RECOMMENDATION
THAT the staff report dated June 21, 2005 entitled “Request from Lebovic Enterprises
to locate a stormwater management pond serving a
proposed Stouffville residential subdivision, within
the boundaries of the Town of Markham,” be received;
AND THAT Lebovic Enterprises and the Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville be advised that the Town of Markham does not support
the location of the proposed stormwater management
pond within the boundaries of the Town of Markham.
PURPOSE
The purpose of this report is to provide information regarding a request
from Lebovic Enterprises to construct a stormwater management pond serving a proposed residential
subdivision in Stouffville within the Town of Markham, and to recommend
that the Town not support the proposal.
BACKGROUND
In 2003 the Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville
draft approved a residential plan of subdivision 19T(W)-98006,
located on the east side of 9th Line, immediately north of the
boundary between Markham and Stouffville, as per Figure 1. The applicant, Lebovic
Enterprises, proposes to locate one of the stormwater
management ponds serving this subdivision on lands owned by Lebovic
Enterprises within the Town of Markham, immediately south
of the proposed subdivision. The conditions of draft approval provide as
follows:
“1.30 The Owner acknowledges that if within two
years of receiving draft plan approval the Owner is not successful in securing
concurrence from the Town of Markham to site a stormwater
management facility in lands located in Part of Lot 31, Concession 9, Town of
Markham, between the Go Rail Corridor and the Ninth Line, then said stormwater management facility shall be built within the
boundaries of Block 1180, to the satisfaction of the Town and the Toronto
Region Conservation Authority.”
In September 2004, staff advised the engineering
consultant for Lebovic Enterproses
in writing that as a matter of policy, the Town of Markham could not support
the proposal to locate the proposed stormwater
management pond within the Town of Markham (see Appendix “A”).
In October 2004, Lebovic Enterpises, in a letter
addressed to Mayor Cousens (Appendix “B”) requested the Town to reconsider its
opposition to the proposal.
Staff met with Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville planning staff on April 13, 2005 and with Lloyd Cherniak of Lebovic Enterprises
on May 13, 2005 to discuss Lebovic’s proposal.
At the May 13 meeting Mr. Cherniak suggested
that Lebovic Enterprises would be willing to
financially compensate the Town of Markham for allowing the
pond within our boundaries.
DISCUSSION
Staff have reviewed the proposal and considered the
rationale provided by Lebovic Enterprises for
locating the subject pond in Markham and
the potential for financial compensation. Staff recommend that the Town not support
the proposal for the following reasons:
- The subject pond
can and should be accommodated within the plan of subdivision it will
serve.
- Lebovic
Enterprises is requesting to locate the pond in Markham in order to free up additional developable land
within their subdivision in Stouffville. While this would represent a
considerable benefit to Lebovic Enterprises, the
only potential benefit to the Town of Markham to having the pond located within the Town’s
boundaries would be the potential financial compensation.
- The practice of
the Town of Markham is to integrate stormwater
management ponds into the developments they serve, wherever possible. Ponds integrated into the community act
as
landscaped open space features, and are informally supervised by the
surrounding residents. The proposed pond would be isolated from the
community and therefore would not benefit from such informal
supervision.
- Notwithstanding
that the pond would be owned and maintained by the Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville, the Town of Markham could have some level of exposure to legal
liability as a result of the pond being within our boundaries.
- The subject
lands were rezoned from Rural Residential (RR4) to Rural Residential – Oak
Ridges Moraine (Countryside) [RR4-ORM(CS)] in
October 2003 to implement OPA 117.
Under the provisions of the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Act
(2001), the implementing zoning by-law for the Oak Ridges Moraine lands is
to be approved by the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. The Province has approved the OPA 117,
but has not approved the zoning. Stormwater management ponds as a “stand alone” use are not a permitted use in
either the RR4 or the RR4-ORM(CS) zone. The public use permissions of the by-law
would not apply in this instance because the pond would be owned and
operated by the Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville rather than the Town of Markham.
Therefore a re-zoning/minor variance would be required to permit
the proposed pond.
- The subject lands are designated “Oak Ridges
Moraine – Countryside Area” by the Official Plan, as amended by Official
Plan Amendment No. 117 (Oak Ridges Moraine) and is subject to the Oak
Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan.
While the Oak Ridges Moraine designation does not prohibit stormwater management ponds subject to the criteria
established in the Plan and OPA, the unusual situation of an urban
facility within the Oak Ridges Moraine serving a settlement area was not
contemplated or addressed in the Oak Ridges Moraine Plan.
FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS
None at this time.
BUSINESS UNITS AFFECTED
This matter was discussed with other potentially effected Town
departments including Legal Services and Operations and Assets Management.
ATTACHMENTS
Figure 1 – Location
Figure 2 – Air Photo
Appendix “A” – letter from
Town Engineering Department
Appendix “B” – letter from Lebovic Enterprises
Q:\Development\Engineering\REPORTS\2005\June\Report
re Stouffville SWM pond.doc
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Alan Brown, C.E.T
Director of Engineering
|
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Valerie
Shuttleworth, M.C.I.P., R.P.P.
Director of Planning and Urban
Design
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______________________________________
Jim Baird, M.C.I.P., R.P.P.
Commissioner of Development
Services
