RECOMMENDATION:
That
draft plan of subdivision 19TM-05017 (SU.05-021138) located on the east side of
Markham Road, south of Kirkham Drive, proposed by
177192 Ontario Ltd on behalf of Costco Wholesale Canada Ltd and Riotrin Properties (Kirkham) Inc (19TM-05017), be
draft approved subject to the conditions outlined in Appendix ‘A’;
And that the applicant provide to the Town the required payment of 30%
subdivision processing fees in accordance with the Town’s Fee By-law (By-law 2005-357).
That the Site
Plan application (SC.05-022736) submitted by Costco Wholesale Canada Ltd to permit a 13,829m2 (148,854 sf) club warehouse
store on the east side of Markham Road, south of Kirkham
Drive, be endorsed in principle, with the following conditions:
1. That site plan approval be delegated to the Director of Planning & Urban Design or her designate, to be
issued following execution of a site plan agreement. Site plan approval is issued only when the
Director has signed the site plan as “approved”.
2. That the owner enter into a site plan agreement with
the Town of Markham containing all standard provisions and requirements of the
Town and public agencies, including;
a) Provision
for payment by the Owner of all applicable fees, recoveries and development
charges;
b) Provisions
for satisfying all requirements of the Town’s Departments and external
agencies, including the Regional Municipality of York Transportation and Works
Department.
c) Provision
of site plan and elevation drawings for the Heritage Building containing
details such as driveway, grading, connection to municipal services, trees to
be preserved, any proposed additions and alterations, and a traditional
Restoration Plan for the exterior of the Heritage Building, to the satisfaction
of Heritage Markham and the Town of Markham.
The site plan, elevation drawings and Restoration Plan are to be
included in the Site Plan Agreement and the approved site alterations and
exterior restoration is to be implemented within one year of the registration
of the Plan of Subdivision.
d) The
Owner is to provide and install at its cost, an interpretative baked enamel
plaque for the Heritage Building, in a publicly visible location on the property. The plaque is to be designed according to the
specifications of the "Markham Remembered" program, and outline the
history of the house. Details of the
design and location of the plaque are to be submitted for review and approval
of the Town (Heritage Section).
e) A
commitment to the long term vision for redevelopment of this parcel outlined in
the Markham Road Corridor Study, 2003 in accordance with the conceptual site
plan attached as Figure 8 to this report.
3. That this
endorsement shall lapse and site
plan approval will not be issued, after a period of three years
commencing February 21, 2006, in the event that the site plan agreement is not
executed within that period;
4. That, prior to approval of the site plan:
a) The Owner
shall have submitted a revised site plan and building elevations, to the
satisfaction of the Director of Planning and
Urban Design, including, but not limited to, revisions required to
implement the recommendations of the traffic study.
b) The plan of
subdivision creating the lands subject to this site plan approval shall be
registered, and the lands required for the public roads within the subdivision
shall have been conveyed to the Town.
c) That Holding
provisions shall have been removed and any required variances shall have been
obtained to permit the relocation of the heritage building.
5. That a Landscape Plan be submitted, prepared
by a Landscape Architect having O.A.L.A. membership, to the satisfaction of the
Commissioner of Development Services;
6. That the recommendations of the traffic study
be implemented, to the satisfaction of the Commissioner of Development Services.
EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY:
The purpose of this report is to recommend approval of the proposed plan
of subdivision by 177192 Ontario Ltd on
behalf of Costco Wholesale Canada Ltd and Riotrin
Properties (Kirkham) Inc to permit commercial uses on
the east side of Markham Road, south of Kirkham
Drive, and to recommend approval of the site plan application by Costco Wholesale
Canada Ltd for a club warehouse store within the plan of subdivision.
The subject lands consist
of approximately 12.7 hectares (31.4 acres) on the east side of Markham Road, south of Kirkham Drive within the Armadale East Secondary Plan area (Figure 1). The lands comprise just over half of the
larger 23 hectare (56.8 acre) property formerly known as 7555 Markham Road. The remaining lands within the larger
property, to the east and south of the subject lands, have recently been
acquired by the Town for community uses.
The subject lands are proposed to be
subdivided into three blocks for commercial purposes (Figure 4). The site plan application for Block 1 proposes
a 13,829m2 (148,854sf) Costco membership warehouse store,
including a tire centre and a propane station (Figure 5).
