90 Hunter Street East - 17-storey proposal

City plans and policies

Hunter Street East is part of the Central Area Strategic Growth Area, identified in the Official Plan. Intensification and growth will be happening here. The City is looking to support more housing supply and will need to provide the infrastructure and community facilities to support more people living, working, and playing in East City.

The Official Plan references this definiton of “compatible development”:

Compatible development is not development that is the same as, or even similar to existing development in the vicinity. Compatible development is development that enhances the character of the surrounding community without causing any undue, adverse impacts on adjacent properties including, but not limited to, consideration of Provincial guidelines relating to Land Use Compatibility and Environmental Noise.

There currently is no height limit in place for Hunter Street East. The City is developing a Secondary Plan and Community Planning Permit System to update the Official Plan policies. These will be implemented using a new Community Planning Permit By-law (CPP By-law), which will replace our current Zoning By-law. Under the CPP By-law as currently presented, council will need to approve any development proposal over ten storeys for this stretch of Hunter. The CPP By-law gives the City the opportunity to request “facilities, services and matters” (like affordable housing, green spaces, public transit improvements, community facilities, etc) in exchange for additional height.

The CPP By-law is expected to be in place by Spring 2026. By rushing the proposal for the 17-storey building on Hunter St E, the developer is not obliged to provide community benefits. East City would see the loss of existing community resources—it’s not clear if the existing daycare will reopen, for example—and get nothing in return for the seven additional storeys (besides additional rental stock).

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