Council backs rentals, fights renovictions, and goes forward with Sankofa
Council backs rentals, fights renovictions, and goes forward with Sankofa
The Week at Toronto City Hall for July 1 to 5 featuring a Toronto Islands Master Plan, rising costs at St. Lawrence Market North, an Airbnb audit and more
Hey there! It was a busy week at City Hall. Council wrapped up the June 2024 council meeting with decisions on rental housing, Sankofa Square and the cycling network plan. And the action doesn’t stop — next week’s committee calendar features debates on the Toronto Islands, St. Lawrence Market North, an audit of paramedic response times and more. Here’s a bonus issue to get you ready. - Matt Elliott
What happened this week
City Council met this week! I’ll have a full recap in Tuesday’s issue, including a list of quotable quotes and a Council meeting MVP award. But here’s a glimpse at some of the most meaningful decisions:
🪚 Council voted 22-1 to proceed with design and consultation for a bylaw intended to prevent renovictions. A report on the final design and implementation of the bylaw will come back to Council this fall. It’s to be modelled after the City of Hamilton’s rules that require landlords to secure a renovation license — proving a vacant unit is necessary to conduct the work — before they can remove a tenant.
🏙️ Council voted 24-1 to endorse a new Rental Housing Supply Program. It commits $351 million toward getting 18 previously approved housing projects “unstuck.” It also creates a new incentive program for non-profits and TCHC to build rent-controlled homes intended to be available for middle-income professionals.
🛬 Councillor Brad Bradford’s motion to delay approval of a development plan for Villiers Island to allow for more analysis of impacts on the island airport failed 6-18. Porter Airlines, NAV Canada and Ports Toronto had urged a deferral out of concern that taller buildings might conflict with flight paths in the future. The City’s analysis says current airport operations won’t be affected. The more dense plan for the new port lands neighbourhood was approved 21-3.
🪧 Council voted 17-6 to approve a governance report for Sankofa Square that moves forward with the new name. They were assured funding for the new name and associated rebranding costs would come from Section 37 funds and other sources — and not property tax revenue.
🧬 Council voted 19-1 for a report on the future of the Ontario Science Centre, due next month. The report will examine provincial obligations under the land lease with the City and TRCA for the Don Mills & Eglinton site and consider the feasibility of the City assuming operations of the centre.
🚲 Council approved the 2025-2027 bike plan with a 20-2 vote, maintaining the staff-recommended target of 100 km of new lanes over three years despite cycling advocates calling for a more ambitious target. A Councillor Stephen Holyday motion to remove the recently-installed bike lanes on Bloor West failed 5-17.
🎨 Council voted 16-4 to deny Tessa Virtue and Morgan Rielly’s request to paint their heritage home in Rosedale. They wanted to whitewash the brick walls, contrary to the rules of the North Rosedale Heritage Conservation District.
My full thread of Council coverage — including a recurring feature in which I checked in on whether Councillor Anthony Perruzza was still in his car — is available on Mastodon.
Monday, July 1
🍁 City Hall is closed for Canada Day.There will be fireworks at Ashbridges Bay, Centennial Park, Milliken Park and Stan Wadlow Park.
Tuesday, July 2
🗂️ The General Government Committee meets at City Hall at 9:30 a.m.MARKET PRICE: A new report reveals that earlier this month, City staff issued an emergency non-competitive contract worth an additional $9.3 million to the contractors working on the much-delayed St. Lawrence Market North project.
The emergency award was necessary, the report says, to prevent the vendors—a joint venture between Buttcon and Atlas Corporation—from “exercising their right to terminate the contract and delay the project indefinitely.” A delay could have also complicated the pending move of the Court Services division from 30 Adelaide East to the new market building. The court workers must vacate before their lease expires at the end of this year.
Staff are seeking retroactive approval from the committee and Council for the increase, bringing the total project cost to $128 million, with an expected completion date of September 30, 2024.
This iteration of the Market North project was initially budgeted at $117 million, with expected completion in Q2 2022.
NOT FERRY NICE: The committee will review a supplementary report — not available yet as of press time — with details on updated costs and a delivery schedule for two new all-electric Toronto Islands ferry boats. Don’t expect good news. The placeholder report confirms the new target for ferry delivery is sometime between the fall of 2026 and the spring of 2027. When first approved, the capital project to design and build new ferries was expected to wrap up in December 2018.
AND ALSO:
You know those fancy lawn signs with various corporate logos on the embankment beside the Lake Shore rail corridor you see when entering Toronto from the west? They’re the handiwork of Hillside Media Communications. Staff are recommending councillors sign a new agreement wherein Hillside will continue to maintain the 14 topiary signs and pay the City about $21,750 annually as a revenue share. Hillside will also maintain the big City of Toronto sign on the site and devote two signs to charitable use. For its part, it’s proposed that the City continue to exempt the signs from its billboard tax.
