November 9, 2018 Ministry of…

November 9, 2018 Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing Municipal Services Division – Central Ontario 777 Bay Street, 13th Floor Toronto, ON M5G 2E5 RE:Adopted Official Plan Amendment 405 for the Yonge-Eglinton Secondary Plan (Environmental Registry 013-3483) 1787, 1783-1785, 1779-1781 Bayview Avenue, City of Toronto Condor Properties Dear Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing: Malone Given Parsons Ltd. (MGP) has been retained by Condor Properties to provide land use planning expertise and to prepare the future development applications on the land holdings located at 1787, 1783-1785, 1779-1781 Bayview Avenue, at the southeast corner of Bayview Avenue and Eglinton Avenue East (“Subject Lands”). 1787 Bayview Avenue is currently under construction to become the Leaside Station. Metrolinx owns 1787, 1783-1785 Bayview Avenue and Condor Properties owns 1779-1781 Bayview Avenue. Condor Properties has entered into a development agreement with Metrolinx to purchase the air rights over the Leaside Station with the intention to redevelop the subject lands into a 30-storey mixed use tower built on top of the Leaside Station. As part of the development agreement, Condor Properties has already contributed funds to the station design and development so that the station can continue operating during construction and will be able to withstand the additional weight of the proposed tower following construction. Condor Properties, along with Metrolinx, have been proactive in ensuring the optimum use of the transit investment in this area. Official Plan Amendment 405 (OPA 405) for the Yonge-Eglinton Secondary Plan was adopted by Toronto City Council on July 27, 2018 and was forwarded to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing (MMAH) for approval under Section 26 (S.26) of the Planning Act. The MMAH has posted OPA 405 on the Province’s Environmental Registry (EBR 013-3483) for a formal 90-day consultation period. This letter represents our comments on the adopted OPA 405. OPA 405’s policies would entirely eliminate any meaningful redevelopment potential on the subject lands. Our Request We respectfully request that the MMAH modify and approve OPA 405 as it relates to the Subject Lands to permit the proposed 30-storey residential building and to re-designate the entirety of the Lands to Mixed Use Areas. The justification for doing so is that OPA 405 as adopted does not have regard to Provincial interests, does not conform with the Growth Plan and is inconsistent with the Provincial Policy Statement. As an alternative, the Provincial Land and Development Facilitator should be appointed to identify all the sites within a Major Transit Station Area (“MTSA”) in OPA 405, and particularly the Subject Lands, as areas requiring further study and greater heights and densities in accordance with Provincial policy to ensure that the Province’s transit investment is being optimized. The Subject Lands can be a pilot project to ensure that the substantial amount of capital dedicated to the Eglinton Crosstown by the Province is being used to its full potential by appropriately planning for the MTSAs along the Eglinton Crosstown transit route. The Subject Lands are a prime opportunity for redevelopment to implement Provincial policy and leverage Provincial investment as they are located in the core of a MTSA and will be the subject of a redevelopment proposal integrating high density development with a future transit station. This type of integration is in accordance with good transit-oriented development principles that have been implemented and encouragd by the City in other instances, and which are clearly stated Provincial objectives and requirements. The proposal represents an innovative way of building on top of a transit station completely integrating a high-density mixed-use development with public transit infrastructure. The Leaside Station is one of the few underground stations of the Eglinton Crosstown project, which the Province has budgeted $5.3 billion to build and represents over half of the allotted capital budget for rapid transit projects in the Province. OPA 405’s policies would eliminate the possibility for such innovation on a site that is completely appropriate for this type of development. The opportunity to provide for a transit-supportive tall building on the Subject Lands must be preserved in OPA 405. Subject Lands The subject lands are municipally known as 1787, 1783-1785, 1779-1781 Bayview Avenue in the City of Toronto at the southeast corner of Bayview Avenue and Eglinton Avenue East.   