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TO: |
Mayor and Members of Council |
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FROM: |
Jim Baird, Commissioner of Development Services Valerie Shuttleworth, Director of Planning &
Urban Design |
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PREPARED BY: |
Geoff Day Planner – East Development Team |
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DATE OF MEETING: |
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SUBJECT: |
PRELIMINARY REPORT Application by Bruce N. Huntley Contracting, for Zoning By-law Amendment North and south sides of |
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ZA 05-006325 |
RECOMMENDATION:
That Staff be authorized to schedule a Public Meeting
to consider zoning amendment application ZA 05-006325 submitted by Bruce N. Huntley
Contracting for the rezoning
of land north and south of Anderson Avenue on the east side of Highway 48, from
Select Industrial and Warehousing (M.I.) to Major Commercial Area, when the final reports for the Highway 48 Urban
PURPOSE:
The purpose
of this report is to provide preliminary information regarding an application
to rezone lands
north and south of Anderson Avenue on the east side of Highway 48 for major commercial uses, and
to recommend that Committee authorize the scheduling of a public meeting once
the final report for the Highway 48 Urban Design Study and Retail Impact Study
have been received and endorsed by Council.
BACKGROUND:
Property and Area Context
The subject lands are vacant and comprise of Blocks
1, 2, 6 & 7 on Registered Plan 65M-2505, located on the north and south
sides of Anderson Avenue east of Highway 48 (see Figure 1). The areas of each
parcel are 0.80 ha (1.8 acres), 0.61 ha (1.52 acres), 1.05 ha (2.6 acres) and
1.09 ha (2.69 acres) respectively, for a total area of 3.55 ha (8.77 acres). There are a number of mature trees on the
subject site, north of
To the north and south are existing multi
tenant industrial buildings. To the west, across Highway 48, are vacant
lands owned by Wismer Markham Developments which are currently zoned for major
commercial uses. To the east, is the
existing GE
Consumer & Industrial Multi-lin Plant, and the
recently rezoned Olive Branch Community Church (see Figure 3).
Official Plan
and Zoning By-law
The subject lands are designated “Major Commercial
Area” in the Official Plan. They are
currently zoned Select Industrial and Warehousing (M.I.) under By-law
88-76 (see Figure 2).
Proposal:
Rezoning to
Major Commercial requested
The applicant is requesting the rezoning of the subject
properties to “Major Commercial” (MJC)
under By-law 177-96. A
concept plan has been submitted. However,
any approved site plan will need to have regard for the Highway 48 Urban Design Study which is
currently underway (see Figure 4).
POTENTIAL BENEFITS OF APPROVAL OF THE
PROPOSAL:
The
rezoning of the subject lands to commercial will implement the Major Commercial
designation of the Official Plan and will serve the shopping needs of the
growing communities of Greensborough,
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.
On
The Town subsequently retained John Winter to
undertake a retail impact study. On
February 15th, Mr. Winter presented the study results and his findings to the Development
Services Committee. The Town also retained
Tate Economic Research Inc. to conduct a peer review of Mr. Winter’s
study. This work is underway and is
expected to be completed by May of 2005.
The Town retained Brook Mcllroy Inc. to assist the
Town in developing an urban design and landscape vision for the commercial
district along Highway 48 between
1. The provision of a graceful transition
to the historic
2. A review of current and emerging best practice - not just in
the GTA, but throughout North America - for larger scale commercial
development;
3. The application of the principles of New Urbanism to the
commercial development, including:
• Transit supportiveness: opportunities to integrate
residential development and mixed commercial-residential development into the
study area
• “Walkability”: location and
requirements of pedestrian supportive routes
• Sense of Place: Structures scaled and massed to relate to
human scale; Open spaces with distinct edges and sense of containment; A more intimate “framed” streetscape for Highway 48
• “Taming” the vehicular environment: Strategies to
accommodate traffic without sacrificing the pedestrian environment.
The Town views this exercise as an opportunity to
“raise the bar” and identify innovative design ideas for Highway 48 and
adjacent lands. It is expected that the
work will be completed by May of 2005.
Therefore, before this application proceeds to a
public meeting, staff recommend that the final report
of the Highway 48 Urban Design Study and Retail Impact Study be received and
endorsed by Council as the results of the Urban Design Study will have a
bearing on the future development of the subject properties.
FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:
No financial
implications are to be considered in this report.
ENVIRONMENTAL
CONSIDERATIONS:
The application has been circulated to the
To date, a tree
inventory and preservation plan has not been submitted. It is recommended that the trees identified
in the tree inventory for preservation be incorporated into any required
landscape plan during the site plan approval process.
BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:
The requested
rezoning applications are currently in circulation to other Town Departments
and agencies for review and comments.
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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 |
NOTE: Preliminary Report file Located in the ZA
05-006325 folder in Amanda under the Documents Tab
ATTACHMENTS:
Figure 1 - Location
Map
Figure 2- Area
Context/Zoning
Figure 3 - Aerial
Photo
Figure 4 –
Conceptual Site Plan
APPLICANT / AGENT: Mitchell Brown
Mitamar Financial Limited
Telephone: 416-447-7221
Figure No.1