After an attempt to execute a competitive procurement process failed due to a lack of bidders meeting the City’s requirements for social media management, staff recommend the committee approve a contract worth up to $853,343 to Vancouver-based Hootsuite.
A deal has been struck to sell City-owned land at 120 Grangeway Avenue in Scarborough to Metrolinx for a cool $40.7 million. Metrolinx needs the site to build the new Scarborough Centre Subway Station.
Previously, in City Hall Watcher
For paid subscribers of City Hall Watcher, this week’s issue has:
A full preview of all the major items on this week’s Council agenda, including previews of debates on rental housing supply, Sankofa Square, the cycling network plan and more.
A look at where City Hall stands in terms of 2024 land transfer tax revenue in today’s uncertain real estate market.
Next week:
A full recap of the June 2024 Council meeting, including the Quotable Council and vote breakdowns on key decisions.
Subscribe today for ad-free access to weekly subscriber-exclusive issues.
Wednesday, July 3
🚧 The Infrastructure & Environment Committee meets at City Hall at 9:30 a.m. ISLAND TIME: A new Master Plan for the Toronto Island(s) Park is on the agenda.
The plan, which has been in the works for the last three years, is a thorough document detailing short-, medium-, and long-term plans.
Some highlights:
Doing more to honour the Indigenous history of the Islands, including establishing a permanent ceremonial space on Snake Island and building a Cultural Narrative Trail.
Building a “fully accessible and integrated people-mover system” that builds off the existing Tram Tour.
Adding more food options, including more stuff that is open all year.
Upgrading all the ferry docks and areas to make them more welcoming. The Harbour Movement Strategy also floats the idea of creating a “water-based people-mover network” that would allow for Islands access from a variety of places, including the port lands.
Looking at expanding year-round service to Centre Island, which would allow for more winter programming: “Facilities such as a skating rink or trail could provide a unique waterfront experience and attract visitors to the park in winter. If Centre Landing develops as a winter destination, activation could expand to include lakefront areas and links to the Ward’s Island Hub,” the report says. A big skating rink with skyline views sounds pretty great.
Adding more spaces to rent things like bikes and watercraft. For cycling, the report says, “Consider opportunities to integrate within larger city networks, such as Toronto Bike Share. Locate docking stations at consistent intervals and in reasonable proximity to destinations throughout the park. Ensure locations at ferry landings are clearly visible and minimize conflicts with pedestrians. Explore a variety of bike types (including pedal-assist and cargo bikes).”
Adding a “Destination restaurant” near the Centre Island ferry docks, open year-round with “diverse and accessible food options with dine-in and take-away offerings.”
The report also touches on two of the most controversial subjects related to the islands: building a bridge and the future of the airport.
On the notion of a bridge, the report seems open to the idea, but warns it would take a lot of time and would not eliminate the need for new ferries and other upgrades to water-based access. “The issues of transportation and access for the park are immediate and should not rely solely on a long-term project to improve conditions based on a hypothetical future,” it says.
There’s definitely growing enthusiasm for the bridge option. At Council this week, Deputy Mayor Ausma Malik — the representative responsible for the Islands — passed a motion calling for “a review of proposals, feasibility studies, and traffic studies for improved active transportation access to Toronto Island, including possibilities for an active transportation connection across the Eastern Gap.” The report is due in Q1 2025.
On the airport, the report notes the tripartite agreement allowing the airport to operate is set to expire in 2033. Ports Toronto, the airport’s operator, has said they’re ready to start talking about terms for an extension, but that work has yet to start.
In the meantime, the report offers this:
There are a number of important considerations to take into account as part of that future public consultation and lease review process, including: the compatibility of an airport in close proximity to several significant and impacted natural areas; and also the economic and strategic advantages for the continued operation of the airport. In alignment with current Official Plan policy, if the airport were to cease operating, it is the policy of the City of Toronto to seek conversion of the airport lands to park uses, or a combination of park and residential.
AND ALSO:
A report on the City’s snow-clearing program reveals a huge drop in the number of complaints about the performance of the City’s contracted plows and other equipment. During the 2022-2023 winter season, 311 received 24,239 snow-related service requests. In 2023-2024, 311 got just 2,967. But, of course, there was way less snow this year. The City tracked just 51 cm of snowfall in 2023-2024, compared to 145 cm in the previous year. Snowfall accumulation was as high as 26 cm in 2022-2023 but never above 12 cm this winter.
A report on the greenhouse gas emissions related to food purchased for City use in seniors’ facilities, childcare centres and shelters reveals that the City bought 2,222 tonnes of food in the first three quarters of 2023. About 3% of that was ruminant meats, i.e. beef, lamb and goat. Mostly beef. That 3% of food purchased by weight contributed to 48% of the City’s carbon emissions from food. Cows, damn.
