DEVELOPMENT SERVICES COMMITTEE

 

 

 

 

 

TO:

Mayor and Members of Council

 

 

 

 

FROM:

Valerie Shuttleworth, Director of Planning and Urban Design

Jim Baird, Commissioner of Development Services

 

 

 

 

PREPARED BY:

Geoff Day - Planner, East Development District

 

 

 

 

DATE OF MEETING:

October 18, 2005

 

 

 

 

SUBJECT:

Recommendation Report

Application for Site Plan Approval

Cranford Developments Ltd.

Proposed Gas Bar, Car Wash and Drive Through Restaurant

Southwest corner of Highway 48 and Major Mackenzie Drive East (9982 Highway 48)

Wismer Commons Community

 

 

SC 04 021259

 

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT the Site Plan application (SC 04-021259) submitted by Cranford Developments Ltd. for a  gas bar, car wash and drive through restaurant at 9982 Highway 48, be endorsed for approval, with the following conditions:

 

1.     That final site plan, building elevation and landscape drawings be submitted to the satisfaction of the Commissioner of Development Services. 

 

2.      That the Owner enter into a site plan agreement with the Town containing, in addition to all standard and special provisions and requirements of the Town and public agencies, the following provisions:

 

a.    provisions to ensure that the Owner maintains, at his expense, the section of the realigned Mount Joy Creek located within the subject property and further that in the event the watercourse is not maintained to the satisfaction of the Town, that the Town can enter onto the lands, clean the site, and charge back the costs associated with the clean up to the owner on his tax bill(s).

 

b.   that the approved landscape plan for the Mount Joy Creek be secured in the site plan agreement. 

 

c.    provisions to secure the Owner’s financial and other obligations for the required upgrading of the Markham Road culvert to the satisfaction of MTO and the TRCA.

 

3.    That prior to execution of the site plan agreement, the following items be submitted to the satisfaction of the Commissioner of Development Services;

      

a.    a release from the Trustee of the Wismer Commons Developers’ Group (OPA No. 37) confirming that the Owner has contributed its proportionate share of the costs required by the Developer’s Group Agreement.

 

b.         a maintenance easement to the Town over the portion of the reconfigured Mount Joy Creek to ensure that the watercourse is properly maintained by the property owner and water flow is not restricted, and to allow the Town the right of access to perform any necessary inspections and remedial works. 

 

c.        written confirmation signed by the Owner and the operator of the gas bar will provide a full service component to assist the elderly and persons with physical disabilities or limitations in accessing the pumps without encumbrances between the hours of 9:00 A.M. to 9:00 P.M. seven days per week, and install signage to this effect, to the satisfaction of the Commissioner of Development Services.

 

4.      And that a site plan agreement be executed prior to final site plan approval;

 

5.      And further that this site plan approval shall lapse after a period of three years commencing October 18, 2005 in the event a site plan agreement is not executed within that period.

 

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this report is to recommend approval of an application for Site Plan Approval for an gas bar, a car wash and a Tim Horton’s/Wendy’s restaurant at 9982 Highway 48.

 

BACKGROUND:

Property and Area Context

The subject property is approximately 1.1 hectares (2.7 acres) in area and is located at the southwest corner of Major Mackenzie Drive East and Highway 48, within the Wismer Commons Community (see Figure 1).  The property is vacant.

 

To the north across Major Mackenzie Drive East are vacant lands and two dwellings fronting onto Highway 48. To the east, across Highway 48, is an industrial building (Emerson Electric). The adjacent property, with the exception of the portion occupied by Mount Joy Creek (see Figure 3), was rezoned Major Commercial (MJC*187) in 2003, permitting shopping centre uses.

 

Secondary Plan and Zoning

The Wismer Commons Secondary Plan (OPA #36) designates the lands Major Commercial Area, Open Space and Hazard Lands.  The Major Commercial designation provides for a range of retail, service, community, institutional and recreational uses including the proposed gas bar car wash and drive thru restaurant uses. 

 

The lands are zoned Automotive Commercial One (Hold) - AC1 (H), Major Commercial Area Exception 221 (Hold) - MJC*221(H) and Open Space One - OS1 by By-law 177-96 (see Figure 2). 

