RECOMMENDATION:
THAT the staff report entitled “Recommendation
Report, Forest Bay Homes Ltd., Official Plan Amendment and Rezoning
applications to permit a semi-detached and townhouse development on
condominium roads on the north side of Denison Street, west of Markham Road” be
received (File: OP 03-117651, ZA 03-117641);
THAT the
Official Plan Amendment application (OP
03-117651) submitted by
Forest Bay Homes Ltd. for lands on the north side of Denison
Street, west of Markham Road, be approved
and the draft Official Plan Amendment attached as Appendix ‘A’ be finalized and adopted;
THAT the Rezoning
application (ZA 03-117641) to amend By-law 90-81 as amended, submitted by Forest Bay Homes
Ltd. to permit a semi-detached and townhouse development
on condominium roads on the north side of Denison Street, west of Markham Road, be approved
and the draft Zoning By-law attached as Appendix
‘B’, be finalized and enacted;
AND THAT approval of the required Site Plan application be delegated to the Director of Planning and Urban Design,
or her designate.
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this report is to recommend approval of the proposed
Official Plan amendment and zoning by-law amendment applications by Forest Bay
Homes Ltd. to permit a semi-detached
and townhouse development on condominium roads, on the north side of Denison
Street, west of Markham Road, and to recommend that site plan approval for the
proposed development be delegated to staff.
BACKGROUND:
Subject lands and area context
The subject lands comprise approximately 4.0 hectares (9.9 acres) of a 7.8 hectare (19.4 acre) parcel north of Denison
Street, west of
Markham Road (Figure 1). The 7.8 hectare parcel is identified as a
commercial block (Block 554) on the predominantly residential plan of
subdivision 19T-89126 which was draft approved in 1994. All lots and blocks within 19T-89126 have
been registered with the exception of Block 554, which is currenly in the process of being registered.
Development applications were submitted for
three separate parcels within Block 554 as follows and as shown in Figure 4:
·
commercial development,
consisting of a gas station (Petro Canada) and
drive-through restaurant (Tim Hortons) were approved and
are now in operation, at the northwest corner of Denison Street
and Markham Road;
·
a four storey, 52-unit apartment building is proposed
to the north of the commercial development noted above, on the west side of Markham Road;
and
·
The subject parcel which comprises the westerly portion of Block 554,
on the north side of Denison
Street, is proposed to
contain 133 semi-detached and townhouse units on private roads.
This report
deals only with the Official Plan and rezoning applications for the
semi-detached and townhouse development.
The proposed development is also subject to site plan approval. The applications for the apartment to the
east will be addressed shortly in a separate report.
The subject lands, with
approximately 155 metres of frontage on Denison Street, are currently vacant. Surrounding
land uses include low density residential development and a commercial plaza to
the south across Denison Street, low density residential development to the
west, and low density residential and a contractors yard to the north (Figures
2 and 3). To the east, fronting onto Markham
Road, are the above noted gas station and
restaurant development as well as the vacant lands under review for the four-storey
apartment project.
Proposal consists of freehold linked, semi-detached and
townhouse units on private roads
The proposal is for a total of 133 semi-detached
units (attached and linked) and townhouse units with access from private roads. Specifically, the breakdown consists of 66 semi-detached
linked dwellings (linked underground), 58 semi-detached dwellings and 15
townhouse dwellings. Proposed lot frontages are approximately 15 metres (49 ft)
for the semi-detached lots and 7.1 to 14 metres (23-46
feet) for townhouse lots. The proposed
density is 33 units per hectare
(13.4 units per acre) which is consistent with the density provisions in the
Official Plan for medium density developments.
The
proposed development will be in the form of a common elements
condominium, with only the roads and services held by the condominium
corporation. Lot creation is
anticipated to be completed through a part-lot control exemption by-law and
reference plan after site plan approval.
DISCUSSION
Markham Road Corridor Study
vision approved in June, 2003
The subject lands were within the study area of the
Markham Road Corridor Study, which was initiated in 2002 to develop an urban
design vision for the Markham Road corridor between 14th Avenue and Steeles Avenue. The resulting vision, adopted by Council in
June, 2003, includes urban design guidelines for development along Markham Road. The subject lands were included in the study
as part of the larger block which had frontage on Markham Road. As the subject lands comprise only the
interior portion of this block, with no frontage on Markham Road, the urban design
guidelines do not apply.
Official Plan and Zoning by-law
amendments are required
The subject
lands are designated Community Amenity Area in the Armadale
East Secondary Plan (PD-24-2), which provides for a mix of commercial,
recreational and institutional uses as well as medium and high density
residential uses in appropriate locations.
The proposed semi-detached dwellings do not comply with the Community
Amenity Area designation in terms of built form, but the proposed density (33
units per hectare, or 13.4 units per acre) is within the
density range of the Medium Density designation in the Official Plan and the Armadale East Secondary Plan.
The proposed
development is considered appropriate at this location. Semi-detached residential development will act
as an appropriate built form transition between the existing low density
development to the west and the commercial and proposed higher density
residential development to the east along Markham Road. The density proposed for this development is
higher than the average density for typical semi-detached development, and this
higher density is appropriate for this property which has access from a major
collector (Denison Street) and is close to an arterial road (Markham Road). A draft Official Plan Amendment to designate
the lands Urban Residential in the Official Plan and Urban Residential – Medium
Density in the Secondary Plan is attached as Appendix ‘A’.
