RECOMMENDATION:
THAT the report dated January 5, 2005 entitled “Araya Investment Corp 111 Times Avenue - The Galleria Shops. Applications for Official Plan and Zoning
By-law Amendments and Site Plan approval
to permit a neighbourhood plaza (OP 00 246207; ZA 00 246212; SC 00
246216), be received;
THAT the minutes of the public meeting
held October 19, 2004 regarding the above-noted
applications be received;
That the applications by Araya Invstment
Corp for Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendments and Site Plan approval to
permit a neighbourhood plaza be approved;
THAT the draft Official Plan Amendment,
attached as Appendix A be adopted;
That the draft Zoning By-law Amendment
attached as Appendix B be finalized and then enacted;
AND THAT that site plan application SC 00
246216 for the development of a neighbourhood plaza at 111 Times Avenue be
approved, subject to the following conditions:
- That the owner shall enter into a site plan agreement with the Town
of Markham containing all standard provisions, and requirements of the
Town and public agencies and including the specific requirements
identified in the staff report;
- That the site plan approval shall lapse after a period of three
years commencing January 25, 2005, in the event that the site plan
agreement is not executed within that period;
- That prior to final approval of the site plan, the Owner shall:
a)
address the proposed
revisions to the site plan, set out by the Regional Municipality of York in
their letter of October 6, 2004, to the satisfaction
of the Region and the Town of Markham;
b)
meet with the Fire
Department to confirm the locations of the Fire Department Connection, private
hydrant, fire route signage and rapid entry key box to the satisfaction of that
department;
- That the site plan agreement shall:
a)
provide for payment by the
Owner of all applicable fees, recoveries and development charges;
b)
contain provisions for
satisfying Town Departments and outside agencies including all requirements of
the Director of Engineering, the Fire Department, Waste Management, Roads and
York Region;
c)
contain a clause whereby the
owner acknowledges and agrees to enter into discussions and finalize with the
Regional Municipality of York a schedule of contributions to the York Rapid
Transit System’s financial requirements;
d)
contain a clause whereby the
owner agrees to construct, at no cost to the Region, bus passenger standing areas/platforms/shelter
pads to the satisfaction of the Region and the Town of Markham;
e)
contain provisions for the
conveyance of land for sight triangles and widening of Highway 7, if required,
to the satisfaction of the Region of York and the Town of Markham;
f)
include the Regional
Municipality of York as a party to the agreement
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this report is to review the
above-noted applications and to provide staff recommendations in this
regard. The report recommends that the
draft Official Plan Amendment be adopted, that the draft Zoning By-law Amendment
be enacted, and that the proposed site plan be approved subject to the
conditions set out above.
BACKGROUND:
Site
Description and Area Context:
The
subject property is located at the south east corner of the intersection of
Highway 7 and Times Ave. in the Times Leitchcroft
Area (Figures 1 and 2). The 9,948 square
metre (2.47 acre) site has a roughly rectangular
shape, with approximately 107 metres (351 feet) frontage on Highway 7 and 75
metres (246 feet) frontage on Times Ave.
Surrounding
land uses include a high density, 11 storey residential apartment building
immediately east of the subject site; three storey townhouse blocks to the
south and southwest; and a mix of low and medium-rise commercial uses on the
north side of Highway 7 in Richmond Hill.
A ten storey condominium apartment building and townhouses are now under
construction on the west side of Times Avenue, opposite the subject
property.
The proposal is to develop a restaurant and
neighbourhood retail shopping centre
The
applicants are proposing to construct a restaurant and neighbourhood retail
shopping centre with a total floor area of approximately 2,393 m2
(25,759 sq. ft.). As
shown on the site plan (Figure 4), the proposal would consist of three
buildings arranged in a modified “U” shape:
·
a 933
square metre (10,046 sq. ft.) restaurant fronting onto the south east corner of
Highway 7 and Times Ave. with additional shops fronting onto Times Avenue. The restaurant would be designed as a single
storey structure, but with a height of 9.5 metres (31 feet) would have the
appearance of a two-storey structure. (Figure 5). The building would be aligned adjacent to
Highway 7 and Times Avenue;
·
a 470 square metre (5,067
sq. ft.) retail building, located at the north east corner of the property,
aligned along the Highway 7 frontage of the site (Building B on Figure 4). The retail building would be separated from
the restaurant by a parking area. As
shown in Figure 5, this building would be approximately 7.2 metres (24 feet)
high and would also be designed as a single storey structure. As above, the
building would be aligned adjacent to Highway 7;
·
a 989 square metre (10,646 sq. ft.) retail building aligned along the
southern boundary of the property, adjacent to an existing townhouse
development to the south (Building C in Figure 4). This building would be the same height as the
retail building located at the north east corner of the site, and would also be
served by a rear driveway along the eastern boundary of the property. Loading and deliveries for units in this
building will be from the front (north side) of the building, not the south
side adjacent to the townhouse properties.