 

PROPOSAL:

 

The applicant is proposing a 12 pump Esso gas bar, associated 167 m2 “On the Run” convenience store/drive through restaurant and a 110 m2 “Touch-less” car wash on the northern portion of the site.  To the south of the gas bar the applicant is proposing 537 m2 118 seat combined Tim Horton’s/Wendy’s restaurant with associated drive throughs (see Figure 4).  Access, on site circulation and parking will be fully integrated.  Landscaped areas have been distributed throughout the site to create a compatible and uniform design to the development.

 

OPTIONS/DISCUSSION:

 

Zoning, realignment of Mount Joy Creek and previous site plan application approved in 1999

Mount Joy Creek (formerly known as Exhibition Creek) previously diagonally traversed the subject property and the adjacent properties to the west and south.  In 1999, Council approved a plan to realign Mount Joy Creek within a 14 metre wide naturalized corridor along the boundary between the subject property and the adjoining property at 9900 Highway 48.  The creek has been realigned in accordance with the plans approved by the Town, the MOE and the TRCA, and is to remain in private ownership.   The TRCA has also approved landscape plans for the stream corridor providing for a diverse and natural planting scheme including 33 deciduous trees, 22 coniferous trees and 233 shrubs distributed along the length of the Creek. As the plants mature the Creek will become a visual and environmental amenity.

 

In 1999, Council also rezoned the portion of the subject property south of the previous alignment of Major MacKenzie Drive and granted site plan approval of a gas bar and car wash. 

 

Major MacKenzie Drive was subsequently realigned to the north by the Region to resolve the substandard curve east of Highway 48.

 

Zoning extended onto former Major Mackenzie Drive road allowance in 2003

The applicant subsequently purchased the surplus former road allowance between his lands and the realigned Major Mackenzie Drive from York Region and applied to extend the zoning onto these lands.  The additional site area permitted a Tim Horton’s/Wendy’s to be added to the plan. At the September 23, 2003 public meeting to consider the extension of the zoning onto the additional lands, Committee directed staff to ensure that significant landscaping be provided along the realigned Mount Joy Creek, and to investigate whether the creek corridor should come into Town ownership.  Council also directed that both components of the proposed development (being the gas bar/car wash and the Tim Horton’s/Wendy’s) be treated as one development, and that appropriate landscaping features be provided to identify the significance of the Major Mackenzie Drive and Highway 48 intersection.

 

Staff reported back to Council that as the realigned creek corridor is isolated and cannot become part of a connected trail system, there is no benefit to having it come into Town ownership. 

 

Highway 48 Urban Design Study

A staff report recommending endorsement of the consultant’s final report for the Highway 48 Urban Design Study is also before Committee on October 18.

 

In consideration of the existing approvals for the gas bar/car wash, the acknowledgement by the Town of the  Tim Horton’s/Wendy’s through the 2003 rezoning, that the subject lands are at the periphery of and isolated from the remainder of the study area, and further that the intersection of Highway 48 and Major Mackenzie Drive East is an appropriate location for a gas bar/car wash and auto-oriented restaurant uses, staff are satisfied that site plan approval should be granted for the proposed development. 

 

Acknowledging that the proposed development is highly auto oriented, staff focused on maximizing opportunities to reduce the impact of the extensive paved areas and minimal built form, through landscaping.  The proposed site plan has a wide landscape strip adjoining Highway 48 and Major MacKenzie Drive incorporating large groupings of trees, shrubs and decorative metal fencing to provide screening for the drive through and create a strong urban edge to the street line.  Within the site, landscape islands have been enlarged to accommodate an extensive variety of plant materials.  All the landscape areas will also be intensively planted to give the site an aesthetic appearance when viewed from Highway 48 and Major MacKenzie Drive.  In keeping with the naturalized plantings within the Mount Joy Creek corridor, groupings of native plant materials are proposed in the landscape strip along the creek’s top-of-bank.  The perimeter landscaping in combination with the plantings within the Mount Joy Creek corridor will significantly buffer the proposed development from the future residential development to the west.  Proposed landscape features and designs are shown in the landscape plan (Figure 6).

