RECOMMENDATION:
That the staff report entitled “Recommendation Report: 4491 Highway 7 East (R. Corona Properties
Corporation) South east corner of Highway 7 East and Main Street Unionville;
Application for zoning amendment to permit additional uses, Concession 5, Part
Lot 10, 64R-3604 Part 1(ZA
04-026009)” be received;
And that the zoning by-law
amendment application (ZA 04-026009) to amend By-law 122-72 as amended,
submitted by R. Corona Properties Corporation to permit additional uses on the
lands municipally known as 4491 Highway 7 East be approved and the draft Zoning
By-law, attached as Appendix ‘A’ to the staff report, be finalized and enacted.
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this report is to recommend
approval regarding a zoning amendment application submitted by R. Corona Properties Corporation pertaining
to the commercial building at 4491 Highway 7 East (former Bank of Nova Scotia
building). The application is to amend the
list of permitted uses from only a bank to introduce additional commercial and
retail uses consistent with the underlying General Commercial zone category.
BACKGROUND:
Site location
and area context
The subject property is located in the Unionville
Heritage Conservation Planning District, at the south west corner of Highway 7
East and Main Street Unionville South.
The existing building was constructed in 1975 to accommodate a bank and
a site specific by-law (By-law amendment 98-75) was applied to the lands at
that time. In September 2003, the Bank
of Nova Scotia vacated the property. The
building has remained vacant since then, and the Bank of Nova Scotia lease is
due to expire in April.
The site is flanked by single detached residential
dwellings to the south and commercial plazas to the west. To the east of the property, across Main
Street Unionville, is the heritage Esso Gas Station. North of the site, on the north side of
Highway 7 East are businesses and residential homes within the Unionville
Heritage District.
DISCUSSION:
The proposal
conforms to the Official Plan and Secondary Plan
The lands are designated Commercial Corridor Area
in the Official Plan which provides for a variety of uses including retail,
service, office, banks and financial institutions, hotels and motels,
entertainment, day care centres, private and commercial schools, places of
worship, restaurants, fitness centres.
The lands are also designated Commercial Corridor
Area in the Secondary Plan (OPA 21), which contains similar provisions as
outlined above, and includes specific design requirements pertaining to the
location of the building and parking.
The Secondary Plan also identifies the need to minimize the points of
access along Highway 7 East and encourages joint access across adjacent
parcels.
A zoning
amendment is required
The applicant has requested additional permitted uses. The General Commercial (C1) zone category
found in this area generally includes the following uses:
- Animal
hospitals or veterinary establishments;
- Art
or antique shops;
- Bakeries
but not including the manufacturing of baked goods or products;
- Banks,
financial institutions or money lending agencies;
- Business
and professional offices;
- Clubs
whether fraternal or operated for profit;
- Commercial
schools;
- Dressmaking
or tailoring;
- Drug
stores;
- Dry
cleaning and laundry depots;
- Medical
clinics;
- Photography
studios;
- Public
and private parking areas;
- Recreational
establishments;
- Restaurants;
- Retail
stores;
- Service
shops,
- Personal
service and repair shops; and
- Upholstering
and furniture repair establishments.
A Parking Study
has been submitted and reviewed by staff
The applicant retained a consultant to provide a
Parking Utilization Study to justify and outline a rationale for the
feasibility and types of additional uses within the C1 zone that can be
accommodated on this site in relation to the parking supply currently
available. The Parking Utilization Study provides a comparative analysis of
other sites similar to the stand-alone nature of the subject lands. The study also provides the Town of Markham Parking By-law requirement for each use considered in the
study.
The findings of the study support additional uses including: animal hospitals or veterinary establishments,
pharmacies, medical clinics, retail stores, business and professional offices,
personal service shops, banks, financial institutions or money lending
agencies, art or antique shops, and upholstery and furniture repair
establishments within the ground floor only.
Staff proposes that retail uses not be permitted in the basement and it strictly
be used for storage. This is reflected
in the site specific by-law amendment attached as Appendix ‘A’.
Planning staff, in consultation with staff of the Heritage section, have
reviewed the appropriateness of certain uses due to the limited available
parking supply and neighbouring uses.
Based on these discussions, it was agreed that animal hospitals or
veterinary establishments, commercial schools, medical clinics, public and
private parking areas, and restaurants would not be appropriate. The
applicant has agreed to the reduced list of permitted uses proposed by staff,
including that restaurant uses should not be permitted in this location as the
existing building is not designed for such a use.
When
the original site plan was approved in 1975, the site was only required to
provide a total of 15 parking spaces.
