Federation of North Toronto Residents' Associations
Neighbourhoods Working Together on Community Issues
Toronto, along with municipalities across Ontario, has suffered an avalanche of provincial laws, regulations, and policies affecting planning and development, all without prior consultation or engagement with the City of Toronto and its residents. As a result, residents are largely unaware both of the changes, and their impacts, and of how the City has responded to them.
We strongly support the Growing Space for Trees concept and the proposed policy direction intended to (a) protect and enhance the tree canopy while supporting Infill Housing and (b) address concerns with Iceberg Homes.
The report, dealing with Wards 9 and 11, represents the first stage in the implementation of the Avenues Policy Review to “modernize” policies and zoning to enable mid-rise buildings along Avenues. The report studies new and previously re- examined Avenues to determine where redesignation to Mixed Use Areas or Apartment Neighbourhoods with corresponding zoning is appropriate to enable mid- rise development.
On August 15, 2025, the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing approved six OPAs bringing new policies for 25 MTSAs and 95 PMTSAs into force and effect. The Minister’s Decisions made modifications to the height and density of the Council-adopted OPAs, increasing permitted building heights and densities near transit. The approval of these OPAs brings Inclusionary Zoning policies into effect in certain PMTSAs.
The initiative would permit a range of businesses with patios, including cafés, restaurants, bars, retail stores, and professional offices. This would apply residential properties currently located on Major Streets, and selected corner lots on Community Streets. The by-laws allowing these uses were adopted and partially adopted on November 12, 2025.
FoNTRA requeststhat consideration of the report be deferred to allow for proper communication, engagement and consultation for its proposals and recommendations.
FoNTRA supports the objectives of the Housing Action Plan, but the detailed recommendations introduce many changes and the Draft Bylaw which includes the zoning provisions, zoning maps and height maps was only made public a day and a half before the Committee meeting, with inadequate time to review. In addition, drawings to show the new proposals have not been provided.
The staff report provides an excellent overview of the complex considerations that must be given to the review of the Province’s planning applications that, if approved, would result in significant changes to this area, that is of provincial, not just local importance. It notes that there are a number of changes proposed which do not comply with City Planning objectives and many concerns issues particularly about the Province’s proposals for the West Island.
The KPMG report states that “concerns have been raised by a number of stakeholders that the process is too complex and inaccessible for many users. Some users have expressed lack of confidence and satisfaction in the process and do not believe the current practice consistently delivers quality decisions. Further, there have also been concerns raised about the public’s ability to effectively participate in the public hearings, both in the traditional in-person model and in the virtual hearing model introduced in 2020.”
FoNTRA found the Development Pipeline report to be a useful and important document. The data it presents provide ample evidence on the astounding imbalance between planning approvals and construction of new housing. But the data are also incomplete, because it says nothing about the provision of affordable housing for households with below-median income.
FoNTRA praises the efforts of the City Planning Division and other City staff to respond to the challenges posed by Bill 109 and its adverse effects on citizen participation in planning issues in Toronto. The proposed process changes have the potential to effect both an increase in review efficiency and an improvement in information availability. The challenge will be to implement these improvements within the very limited application review time permitted by the Provincial Bill.
FoNTRA like many across the City are extremely concerned about the legislated changes made by the Province to the City’s development approval system, which are being introduced without meaningful consultation with municipalities or the public. FoNTRA notes, with great concern, the significant reduction of public consultation in the revised application review process, which will deprive the public of important information for consideration and will be extremely detrimental to the outcome.
The City proposed a new Regulatory Framework for Multi-Tenant Houses across Toronto in 2021. The current status report indicates that the regulatory framework will not be completed prior to 2023, given the number and complexity of the directions required by City Council in October, 2021; however some initial planning work has been completed.
We have reviewed the June 16, 2022 Status Report in the context of the earlier reports (June 2021, and October, 2021) and FoNTRA submissions. FoNTRA expressed qualified support both times. Referring back to FoNTRA’s concerns detailed in our June 25, 2021 letter and supported by our document “Questions regarding implementation of Multi-Tenant Housing Report”, our updated comments on some areas previously identified.