Noting that she’s “heard from my constituents that the operation and parking of vehicles in City parks has increased in recent years for reasons that don’t seem to connect to a specific work function,” Councillor Alejandra Bravo would like a report on the rules for when City vehicles are permitted to drive into parks. She’d also like staff to provide an update on their efforts to procure smaller vehicles. A recent edition of City Hall Watcher looked at City data pointing to many purchases of large vehicles like pick-up trucks for light-duty work.
🕵️ The Compliance Audit Committee meets at City Hall at 9:30 a.m.Ryo Nishibayashi is asking for an investigation into the campaign of Councillor Parthi Kandavel, who won last year’s by-election in Scarborough Southwest.
Nishibayashi is alleging that Kandavel improperly classified corporate discounts and recorded some campaign events as fundraising events.
Kandavel’s financial statement indicates he raised $80,328 in his successful bid for office and spent $67,044.08. Notable donations include contributions from former councillors Glenn De Baeremaeker, Adrian Heaps, Jim Karygiannis and Christopher Korwin-Kuczynski. He also received a $250 donation from former mayor John Sewell.
🏆 The Bid Award Panel meets via videoconference at 2 p.m.CONTRACT AWARD OF THE WEEK: $8.4 million for the YongeTOmorrow plan.
Thursday, July 4
📉 The Economic & Community Development Committee meets at City Hall at 9:30 a.m.
FIRED UP: Toronto Fire’s annual report for 2023 reveals a 9.1% increase in emergency incidents that got a fire department response in 2023. Fires, notably, made up just 20.7% of responses. Nearly two-thirds were for medical emergencies.
AND ALSO:
The committee will review a new five-year action plan for the east side of downtown, continuing the work started in the first five-year action plan between 2019 and 2024.
Staff recommend awarding a property tax incentive grant worth $21.6 million to Basin Media Studios as they set up a new film studio in the port lands.
🏚️ The Preservation Board meets via videoconference at 9:30 a.m. 
The Board will consider a settlement offer from Canada Life as they seek to modify the Sun Life Building at 200 University Avenue to add a new 37-storey tower addition on top. The current 16-storey heritage office building will be retained and converted to residential use, with some affordable housing.
Friday, July 5
🔎 The Audit Committee meets at City Hall at 9:30 a.m. PARA-PROBLEMS: The Auditor General has investigated response times and staffing challenges at Toronto Paramedic Services, and the numbers are alarming.
The number of “code red” events in which there were zero staffed ambulances available for emergency responses increased from 29 in 2019 to over 1,200 last year.
Meanwhile, voluntary full-shift overtime is up 169% from 2019 to 2023.
And Toronto paramedics continue to spend a ridiculous amount of their time waiting in hospitals — about 60% of their shift time.
UP IN THE AIRBNB: The AG also investigated the City’s enforcement of its short-term rental rules for services like Airbnb.
The review found that since 2021, about 1,438 hosts potentially violated the City’s 180-night annual cap on the number of nights they can rent annually. The City did not start actively performing audits to enforce the limit until 2022.
The AG also found that 170 property owners were listing more than one location as a short-term rental, violating the City’s principal residence rule. Another 1,100 were deemed suspicious enough to be in potential violation.
Council passed some updated rules in April that could address some of these problems, but the AG warns that the bylaw will likely remain challenging to enforce.
⚽️ The FIFA World Cup 2026 Subcommittee meets at City Hall at 9:30 a.m.Next week will see the first-ever meeting of the team led by Councillor Shelley Carroll to oversee preparations for Toronto’s hosting of six World Cup matches in 2026.
Their initial agenda includes a recommendation to approve the purchase of a bunch of goods and services required to carry out the event. But the details of the purchase are locked behind a confidential report.
The report does note that the event is still projected to cost about $380 million. The province has agreed to kick in $97 million, while the federal government is good for $104.34 million. That leaves about $179 million for Toronto City Hall.
🎬 The Film, Television & Digital Media Advisory Board meets at City Hall at 2 p.m.The committee will review a report on Mayor Olivia Chow’s recent trip to Hollywood to spread the good word about Toronto as a top destination for film and TV production.
It cost about $17,875 for Chow, Councillor Shelley Carroll, Councillor Paula Fletcher and several staffers to make the trek. The report lists several meetings with studios and others in the industry.
The Week After Next
The Board of Health meets on Monday, July 8, then again on Tuesday, July 9 for a special meeting.
North York Community Council meets on Tuesday, July 9.
Toronto & East York Community Council meets on Wednesday, July 10.
Planning & Housing Committee meets on Thursday, July 11.
Scarborough Community Council meets on Friday, July 12.
The Far-Flung Future
Mayor Olivia Chow’s Executive Committee meets on Tuesday, July 16.
Council’s next meeting starts on Wednesday, July 24.
Feedback? Tip? Email Matt Elliott. For advertising inquiries, email Sean Hansel.