Vehicular
access into the site would be limited to a single driveway off Times Ave. A second right-out vehicle exit to Highway 7
is provided along the east side of the property. A total of 152 parking spaces are provided on
site, which meets the requirements of the Parking Standards By-law.
History
of the application
In 1999, the Town granted site plan approval
for a mixed office and retail development on this site (Figure 6). The development, submitted by 1107656 Ontario
Inc. (the previous owner of the property), consisted of a two storey building
at the south east corner of Highway 7 and Times Ave., with ground floor retail
and second floor offices. Further east,
a single storey L-shaped retail building was proposed along the remainder of
the Highway 7 frontage of the property. The one and two storey buildings were
intended to be joined by an arcade (Figures 6 and 7). The two storey
retail/office building proposed in the first application is in approximately
the same location as the restaurant building proposed in the current
application. Parking was proposed to the south of these buildings, with a
single access driveway off Times Ave.
In 2000, the current owner (Arya
Investments Corporation), submitted a revised development concept for the site,
which eliminated the second storey office uses proposed in the original
application (Figures 8 and 9). A
restaurant was proposed for the south east corner of Times Avenue and Highway
7, and the retail buildings were arranged in an “L” shape along the Highway 7
frontage and eastern side of the property.
Parking was to be provided in the interior of the site.
The most recent version of the site plan and
elevations (also submitted by Arya Investments
Corporation, and the subject of this report) were submitted in May 2004.
In September 2004, staff submitted a preliminary
report on the revised (May 2004) applications.
A public meeting was held on October 19, 2004. One resident, living in the apartment
building immediately to the east of the subject property, spoke at the meeting
indicating concerns about the proposed width of the landscaped buffer area
along the eastern boundary of the property; the location of proposed waste
management and loading facilities in building “B”; and the location of the
proposed right out driveway accessing Highway 7.
The site plan contained in this report has been
revised by the applicant to address these issues. The applicant and staff met with the resident
on December
7, 2004, and the resident is
now satisfied with the revised site plan.
Current Official Plan Designation:
The subject property is designated
Commercial on Schedule ‘A’ Land Use Plan and Community Amenity Area on Schedule
‘H’ Commercial-Industrial Categories to the Markham Official Plan (Revised
1987). A mix of commercial, retail and
medium and high density residential uses are permitted in the Community Amenity
Area.
Further detail on these policies is
provided by the Leitchcroft Secondary Plan (OPA 41),
which designates this property Community Amenity Area-Mixed Use. While the Secondary Plan provides for the
same range of uses in the Community Amenity Area-Mixed Use designation as the
Official Plan, the Secondary Plan specifies that east of Times Avenue, these uses are to be located only on the ground
floor of mixed use, multi-storey buildings.
Therefore, any retail uses must be contained within a multi-storey
office or apartment building. The 1999
application was deemed to comply to this requirement,
as it contained a partial second storey reserved for office uses.
Current Zoning:
The subject property is zoned
Community Amenity Area 2*39*48 (Hold) [CA2*39*48 (H) and Community Amenity Area
2*39 (Hold) [CA2*39(H)]. In conformity
with Secondary Plan provisions, the zoning by-law only permits retail and
service commercial uses in the first storey of an apartment building or office
building. The zoning by-law also
contains a number of detailed development standards that would be compatible
with a multi-storey development on this site.
OPTIONS/DISCUSSION:
Amendments
to the Leitchcroft Secondary Plan and Zoning By-law are
required
The Leitchcroft
Secondary Plan permits only the applicant’s proposed retail, restaurant and
personal service uses only if they were located in the ground floor of a mixed
use multi-storey building. The applicant
is proposing a single storey neighbourhood plaza. As a result, an amendment to the Secondary
Plan is required. The proposal conforms
to the policies of the Community Amenity Area designation in the Markham
Official Plan (Revised 1987). The draft Official
Plan Amendment to permit the proposed development is attached to this report as
Appendix A.
In January 2001, the Region exempted this
Official Plan Amendment application from approval by Regional Planning
Committee and Council. The amendment
will therefore come into effect following it’s
adoption by Council and the statutory appeal period.