 

Development to be phased

The applicant is seeking approval of the entire development at this time.  However, the Ministry of Transportation will approve only one entrance to Highway 48. The applicant is therefore proposing to develop only the gas bar/car wash component at this time.  Construction of the Tim Horton’s/Wendy’s restaurant component, which requires the second entrance to Highway 48 to function, will be deferred until  this section of Highway 48 is transferred to the Town and the second access to Highway 48 can be approved.  

 

Conditions of approval

The staff recommendation of this report includes the following special provisions:

 

  • provisions to ensure that the Owner maintains, at his expense, the section of the realigned Mount Joy Creek located within the subject property and that in the event the watercourse is not maintained to the satisfaction of the Town, that the Town can enter onto the lands, clean the site, and charge back the costs associated with the clean up to the owner on his tax bill(s). 

 

  • a requirement that the Owner convey a maintenance easement to the Town over the portion of the reconfigured Mount Joy Creek, to ensure that the watercourse is properly maintained by the property owner and water flow is not restricted, and to allow the Town the right of access to perform any necessary inspections and remedial works.

 

  • a requirement that the approved landscaping plan for the portion of the realigned Mount Joy Creek be secured in the site plan agreement. 

 

  • provisions to secure the Owner’s financial and other obligations for the required upgrading of the Markham Road culvert to the satisfaction of MTO and the TRCA. 

 

Full service component of gas bar

 

On September 13, 2005, Council passed the following resolution:

“That the Canadian Petroleum Products Institute be requested to review with its Members the need to ensure that all gas stations make provision for full service to patrons having special needs;

And that the Province of Ontario be requested to address the issue of accessibility to gas station service in Provincial policies and guidelines pertaining to the accessibility needs of Ontarians;

And that the Town of Markham Council and Staff use all available tools to ensure the provision of a full service component for all future gas station facilities in the Town of Markham;

And that the Mayor’s Office write to all gas station operators in the Town of Markham to request them to review their current operations to see what can be done to accommodate patrons with special needs;

And further that copies of this resolution be forwarded to the Canadian Petroleum Products Institute, the Province of Ontario, Region of York municipalities, the Association of Municipalities of Ontario and the Markham Advisory Committee for Accessibility.”

The resolution was forwarded to the Owner on September 14th, 2005 requesting them to advise Imperial Oil, the proposed gas bar tenant, of the resolution and to provide for this mandate in the final plans.  Imperial Oil has received a copy of the resolution.  On October 6th Imperial Oil confirmed via email that consideration will be given to providing "split service" at this location between the hours of 9:00 A.M. to 9:00 P.M seven days a week.  At the very minimum, Imperial Oil has committed to providing a full serve component to all patrons with special needs between the hours of 9:00 A.M. to 9:00 P.M. seven days per week.  Appropriate signage will be installed to this effect.

 

In accordance with Council’s direction, the staff recommendation includes a condition that the Owner and the operator of the proposed gas bar provide written confirmation prior to execution of the site plan agreement that a full service component will be provided to assist the elderly and

 

 

persons with physical disabilities or limitations in accessing the pumps without encumbrances to the satisfaction of the Commissioner of Development Services.

 

FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:

No financial considerations at this time.

 

ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS:

The site plan application has been circulated to the TRCA and their requirements are reflected in the conditions of site plan approval.

 

ACCESSIBILITY CONSIDERATIONS:

The site plan shows 1 handicap parking space located close to the main entrance of the building and in compliance with the Town’s parking by-law.

 

BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:

The proposed development has been reviewed by Town Departments and external agencies.  Department/agency requirements have been incorporated in the conditions of site plan approval.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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 Location: AMANDA/04 021259 SC/DOCUMENTS TAB/RECOMMENDATION REPORT

 

ATTACHMENTS:

Figure 1 – Applicant/Agent & Location Map

Figure 2 – Area Context/Zoning

Figure 3 – Aerial Photo

Figure 4 – Site Plan

Figure 5 – Landscape Plan

Figure 6 – Elevations

Figure 7 – Elevations

Figure 8 – Elevations

Figure 9 – Elevations

 

 

APPLICANT/AGENT:

 

David Johnston

David Johnston Architect Ltd.

8 Maple Lane                                                               Tel.:  (905) 479-9992

Unionville, Ontario  L3R 1R2                            Fax:  (905) 479-9985