The
subject lands are zoned Community Commercial (CC) in By-law 90-81, as amended,
which permits only a shopping centre. A
draft amendment to Zoning By-law 90-81 to permit the proposed residential
development is attached as Appendix
‘B’.
Issues in the January 20, 2004 staff report, March 2, 2004 Public Meeting and
March 29, 2004 Public Information Meeting have been addressed
Concerns raised in the preliminary staff report, Public
Meeting and a subsequent Public Information Meeting, and in correspondence, are
addressed below.
Integration of the commercial, apartment and semi-detached condominium
sites
No vehicle
access between the subject semi-detached/townhouse site and the commercial and apartment
sites to the east are proposed or required.
An access from the proposed semi-detached/townhouse development to the
commercial and apartment sites would potentially interfere with internal
traffic circulation on these sites, or cause undesired infiltration from the commercial
sites through the proposed residential development. However, pedestrian connections between the
semi-detached/townhouse development and the commercial development to the east
are provided.
Further, a
future road connection to Golden
Avenue, through the
property to the north, should it be redeveloped, has been protected for in the conceptual
site plan, as requested by Committee members. In addition, the proposal provides for the
extension of an existing walkway to the north which will allow pedestrian
access from this development to Connery Crescent and ultimately the community
park and public elementary school near the intersection of Highglen and Brando Avenues.
Traffic impact study completed and recommendations
implemented
A
traffic impact study for all three applications on Block 554 was submitted at
the time of the approval of the commercial development at the Markham Road/Denison Street intersection. Recommended
improvements to Denison
Street (including a
realignment of the intersection) have been completed as part of the commercial
development to the east. Any further
improvements required on Denison
Street will be reviewed and
secured through the site plan approval process.
The traffic
study prepared for all three development parcels concluded that the traffic
volumes resulting from the proposed development would not warrant a traffic
signal at the intersection of Marydale Avenue and Denison Street. However, an additional access to Denison Street has been included on the conceptual
site plan to address the concern raised by residents at the public meetings
that all traffic from the proposed development would flow to the intersection
of Marydale Avenue and Denison Street.
The secondary restricted-moves access is proposed near the westerly
limit of the subject lands. Concerns
regarding this access, due to the proximity to the proposed full moves access,
have been raised by the Transportation Department. The feasibility of this access will be
addressed through site plan review process.
Stormwater management requirements
have been addressed
A concern was
expressed by the public that alteration of the site would cause flooding on
adjacent properties. Currently, lands to
the north and west drain onto Block 554.
A stormwater management report has been prepared
to identify stormwater drainage design for the
proposed developments within Block 554 as well as any required revisions to the
storm drainage plan and overland flow routes for the larger subdivision. A final revised stormwater
management report, incorporating modifications agreed to with the applicant, is
to be submitted and any requirements arising from it will be addressed as
conditions of site plan approval. The
adjoining properties should not experience stormwater
impacts as a result of this development.
Potential implications of vacant land
condominium
The proposed
development was initially intended to be developed as a vacant land
condominium, and staff were requested to provide more
information about this relatively new type of condominium. The proposed development is now intended to be
developed as a common elements condominium, in which only the roads and
services are held in condominium tenure.
The individual lots and dwellings
will be held in freehold tenure.
Servicing Allocation
On November 22, 2005, Development
Services Committee approved a new servicing allocation strategy. The proposed 133 unit development was granted
16 allocation units through the November 22, 2005 report. The balance of the allocation required for
this development was transferred from allocation on other lands owned by the
applicant.
Delegation of site plan
approval to staff recommended
It
is recommended that the Official Plan and zoning by-law amendments attached as
appendices to this report be approved. Although
a detailed concept plan has been reviewed as part of the Official Plan and
rezoning application process, a site plan application has not been submitted
and the applicant has advised that the site plan application is currently being
prepared. Staff recommend that, as the proposed
development consists of a medium density residential built form, and is not
located on an arterial road, authority for site plan approval be delegated to
staff.
FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:
None at this time.
ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS:
None at this time.
ACCESSIBILITY CONSIDERATIONS:
Conformity with the accessibility guidelines will be reviewed prior
to site plan approval.
BUSINESS UNITS
CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:
All Town
departments and external agencies have been circulated with these applications
and all comments have been considered in this report.
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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
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DOCUMENT FILE PATH:
Q:\Development\Planning\APPL\ZONING\03
116709 Forest Bay Denison\semis\Final_DSC_ report_ semis_ 7_ feb_ 061.doc
APPENDIX FILE PATH: Q:\Development\Planning\APPL\ZONING\03 116709 Forest
Bay Denison\semis\OPA denison semis.doc
Q:\Development\Planning\APPL\ZONING\03
116709 Forest Bay Denison\semis\by-law denison semis.doc
Figure 1: Location Map
Figure 2: Area Context/Zoning
Figure 3: Aerial Photo
Figure 4: Composite Plan
