LARGE COMPLEX APPROVALS

APPROVING MAJOR HOUSING /HOTEL PROJECT
For Intracorp Developments, undertook planning approvals for the latter stages of the Pantages residential and hotel condominium project on Yonge Street south of Dundas Square in Toronto. The project involved a site-specific official plan amendment, rezoning, minor variances, site plan and plan of condominium. SBPC undertook the detailed work of clearing conditions of approval for condominium registration and co-ordinating and pursuing matters with many City departments.

CLEARING MULTI-FACETED DRAFT PLAN CONDITIONS
For Intracorp Developments, undertook the planning approvals process for the latter stages of the French Quarter residential condominium project on Richmond Street East at Jarvis Street in Toronto. SBPC successfully obtained approval for the plan of condominium—including encroachment, easement and development agreements—and cleared conditions of approval for condominium registration.

CONVERTING FROM EMPLOYMENT TO RESIDENTIAL USE
For the Bucci Group, the Brantwell Non-Profit Corporation, and Joseph Brant Memorial Hospital, provided planning advice with respect to the processing of official plan, zoning and plan of subdivision applications to redesignate land from employment to residential use in the City of Burlington. This proposal involved the conversion to residential of a vacant site designated in Burlington’s Official Plan for employment uses but which had not realized any such development. The land was situated across the railway tracks from an employment area which included a number of major industrial operations, including a chemical products plant. Those industries had objected to the proposal and Mr. Burns was retained by the landowners to identify whether adjustments could be made to the proposal, through distance and other mitigation measures, which would address the industries’ concerns. This assignment involved extensive meetings with the industrial corporations, the development proponents, and senior City staff and elected representatives. The residential proposal included a non-profit wellness centre which would house an operation run by Joseph Brant Memorial Hospital. After more than two years of negotiations, a proposal acceptable to all parties was found and was approved by the City of Burlington without the need for an OMB hearing.

FULL APPROVALS FOR MASSIVE EMPLOYMENT DEVELOPMENT
For Canadian Pacific Railway and Sears Canada, prepared and processed a master site plan for a large five-parcel industrial development on surplus railway lands adjacent to the Vaughan Intermodal Rail Terminal. Regional and municipal official plan amendments and rezoning were required as well as provision of public water and sewer services. The project consists of an approximately one million square foot warehouse/distribution facility for Sears Canada, a large “cross-dock” facility for another major company (Consolidated Fastfreight) and two additional parcels of land. The approvals were obtained within the tight timeframe required by Sears’ construction schedule.

LARGE SCALE RETAIL STORE
For Canadian Pacific Railway and Provigo, provided planning advice for an Official Plan Amendment and rezoning for a site in the Keele Street-St.Clair Avenue area of the City of Toronto. The former rail yard site was to be redeveloped for a Provigo food superstore (subsequently a RONA store). The redevelopment included a rail heritage commemorative program.

MAJOR NEW DEVELOPMENT IN TORONTO PORTLAND
SBPC was recently by Toronto Film Studios to provide a planning opinion concerning a large new film studio development straddling Commissioners Street in the Portlands area of the City of Toronto. This new development would include 13 sound stages, varying in size, totaling some 265,000 square feet. It would be capable of supporting the production of large budget films and be similar to Universal Studios and MGM in Los Angeles. The project would be a major private sector ‘catalyst’ to the revitalization of the Portlands.

PLANNING MAJOR URBAN MIXED USE SITE
On behalf of Alcan Aluminum Inc., was involved in a planning study of a 430-acre land parcel in the centre of Kingston. This site has accommodated Alcan’s (now Novelis Inc.) operations since the early 1900s. While Alcan has made substantial investments in their manufacturing and research facilities on part of the site, other parcels are surplus to their needs and were being considered for other uses. This study resulted in amendments to the City’s Official Plan that outline the appropriate future land use and structure of development and guide the preparation of subsequent subdivision plans.

HIGH TECH DEVELOPMENT IN TORONTO
SBPC was retained by Giffels to assist in site plan approval in the City of Toronto for the Canadian headquarters of SAS, just east of the downtown. SAS is one of the world’s largest privately held software companies. They chose to locate their new Canadian headquarters in an existing building on King St. just to the east of the downtown core. The project entailed renovating the building with a new ‘high tech’ type of design and housing the operations in the multi-storey complex. This provided a much sought after investment for new technology purposes in this part of the City. The City supported it from this economic development perspective. SBPC assisted Giffels in negotiating the details of the site plan approval with the City of Toronto. The project was approved and has been built.

SMALLER-SCALE PROJECTS

BROWNFIELDS REDEVELOPMENT
The Urban Renaissance Group property is a brownfields redevelopment site located in the South Etobicoke area of Toronto. An obsolete industrial plant had been demolished in the past and the site required remediation work prior to new development. SBPC was retained to undertake a design for a new mixed use community on their site as well as adjacent lands, and to prepare background studies and co-ordinate the consultant team of various specialists.

LOFT CONDOMINIUMS
For a developer of a condominium project, acted in support of a motion to dismiss an appeal of approval by the Committee of Adjustment for their loft condominium project on Merton Street (Yonge & Davisville) in the City of Toronto. The Ontario Municipal Board found the appeal to be without merit and for the purposes of delay, and therefore dismissed the appeal and approved the applications without a hearing.

