RECOMMENDATION:
That a Public Meeting be held to consider a zoning by-law
amendment application (File No. ZA 05 006909), and any required official plan
amendment application, by the Canadian National Railway Company to permit
commercial development near the southwest corner of Markham Road and 14th
Avenue.
And that staff schedule the Public Meeting after the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing has confirmed
the appropriate course of action with respect to the Parkway Belt West Plan as
it relates to the subject lands.
PURPOSE:
The
purpose of this report is to provide preliminary information regarding a
rezoning application by the Canadian National Railway Company to obtain commercial zoning for a strip of
land near the southwest corner of Markham Road and 14th Avenue. The report recommends that a Public Meeting be held to
consider the zoning application and any required official plan amendment application,
once the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and
Housing has confirmed the appropriate
course of action with respect to the Parkway Belt West Plan as it relates to
the subject lands.
BACKGROUND:
Property and
Area Context
The subject lands consist of approximately
0.084 ha (0.21 acres) located near the southwest corner of Markham Road and 14th Avenue, on the southwest side of
the CN Railway line (Figure 1 & 2).
Adjoining the subject lands are:
- Existing commercial uses to the south;
- Proposed commercial development to the southwest with which the
subject lands are intended to be integrated;
- CN Railway line to the northeast and a hydro corridor immediately
across the rail line; and
- Vacant hydro corridor lands to the north across the CN railway
line and 14th Avenue.
The property is presently vacant with no
significant vegetation or natural features.
Proposal is to rezone the land from
Agriculture One to Major Commercial
On November 17, 2004,
Canadian National Railway Company (CNR) received approval from the Committee of
Adjustment for provisional
consent to sever the subject lands from the CN right-of-way in order to sell it
to the owner of the abutting commercial lands located to the southwest. As a condition of the consent to sever, CNR was required to rezone the
severed lands from Agriculture One (A1) under By-law 304-87, as amended, to
Major Commercial (MJC) under By-law 108-81, as amended, which is the same
zoning as the lands to which the subject property is to be joined.
A site plan control application has been submitted by
14th Avenue Development Inc. for a 3,209 m2 (34,538 ft2)
commercial development on lands adjoining to the southwest. They are interested in acquiring the subject property
from CNR. This acquisition will allow
them to increase the gross floor area of the proposed commercial development by
accommodating additional parking spaces on the subject parcel, along with
additional landscaping.
An Official Plan Amendment may be required
The Official Plan designates the subject lands as “Parkway Belt
West”. The development of lands within
this designation is governed by The Parkway Belt West Plan (PBWP), which
supersedes the Town’s Official Plan policies.
The PBWP specifically designates the subject lands as “Public Open Space
and Buffer”, which only permits privately operated open space and recreation-oriented
uses. Canadian National Railway Company will
be required to submit an application to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and
Housing requesting an amendment to the PBWP to either delete the lands from the
PBWP or re-designate the
subject lands to a designation under the PBWP that would permit the
proposed use.
If Canadian National Railway Company decides or is required to delete
the lands from the PBWP, an amendment to the Town’s Official Plan would then be
required to re-designate the subject lands from “Parkway Belt West” to an
appropriate land use category in the Town’s Official Plan. Given the “Major Commercial Area” designation
of the property to which the subject lands are intended to be combined, that
designation would be the most appropriate.
Zoning By-law amendment is required
The subject property is zoned Agriculture One (A1) under by-law 304-87,
as amended, which permits only agricultural and related low intensity uses. The Town’s zoning is currently superseded by
the Minister’s Zoning Order under the PBWP.
As noted above, as a condition of the consent to sever, the applicant
was required to rezone the subject lands to Major Commercial (MJC) under By-law
108-81, as amended, to be consistent with the zoning of the lands to which the
property is to be combined. The
condition of severance is consistent with the Town’s practice of putting in
place the appropriate zoning to reflect existing or proposed uses so that in
the event the Minister’s Zoning Order is deleted, the existing use would comply
with the Town’s zoning requirements.
Easements are required
Engineering staff have indicated that the subject lands
accommodate an existing watermain, storm and sanitary sewers as well as an
overland flow route that conveys drainage from the subdivision to the north. The owner will be required to dedicate to the
Town, free of all costs and encumbrances, an easement for the storm and
sanitary sewers, watermain and the overland flow route.
POTENTIAL
BENEFITS OF APPROVAL OF THE PROPOSAL:
The potential benefits of
the proposed development are as follows:
- An under utilized
parcel of land will be integrated with a proposed commercial development
to the southwest.
CONCERNS/ISSUES TO BE RESOLVED:
The following
is a brief summary of concerns/issues raised to date. This matter, 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:
- An Official Plan Amendment may
be warranted depending on whether the applicant is required to delete the
subject lands from the PBWP.
FINANCIAL
CONSIDERATIONS:
No Financial implications are present at this
time.
ENVIRONMENTAL
CONSIDERATIONS:
No environmental issues have been identified.
BUSINESS UNITS
CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:
The application was circulated to all Town
departments and external agencies including the Ministry of Municipal Affairs
and Housing, and their recommendation/comments will be addressed in the final
report.
It would be appropriate to hold a Public
Meeting after the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing has confirmed the
appropriate course of action with respect to the PBWP as it relates to the
subject lands.
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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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FILE PATH: Q:\Development\Planning\APPL\ZONING\05 006909 Canadian
National Railway Company\Preliminary Report.doc
ATTACHMENTS: Figure 1 – Location Map
Figure
2 – Area Context and Zoning
Figure
3 – Aerial Photo
Figure
4 – Conceptual Site Plan
AGENT: Andrew Jeanrie
Fraser
Milner Casgrain LLP
100 King Street West, 1 First Canadian Place
Toronto ON M5X 1B2
Tel:
416-863-4793
Fax:
416-863-4592
Figure
1
