		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:	Marg Wouters, ext. 2758 Senior Planner, South District

DATE OF MEETING:	December 6, 2005

SUBJECT:	PRELIMINARY REPORT
	Box Grove Hill Developments Inc. 6788 14^th Avenue Subdivision and zoning by-law amendment applications to permit 22 single-detached units (19TM-050018) Box Grove Community FILES: SU.05-023032 & ZA.05-023033

RECOMMENDATION:

That a Public Meeting be held to consider zoning by-law amendment application (ZA.05-023033) and subdivision application (SU.05-023032), submitted by Box Grove Hill Developments Inc to permit 22 single-detached residential units (19TM-050018) at 6788 14^th Avenue, within the Box Grove Community.

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this report is to provide preliminary information regarding zoning and subdivision applications submitted by Box Grove Hill Developments Inc and to recommend that a statutory public meeting be held to consider these applications.

BACKGROUND:

The subject lands form part of the Box Grove Planning District. The property consists of approximately 3.6 hectares (8.9 acres) located on the north side of 14^th Avenue, east of 9^th Line (Figure 1). The lands are primarily vacant with the exception of a dwelling fronting 14^th Avenue, which is identified as a heritage building in the Box Grove Secondary Plan. Natural features include a watercourse (9^th Line Tributary) which traverses the southern portion of the subject lands in an east-west direction, and a number of mature trees along 14^th Avenue (Figure 3).

The subject property is bounded by low density residential development along 9^th Line to the west, Town-owned (park) lands within the Box Grove Hill Developments et al subdivision to the east, and 14^th Avenue and low density residential uses to the south. Further south across 14^th Avenue are primarily low density residential uses. To the north is a rural residential property which will be acquired by the Town in the near future for road and park purposes as discussed below.

Proposed plan of subdivision

The proposed plan of subdivision consists of 22 single-detached lots on a single-loaded new road, a stormwater management block, a park block, an open space block and a future development block fronting 14^th Avenue (Figure 4).

The new road extends south from the Rouge Bank Drive extension to the 9^th Line By-Pass, and terminates in a cul-de-sac in the southern portion of the property. An emergency access to 9^th Line is provided through an existing walkway. The road will be connected to the Rouge Bank Drive extension by way of a connecting link through the abutting lands to the north.

The 22 proposed lots are described in the table below:

Unit Distribution
Unit Type	Frontage		No. of Units
	Metres	Feet
Single-detached	14.0	45.9	6
	12.8	41.9	16
Future units from blocks (1 part lot)	0.5
Total 22.5
Net Site Area	1.028 ha (2.54 acres)
Permitted Density	Proposed Density
17.0 to 37.0 units per hectare (6.8 to 14.9 units per acre)	21.9 units per hectare 8.8 units per acre

DISCUSSION:

Proposed plan of subdivision generally conforms to Secondary Plan and Community Design Plan

The majority of the lands comprising the draft plan are designated in the Secondary Plan as Urban Residential – Low Density Housing II and Community Park. The lands near 14^thAvenue are designated Urban Residential – Low Density Housing I, with the area of the 9^th Line Tributary watercourse designated Environmental Protection Area – Minor Tributary.

The road layout and distribution of housing types within the draft plan of subdivision are generally consistent with the Low Density Housing II designation and established street pattern in the Secondary Plan and the proposed Community Design Plan (Figure 5). A Community Park block, to be combined with the Town-owned park lands to the east of the subdivision, is provided on the east side of the new local road.

The lands along 14^th Avenue, designated as Low Density Housing I, are shown as a future development block within the plan of subdivision. The lands designated Environmental Protection Area – Minor Tributary are shown as stormwater management and open space blocks.

Certain site-specific technical studies remain to be completed

The District-wide technical studies such as Environmental Master Drainage Plan, Master Servicing Plan, Road Function and Streetscape Plan, Transportation Study etc have been completed. However, the applicant will be required to complete site-specific servicing studies and a noise study.

