Requesting Modification to…

Requesting Modification to Toronto Official Plan Amendment 570, respecting Site and Area Specific Policy Area 765 (Leslieville). The request includes the provision of alternative minimum density mapping that should be substituted for that in OPA 570. This request is made for First Gulf - the owners 33-39 Davies Avenue. The owners wish to develop the site for office purposes, consistent with City policy. The First Gulf plans would result in an estimated 1000 jobs at this site. However the densities applied by the City do not allow for a viable office development.

The City of Toronto has adopted minimum density mapping for Major Transit Station Areas that is artificially low. In the case of the First Gulf site, the proposed density mapping is only 1.0 FSI. As a result, the provincial policy objectives of encouraging intensification and jobs in transit station areas, will not be achieved here. The adopted Official Plan Amendment is not consistent with provincial policy and is not in conformity with the Growth Plan.

The Ontario Government is focused on economic growth, and this part of Toronto is an emerging office hub. The planning decisions being made here are important to that future success. 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 stimulate that job growth here in the Leslieville MTSA, beside the Don Valley Parkway. The Official Plan Amendment should be modified to provide for meaningful minimum densities, including 1.5 FSI on Davies Avenue, that will establish an incentive for the intensification that the province is seeking to achieve.