RECOMMENDATION:
That a Public Meeting be
held to consider the zoning amendment application submitted by Bethany Lodge at 23 Second Street South to permit the
reconstruction of the long-term care facility.
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this report is to provide
preliminary information regarding a zoning amendment application by Bethany
Lodge, a long term care facility for seniors, to permit the demolition of the
existing 100-bed facility and construction of a new 128-bed facility that meets
current Ministry of Health standards.
Staff request a public meeting be scheduled to obtain public input on
the zoning application.
BACKGROUND:
Site description and area context
The lands affected by this application consist of approximately 2.18
hectares (5.38 acres) that comprise Bethany Lodge. The existing long-term care facility sits on
approximately 0.86 hectares (2.13 acres) of the west portion of the property,
while the easterly 1.32 ha (3.25 acres) supports a retirement home and
long-term lease condominium residences.
The site is located south of Highway 7 East, east of Kennedy Road, and west of Swansea Road (Figure 1).
Land uses to the west of the site include a church (Unionville Gospel
Hall), and beyond the church, on the west side of Kennedy Road is the Hyundai automobile dealership and shopping
plaza containing various restaurants and services. North of the site are various uses within shopping
plazas such as a grocery store, TD Canada Trust, pizza take-out, Coffee Time, and
an independent furniture store. Northeast
of the site is the existing Sunrise Senior Living Community and an existing neighbourhood comprised of
single detached homes. New homes under
construction are south and east of the subject lands.
The subject lands are owned and operated by Bethany Lodge (Christian
Care for Seniors) and contain a seniors long-term lease condominium residence (34 Swansea Road), a 40 bed retirement home, and a 101-bed long-term
care facility. All three components of
this property are integrated by sharing vehicular access and parking
opportunities. The retirement home and
long-term care facility currently share laundry and kitchen facilities. The arrangement will continue with the new
facility.
The proposed zoning and site plan
application is to replace the long-term care facility
In order to upgrade the long-term care portion of the facility to
current Ministry of Health standards, the applicant is proposing to temporarily
relocate current residents to the Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care located at 3560 Bathurst
Street in Toronto. The portion of Bethany Lodge (Christian Care for Seniors) consisting of the 101-bed,
long-term care facility will be demolished while maintaining the adjacent retirement
home intact. The construction of the
new 8,345.9 m² (89,837.5ft²), three storey
(11.9 metre) institutional building will consist of 128-beds for the long-term care of York Region seniors. The building has been designed, through
height, setbacks and landscaping to be compatible with the existing residential
neighbourhood while providing the amenity areas required for the residents
of the facility.
Concurrent with the review of the zoning application and the site plan
application Bethany Lodge intends to submit a demolition plan to the Building
Department for review. The site plan
application has been circulated to all Town departments and external agencies for review and
comment, and site plan approval will be addressed in the final report.
Current Official Plan
designation
The subject property is designated Institutional in the Official Plan
(revised 1987), as amended. This
designation is predominantly used to accommodate community, educational, health
care, governmental, or religious purposes, including hospitals, centres for the
disabled, nursing homes, homes for the aged, or similar residential health care
facilities. The proposed use is provided
for and an Official Plan amendment is not required.
Existing Zoning
The site is zoned Open Space Two (O2) per By-law 122-72 (as amended by
By-law 120-93 and 110-94), which permits the long term care facility. The applicant has submitted an application to
amend the side and rear yard development standards within the site specific
zoning by-law to accommodate the proposed new development. Staff
advise that amendments may also be required to accommodate the parking standards
proposed.
POTENTIAL BENEFITS OF APPROVAL OF THE
PROPOSAL:
Some of the anticipated
benefits of the proposal include:
§
Providing up-to-date medical care facilities for
the elderly within Markham and York Region;
§
Demolition and reconstruction of the facility will
provide 27 additional beds to the long-term care facility and meet current
Ministry of Health standard criteria;
§
The preservation of a number of mature trees on the
existing land parcel.
CONCERNS/ISSUES
TO BE RESOLVED:
The
application has been circulated to other Town Departments and applicable public
agencies for review and comment. The
following is a brief summary of concerns/issues raised to date:
§
Demolition of the existing
building requires review by the Building Department;
§
The requested zoning amendments
will bring the proposed development closer to the existing residents to the
south which will require sensitive treatment of the interface;
§
Bethany Lodge also manages the
senior’s residence and the adult lifestyle condominiums on the same site. Sufficient parking for the property as a
whole will need to be determined.
§
The site plan application will
proceed concurrently with the zoning application.
FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:
None at this time.
ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS:
None
at this time.
ACCESSIBILITY CONSIDERATIONS:
None at this time.
ENGAGE 21ST CONSIDERATIONS:
None at this time.
BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:
All Town
departments and external agencies have been circulated the application for
review and comment. These matters will
be addressed in detail in the recommendation report.
It would be appropriate to schedule a Public Meeting
to consider this application.
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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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ATTACHMENTS:
Figure 1: Location
Map
Figure 2: Area
Context/Zoning Map
Figure 3: Aerial
Photograph
Figure 4: Site
Plan
Figure 5: Elevations
Figure 6: Elevations
DOCUMENT:
Q:\Development\Planning\APPL\ZONING\05 007178 Bethany
Lodge\DSC Preliminary Report.doc
APPLICANT: Bethany Lodge
Contact: Basil Tambakis – Administrator
23
Second Street South
Unionville, Ontario L3R
2C2
Telephone: 905-477-3838
Fax: 905-477-2888
E-mail: bt@bethanylodge.org
AGENT: Montomery Sisam Architects
Contact: Sebastian Spataro
35 Britain Street
Toronto, Ontario M5A
1R7
Telephone: 416-364-8079
Fax: 416-364-7723
E-mail: sspataro@montgomerysisam.com
FIGURE
1: Location Map
