RECOMMENDATION:
That the Development Services
Commission report entitled “RECOMMENDATION REPORT - Sierra
Lane Town Villas Inc. - Southeast corner of Bur Oak Avenue and Swan Park Road,
Swan Lake community, Blocks 16 - 20, Plan 65M-3482, Application for site plan
approval to permit 163 condominium townhouse units” be received;
And that the application submitted by Sierra Lane Town Villas Inc. for
site plan approval to permit a 163 unit condominium
townhouse development on Blocks 16 - 20, Plan 65M-3482 at the southeast corner
of Bur Oak Avenue and Swan Park Road
within the Swan Lake community, be approved in part (82
units) subject to the following conditions:
1. That final site plan and elevation
drawings be submitted to the satisfaction of the Commissioner of Development
Services.
2. That the Owner comply with all requirements of the Town and authorized
public agencies, to the satisfaction of the Commissioner of Development
Services.
3. That the Owner enter into an agreement with the Swan Lake Village Condominium
Corporations granting permission for the proposed development to drain into the
internal storm and sanitary systems.
4. That the Owner submit an application to and obtain all required variance
approvals from the Committee of Adjustment.
5. That the Owner enter into a site plan agreement with the Town, containing
all standard and special provisions and requirements of the Town and public
agencies.
6. That the site plan approval shall lapse
after a period of three years commencing June 21, 2005 in the event a site plan
agreement is not executed within that period.
That Sierra Lane Town Villas Inc. be granted servicing allocation for 82 units (Phase 1) from the
existing Town reserve (322 units);
That Sierra Lane Town Villas Inc. (Phase 2) be
granted a servicing allocation of 81 units, such allocation to be from the total allocation
available for the Swan Lake Secondary Plan area, contingent on York
Region confirming its acceptance of Markham’s proposed flow control option, as discussed in the February 15, 2005 report on Servicing
Allocation from the Director of Engineering and
the Director of Planning and
Urban Design
(hereafter referred to as the “flow control option”);
That the applicant agree to pay their proportionate share of the Hwy.
48 flow control measures, to the satisfaction of the Director of Enigneering;
That site plan approval for Phase 2 be delegated to the Commissioner
of Development Services, to be issued once the Region confirms its
acceptance of the flow control option;
That the Town reserves the right to revoke or reallocate the servicing
allocation should the development not proceed in a timely manner;
And that the
Region of York be advised of the servicing allocation
for this development.
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this report
is to recommend the phased approval of an application for site plan approval to
permit 163 condominium townhouse units within the Swan Lake Secondary Plan
Area, but not within the existing gated community. The report also deals with servicing
allocation by recommending that phase 1 (82 units) be granted servicing
allocation from the existing Town reserve and that Phase 2 approval for 81 units be issued upon York Region confirming its acceptance of
Markham’s proposed flow control option.
BACKGROUND:
Property
and Area Context
The subject lands are
comprised of approximately 1.66 ha (4.1 acres) at the southeast corner of Bur Oak Avenue and
Swan Park Road. The site is presently vacant with no
significant vegetation or natural features.
To the south are 2 storey
townhouses within Swan Lake Village. To the west,
across Swan Park Road, are single family
and semi-detached residences within the Greensborough community. A site plan
application for multi-unit residential buildings has been submitted by Daniels SLV
Corporation for the vacant lands to the east, abutting Bur Oak Avenue. To the north across Bur
Oak Avenue are lane-based
townhouses and semi-detached dwellings. There are also vacant lands to the
north, immediately surrounding the Greensborough Town Centre Park, that are
zoned to permit three storey mixed-use buildings.
Official Plan and Zoning By-law
The subject lands are
designated Low Density (Area
II) Housing by the Swan Lake Secondary Plan (PD 30-1). This designation provides for a variety of
dwelling types having an average net site density of all units (in this
designation) within the range of 17
to 37 units per hectare (6.9 to 14.9
units per acre) and a maximum
height of 4 storeys for multiple-unit buildings. The
lands are zoned Residential Two - Hold (R2*1 [H]) by By-law 177-96. The zoning
includes a site specific provision which restricts permitted uses to multiple-unit
buildings only.
Proposal
The applicant is proposing to construct 163 condominium townhouse units
in 11 building blocks, primarily in a “back to back” format. Each building block is proposed to be 3 storeys high. Parking
is provided in garages below the units and visitor parking is provided between
the building blocks. The development is not proposed to be part of the Swan Lake Village retirement community and will be separated
from the retirement community by fencing.
An application for draft plan of
condominium approval will be submitted following execution of a site plan
agreement.
DISCUSSION:
The
proposed site plan complies with the Swan Lake Secondary Plan, Urban Design Plan and Master Plan
The Swan Lake Secondary Plan permits the
proposed built form and density. The Urban Design and Master Plan for
Swan Lake requires higher buildings (3-4 storeys) along more prominent
streets such as Bur Oak Avenue and Chancery Road and for the buildings to respond to perimeter locations by
addressing the street and defining the character of residential and other
precincts. The proposed development accommodates these requirements.
The applicant will need to apply
for minor variances to the provisions of the zoning by-law
The zoning of the subject lands
incorporates detailed site specific regulations to ensure that the lands are
developed in accordance with the Swan Lake Master Plan.