July 4, 2022 10th floor, West Tower, City Hall100 Queen Street West Toronto, ON M5H 2N2 Attention: Nancy Martins PH32: Expanding Housing Options in Neighbourhoods: Major Streets – Interim Report Dear Deputy Mayor Ana Bailão, Chair, and Members, Planning and Housing Committee FoNTRA represents over 30 residents’ associations in the area generally bounded by Sheppard …
FoNTRA does not object in principle to the proposed OPA; however, we are skeptical about its feasibility and practicality. In a retail universe that satisfies consumers’ desires for both shopping convenience (via on-line and next day (or less) delivery), and bulk shopping at megastores like COSTCO, it is questionable whether there is any longer a desire and consequently an adequate market for new local neighbourhoods services, or whether this is a planners’ dream throwback to a simpler time.
The Federation of North Toronto Residents Association (FoNTRA) is supportive of the Active TO Midtown Yonge complete street Pilot installed last year. ActiveTO bike lanes are an important part of the City’s transportation system, helping to reduce automobile use, to enliven the streets, and support the businesses along Yonge Street in Midtown.
We appreciate that the current pattern of streets to the west and the Yellow Creek ravine to the east result in land-locked communities that create challenges to the implementation of the pilot. We are aware that Councillors Layton and Matlow are currently working with Transportation staff and residents to resolve the localized concerns about the current installation of bike lanes and CaféTO installations along with related initiatives to reduce traffic congestion on Yonge Street, such as left-turn lanes. Two of our member organizations are opposed to bike lanes on Yonge Street and their impact on traffic, and another has raised issues re: access to residential streets and impacts of upcoming construction related to development projects, we urge the Committee and City Council to ensure that the traffic concerns underlying their opposition are addressed in the proposed extension of the ActiveTO Yonge Street Pilot.
We are writing to express our strong support for the proposed legislation (Bill 74, Mount Pleasant Public Cemeteries Act, 2021), introduced by Jessica Bell, MPP, that will update and modernize the Mount Pleasant Group of Cemeteries Charter, which dates from 1871.The legislation is in desperate need of modernization to bring it up to today’s standards of accountability and transparency. This new bill will repatriate the Mount Pleasant Group of Cemeteries back to the people of Ontario, safeguarding what the public originally created.
This is to provide our comments on the above noted report. While we are in general support of the report’s direction, supporting flexibility in the application of parking standards, we do not support the complete elimination of minimum parking standards.
This review of the parking standards in the city-wide Zoning By-law 569-2013 was guided by the principle that parking standards should allow only the maximum amount of automobile parking reasonably required for a given use, and minimums should be avoided except where necessary to ensure equitable access. The review proposes that new developments would still have to provide adequate parking onsite, and not assume residents will be able to park on street.
As the report shows, car ownership rates of apartment dwellers vary greatly depending on household income. More important, they vary greatly depending on location. No minimums may work downtown, but when you travel away from the downtown core, where distances to destinations are longer, we would expect a real shortage of buildings/units with parking spaces, which will have a social impact as well.
This is to express the strong support of the Federation of North Toronto Residents Associations (FoNTRA) for the staff report and its recommendations, which we note will have financial implications for the 2022 Budget.
The proposal would have more facilities maintained during the winter, including more snow clearing on multi-use paths, and explore different snow clearing methods in environmentally sensitive areas, such as ravines, which cannot be salted due to the environmental impacts.
This is to express the strong support of the Federation of North Toronto Residents Assns (FoNTRA) for Councillor Mike Layton’s recommendations intended to advance the acquisition and re-construction of the former Canadian Pacific Railway line, including the “Half Mile Bridge”, as the “East Toronto Railpath” with links to Toronto’s existing trail system components, including the Martin Goodman Trail, and the West Toronto Railpath, and the potential for future links to the East Don Trail and the Meadoway.
As Councillor Layton says, ”At the core of this connection is an abandoned railway bridge that has the potential to link the Don Valley’s public spaces, while providing relief to the existing crowded trails and provide new connections to adjoining neighbourhoods.”
FoNTRA is pleased that the City of Toronto is reviewing the use of its City-operated golf courses. We believe that it is important that publicly-owned green spaces in the city be available to a wide range of residents.
City-operated golf courses use a considerable amount of land, in some cases in locations that stand in the way of connecting Toronto’s park and trail networks. However, they are currently available only for the single purpose of playing golf, and at a fee. Golf is a worthwhile sport that encourages physical outdoor activity, and we have no wish to make it unavailable to those who want to engage in it, especially given that City-operated courses offer access to this sport at below market cost. However, as several of the City’s courses are strategically located in Toronto’s ravine system, we should consider how they might dovetail with trail-based activities, and offer recreational opportunities in places near to nodes of high population, with few other recreational opportunities.