RECOMMENDATION:
THAT the Development Services Commission Report entitled “Cornerstone
Chinese Alliance Church, Application for Site Plan Approval to permit a place
of worship at 4757 14th Avenue” be received;
AND THAT the Site Plan Control application (SC 04 009916) submitted by
Cornerstone Chinese Alliance Church to permit a 1,908 m2 (20,538.2
ft2) place of worship at 4757 14th Avenue, be approved
subject to the follow conditions:
- That
final site plan and elevation drawings be submitted to the satisfaction of
the Commissioner of Development Services;
- A Landscape Plan, prepared by a
Landscape Architect having O.A.L.A. membership, be submitted to the
satisfaction of the Commissioner of Development Services;
- The Owner shall comply with all requirements of
the Town and authorized public agencies, to the satisfaction of the
Commissioner of Development Services;
- The Owner shall comply with the requirements of
the applicable zoning by-law or obtain any necessary minor variances to
accommodate the proposal;
- The Owner shall enter into a site plan agreement
with the Town, containing all standard and special provisions and
requirements of the Town and public agencies including the following:
a.
Provision for the payment by the Owner of
all applicable fees, recoveries, development charges, parkland dedications and
financial obligations related to applicable Developers Group Agreements;
b.
Garbage shall be stored internally to the
satisfaction of the Town’s Waste Management Department;
c.
The Owner shall agree to implement and
monitor on-site sediment and erosion control measures during construction of
this development, as per “Ontario Guidelines on Erosion and Sediment Control
for Urban Sites” to the satisfaction of the Director of Engineering, and
d.
The Owner shall install a spill control
devise on this property and carry out yearly maintenance in accordance with
manufacture’s recommendations. The Owner
agrees to allow the Town access to this site to conduct inspections to ensure
that the spill control devise is being maintained.
- The Owner shall obtain all necessary approvals
from the Regional Municipality of York (Transportation and Works
Department);
- The Owner shall submit to the
Engineering Department for approval, revised site servicing and grading
drawings, municipal service connections details, and a revised stormwater
management report, prior to the building permit stage. Drawings are to be prepared and stamped
by a Professional Engineer with a Certificate of Authorization from
Professional Engineers of Ontario, and
- The
site plan approval shall lapse after a period of three years commencing
September 21, 2004, in the event a site plan agreement is not executed
within that period.
PURPOSE:
The report provides background information and recommends site plan
approval, subject to conditions, for a revised proposal to permit a 1,908 m2 (20,538.2 ft2)
place of worship on the south side of 14th Avenue between
Brimley Road and Noble Street, at the property municipally known as 4757 14th
Avenue.
BACKGROUND:
Subject Property and Surrounding Uses
This 0.81 ha (2.0 acres) property is located on
the south side of 14th Avenue, midway between Brimley Road and Noble
Street (See Figure 1). There is an
existing single family detached home and garage on the property and the lot is
well treed. Abutting the property to the
east, west, south and north, across 14th Avenue, are single family
detached homes on lots of varying sizes (See Figures 2 & 3).
Previous Rezoning and Site Plan applications were
approved by the OMB
The original Zoning By-law Amendment and Site
Plan Control applications proposed by Cornerstone Chinese Alliance Church was
to permit a 2,158 m2 (23,229.2 ft2) place of worship with a total seating capacity of
520 seats. Both applications were denied
by Council on April 10, 2001, on the basis that they did not comply with the
intended residential pattern of development in the area, and were subsequently
appealed to the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) by the Owner. In December 2001, the OMB approved the zoning
by-law, and rezoned the subject property from (Hold) Suburban Residential Two
[(H)SUR2] to Institutional and Open Space (OS) with
site specific development provisions.
The Board subsequently granted site plan approval for a place of worship
with a maximum gross floor area not exceeding 1,964 m2 (21,141 ft2) in the fall of 2002.
Revised proposal
Since the Cornerstone Chinese
Alliance Church did not submit a building permit application for the place of
worship prior to the new parking by-law being enacted by Council on September
30, 2003, it was staff’s position that the approved building should comply with
the new parking by-law for places of worship. To accommodate the additional
on-site parking spaces, changes to the approved site plan were necessary. The applicant has submitted a revised site
plan application proposing a 1,908 m2 (20,538 ft2) place of worship with a total
seating capacity of 420 seats (See Figures 4 & 5). The following is a list of the most
significant changes made to the original site plan:
- Siting of the proposed building has been shifted
approximately 5 metres to the east.
- A new row of parking spaces has been provided between the westerly
property line and the building; whereas, previously this area was intended
as a landscaped buffer area.
