RECOMMENDATION:
That a Public
Meeting be held to consider the applications submitted by Ruskinvale Developments Limited for a
Temporary Use Zoning By-law Amendment at 337 John Street Thornhill, once the
concerns noted in this report have been addressed to the satisfaction of the
Commissioner of Development Services.
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this report is
to provide preliminary information regarding an application for a Temporary Use
Zoning By-law Amendment to permit open storage of motor vehicles at the rear of
the property. It
is recommended that a statutory public meeting be held to consider this
application once concerns noted in this report have been addressed to the
satisfaction of the Commissioner of Development Services.
BACKGROUND:
Property and Area Context
The 2.075 ha (0.93 acre) site
is vacant and is 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 Self Storage and Temporary
Storage of Vehicles
The applicant is proposing to amend the Zoning By-law to permit the open
storage of motor vehicles on the southern portion of the property, as a temporary
use. The proposal is to redevelop the
property in phases. The first phase is
to construct a three story self storage building along the John Street frontage and the rear of the property used for
vehicle storage as an interim use. This
is subject to an Official Plan Amendment and zoning amendment as suggested by
staff, or the applicant succeeding in its appeal to the OMB as explained later
in this report. During the second phase of
development, the applicant is proposing to extend self storage buildings over
the full site, thereby replacing the open vehicle storage area. It is for this reason the applicant is asking
for open storage of vehicles as a temporary use.
The applicant proposes the possibility of three types of vehicles to be
stored on site:
1)
New cars and trucks for rent or sale that will be stored
until the vehicles are needed at local car dealerships.
2) The long term
storage of recreation vehicles.
3) Canac Kitchens has
approached the owner to use some of the spaces as over flow employee parking.
Site Plan Approval Application
Appealed to the Ontario Municipal Board
An application for Site Plan control has been submitted over the full
property including both the proposed commercial self- storage use on the north
portion of the site and the vehicle storage to the south. The site plan application has not been
processed, since staff are of the opinion that self storage units are not
permitted by By-law 77-73 in the industrial M zone, and the site plan therefore
does not comply with zoning. Staff have
requested the applicant to submit an application to amend to the Official Plan
and the zoning by-law to permit self storage uses, but no submission has been
made. The owner has since appealed the
site plan application to the OMB, on the grounds that a decision on this
application was not made by Council within the time allowance established in
the Planning Act. The OMB has scheduled
the hearing for January 11, 2005.
Official Plan
The subject lands are designated Business Corridor. Although outdoor storage is not permitted in
the business corridor designation, a temporary use By-law may be adopted to
permit uses, that are not permitted by the Official Plan, provided that the use
is permitted only for a period of up to three years, and that the use “shall
not entail any major construction or investment on the part of the owner so
that the owner will not experience undue hardship in reverting to the original
use…” As the proposed parking area would
be gravel and not require major investment, this criterion would be satisfied.
In staff’s opinion, vehicle storage is appropriate as a temporary use only
in this location, for the following reasons:
- The proposed construction of a building
at the front of the property would help to screen the vehicles (subject to
Official Plan and zoning by law conformity and approval of a site plan);
- The vehicles travelling along John Street
would have a limited view of the rear of the site due to the three story
building at the north of the site.
- The open storage area is well removed,
and not visible from nearby residential areas.
Zoning
The current zoning is
Industrial M. This category does not
permit the open storage of materials including vehicles. An amendment to the zoning by-law is required
to allow open storage on a temporary basis.
POTENTIAL BENEFITS OF APPROVAL OF THE PROPOSAL
The proposal would
provide the following benefits:
·
Proposal
incorporates 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.
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:
- 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 asked for
a Phase 2 environmental site assessment to certify the lands to be developed
are environmentally suitable for the intended use.
- The front portion of the site is proposed to be used as a
commercial self storage facility. While
staff do not object to this proposed use, it is Town staff’s position that
this use is not permitted as of right by the existing zoning by-law (By-law
77-73) and amendments to both the Official Plan and Zoning By-law are
required to permit the self storage facility. This owner has appealed the site plan
application to the OMB (scheduled for January 11, 2005), and intends to argue
at the OMB hearing that the use can be interpreted to be permitted, and
that the site plan should be approved.
- The temporary use by-law request, which is the subject of this
report, should not go to the statutory public meeting until the issues identified
in this report and the issues surrounding the proposed self storage use
have been resolved (including the OMB appeal). The public meeting date should be scheduled
to follow the January 11th
2005 OMB hearing.
It is the position of staff that the primary use permission needs
to be resolved, and the status of the proposed building determined (to
screen the proposed temporary outdoor storage) before the subject
temporary use application can be dealt with.
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 Zoning By-law
amendment.
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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\04
019248 Ruskinvale 337 John St\337 John Street Preliminary Rep.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