COACH HOUSE REDEVELOPMENT
For a Rosedale resident, gave expert evidence at the OMB in support of a Committee of Adjustment consent application and minor variance application. The project involved the severance of a large Rosedale residential property into two parcels, retaining the main house on one parcel and expanding an existing Coach House to create a single-storey residence on the second parcel.

LRT EA APPROVAL
On behalf of the Toronto Transit Commission, was responsible for the Community Impact Study of the Spadina Light Rail Transit (LRT) facility. This project was an extremely contentious public issue and the assignment involved designing and undertaking extensive community consultation. As a result of this consultation, changes were made to the project. The study was submitted as part of a larger Environmental Assessment.

PUBLIC CONSULTATION
The Royal Botanical Gardens (RBG) is responsible for 2,700 acres of incredible environmental and botanical resources; it is unlike anywhere else in Ontario and is comparable to other botanical gardens in North America. RBG is dependent upon government grants for its operation. RBG needs to become more fiscally self-sufficient through increasing visitation which would involve major physical changes to the facilities and grounds. SBPC was retained to conduct a consultation process with the local community, adjacent landowners, RBG members and visitors, and the City of Burlington to determine and document their reaction to the possible changes.

APPROPRIATE LOCATION FOR A METHADONE TREATMENT CLINIC
For the City of Oshawa, prepared an independent report regarding the land use impacts of methadone clinics. The City passed an interim control by-law (refused by the Ontario Municipal Board but upheld by the courts) to require an independent consultant’s report addressing the issue of locating methadone clinics in Oshawa’s downtown. Council had been opposed to the clinic’s relocation from the edge of the downtown to the main street, Simcoe Street, close to the central “four” corners. The study involved: assessment of existing clinics in communities across Ontario; understanding basic objectives and operations; and determination of possible land use impacts. The study concluded that methadone clinics provide an extremely important and valuable form of treatment but that there could be some land use impacts incompatible with Simcoe Street’s primary main street function. The study recommended that the City continue to permit clinics in the downtown area but encourage them not to locate on the primary main street.

INFILL HOUSING
SBPC was retained by a private home owner in the Beaches area of Toronto to prepare and present evidence before an Ontario Municipal Board hearing. The client had been a landowner in one of the more picturesque streets in the Beaches area of Toronto for some years. The lot which he had purchased contained one house and one vacant portion of land which had been a separate lot previous to his purchase. The applications before the Ontario Municipal Board were to formally sever the original lot and provide variances for permissions to construct a new dwelling unit that would be in character with the street and the neighbourhood. Mr. Burns assessed the development, provided his recommendations for changes, and subsequently gave evidence before the Ontario Municipal Board. The Board approved the proposal and the lot has been severed and the new house has been constructed.

HIGH RISE CONDOMINIUM DEVELOPMENT
For the City of Toronto, SBPC was retained to assess the development application, provide an opinion, and, if necessary, prepare and present evidence before the Ontario Municipal Board concerning a high rise condominium development in the west end of the City. This development was located just to the east of the Canadian National Exhibition and just to the south of old Fort York. The primary concern that the City had was that the high rise nature of the development would overshadow and provide an overlook of the historic Fort York grounds. Mr. Burns, along with an urban designer retained by the City, provided recommendations as to how the development could be altered. The City negotiated these alterations with the developer and Mr. Burns provided an opinion supporting the revised development which has subsequently been approved and is under construction.

SUBURBAN AREA INTENSIFICATION
For Kwan and Kwan Limited, SBPC has been involved in determining the planning approvals necessary to intensify the existing suburban retail plaza site owned by the client. The property is in Don Mills, one of the first, if not the first, suburban developments in the City of Toronto. The site, as foreseen in the original master plan, was developed for an industrial use and then subsequently converted to retail uses including a plaza and an automobile dealership. In the past few years a small ‘box’ store has been added to the site as well as a stand alone fast food outlet. The approvals sought are to continue this intensification of the site by adding a Chinese supermarket. This supermarket would serve the evolving ethnic community in the general area and would represent a subsequent evolution in the urbanization of the site as the parking is planned to be located underneath the food store.

SECTION 37 BONUSES
For DUCA Financial Services Credit Union, SBPC prepared and gave evidence at the Ontario Municipal Board concerning an application under Section 37 of the Planning Act. This application sought to attain additional density in return for the provision of community benefits to the City of Toronto, in this case a Dutch cultural/community facility. The debate at the Ontario Municipality Board hearing was not in terms of the added density or the cultural/community facility but in terms of what the financial ‘exchange rate’ would be between DUCA and the City of Toronto.

HISTORIC COACH HOUSE
For an Annex resident, SBPC did the planning for a rezoning application to permit the conversion of an historic Coach House into a dwelling creating a “house behind a house” consistent with other Coach House developments on Palmerston Avenue.

INFILL DEVELOPMENT
For Inaugural Source Investments, provided expert testimony at the OMB in support of a Committee of Adjustment Consent Application and Minor Variance Application to permit an infill development in the City of Toronto. The project involved the severance of long ravine lots and a road extension to create a ten-unit townhouse development.