The proposed plan of subdivision and proposed site
plan generally conform with the Official Plan, Zoning
By-law and the urban design vision for this portion of Markham Road endorsed by Council as part
of the Markham Road Corridor Study. The proposed plan of subdivision provides the
infrastructure for implementing the Community Focus Area by providing the
public road network and internal servicing.
The siting and treatment of the Costco
building within Block 1 of the subdivision are considered acceptable. The issues
identified in the October 18, 2005 Preliminary Report and the November 22,
2005 Public Meeting have been addressed. It is recommended that the plan of
subdivision be draft approved subject to the conditions of draft approval
attached as Appendix ‘A’, and that the site plan be endorsed subject to the
conditions listed in the Recommendation section of this report.
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this report is to recommend approval of the proposed plan
of subdivision by 177192 Ontario Ltd on
behalf of Costco Wholesale Canada Ltd (Costco) and Riotrin
Properties (Kirkham) Inc (Riotrin)
to permit commercial uses on the east side of Markham Road,
south of Kirkham Drive, and to recommend approval of
the site plan application by Costco Wholesale Canada Ltd for a club warehouse
store within the plan of subdivision.
BACKGROUND:
The subject lands consist
of approximately 12.7 hectares (31.4 acres) on the east side of Markham Road, south of Kirkham Drive within the Armadale East Secondary Plan area (Figure 1). The lands comprise just over half of the
larger 23 hectare (56.8 acre) property formerly known as 7555 Markham Road.
The subject lands contain a
dwelling and accessory buildings. The
dwelling has been identified as a heritage building. There are no significant environmental
features within the subject lands. A
number of trees line the driveway and surround the house and accessory
buildings. A stormwater
pond complex is located south of the larger property (Figure 3 and 4).
Surrounding land uses
include a gas station and retail warehouse uses to the north across Kirkham Drive, and the stormwater ponds and a vacant commercial site to the south. To the west across Markham Road are a vacant commercial
site, a recently constructed four-storey apartment building, and a place of
worship site, as well as commercial uses north of Highglen Avenue. The remaining lands within the larger
property, to the east and south of the subject lands, have recently been
acquired by the Town for community uses (see Figure 4).
Proposed plan of subdivision
The subject lands are
proposed to be subdivided into three blocks for commercial purposes (Figure 4).
The three blocks are created by a public
street grid consisting of:
·
Kirkham Drive at the north limit of the
subject lands
·
a new east-west road (Street ‘A’) extending from Markham Road to the
east limit of the lands, with a segment (Street ‘B’) veering northward to meet an
extension of Kirkham Drive; and
·
a new north-south road (Street ‘D’) which follows an existing sewer easement
from Kirkham Drive to the south limit of the property,
with a connecting link (Street ‘C’) to Markham Road at Golden Avenue.
Two of the three
intersections with Markham Road, namely Kirkham Drive and Golden Avenue, are intended to be signalized. Street ‘A’ is proposed to have a restricted
moves (right-in/right-out) access from Markham Road which will be approximately
mid-way between Kirkham Drive and Golden Avenue.
Block 1 (5.3 ha/13.1 ac) in
the interior of the proposed subdivision, is intended to be developed with a Costco
membership warehouse store. Blocks 2 and
3 along Markham Road, are 2.4 ha (5.9 ac) and 2.2 ha (5.4 ac) in
size respectively, and are intended to be developed by Riotrin Properties with smaller commercial buildings.
Proposed
Costco site plan
The site plan application for
Block 1 proposes a 13,829m2 (148,854sf) Costco membership warehouse store, including
a tire centre and a propane station (Figures 5 and 6).
Access to the Costco store is
proposed from Kirkham Drive, Street ‘B’ and
Street ‘D’. A truck- only entrance is
proposed from Kirkham Drive at the east limit
of the Block. The heritage building is proposed to be relocated to the southeast corner of
the Block 1, fronting onto Street ‘A’. A
use has not yet been proposed for the heritage building.
A total of 685 parking spaces
are provided, exceeding (by 41 spaces) the required parking for the Costco
store alone. An additional 7 to 23
spaces (depending on use) are required for the heritage building, resulting in
a net excess of 18 spaces above the by-law requirements.