The Town of Markham
Parking By-law 28-97 has since been enacted
which specifies a reduced minimum size required for parking spaces. The applicant has reflected the new standards
on the site plan which now indicates 18 spaces can be accommodated on-site. Upon review and correspondence with the
resident behind the building, staff believe that
proposed spaces 9 and 13 should be eliminated due to operational and access
constraints, resulting in a total parking supply of 16 spaces (refer to Figure
4). The by-law will be constructed to
require a minimum of 16 spaces with the basement limited to storage only in
conjunction with the list of uses to be permitted.
The applicant
has been advised of the Main Street Unionville EA
and Streetscape Study
The applicant has been advised that the Engineering (Capital Works) Department, in conjunction with
the Planning and Urban Design Department, is
undertaking a Main Street Unionville Environmental Assessment Study and the
Main Street Unionville Streetscape Study.
Staff have advised
that any future alterations to the site would require compliance with the emerging
design guidelines for Main Street Unionville.
Residents expressed concerns with retail uses at
the public meeting
At the January 25,
2005 public meeting, three
residents addressed Committee. All had different
views on the appropriate uses for this location. Richard Talbot, President of the Unionville Villagers
Association (UVA), stated that the subject property is a key corner location in
the revitalization of Main Street and Highway 7. He indicated that he was not in support of
banks, business and professional office uses, but he is in support of more
‘animating’ uses such as retail stores, restaurants and service shop uses. A resident of Unionville suggested that a
wider range of uses should be permitted, while another resident, whose property
backs onto the subject property, provided a petition of 12 signatures from East Drive residents objecting to retail
uses. Their concerns included increased noise and traffic, potential increased
hours of operation, inadequate parking, and congestion at the bus stop caused
by additional parking spaces. Accumulated
snow storage on the site, and safety issues for children playing in the area
were also identified. The spokesperson for the residents indicated support for
a business use that would minimize hours of operation. Committee agreed that the vacant site needs
to become a viable property again, and that a variety of permitted uses may
help in this regard.
Staff advised Committee they would consult with
members of the public regarding appropriate uses, in consultation with the owner. Staff contacted Richard Talbot and the
neighbouring residential property owner, requesting feedback pertaining to a potential
list of retail uses.
At the
time of writing this report, no additional feedback was received by the residents
of East
Drive, however staff have received comments from two
members of the UVA and Richard Talbot.
This correspondence is attached as Appendix ‘B’ and ‘C’. Many of the concerns noted are related to
land use and compliance with the current Main Street revitalization efforts being undertaken by
the Town. Staff agree, that while there are
redevelopment opportunities for this site, the zoning application currently
under consideration is not the appropriate vehicle to address streetscaping and
urban design matters. This would be accomplished through a future site
plan application or through a comprehensive plan to redevelop this site and commercial/retail
plazas to the west of the site as a whole.
Staff
note that while the designation within the Official Plan (as discussed earlier
within this report) provides for a broad range of uses, staff propose a range
of uses appropriate to the site context,
site constraints and consistent with the neighbouring low density
community. Staff has been advised through
recent correspondence from Richard Talbot (attached as Appendix ‘D’) on behalf
of the UVA confirming they would support staff’s recommendations.
The information provided by the residents has been
incorporated into the draft by-law attached as Appendix ‘A’ by amending the
list of permitted uses and specifying specific uses to be prohibited.
The applicant has been requested to consider
shared access with the adjacent property
Staff has requested the applicant to investigate the possibility of
shared access opportunities with the adjacent plaza to the west and fronting
onto Highway 7 East. The applicant has
informed staff that their attempt to negotiate with the neighbouring plaza has
been unsuccessful. Staff has informed
the applicant that any future site plan amendments related to the property or
the adjacent plaza would require the landowners to enter into a shared access
agreement to be registered on title.
ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS:
None at this time.
ACCESSIBILITY CONSIDERATIONS:
None at
this time.
ENGAGE 21ST CONSIDERATIONS:
None at
this time.
FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:
There are no financial
implications for the Town in this report.
BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:
The application has been circulated to
internal departments and external agencies for comment. All comments and/or requirements have been reflected in the final
report.
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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: Aerial Photograph
Figure 3: Zoning / Context Map
Figure 4: Existing Site Plan
Figure 5: Recent Survey and
Proposed Parking Configuration
Appendix ‘A’ – Draft Bylaw
Appendix ‘B’ – Email correspondence from Reid McAlpine and Brian Roman
Appendix ‘C’ – Letter from Unionville Villagers Association
Appendix ‘D’ – Email correspondence from Richard Talbot
APPLICANT / AGENT: Ms. Sandra Corona
(Manager)
R.Corona
Properties Corp.
175
Toryork Drive
North
York, ON M9L
2Y7
Telephone: 416-748-5504
Fax: 416-743-1864
DOCUMENT:
Q:\Development\Planning\APPL\ZONING\04 026009 R.
Corona Properties\DSC-final report.doc
Figure 1: Location Map
