	REPORT TO DEVELOPMENT SERVICES COMMITTEE


TO:	Mayor and Members of Council

FROM:	Jim Baird, Commissioner of Development Services Valerie Shuttleworth, Director of Planning & Urban Design

PREPARED BY:	George Duncan, Senior Heritage Planner ext. 2296, Planner –Heritage Development Team

DATE OF MEETING:	April 4, 2006

SUBJECT:	RECOMMENDATION REPORT ZONING AMENDMENT – ZONING USE CATEGORY 34-34a Washington St., Markham Village Heritage Conservation District 594607 Ontario Ltd. (Michael Delli-Benedetti) ZA 05 017696

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT the Development Services Commission Report dated April 4, 2006 entitled “Recommendation Report – Zoning Amendment – Zoning Use Category, 34-34a Washington Street, Markham Village Heritage Conservation District, 594607 Ontario Ltd. (Michael Delli-Benedetti), ZA 05 017696” be received;

AND THAT the proposed amendment to By-law 1229, as amended, attached as Appendix “B,” be enacted without further notice.

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this report is to provide follow-up information pursuant to the Public Meeting held on January 24, 2006 and to recommend that the by-law be forwarded to Council for enactment.

BACKGROUND:

Property and Area Context

The subject property (Part 2, Plan 65R-27604) is a severed vacant lot pursuant to Committee of Adjustment application B/60/03. The Zoning Amendment application was filed under the previous address, 32 Washington Street. The property has been assigned the new address of 34-34a Washington Street. The lot frontage is 15.85m (52ft) and the lot depth is 40.23m (132ft). Adjacent properties are single detached heritage homes. The subject property backs onto the Main Street commercial core of old Markham Village.

Official Plan Policies

The parcel is designated Commercial - Heritage Main Street in the Markham Official Plan. Lands in this designation may be zoned to permit residential uses subject to ensuring the planned function of the lands is maintained, that the location is appropriate and that the applicable provisions of the housing policies are met. The majority of properties on Washington Street are in residential use, therefore the proposed residential use of this site would be consistent with the pattern of development in the area.

Existing Zoning

By-law 1229, as amended, zones the subject lands Central Commercial (C2). Since the by-law only permits residential uses in the form of apartment buildings and residential units on the upper floors of commercial buildings, a by-law amendment is required to allow the proposed development.

Proposal

The applicant proposes to develop the lands for two detached dwellings with a detached rear yard garage shared by both units. The garage will be accessed via a mutual laneway between the houses. The development was originally proposed as semi-detached dwellings with front-loaded garages. The current proposal came about as the result of extensive discussion with staff and consultation with Heritage Markham. The form of development has been designed to allow traditional house fronts with “windows on the street” in keeping with the policies of the Markham Village Heritage Conservation District.

The application was generally well-received at the statutory Public Meeting.

The statutory public meeting was held for this application on Tuesday, January 24, 2006. The application was generally well received however three local residents addressed Council about the compatibility of the proposed form of development with the neighbourhood context. Although Committee recommended that Council approve the application., it was agreed that staff would meet with the residents to address their issues before the by-law was presented to Council.

Two follow-up meetings were held with the local residents that attended the public meeting.

The first follow-up meeting was held on February 2, 2006, and attended by the neighbouring property owner to the north at 36 Washington Street and a resident across the road at 29 Washington Street. The neighbour to the south at 32 Washington Street was invited but unable to attend. The applicant and his agent were also in attendance in addition to Town staff and the Ward Councillor.

The main concerns expressed by the two residents were the loss of a mature black walnut tree in the back yard of the property due to the proposed placement of the garage, and the reduced side yards of 0.6m (1.9 ft) bordering 32 and 36 Washington Street. The issue with the side yards was primarily the restriction of sightlines from the side yard of the neighbouring property to the north. The applicant agreed to stagger the front yard setbacks to reflect the street line and to allow a larger open front yard adjacent to the neighbouring property to the north. To compensate for the loss of any trees on the property due to the development, the applicant agreed to replace trees where appropriate through the Site Plan Approval Process.

The applicant documented his commitment to these solutions after the meeting by correspondence sent to the Town and local residents (see copy attached as Appendix “A”).

A second follow-up meeting was held with the local residents to address their concerns on-site.

On March 2, 2006, staff and the Ward Councillor met again with local residents representing 29, 32, and 36 Washington Street to further discuss their concerns with the proposed form of development. Again the issues of side yard setback and removal of the black walnut tree were discussed. The applicant demonstrated that the proposed front yard setbacks for the dwellings would provide ample front yard views from the property to the north, and suggested that the north dwelling could perhaps be set back somewhat further. He also demonstrated that the closest point between the wall of the existing house at 32 Washington Street and the side wall of the new house would be about 3m (10 feet), and this condition would only exist for a limited distance along the side wall of the existing house, beyond which the space between buildings would increase.

The applicant acknowledged with regret the need to remove the rear yard tree to construct the garage, but indicated that new trees would be planted to compensate for this loss. In the end, the residents stated their opinion that only one house should be built on the subject lands and that they did not support the two houses as proposed.

OPTIONS/DISCUSSION

Staff acknowledge the concerns of the neighbouring property owners, but continue to support the development as proposed

Town Staff has worked with the applicant for some time to design a built form for the development of two residential units on the subject lands that reflects the guidelines of the Markham Village Heritage Conservation District Plan, suits the area context and will result in a development that will appropriately address the goal of residential intensification. Staff is confident that the issues raised by the neighbours can be dealt with in a future Site Plan application. Specific architectural details, colours, materials and landscape treatments will be handled through the Site Plan application to help ensure the successful integration of this infill project into the existing streetscape.

The proposal will enhance the heritage character of the area and provide residential intensification

Approval of this zoning by-law amendment would result in compact development and residential intensification close to major public transportation nodes. The development would also increase the residential population to help support the commercial core of old Markham Village. Additionally, the construction of new buildings consistent with the policies and design guidelines of the Markham Village Heritage Corners District Plan will visually enhance the heritage character of the neighbourhood.

It is recommended that the proposed amendment to the by-law be enacted. The by-law will permit residential dwelling units on the property and include site specific development standards.

FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:

There are no financial implications to be considered in this report.

ENGAGE 21^ST CONSIDERATIONS:

This application aligns with the Corporate Goal of maintaining a Quality Community by creating an opportunity to appropriately develop a new infill lot within the Markham Village Heritage Conservation District.

BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:

This proposal has been circulated to other Town Departments and agencies for review and comment.

ATTACHMENTS:

Figure 1 – Applicant Contact information/Location Map

Figure 2 – Area Context/Zoning

Figure 3 – Air Photo

Figure 4 – Conceptual Site Plan

Figure 5 – Conceptual Elevations

Appendix A – Letter from Applicant

Appendix B – Proposed By-law

Valerie Shuttleworth, M.C.I.P., R.P.P.

Director of Planning & Urban Design

Jim Baird, M.C.I.P., R.P.P.

Commissioner of Development Services

File Path: Amanda Document 88651880080.DOC