28 September 2018 Sent via…

28 September 2018 Sent via Courier and E-mail Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing Municipal Services Division Municipal Services Office - Central Ontario 777 Bay Street, Floor 13 Toronto ON M5G 2E5 Attention: The Honourable Steve Clark Dear Minister Clark: Re:EBR Registry Number: 013-3483 (Adopted Official Plan Amendment No. 405) EBR Registry Number: 013-3485 (Adopted Official Plan Amendment No. 406) Written Submission on behalf of Midtown-Yonge Properties Inc., Incore Equities Inc. and Slate Toronto Core Office L.P. (referred to hereafter as “Slate”) We are counsel to Slate, which owns and/or operates a number of properties in the City of Toronto (the “City”) that are subject to Official Plan Amendment No. 405 (“OPA 405”) and Official Plan Amendment No. 406 (“OPA 406”). Slate appreciates the opportunity to make a submission to the Minister regarding OPA 405 and OPA 406. OPA 405 establishes a new planning policy framework for the Yonge-Eglinton Secondary Plan area and OPA 406 establishes a new planning policy framework for the Downtown area. By-laws 1284-2018 and 1111-2018 adopting OPA 405 and OPA 406, respectively, were passed by the City on 27 July 2018. The City has forwarded OPA 405 and OPA 406 to the Minister for a decision. Prior to City Council adopting OPA 405 and OPA 406 (together referred to as the “Secondary Plans”), we provided submissions to the City on behalf of Slate detailing planning concerns with the Secondary Plans. In our submissions, we also raised a serious legal issue about the City’s position that the Secondary Plans are amendments under Section 26 of the Planning Act. We attach those submissions for the Minister’s consideration. Many of the planning concerns set out in the attached submissions have not been addressed in the Secondary Plans. Furthermore, the serious legal question about which section of the Planning Act was used to approve the Secondary Plans remains. With respect to the Section 26 matter, it is clear from the public record that each of the Secondary Plan processes was commenced in 2014 / 2015 as a Section 17 amendment and not as a Section 26 amendment. It is our opinion that Section 17 of the Planning Act is the appropriate amendment process for a secondary plan, which is part of an official plan that applies to a specific area of a municipality and not the entire municipality. Section 26, on the other hand, is used to comprehensively review a municipality’s official plan to ensure City-wide conformity with provincial plans and consistency with policy statements. The purpose of these two processes is thus quite distinct in the Planning Act. Notwithstanding the above, it appears that the City re-characterized the Secondary Plans mid-course of the approvals process as Section 26 amendments (rather than Section 17 amendments) in the face of Bill 139 (the Building Better Communities and Conserving Watersheds Act, 2017), which precludes any appeals of official plan amendments adopted under Section 26 of the Planning Act. It is our opinion that this re-characterization of the Secondary Plans as Section 26 amendments is a misuse of Section 26. The Building Industry & Land Development Association (“BILD”) has provided us with a copy of its submission to the Minister dated 13 August 2018. Slate is a member of BILD and supports BILD’s request that the Minister not take any action on the Secondary Plans until the misuse of Section 26, and its implications, is reviewed by the Minister. Slate also supports BILD’s request for the opportunity to meet with the Minister to discuss potential solutions relating to the Secondary Plans and the shortcomings of Bill 139. We hereby request that the planning concerns raised in the attached submissions be addressed by the Minister in his review. Furthermore, in the event that the Minister decides to approve the Secondary Plans (with or without modifications), we request that the Minister take the necessary steps to approve the Secondary Plans as Section 17 amendments. Please do not hesitate to contact the writer if you require any further background information or material with respect to this submission. Yours very truly, Wood Bull LLP Johanna R. Shapira c.Mr. Aly N. Alibhai, Regional Director Municipal Services Office - Central Ontario Encl.