Applicant is a signatory to the Developers Group Agreement

A Developers Group Agreement is in place for the Box Grove Area to secure community facilities including parkland and schools, and to compensate the landowners on whose properties the community facilities are located. The applicant is a signatory to the Developers Group Agreement.

Servicing allocation required

The Box Grove Secondary Plan area was assigned 1,365 units in servicing allocation in accordance with the provisions of a Memorandum of Understanding dated June 13, 2002 executed by certain Box Grove developers, including the applicant, the Town and the Region. The 1,365 units of allocation were divided among four plans of subdivision, which have been draft approved and are in various stages of registration and construction.

In November, 2005, Council endorsed the allocation of an additional 899 units for the Box Grove Secondary Plan area, through the Developers Group Trustee. The 22.5 units of allocation required for the proposed plan of subdivision are expected to be assigned by the Trustee from the 899 additional units.

Zoning by-law amendment required

In accordance with the Secondary Plan requirements, the applicant has applied for a zoning by-law amendment to implement the proposed draft plan of subdivision.

The subject lands are currently zoned Rural Residential Four (RR4) in By-law 304-87, as amended and Single Family Rural Residential (RRH) in By-law 194-82, as amended (Figure 2). Amendments are required to delete the lands from By-law 304-87 and By-law 194-82, and to incorporate the subject lands within the Town’s Urban Expansion Area By-law 177-96. The zone categories applied to this area would contain development standards consistent with those applied to similar lots on other plans of subdivision in the vicinity.

POTENTIAL BENEFITS OF APPROVAL OF THE PROPOSAL:

The potential benefits include:

The orderly development of the Box Grove area, in accordance with the objectives of the Box Grove Secondary Plan and Community Design Plan.

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. The concerns/issues raised to date may include, but are not limited to the following:

Compatibility of the proposed lot sizes with existing adjacent development

The Box Grove Secondary Plan stipulates that in reviewing applications for development on lands abutting the existing community of Box Grove, the Town shall have regard for compatibility in terms of built form and character and that the Town will ensure that impacts related to overshadowing, privacy and amenity, including the loss of mature vegetation, are minimized. The lots within the plan of subdivision which abut the existing community will be assessed against these criteria.

Timing of required road link to the Rouge Bank Drive extension

The Town is currently in discussions with the owners of the abutting property to the north (the Starzinsky/DiDomenici property) to acquire the lands for the Rouge Bank Drive extension from 9^th Line to the 9^th Line By-Pass as well as a portion of the Community Parkland. The required local road link south from the Rouge Bank Drive extension to the proposed subdivision will also be provided through this acquisition process. Development within the draft plan of subdivision will not be able to proceed before the link is obtained and a construction schedule established.

Appropriate treatment of 9^th Line Tributary

The draft plan will be assessed against the environmental policies of the Official Plan and Secondary Plan to ensure that the stormwater management and open space blocks shown on the plan adequately address policies relating to the 9^th Line Tributary, including provision of an appropriate environmental buffer.

Consideration of the heritage dwelling on 14^th Avenue

The dwelling on the subject site is identified as a heritage resource in the Box Grove Secondary Plan, and is located within the historic hamlet of Box Grove, an area that is potentially a future heritage conservation district study area. The application is yet to be considered by Heritage Markham.

FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:

There are no financial implications for the Town in this report.

ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS:

Appropriate treatment of the 9^th Line Tributary, and any other environmental issues identified during the review of the application by the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority and the Town, will be addressed in the conditions of draft approval.

BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:

The applications were circulated to internal departments and external agencies for comment.

Public meeting should be held to obtain public input

It would be appropriate to hold a Public Meeting to obtain comments on the applications for subdivision approval and zoning by-law amendments.

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

ATTACHMENTS:

Figure 1: Location Map

Figure 2: Area Context/Zoning

Figure 3: Aerial Map

Figure 4: Proposed Plan of Subdivision

Figure 5: Plan of subdivision as it relates to Community Design Plan