DISCUSSION:
Plan of Subdivision and Site Plan conform with Official
Plan, Zoning By-law and Markham
Road Corridor Study
The proposed plan of subdivision and proposed site
plan generally conform with the Official Plan, Zoning
By-law and the urban design vision for this portion of Markham Road endorsed by Council as part
of the Markham Road Corridor Study. The
study identified the vacant lands on the east side of Markham Road between Highglen Avenue/Kirkham Drive and Golden Avenue as a preferred location for
the development of a vibrant community focus for the Armadale
community. The intent was to develop a mix of uses, with
commercial uses along Markham Road, residential uses located in the interior of the Community Focus Area
and recreational/community uses integrated with the stormwater
pond complex. A ‘main street’ was
envisaged to act as a pedestrian spine linking the residential, commercial and
recreational components.
As
part of a land use exercise to implement the Markham Road Corridor Study,
Council in June, 2004, approved an Official Plan Amendment (OPA 125) and zoning
by-law amendment for 7555 Markham Road, reflecting the land uses envisaged in
the Community Focus Area, as well as a development proposal from Costco Canada
Ltd for a portion of the lands. The
subject lands were designated Major Commercial Area (Block 1 in the proposed
plan of subdivision), and Community Amenity Area (Blocks 2 and 3). The ‘main street’ was also re-oriented to
form an east-west spine from Markham
Road, along the south limit of the
Major Commercial Area lands.
The Major Commercial Area
policies in the Secondary Plan include restrictions on permitted land uses,
building location, and store size which provide for the Costco use, and at the
same time, provide for future ‘main street’ development at the south limit of
the Costco parcel. The Community Amenity Area policies also restrict permitted
uses, store size and building placement in order to ensure that development is
oriented toward the ‘main street’ and toward Markham Road, and to ensure that
development remains at a scale which is in keeping with the urban design
vision.
The subject lands are
currently zoned Major Commercial in By-law 177-96 with exceptions limiting
store size and building placement, reflecting the intent of the Secondary Plan
policies for the Major Commercial Area and Community Amenity Area
designations. The zoning includes a Hold
provision subject to, among other things, plan of subdivision and/or site plan
approval.
Plan of subdivision implements the vision
for the Community Focus Area
The proposed plan of subdivision provides the infrastructure for
implementing the Community Focus Area by providing the public road network and
internal servicing. Street ‘A’ provides
the ‘main street’ into the interior of the site, and will be constructed with a
‘main street’ cross-section, including parking bays. Registration of the
subdivision and conveyance of the
road right-of-ways will be required prior to the release of building permits
within any of the blocks.
The road network will also support the community centre planned in the Community Focus Area, to the east and
south of the proposed subdivision. This
community use will replace the residential component of the Community Focus
Area contemplated in the Secondary Plan.
Costco site plan conforms with the
Official Plan and Zoning By-law and is considered acceptable
The siting and treatment of the Costco
building within Block 1 of the subdivision are considered acceptable. Visual impacts from Markham Road are minimized by the siting
of the building in the northeasterly portion of the block,
and locating service areas at the rear of the building. The siting
of the building also provides for future smaller scale development along the ‘main
street’ (Street ‘A’) within the subdivision.
The
building materials are primarily precast concrete
panels utilizing a change in colour and texture to
minimize the mass of the building. Box rib metal panels and a red horizontal
strip are used as minor accent details. The
elevations of the building have been revised to incorporate stronger cornices
into the vertical ribbed concrete panels and additional glazing on the south,
west and canopy entrance areas. The
north and east elevations, while less detailed, have a variation in the height
of the roof line and changes in colour and texture
along the façade. The solid tire centre doors and the propone facility on the
west side are screened by the extensive perimeter landscaping and treed parking
islands.
The applicant has made a number of improvements to the site plan to
conform more closely with the Community Focus Area vision, including a
pedestrian link from the ‘main street’ (Street ‘A’) to the store entrance and
additional glazing to the west elevation of the building, facing Markham
Road.
The siting of the heritage building fronting
Street ‘A’ will set the stage for future development along the ‘main street’ on
the Costco block and enable the future creation of a separate parcel for the
heritage building if required, with a separate access and parking. The building, known as the Raymer-Robb
house,
has been designated under Part IV of the
Ontario Heritage Act. Appropriate
conditions will be included in the subdivision and site plan agreements to
ensure the preservation of the building, including the provision of securities,
entering into a Heritage Easement, provision of restoration plans, etc.