Proposed Development The preliminary development concept proposes a 30-storey mixed use residential building on the site, which will include replacement rental units and provides at-grade retail along Bayview Avenue. The under-construction Leaside Station is proposed to be integrated into the building with the main entrance fronting Bayview Avenue. Direct access via the elevators from the residential condo to the subway is proposed, which allows full integration of the building to the subway station and would be the first of its kind in Canada. The proposed building consists of a seven-storey podium that wraps around from Eglinton Avenue East to Bayview Avenue with an additional three storey lobby along Bayview Avenue. A built-form transition is proposed as the building approaches the existing residential neighbourhood to the south gradually stepping down from 7 storeys to 6, 4 and 2 storeys. The size of the consolidated site will also allow for driveway access that is appropriately set back from the intersection and for the provision of sufficient underground parking to meet the requirements of a tall building (to be confirmed through future technical studies). OPA 405 History The Midtown in Focus process (which includes the Yonge-Eglinton Secondary Plan Update) has been ongoing since ~2012 (with Council establishing the “Midtown Planning Group”). Throughout the years long process, the City had not provided any notice that the amendment to the Yonge-Eglinton Secondary Plan (OPA 405) would be a component of the City’s ongoing five-year review of its Official Plan. Until very recently, it has always been presented as an update to an area-specific Secondary Plan and not part of a Municipal Comprehensive Review (MCR). This differentiation in approach (MCR vs. area-specific Secondary Plan update) has large implications on the appeal rights of affected landowners (and the public) to challenge OPA 405’s adoption – with an approval through a S.26 being unappealable. The City opportunistically used recent changes in the Planning Act through Bill 139 to opportunistically backfill their OPA process as a S.26 approval. OPA 405 Staff Recommendation The staff-recommended OPA 405 proposed to: •Revise the Secondary Plan boundary to include the Subject Lands into the Secondary Plan; and •Redesignate the two southern parcels (1779-1785 Bayview Avenue) from Neighbourhoods to Mixed Use Areas. •Prescribe maximum height provisions of 8 storeys (1787 Bayview Avenue) and 7 storeys (1779-1785 Bayview Avenue). On July 27, 2018 Council further reduced the development permissions of the Subject Lands by revising staff’s recommendation to remove the redesignation of Neighbourhoods to Mixed Use Areas from the two southern properties (1779-1781 and 1783-1785 Bayview Avenue) and maintained the Neighbourhoods designation. We did not agree that the original staff-recommended OPA 405 provided the appropriate development permissions to optimize the proposed transit infrastructure and as such, submitted multiple correspondences to the City indicating our position, including the latest one dated June 6, 2018 (attached as Appendix 1). We strongly disagree further with Council’s override of the Staff’s Recommendation. The OPA 405 land use permissions for the four quadrants of Bayview and Eglinton surrounding the proposed Leaside Station will not achieve the minimum density targets for MTSAs as required by the 2017 Growth Plan. Reasons Why the Adopted OPA 405 Should Not Be Approved In our opinion, the adopted OPA 405 should not be approved for the following reasons: 1.OPA 405 does not have regard to Provincial interests as set out in Section 2 of the Planning Act. 2.OPA 405 is inconsistent with the PPS and does no conform with the Growth Plan; and, 3.OPA 405 does not reflect Metrolinx and the City of Toronto’s Policy Direction. OPA 405 does not have regard to Provincial interests as set out in Section 2 of the Planning Act As part of an approval for updating an Official Plan under Section 26 of the Planning Act, the amendment must have regard to the matters of provincial interest listed in Section 2 of the Planning Act. In our opinion OPA 405 does not, specifically as it relates to: •the appropriate location of growth and development; and, •the promotion of development that is designed to be sustainable, to support public transit and to be oriented to pedestrian. The subject lands represents an appropriate location for growth and development that will be designed to be sustainable, support public transit and oriented to pedestrians. OPA 405’s vision for only a portion of the subject lands, consisting of an eight-story mid-rise will not fully realize the potential of the consolidated lands and is contrary to the interests of the Province regarding the appropriate location for high-density growth that can support public infrastructure investment. OPA 405 is inconsistent with the