A
number of minor variances to the zoning by-law may be required to permit the
proposed development. The possible need for these arises primarily because of
the development’s exclusion from the Swan Lake retirement community, a scenario
not envisaged by the zoning by-law.
Variances
may be required to permit:
· multiple-unit buildings without
common interior hallways, whereas the By-law requires multiple-unit buildings with
common internal hallways
· a minimum setback of 3.5 m from a
public street; whereas, the By-law required a minimum setback of 6 m from a
public street
· a reduction in the number of visitor
parking spaces from 41 to 35
· parking to be provided at grade; whereas
the By-law requires parking to be located below grade. (The requirement that
all parking be below grade was intended to ensure that there would not be a
large surface parking lot within the retirement community.) The parking for the
proposed development will be effectively obscured from public view and from the
retirement community as the parking is located in garages below the units and visitor
parking is provided between the building blocks.
·
a maximum of 12 units per floor; whereas, the By-law permits a maximum
of 8 units per floor
The applicant will be required to apply
to remove the H (Holding) provision from the residential zoning of the lands,
following execution of a site plan agreement.
Development of the subject lands
outside of Swan Lake Village Retirement community is acceptable
Development of the subject lands outside
the retirement community will allow the proposed buildings to address Bur Oak Avenue
directly. This will integrate the proposed development into the Greensborough
community, encourage pedestrian activity on Bur Oak Avenue
and support the future commercial uses in the Greensborough Town Centre.
Swan
Lake
Village
representatives have expressed support for the proposal
Representatives of the Swan Lake Village condominium corporations (Village Amenity
Committee) and owners of the abutting vacant lands (Daniels and Fram) have been
consulted by the applicant and are generally supportive of the proposed
development.
The
proposed site plan is consistent with the Greensborough and Swan Lake Design Plans
The Greensborough Community Design Plan and the Swan
Lake Urban Design Guidelines envisage a medium to high density housing form for these
lands. The plans identify such density as being supportive of public transit on
Bur Oak Avenue and of the commercial uses proposed for the Greensborough Town
Centre.
The
site plan and building elevations are acceptable subject to minor refinements
The buildings are to be clad
in brick with stone features. Accents are created through the use of metal and
tinted glass railings and stone copings located around doors and windows as
well as other strategic locations on the facades.
An
agreement between the Swan Lake Village Condominium Corporations and Sierra
Lane Town Villas may be required to accommodate the Fire Department’s
development standards in regard to unobstructed access. This will be addressed
prior to approval of the final plans to be attached to the site plan agreement.
The
site plan conforms with the Town’s Waste Management Standards
Waste, recycling and organics will be picked up from the interior
roadway by the Town. The future
condominium corporation will be responsible for snow removal and all
landscaping, private utilities and road maintenance.
Available servicing allocation
allows only Phase 1 of this development to proceed at this time
The November 2000 subdivision agreement between
Swan Lake Markham Community Ltd./Daniels SLV Corp. and
the Town includes a clause allocating sanitary sewer capacity and water supply
for a total of 1500 people within Swan Lake Village. Swan Lake Village is currently comprised of 511 units, with
approval for an additional 44 units. This represents a total of 999 persons,
based on the 1.8 persons/unit as per the Swan Lake Secondary Plan. The Town Solicitor has advised that pursuant
to this clause in the subdivision agreement the Town is committed to providing
servicing allocation for the remaining 501 persons which represents 278
units. Pursuant to this legal
commitment, staff recommend that
Sierra Lane Town Villas Inc. be granted servicing allocation for 82 units at
this time, from the existing Town reserve (322 units). This will allow Sierra to proceed with its
first phase of development. An
additional 178 unit allocation pursuant to the Swan Lake Subdivision Agreement
is addressed in two other reports on this Agenda (Borron/Fram and Daniels SLV).
Approval of Phase 2 should be delegated to staff and is
conditional on Regional acceptance of Markham’s flow control
option
Final approval
of Phase 2 of this development (81 units) is conditional on York
Region confirming its acceptance of Markham’s proposed flow control option, as
discussed in the February 15, 2005 report on Servicing Allocation from the Director
of Engineering and the Director of Planning and Urban Design. The staff recommendation includes provisions delegating site plan approval
for Phase 2 to the Commissioner of Development Services, once the Region confirms
its acceptance of the flow control option.
An agreement between the Swan Lake Village Condominium Corporations
and Sierra Lane Town Villas will be required to allow their development to
drain into the internal storm and sanitary sewer systems.
FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:
No financial implications are
to be considered in this report.
ENGAGE 21ST. CONSIDERATIONS:
Managed
Growth
The
development of these lands represents an orderly completion of the Swan Lake
community.
BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:
This application has been circulated to all
relevant departments and outside agencies.
Their comments have been addressed in this report.
ATTACHMENTS:
Figure 1 – Location Map
Figure 2 – Area Context and Zoning
Figure 3 – Air Photo
Figure 4 – Site Plan
Figure 5 – Elevations
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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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Figure 1
DOCUMENT: Q:\Development\Planning\APPL\SITEPLAN\05 007146 Sierra Lane\rpt.doc
AGENT: Christopher S. Matson
Matson,
McConnell Ltd.
2489 Bloor Street West, Suite 200
Toronto Ontario M6S 1R6
Tel:
416-348-0077
Fax:
416-348-0092
LOCATION
MAP:
