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REPORT TO DEVELOPMENT SERVICES COMMITTEE |
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TO: |
Mayor and Members of Council |
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FROM: |
Jim Baird, Commissioner of
Development Services Valerie Shuttleworth, Director of
Planning & Urban Design |
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PREPARED BY: |
Sabrina Bordone Planner, West Development Team |
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DATE OF MEETING: |
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SUBJECT: |
PRELIMINARY REPORT Hunster Corporation Application for Zoning By-law
Amendment to Permit Professional and Business Offices ZA.05-023385 & SC.05-023455 |
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RECOMMENDATION:
That a Public Meeting be
held to consider the Zoning Amendment application (ZA 05 023385) submitted by
Hunster Corporation to permit professional and business offices at 107-111 Glen
Cameron Rd., located east of Yonge St. on the south side of Glen Cameron Rd.
within the Thornhill Secondary Plan Area, once the issues relating to parking
and on-site circulation have been addressed to the satisfaction of staff.
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this report
is to provide preliminary information regarding the application submitted by Hunster
Corporation for a Zoning By-law Amendment to permit professional and business
offices at 107-111 Glen Cameron Rd., and to recommend that a Public Meeting be
held to consider the zoning application once the issues identified in this
report have been resolved to the satisfaction of staff.
BACKGROUND:
The 0.28 hectare (0.70 ac) subject lands contain
a vacant single-storey industrial building located east of
Adjoining the property are:
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The Canadian National Railway (CNR) to the south
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Industrial buildings to the west
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Single-detached dwellings to the north
Proposal is to permit business and
professional offices
The applicant has submitted applications for a Zoning By-law Amendment
and Site Plan Approval to permit the construction of a two-storey addition over
the existing single-storey industrial building and to rezone the property to
permit business and professional offices.
The applicant is also proposing a three-storey addition to be situated
at the rear of the building (Figure 4).
The additions, as proposed, will result in a 1 669 m2 (17 967 ft2) increase in the gross floor area of the building, to bring
the total gross floor area to 2384 m2 (25 672 ft2).
Official Plan
and Zoning
The Official Plan designates the lands
“Industrial”. This designation is
further refined by the Thornhill Secondary Plan to “Business Corridor Area –
Glen Cameron/Doncaster”. The Thornhill
Secondary Plan stipulates that uses provided for within the “Business Corridor
Area – Glen Cameron/Doncaster” designation include offices,
commercial schools, and banks and financial institutions, among other uses.
The lands are zoned “Industrial” (M) by
By-law 2237, as amended, which permits a variety of industrial uses. An amendment is required in order to permit professional
and business offices on the subject lands (Figure 2).
POTENTIAL
BENEFITS OF APPROVAL OF THE PROPOSAL:
The potential benefits of the proposed
development are as follows:
- The general
intent of the “Business Corridor Area – Glen Cameron/Doncaster”
designation in the Thornhill Secondary Plan is
to encourage the gradual upgrading of the area by narrowing the range of
permitted industrial uses, by allowing greater recognition of emerging
types of commercial uses through a rezoning process. The proposal to rezone the subject
property to permit offices uses will assist in implementing the planned
function of the “Business Corridor Area – Glen Cameron/Doncaster”
designation in the Thornhill Secondary
Plan.
- The proposed
amendment will allow for a use that is currently not permitted on the
subject property and, therefore, has the potential of increasing the
functionality of a currently vacant industrial building.
CONCERNS/ISSUES TO BE RESOLVED:
The following is a brief summary of
concerns/issues raised to date. These matters, and any others identified
through the circulation and detailed review of the proposal, will be addressed
in a final staff report to be presented to Committee at a later date:
Number of
available parking spaces and on-site traffic circulation
The Town’s Parking Standards By-law 28-97, as amended, requires parking
for business offices be provided at a rate of 1 space
per 30 m2 of net floor area.
The
number of parking spaces required is calculated at 56 spaces. A total of 56 spaces have been provided for
on the site plan, with 16 spaces being accommodated within an enclosed at-grade
parking area that will be created by converting a portion of the existing first
storey. Some of proposed parking spaces,
however, will impede circulation within the site and will have to be deleted. The Town’s Waste Management Department has
indicated that the two proposed parking spaces at the rear of the three-storey
addition will render the garbage room and waste bins inaccessible to collection
vehicles and that the proposed rear yard setback will prohibit one-way
vehicular circulation around the building.
This will impact the 16 parking spaces provided within the enclosed
at-grade parking area, as vehicles will be able to enter the site through the
one-way westerly drive and access the indoor parking area, but no longer have
the ability to safely exit and circulate around the building. The applicant has been asked to provide Staff
with evidence of a mutual driveway agreement between the subject site and the
property to the west, so that a two-way driveway may be provided along the
westerly property line for cars to safely enter and exit the indoor parking
area.
Impact of
proposed parking area on landscaping is a concern
Staff
is concerned with the lack of landscaping provided on site. While the
applicant is proposing to enhance the landscaping within the municipal
boulevard through new shrub and tree plantings, Staff have
requested that additional on-site landscaping be provided along the areas
fronting onto
Staff recommend that landscaped bump-outs be provided between the parking spaces located
adjacent to the municipal boulevard. While
these landscaped bump-outs will provide for additional landscaping on-site,
they will also result in a loss of available parking spaces. Staff have requested
that the applicant submit a landscape concept that will provide additional landscaping
on the subject property, while also ensuring an adequate parking supply.
Proposed driveway
access may impact parking supply
The subject property currently has two
accesses from Glen Cameron Rd.: a
one-way driveway located at the west end of the site and a second two-way
access centrally located along the frontage.
The applicant is proposing a new one-way driveway at the east end of the
subject property. The proposed easterly driveway may be too
close to the intersection of
FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:
None at this time.
ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS:
There is no significant vegetation or natural
features on site.
ACCESSIBILITY CONSIDERATIONS:
A total of three handicapped parking spaces are
required on site. While three
handicapped parking spaces have been included on the site plan, the dimensions
of these spaces do not comply with the size requirements outlined in the Town’s
Parking Standards By-law, 28-97, as amended.
BUSINESS UNITS
CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:
All Town departments and external agencies
have been circulated on the application and all comments will be considered in
a final report.
CONCLUSION:
Staff have requested revisions to the
site plan to address the on-site parking and circulation concerns and provision
of landscaping. Town Staff will continue
working closely with the applicant and will call a Public Meeting when the
issues identified have been sufficiently resolved to the satisfaction of internal
departments and external agencies.
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Valerie Shuttleworth, M.C.I.P., R.P.P. Director of Planning & Urban Design |
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Jim Baird, M.C.I.P., R.P.P. Commissioner of Development Services |
FILE PATH: \MARKHAM.CA\APPS\AMANDADOCS\PLANNING\SAVEPATH\4872028038.DOC
ATTACHMENTS: Figure 1 – Location Map
Figure
2 – Area Context and Zoning
Figure
3 – Air Photo
Figure
4 – Proposed Site Plan
Figure
5 – Elevations
AGENT: Richard Librach
Richard
Librach Architect Inc.
M4N
2M9
Tel: (416) 482-9224
Fax: (416) 781-2976
Figure 1
