RECOMMENDATION:
That a Public Meeting be held
to consider the applications submitted by Ruskinvale Developments Limited for an Official Plan Amendment
and Zoning By-law Amendment at 337 John Street Thornhill.
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this report is to provide preliminary
information regarding applications for Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendment
to permit commercial self storage on the property. It is recommended
that a statutory public meeting be held to consider this application.
BACKGROUND:
Property and Area Context
The 2.075 ha (0.93 acre) site is a vacant parcel
located at the southeast
corner of John Street and CN railway (east of Bayview Avenue). The site is located at the western edge of an
established industrial area within the Thornhill Community (See figure 1).
Adjoining
the subject lands are:
- CN Railway to the west and
south,
- Beyond the Railway are
townhouses to the west and single detached dwellings to the south,
- Industrial (Canac
Kitchens) to the north and east; and
- A proposed medium and
high density mixed residential / commercial development (The Townhomes of
Thornhill Village Inc.) northwest of the site.
The site has a
lot frontage of 124.8 m (409.4 ft). The lands
are designated “Business Corridor Area” in the Official Plan and Thornhill
Community Secondary Plan. The current
zoning of the lands is M – Industrial.
Proposal is for Commercial Self Storage and
Temporary Storage of Vehicles
The subject of
this report is a proposed amendment of the Official Plan and Zoning Bylaw to
permit commercial self storage buildings on the site. The proposal is to redevelop the property in
phases. The first phase is to construct
a three story commercial self storage building along the John Street
frontage and to use the rear of the property for vehicle storage on an interim basis. A preliminary report regarding a proposed temporary
use zoning by-law amendment to permit the vehicle storage was submitted to DSC
on December 7,
2004. A
public meeting has not yet been held on that component of the first phase. During the second phase of development, the
applicant is proposing to extend self storage buildings over the full site,
thereby replacing the temporary open vehicle storage area.
Nature of the Use
The subject
applications are to permit commercial self storage use within an enclosed
building. The storage facility will
serve the public, and they will be able to lease storage space.
Site Plan Approval Application
Appealed to the Ontario Municipal Board
An
application for Site Plan approval was submitted for both the proposed
commercial self- storage use on the north portion of the site and the vehicle
storage to the south (Phase 1). The site
plan application was appealed to Ontario Municipal Board. The Board adjourned the appeal. As part of the Ontario Municipal Board adjournment
of the site plan on January 11, 2005, Ruskinvale Developments
Limited agreed to submit the subject applications for Official Plan amendment
and Zoning By-law amendment.
Official Plan
The subject
lands are designated Business Corridor. Commercial
self storage is a prohibited use in the Business Corridor Area designation. Therefore an Official Plan Amendment is required
to permit this proposed use.
Relative to the
normal Official Plan policies for Business Corridor Areas, planning staff are
of the opinion that this site is unique in the following ways:
1)
Visibility to the front of
the property is partially obstructed by the John Street bridge
that crosses over the CN rail line. This raised road
obstructs views of the property, reducing the visibility of the uses on the
subject parcel;
2)
The rail line is adjacent
to the west and south portions of the site, physically separating the use from
residential area to the west and south; and
3)
As a result, the property is
isolated from surrounding uses.
Zoning
The current zoning is Industrial (M). This category does not permit the proposed commercial
self storage use. An amendment to the
zoning by-law is required to allow this use.
POTENTIAL
BENEFITS OF APPROVAL OF THE PROPOSAL
The proposal would provide the following
benefits:
·
Proposal redevelops
a piece of underused, vacant land;
·
During
development, an environmental assessment of the property will be required. If there are any contaminants, they will be
removed making the site and surrounding area safer;
·
Proposal
is in keeping with Town’s initiative to redevelop brownfield sites in
established urban areas.
·
In
addition, this site contains several unique attributes which would make it a potentially
suitable location to the proposed use:
o The property has low visibility and this use would
not require high visibility
o The use would have a low occupancy rate, and as
such the rail line would have limited impact on the proposed use;
o Surrounding residential uses would experience limited
impact from the proposed use (provided the site plan meets the requirements of
the Planning and Urban Design Department)
CONCERNS/ISSUES TO BE
RESOLVED:
The following is a brief summary of
concerns/issues raised to date;
- This site previously operated as a storage facility for various
chemicals and there may be environmentally contaminated soils. The engineering department has asked for
a Phase 2 environmental site assessment to certify the lands to developed
are environmentally suitable for the intended use.
- Amendments to the proposed site plan are required to address the
following requirements:
- Fire Department (location of hydrant and other fire fighting
servicing),
- Engineering (site servicing and a Phase 2 environmental assessment),
- location of snow storage,
- landscaping of the site on the north slope, the west lot line and
the entrance way
- The CN Rail line requirement
for a chain link fence a minimum 1.83 metre height along the mutual
property line.
FINANCIAL
CONSIDERATIONS:
There are no financial matters to be considered in this report.
ENVIRONMENTAL
CONSIDERATIONS:
This site previously operated as a storage
facility for various chemicals and there may be environmentally contaminated
soils as a result. The engineering
department has requested a Phase 2 environmental site assessment.
BUSINESS
UNITS CONSULTED AND
AFFECTED:
The applications have been circulated to
various Town departments and external agencies and are currently under
review. Requirements of the Town and
external agencies will be reflected in the preparation of the Official Plan and
Zoning By-law amendments.
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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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Figure 1
Q:\Development\Planning\APPL\ZONING\05
006240 Ruskinvale\337 John Street Preliminary Report OPA ZBA.doc
ATTACHMENTS:
Figure
1: Location
Figure
2: Area Context
Figure
3: Air Photo
Figure
4: Site Plan
APPLICANT / AGENT: Kerbel Group Inc. Phone:
(416) 733-2202 ext 119
Attn: Joanne Barnett Fax:
(416) 733-3129
26 Lesmill Road
Toronto ON
M3B 2T5
