FoNTRA’s work to improve the new Official Plan (OP), and its consequent legal bills in supporting CORRA’s appeal of the OP at the OMB, reflects our belief that Toronto can achieve better development. Our key issue is not whether Toronto will grow, but how. FoNTRA believes that sustainable development in Toronto requires environmental balance, fiscal viability, infrastructure investment and social renewal.

William Roberts (CORRA’s lawyer) and George Belza (development consultant) have worked diligently to rectify problems with the Toronto’s new Official Plan. They have achieved a wide range of improvements to the OP — five of which are noted below:

* Safeguards on the intrusion of mega-buildings into neighbourhoods.
The original approved Plan’s allowance for tall buildings at subway intersections and other designated growth centres had inadequate safeguards over the spread of buildings into low-rise/single family residential areas. The Plan’s provisions have been strengthened in this regard;
* Additional neighbourhood protections.
Several new policies were added to the OP to further ensure that development of lands adjacent to Neighbourhoods (commercial areas along major roadways / arterial streets) will be carefully controlled. Other improvements include better protection of Neighbourhoods with major roadways / arterial streets (Avenue Road south of Lawrence, Lawrence east & west of Yonge, Oriole Pkwy. south of Eglinton, etc.);
* Clarity of Official Plan maps.
Since there were no local streets or a scale on the original land-use maps of the new OP, boundaries between neighbourhoods, apartment neighbourhoods, and commercial areas were difficult to determine. This vagueness could have resulted in costly challenges at the OMB in terms of the location, height and density of potential developments. With the addition of local streets and a scale to the new OP maps, they are much more accurate as well as easier to read.
* Protection for existing parks.
There were inadequate provisions to prevent the sale of parkland in various areas, or the building of cemeteries on designated park space. Valuable safeguards with respect to parks have been added to the Plan; and
* Improved payments from developers to neighbourhoods affected by large developments.
FoNTRA had already worked to increase development charges — still at levels in Toronto far below most other regions in the GTA — to better reflect the resulting infrastructure costs to Toronto. OP work continues with efforts to advance the City’s ability to impose appropriate and realistic fees to help the surrounding community better adjust to the increased population and traffic as a result of large developments in excess of the Official Plan and Zoning By-Laws.

Many of these settlements have still to be approved by the OMB but we are confident that with the support of the City, and in many cases, representatives of the development industry, that they will soon become part of the new Official Plan. However, we must continue to monitor each individual situation so that all outcomes are in the best interests of our community.

For further details of the new Toronto Official Plan please go to the City of Toronto web site at www.toronto.ca