Requesting Modification to…

Requesting Modification to Toronto Official Plan Amendment 524, respecting Site and Area Specific Policy Area 607 (Union Station). The request includes the provision of alternative minimum density mapping that should be substituted for that in OPA 524. This request is made for Choice -the owners of 10 Lower Jarvis Street. The proposal for this site would result in more than 1,500 residential units - meeting important housing supply needs.

The City of Toronto has adopted minimum density mapping for Major Transit Station Areas that is artificially low. Despite local approvals at high densities ranging up to 35 FSI, the City has set minimum densities in the Union Station MTSA at no more than 3.0 FSI. As a result, the provincial policy objectives of encouraging intensification - especially for housing - at transit stations, is not achieved. This is especially the case in the Union Station MTSA, the most significant public transit hub in the country. The adopted Official Plan Amendment is not consistent with provincial policy and is not in conformity with the Growth Plan.

Ontario is experiencing a housing supply crisis. The new Planning Act section 16 (20) requires municipalities to bring their zoning into conformity with the Major Transit Station Area minimum densities within one year. Modification as requested offers the opportunity to accelerate the delivery of important new housing supply. The Official Plan Amendment should be modified to provide for meaningful minimum densities that will establish an incentive for the intensification that the province is seeking to achieve.