Important date
On June 18th, the City of Toronto Planning and Growth Management Committee will consider revisions to the heritage policies of the Official Plan and will formally commence public consultation on the draft revised comprehensive zoning by-law for the City of Toronto.
Five year review of the Official Plan
Anyone with land in the City of Toronto will be interested to
know that the City is undertaking its mandatory five year review of
the Official Plan and will bring forward proposed revisions to
sections of the Official Plan for consultation and approval.
On June 18th, the City's Planning and Growth Management
Committee will hear deputations and receive comments on the draft
Heritage Policies, the first proposed policies of the Official Plan
to be reviewed and released for comment. These policies may be
finalized and adopted by City Council as early as its October
meeting.
The City's Municipal Comprehensive Review ("MCR") of
its Employment lands is also well underway. The results of the MCR
and draft new Employment policies are expected to be released in
November for public consultation.
Proposed Revised Harmonized Zoning By-law
City of Toronto Council repealed its comprehensive zoning
by-law, No. 1156-2010 ("By-law 1156-2010") on May 18,
2011 and directed planning staff to have further stakeholder
consultations and to bring forward another by-law.
City staff has now compiled a draft revised zoning by-law
("Revised By-law"), again intended to
"harmonize" the zoning by-laws of the six former
municipalities. At the Planning and Growth Management Committee on
June 18th, City staff will seek the Committee's approval to
release the Revised By-law for public review and comment. The
initial public review period is anticipated to end on September
27th. Following consultation, including a planned Statutory Public
meeting in the latter half of November 2012, the draft Revised
By-law may be passed, possibly as early as February 2013.
The Revised By-law is intended to address previous concerns raised
respecting, among other matters, insufficient transition
provisions, the treatment of "pipeline" development
applications, recognition of minor variance and by-law permissions,
treatment of existing buildings, gross floor area definitions,
Conservation Overlay mapping, Employment Zone regulations,
Commercial Residential Zone issues including tall building
regulations, as well as matters pertaining to Residential
Zones.
Transition Protocol
Under the Revised By-law's Transition Protocol, the current
in-force zoning by-laws will not be repealed. The City proposes
that certain sites and areas be excluded from the Revised By-law on
an interim basis. The Revised By-law will also contain a series of
Grandfathering or "Exemption Clauses".
A new Transition Clause establishes how active applications for a
zoning certificate, building permit, minor variance, site plan
approval, consent to sever, draft plan of subdivision, plan of
condominium, payment in lieu of parking agreement or part lot
control exemption (collectively, "Application" or
"Applications") under the Former By-laws will be treated
after the Revised By-law is passed. If any Application deemed
complete is submitted prior to the enactment of the Revised By-law,
it will be reviewed and approved under the applicable Former
By-law. The Revised By-law will apply to new Applications submitted
after it is enacted or incomplete Applications (apart from
processing) at the time of the By-law's passage. The Transition
Clause provisions will be in effect for three years from the
enactment of the Revised By-law, after which the standards of the
Revised By-law will apply.
Properties regulated by site specific zoning by-law amendments
that have existing buildings or have received building permits
(that are not phased projects) will be included in the Revised
By-law, but their site specific zoning permissions will be
recognized in the Revised By-law as governing over any inconsistent
provisions in the Revised By-law. Any future additions or
enlargements to the existing buildings will be required to comply
with the Revised By-law.
Why should I be concerned?
Any changes to the list of permitted uses, maximum densities,
height limits and other performance standards will affect all
redevelopment opportunities and directly impact the value of your
lands.
It is important for landowners and developers to determine whether
their properties qualify for any of the exceptions contained in the
Transition Clause of the Revised By-law. The Transition Clause
provides a window of opportunity to obtain development approvals
and permits in accordance with the Former By-laws. There may
however be transition issues that remain unresolved in the Revised
By-law.
Regardless of whether you plan to develop or redevelop your land,
you should take the following into consideration:
- City Staff have not undertaken comprehensive reviews of how the new Official Plan and zoning will impact each parcel of land in Toronto. The onus is on landowners to stay informed and get involved;
- Any landowner who fails to express concerns or issues with the proposed new Official Plan or zoning prior to Council passing the new Official Plan or zoning by-law will not be able to maintain an appeal of either document and risks not being added as a party to an appeal at the Ontario Municipal Board; and
- For sites not omitted from the Revised By-law or developments not otherwise exempted, after the Revised By-law is passed and during the time that the new zoning is under appeal to the Ontario Municipal Board, the Chief Building Official is likely to treat the new zoning, as passed by City Council, as "applicable law" when considering the issuance of building permits where new zoning is more restrictive than the existing zoning.
How Stikeman Elliott can help
Stikeman Elliott's municipal and land use planning team
would be pleased to speak with you about the new Official Plan and
the new harmonized zoning by-law consultation process and discuss
strategies on how you can protect your land development investments
and opportunities.
Our team can assist you with:
- opportunities to participate in the City's development of the new Official Plan and revised harmonized zoning by-law;
- examining the potential implications of changes to Official Plan designations and zoning; and
- safeguarding appeal rights and advocating your property interests at meetings with City staff and politicians, public meetings, municipal Council and at the Ontario Municipal Board.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