PPS and does not conform with the Growth Plan In our opinion, OPA 405 is inconsistent with the Provincial Policy Statement (PPS) and does not conform to the Growth Plan. The PPS and the Growth Plan are very clear on where the Province wants to direct high-density development to optimize transit infrastructure investment and to ensure transit usage viability. Specifically, the Growth Plan notes that new infrastructure investments (such as the Eglinton Crosstown) will be planned in an integrated manner by leveraging investment to facilitate and direct intensification to strategic growth areas, such as the Leaside Station MTSA, in order to optimize return on investment and the efficiency and viability of transit. The southeast corner of Bayview Avenue and Eglinton Avenue East represents a prime opportunity to locate a tall building that can support the public investment in transit. Limiting development on this site to an eight-storey mid-rise building would be a lost opportunity and is contrary to the policy direction from the Province concerning the appropriate location for high-density development.   OPA 405 does not reflect Metrolinx and the City of Toronto’s Policy Direction i.City of Toronto: Transit Oriented Development The City of Toronto has encouraged transit-supportive development, by directing the greatest heights and densities be located closest to the higher order transit stations. Council has also adopted motions, as part of the SmartTrack planning process, to prepare studies to achieve transit-supportive development in recognition of the transit investments being made at the stations. Similarly, Build Toronto’s Strategic Direction (2015-2019) includes planning for 14 sites with direct access to a transit station and planning for 10 sites on the Eglinton Crosstown line. Build Toronto recognizes that transit-related development is a priority as public transportation is key to allowing the higher densification of the urban cores to reduce congestion and pollution, especially in mixed-use sites. ii.Metrolinx: Integrate Transportation and Land Use The Metrolinx Board of Directors adopted the 2041 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) in March 2018. This is an update to the agency’s The Big Move, published in 2008. The 2041 RTP is intended to work together with the PPS and the Growth Plan to set the policy framework for managing growth, establishing complete communities and delivering sustainable transportation choices. One of the strategies of the 2041 RTP is to integrate transportation and land use, which emphasizes intensifying and integrating development at MTSAs. The 2041 RTP recognizes that the Growth Plan emphasizes integrating land use and infrastructure planning, as well as the need for intensification at rapid transit stations, creating connected urban centres and increasing transportation choice. Accordingly, Condor Properties and Metrolinx have entered into an integrated transit development agreement to make use of the air rights over the Leaside Station. In its efforts to optimize the potential of critical station locations, Metrolinx has specifically identified Leaside Station as having development potential above and around the station. OPA 405’s vision for the subject lands (an eight-storey midrise) is drastically different than Metrolinx’s. OPA 405 eliminates the possibility for such an integrated approach to transit-oriented development in the area around the Leaside Station and does not optimize the large investment the Province has made in transit infrastructure.   Conclusion The subject lands are a prime opportunity for redevelopment as they are located in the core of a MTSA. The proposed redevelopment partnership between Metrolinx and Condor represents an innovative way of building on top of a transit station completely integrating a high-density mixed-use development with public transit infrastructure. OPA 405 eliminates the possibility for such an integrated approach to transit-oriented development in the area around the Leaside Station and does not optimize the large investment the Province has made in transit infrastructure. It remains our opinion that the opportunity to provide for a transit-supportive tall building on the Subject Lands must be preserved in OPA 405 We respectfully request that the adopted OPA 405 be approved with modifications by the MMAH in order to permit the proposed redevelopment, or that the Province take the necessary steps in furtherance of, and reliance on the agreement between Condor and Metrolinx. OPA 405 as currently adopted does not have regard to Provincial interests, is not consistent with the PPS and does not conform to the Growth Plan. Yours very truly, MALONE GIVEN PARSONS LTD. Don Given, BA, MCIP, RPP, PLE Principal