A Hold removal by-law will
be required prior to the release of a building permit for the Costco building. In addition, a variance to the zoning for
Block 1 may be required to permit the heritage building as a stand-alone
building along Street ‘A’.
Issues identified in the
Preliminary Report and Public Meeting have been resolved
The issues identified in the
October 18, 2005 Preliminary Report and the November 22, 2005 Public Meeting have been addressed as
follows:
Extension of Golden Avenue and other
transportation issues have been resolved
The vision for the Community Focus Area included the extension of Golden Avenue east of Markham Road. A portion of the lands required
for the Golden Avenue extension, specifically to complete the intersection
of Golden Avenue at Markham Road, are within the ownership of the abutting property to the south of the subject
lands. A tentative agreement has been
reached with the landowner of the abutting lands to the south to provide the
required lands for the Golden Avenue intersection concurrently with the development of the proposed
subdivision. Legal
Services staff will be reporting on the terms of this agreement in a separate
report. In the event the lands required
to complete the Golden Avenue intersection cannot be obtained in a timely
manner, the conditions of draft approval contain provisions for an alternative
road pattern, namely a signalized intersection at Markham Road and a slightly
realigned Street ‘A’ (see Figure 4).
Conformity of future site plans with urban
design vision and guidelines
Future site plans will be assessed to ensure conformity with the Council
approved urban design vision and guidelines for the Community Focus Area,
including the provision of a gateway treatment at the Markham Road entrance.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Costco and Riotrin
outlining the commitment of Costco, Riotrin and the
Town to the long term ‘main street’ vision for the subject lands has been
executed. The MOU includes a long term
concept plan (Figure 7) for all of the lands within the Community Focus Area
including the Town-owned lands to the east. The registration of this MOU
against the lands within the subdivision is included as a condition of draft approval
in Appendix ‘A’.
A conceptual site plan for the long term development of the Costco block
is attached as Figure 8. It is
recommended that this conceptual site plan be included in the site plan
agreement for the Costco block. In addition,
Riotrin Properties have been working with staff to
develop a conceptual site plan (Figure 9) for Blocks 2 and 3, in keeping with
the long-term vision, and further work remains to be done. A site plan application has not yet been
submitted for Blocks 2 and 3.
Heritage dwelling is being integrated
within the development
The heritage dwelling is proposed to be relocated within the Costco
block, and is satisfactorily accommodated in the Costco site plan, as indicated
above.
Concern with traffic noise levels
addressed
A concern with increased levels of traffic noise on Markham Road as a result of the proposed development was raised at
the Public Meeting. The proposed
development is not expected to result in the traffic noise levels above the levels
expected under the previous retail warehouse land use designation and zoning.
FINANCIAL
CONSIDERATIONS:
There are no financial implications for the
Town in this report. Legal Services staff
will report to Council regarding the acquisition of the lands needed to
complete the Golden Avenue extension in a separate report.
ENVIRONMENTAL
CONSIDERATIONS:
No environmental implications have been identified.
ENGAGE 21ST CENTURY CONSIDERATIONS:
The proposed development promotes a number of key goals set out in
"Engage 21st Century Markham" by providing for efficient
use of infrastructure, transit-supportive land use patterns, compact
development and high levels of architectural and urban design.
BUSINESS UNITS
CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:
The subdivision application
has been circulated to internal departments and external agencies for comment,
and all issues have been addressed.
|
|
|
|
|
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
|
Q:\Development\Planning\APPL\SUBDIV\05
021138 Costco Markham Rd\Final DSC Report 21feb06.doc
ATTACHMENTS:
Figure 1: Location Map
Figure 2: Area
Context/Zoning
Figure 3: Aerial Map
Figure 4: Plan of Subdivision
Figure 5: Site Plan (Costco)
Figure 6: Elevations
(Costco)
Figure 7: Long Term Conceptual Plan – Community
Focus Area
Figure 8: Long Term Conceptual Plan – Block 1
(Costco)
Figure 9: Conceptual Site Plan – Blocks 2 and 3
AGENT/APPLICANT: Marshall Macklin Monaghan Ltd Tel:
905-882-4211 x 282
c/o
Chris Tyrrell Fax:
905-882-0055
80 Commerce
Valley Drive East
Markham, Ontario
L3T 7N4
FIGURE
1: LOCATION MAP