An amendment to the Zoning By-law is also required to permit the
proposed uses in single storey buildings and to revise certain development
standards to accommodate the proposed site plan. The draft Zoning By-Law Amendment to permit
the proposed development is attached to this report as Appendix B. This By-law proposes to restrict restaurant
uses to the buildings fronting directly onto Highway 7 and Times Avenue, and to
prohibit drive thru restaurants.
Proposed
development will enhance Highway 7 frontage
The Leitchcroft
Community Design Plan encourages, among other things, attractive building
facades along Highway 7, with consistent treatment of materials, signage, etc.,
particularly at street level. Building
placement should be pronounced at the corner of Highway 7 and Times
Avenue. The main access to the site is
to be off Times Avenue.
The proposed development meets these criteria
in several ways:
- the
proposed restaurant, which will be taller than a typical single storey
building, will be focused at the Highway 7/Times Avenue intersection,
creating enhanced building mass and a focal point at this location. The visual impact of this building will
be enhanced by the proposed wing extending southward along the Times
Avenue frontages of the site;
- the
parking area between Building A (at Times Avenue) and Building B (at the
eastern portion of the site adjacent to Highway 7) will be screened by a masonary decorative fence and landscaping. This architectural feature will serve to
link the two buildings, creating a continuous built form along the Highway
7 frontage of the site.
- Primary access to the site will be from Times Avenue, while the
driveway accessing Highway 7 will be an exit-only right-out driveway.
- Buildings will incorporate enhanced facades, significant glazing
and signage along the Highway 7 frontage, to enhance the Highway 7
streetscape.
- Pedestrian circulation has been designed to provide direct
pedestrian access to the interior of the site from Highway 7.
Development
will provide other benefits to the community, including:
- Provision of needed retail and commercial amenities within
convenient walking distance of Leitchcroft
residents;
- The siting of Building C will provide a
buffer with the townhouses to the south of the site;
- The site plan has been amended to enhance the landscape buffer
between the subject property and the apartment building to the east, and
the location of the loading/garbage room of Building B has been moved
further west to increase the separation distance to the residential
apartment to the east.
As a
result of these changes the resident of the apartment building to the east, who
spoke at the public meeting, is now satisfied with the proposed site
plan.
York Region has requested technical revisions to the site
plan:
These revisions are related primarily to the
provision of adequate rights of way and transit stop facilities along Highway 7
in order to accommodate the proposed Highway 7 Transitway. Staff are of the
opinion that these revisions can be accommodated without compromising the
revised site plan attached to this report.
The conditions of site plan approval require that York Region’s comments
be addressed to the satisfaction of both the Region and the Town before staff
grants final approval to the site plan drawings.
FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:
No financial conditions have been raised to
date
ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS:
The proposal to align Building C along the
southern property boundary will provide an enahced
degree of visual and noise buffering compared to previous proposals. The relocation of Building B further west and
the enhancement of the landscape buffer along the east property line will
reduce the ground-oriented visual impacts of this development on the property
to the east.
ACCESSIBILITY CONSIDERATIONS:
The proposed buildings will provide
at-grade access to customers and employees.
ENGAGE 21ST
CONSIDERATIONS:
The proposed development will
enhance the amenity of the Leitchcroft Community by
providing residents and businesses with a wider range of retail and commercial
opportunities, within a short walking distance.
BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:
The applications were circulated to Town
Departments and external agencies. Comments
and conditions have been incorporated into the draft Official Plan and Zoning
By-law Amendments, and the conditions of site plan approval contained in this
report.
CONCLUSION:
Staff recommend that the attached Official Plan and Zoning By-law amendments be
approved, and that the site plan application be approved subject to the
attached conditions.
ATTACHMENTS:
Figure 1 – Applicant/Agent and Location Map
Figure 2 – Area Context and Zoning
Figure 3 – Air Photo
Figure 4 – Site Plan 1999 Application
Figure 5 – Elevations 1999 Application
Figure 6 – Site Plan 2000 Application
Figure 7 – Elevations 2000 Application
Figure 8 – Revised Site Plan – 2004 Application
Figure 9 – Revised Elevations – 2004
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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Q:\Development\Planning\APPL\OPAPPS\00246207 The Galleria
Shops\recommendation report Jan 25 05.doc
FIGURE 1
APPLICANT Mr. Mohammad Abhary
Araya Investments Corp.
220 Duncan Mill Road
Suite 503
Toronto ON
M3B
3J5
tel: (416)-444-8780
AGENT Ms. Joanne
Barnett
198 Glenrose Avenue
Toronto ON
M4T
1K8
tel: (416)-990-8367
fax: (416)-733-3129
LOCATION
MAP:
