Modelos Explicativos del Proceso de Innovación y de la Relación Universidad

The pattern of retail activity in Toronto has evolved over time and includes a full spectrum of convenience stores in neighbourhoods, traditional “main street” shopping districts, small plazas, large shopping malls, big box stores and “power centres” and speciality retail districts like Yorkville that are also tourist destinations. The retail sector has seen some dramatic shifts over the past 25 years. The enclosed shopping mall has only been developed within our lifetime.

Big box retailing has only become a force in the 1990’s. Grocery stores are getting larger, convenience shopping has shifted, ethnic shopping malls have developed and new entertainment-based retail concepts are becoming the norm in everything from restaurants and movie theatres to entire shopping areas. These changes have challenged the notion of planned hierarchies of shopping plazas that was built into communities constructed between 1950 and 1980. These are major changes. Retailing will continue to be an important part of the economy, however, the retail patterns that exist today are very different from those of 15 to 20 years ago and there is every reason to expect that those patterns will continue to evolve over the next 30 years. The Plan therefore provides the flexibility for owners of retail properties to adapt to changing circumstances. Most existing and proposed major retail areas, shopping malls and commercial districts are within designated Mixed Use Areas. Many plazas, malls and arterial roads which previously had permissions for only commercial uses, are designated as Mixed Use Areas to permit residential uses as an alternative to or to support existing retail space that is not faring well and to implement the reurbanization goals of the Plan. Major shopping centres can continue to expand for retail purposes or develop as areas of mixed use. New shopping streets will emerge as Avenues develop and mature.

New retail development must also suit the local context and this Plan’s objectives. Retail stores are permitted on neighbourhood arterials to reduce auto trips and serve our convenience needs, but they must fit with the physical form and not disturb neighbours. Large scale, stand-alone retail stores or “power centres” that attract significant traffic are limited to major streets in Employment Areas and Mixed Use Areas. Big box retail stores that are not urban in form and which provide large areas of surface parking are not compatible with the patterns and form of retail that supports the

Downtown or many of the Avenues. As well, new retail development

of a significant scale must take into account the potential impact on existing shopping areas and patterns of retail activity.

The Plan also recognizes that traditional shopping streets are more than a place for business. They are centres of community activity that add life to adjacent neighbourhoods and support a walkable City by

Shopping malls continue to expand and update to keep pace with consumer demands

TORONTO

3-34

OFFICIAL PLAN

providing everyday essentials such as food. The Plan reinforces the role of traditional shopping streets in communities as the retail fabric of the City continues to evolve.

Policies

1. A strong and diverse retail sector will be promoted by:

a) permitting a broad range of shopping opportunities for local residents and employees in a variety of settings; and

b) supporting speciality retailing opportunities that attract tourists and residents of the broader urban region.

2. Traditional retail shopping streets will be improved as centres of community activity by:

a) encouraging quality development of a type, density and form that is compatible with the character of the area and with adjacent uses;

b) improving public amenities such as transit and parking facilities, street furniture and landscaping; and

c) encouraging and supporting effective business associations in these areas.

3. Retail development along the Avenues is encouraged and will suit the local context of built form and support the establishment of a high quality pedestrian environment.

4. In order to provide local opportunities for small businesses and maintain the safety, comfort and amenity of shopping areas, zoning regulations for ground floor commercial retail uses in new buildings in new neighbourhoods or in

Mixed Use Areas along pedestrian shopping strips where most storefronts are

located at the streetline, may provide for a maximum store or commercial unit size based on the following considerations:

a) the prevailing sizes of existing stores and commercial units in the area; b) other indicators of opportunities for small business, such as vacancies in

existing stores and commercial units;

c) the provision of a range of store and commercial unit sizes to meet the range of local needs including day-to-day convenience shopping and other household goods and services;

d) the potential impact of large vacant stores and commercial units at the ground floor level on the safety and comfort of the strip for pedestrians, e) the need for ‘eyes on the street’;

f) the rhythm and flow of storefronts on the strip; and

g) the potential for the building design, particularly the street façade, to address the safety, comfort and amenity of the shopping area.

In commercial heritage conservation districts where the prevailing floorplate size is an important feature of the district’s heritage character, the zoning regulations for ground floor commercial retail uses in new buildings must provide for a maximum store or commercial unit size based on the foregoing considerations, and consistent with the heritage conservation district plan. Traditional main street shopping