LAND USE PLANNING

SEP 24 2018

Official Plan Implementation, continued

 What tools does Toronto use? What constitutes a tool that regulates urban development?
 Legislative vs non-legislative tools – Planning Act defines legislative tools
 Growth Plan, Official Plan, Secondary Plans, Growth Studies, Corridor Studies, Strategies,
Heritage Conservation Districts, Precinct Plans, Zoning By-law 569-2013
 Having the weight of policy is very different than not having it
 But people like walking in shade not sun??????????? What is he talking about??
 Guiding growth vs regulating growth – “we like this” vs “you have to do this”
 How to read the Official Plan
o Unshaded text: non-policy commentary
o Shaded text: actual policies
o Key to understand what is policy and what isn’t
 OP Chapters 1-5
o 1: Making Choices
 Principles for a successful city
 Diversity/opportunity/beauty/connectivity/leadership
o 2: Shaping the City
 Guiding growth and change while protecting neighbourhoods and green spaces
 Policies on connectivity and the integrated land use and transportation network
 Very high-level
 Urban Structure (Map)
 Directing growth to Centres (red), Downtown Central Waterfront,
Avenues
 Purple = employment areas (reserved for economic purposes/i.e. no
residential)
 Shows both where we will grow and where we will not
 Ideally should match zoning, but may be out of sync
o 3: Building a Successful City
 General policy directions
 Built form, public realm, heritage conservation
o 4: Land Use Designations
 Policies related to identifications laid out in Urban Structure map
 Neighbourhoods, Apartment Neighbourhoods, Parks and Open Space Areas,
Utility Corridors, Mixed Use Areas, Core Employment Areas, General
Employment Areas, Regeneration Areas, Institutional Areas
o 5: Making Things Happen
 Implementation of tools and policies in OP
 Make sure it’s possible for plan to happen
 OP Chapters 6-7
o 6: Secondary Plans
 More detailed, focused level of policy for specific districts
 May have additional stipulations on top of general OP policy
 41 secondary plans in Toronto
 Distinct from Heritage Conservation District
 o 7: Site and Area Specific Policies (SASP)
 Policies for areas as small as one site
 Something like 450 of these
 To find out what policies apply to a particular site: Urban Structure Map -> Land Use
Designations -> Secondary Plans -> SASP
 Fort York Neighbourhood Secondary Plan
o Land for Gardiner originally expropriated by city using 5m easement – which is why
today there are buildings very very close to the Gardiner
o Secondary plans organized at most basic level into streets and blocks
o After streets & blocks: built form – where can towers/midrise/lowrise go within blocks?
o After built form: viewsheds/view corridors – components of area worthy of “planning
around”
 s.37 & s.45 of Planning Act: allows city to exchange community benefit for increased height and
density
 Heritage Resources
o e.g. 7 Austin Terrace (near Casa Loma)
o Can be worthy of protection due to: age, important context, design aesthetic,
association (important person connection)
 Site Plan Control
o City of Toronto Act (COTA) and Planning Act give the City authority
o Gives municipalities the authority to create a process for adding a level of detail on
development
o e.g. making sure that every building has the right number of loading docks to
accommodate garbage trucks, AODA ramps are a safe slope, etc
o exemptions so that very small developments don’t have to go through Site Plan Control
 Community Improvement Project Areas
o Planning Act s.28
o E.g. Waterfront CIP
o Use of grants or loans (or potentially even TIF) to pay for lots and lots of different kinds
of stuff
 Community Planning Permit System (CPP System or CPPS)
o s.70.2 of Planning Act permits creation
o Municipalities can put this permit system in place that pre-plans an area
o Combines OP and zoning into a permit system – allows you to plan a community in
detail
o Overrides whatever the OP and zoning by-law says about the specified area
o No amendments can be made unless Council allows it
 Plan of Subdivision
o s.51 of Planning Act
o Gives municipalities ability to divide land and create new parcels
 Plan of Condominium (1998)
o Grants City authority to regulate division of land for condos
o Last opportunity for City to deal with ONE site developer instead of MANY condo
owners
o Protects rights of future condo owners
 Consent to sever (ensures that the creation of new lots is consistent with the planning policies)
  Part lot control (Planning Act grants the City authority to regulate the transfer or sale of part of a
lot within a registered plan of subdivision)
 Minor Variance
o Landowner can apply to do something small but nonconforming without having to
amend the whole zoning by-law
o 4 tests
 Do your variances meet the intent and purpose of the OP?
 Do your variances meet the intent and purpose of the zoning by-law?
 Is the variance truly minor in nature?
 Is the development appropriate?
 Non-legislative Planning Tools
o Design Guidelines
o Municipal standards
o Incentives – Urban Design Awards, Competitions, Financial Incentives for Development
o Area-specific studies
o Public consultation and community planning
 Ontario Heritage Act, 1990
 Environmental Assessments (EA) Act (major requirements for any public infrastructure project)
 Ontario Building Code Act
o Legislative framework governing the construction, renovation, and change-of-us of a
BUILDING in the Province
o Ontario Building Code
 Regulation under the Building Code Act
 Establishes detailed technical and administrative requirements and minimum
standards for building construction
 Promotes public health and safety, fire protection, resource conservation,
environmental integrity, and accessibility
 Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA)
o Target completion in 2025
o Design of Public Spaces (DOPS) Standard in place as of 1/1/17
 Conservation Authorities Act (governs floodplains)
o TRCA – Toronto and Region Conservation Authority
o Have to apply for permit from TRCA to do anything in floodplains in Toronto
 Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Act, 2001
o Protects 190k-hectare region north of the city
o Mandates Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan

SHORT ASSIGNMENT
 Writing a memo
 2-3 pages
 Be selective about important material – doesn’t need too much background information
 What is it? What are the benefits? Why will it be successful in Toronto? It’s almost a sales pitch
 Practical writing, not theoretical – cite sources but don’t get too conceptual
 Not bullet points but otherwise format however works best
o Date:
o From:
o To:
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