supp.TE13.16.5) (February 13, 2012) Letter from David Bronskill, Goodmans LLP, on behalf on the applicants for 625 Church Street (TE.Supp.TE13.16.6) (February 13, 2012) Letter from Patrick J. Devine, Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP, on behalf of the owner of 147-149 Church Street (TE.Supp.TE13.16.7) (February 13, 2012) E-mail from Robert Phinnemore (TE.Supp.TE13.16.8) (February 13, 2012) Letter from W. Carson Woods, President, Carson Woods Architects Limited, representing the owners of 87, 89 and 99 Church Street (TE.Supp.TE13.16.9) (February 13, 2012) Letter from J. Craig Hunter, Principal, Armstrong Hunter & Associates (TE.Supp.TE13.16.10) (February 13, 2012) Letter from W. Carson Woods, President, Carson Woods Architects Limited, representing the owner of 254-260 Church Street (TE.Supp.TE13.16.11) (February 13, 2012) Letter from Leona Savoie and Steve Deveaux, BILD Toronto Chapter Chairs (TE.Supp.TE13.16.12) (February 13, 2012) E-mail from Robert Allsopp, Member, Toronto Design Review Panel, and Catherine Nasmith, The Ontario Capital Precinct Working Group (TE.Supp.TE13.16.13) (February 13, 2012) Letter from Geoff Kettel and Peter Baker, Co-Chairs, FONTRA (Federation of North Toronto Resident