- On-site parking spaces have increased from 112 spaces to 145
spaces.
- Front yard setback has increased from 4.4 metres to 6 metres
- Landscaping strips along the easterly and westerly property lines
have been reduced from 4.36 metres to 3 metres and 4.99 metres to 3
metres, respectively.
- Landscaping strip along the rear property line has been reduced
from 9.62 metres to 7.4 metres
OPTIONS/DISCUSSION:
Official Plan and Zoning
The property is designated “Urban
Residential” in the Official Plan and “Urban Residential – Low Density” in the
East Riseborough Secondary Plan (a non-statutory
Secondary Plan). This designation
provides for the proposed use, subject to Council being satisfied that such use
is compatible and serves the residential area. The subject property is
currently zoned Institutional and Open Space (OS), under By-law 193-81, as
amended, and the current zoning permits a place of worship and accessory
uses.
Subsequent to the OMB’s approval of the original rezoning and site plan
applications in December 2001, the Town in 2003 adopted Official Plan Amendment
(OPA No. 115), which contains specific criteria for evaluating applications for
places of worship approval. In 2003, the
Town also adopted more stringent parking requirements for places of worship.
Given that the OMB approved the
zoning by-law amendment and a similar site plan for the property, the revised
proposal is being evaluated with regard to the provisions of the OMB approval
zoning by-lawand the subsequent new parking
requirements.
In addition, it should be noted
that the By-law approved by the Board in 2001 called for a front yard setback
of 6 metres whereas the original site plan approved by the Board in 2002 showed
a front yard setback of only 4.4 metres.
The reason for the reduced front yard setback in the site plan was a
road widening requirement by the Region of York after the By-law was
approved.
Having regard for the
zoning by-law approved by the Board and to be consistent with the standard Town
requirements, the applicant was requested to increase the front yard setback
from 4.4 metres to 6 metres. To
compensate for the increased front yard setback the landscaping strip along the
rear property line had to be reduced from the 9.62 metres in the Board approved
site plan to 7.4 metres. The reduced landscape strip still provides
adequate buffering for the adjoining property to the south and does not
compromise landscaping opportunities in this area.
Public Consultation
Staff have spoken with abutting property
owners individually regarding the changes proposed by Cornerstone Chinese
Alliance Church. The residents raised
concerns with respect to grading and drainage, loss of existing tree coverage,
increased noise levels, and visibility of the proposed building and parking area.
Proposed grading and drainage will
not impact abutting residents
The proposed development will match
the existing grades of abutting properties.
Any existing drainage onto the subject lands from adjacent properties
will be accommodated on the subject lands.
Drainage from the proposed development will be contained on-site and
will be released to 14th Avenue storm sewers. The proposal provides adequate drainage and
runoff treatment to meet the Town’s drainage criteria for this site. Engineering staff have reviewed the grading
and drainage drawings and are satisfied with the plans, subject to final
approval of engineering drawings. In the
opinion of staff, abutting residents will not be adversely impacted by the
changes in the grades and drainage patterns.
Site landscaping will attempt to
compensate for the loss of trees.
As noted earlier, the site is
heavily treed, but has been approved by the OMB for this development. The applicant has submitted a landscape plan,
which shows all of the trees being removed, with the exception of few trees
along the street line. The applicant has
indicated that due to the need to meet stormwater management and re-grading
requirements the trees would have to be removed. The applicant has agreed to plant new trees,
to the Town’s satisfaction along the perimeter of the site. Final landscape plans are to be approved and
form part of the site plan agreement.
Concerns related to noise and
visibility of the development were considered as part of original approval
Concerns were also raised with
respect to noise from patrons and vehicles attending the place of worship as
well as the visual impact of the proposed development. There was considerable public input with
regard to the original proposal and the OMB had concluded that the development
would not have an adverse impact on the neighbours or the area.
It should be noted that the
proposed building is generally the same height as the previously approved
building. However, the landscape strips
along the side property lines have been reduced to accommodate additional
parking spaces. Given the extensive regarding required to accommodate
stormwater management, it is uncertain if more of the existing vegetation on
the property could have been preserved under the original proposal with wider
landscape strips. Staff will require
extensive landscaping along the property lines to provide buffering for the
adjoining properties, to the extent feasible.
The applicant will also be required to erect a 1.8 metre (6 feet) high
privacy fences adjacent to all residential properties.
Sufficient on-site parking
has been provided
The new parking by-law requires
that parking for places of worship be calculated at a rate of 1 parking space
per 4 persons of the worship area capacity, or 1 parking space per every 9m2 of the net floor area of the worship area and any
accessory use areas (excluding any residential uses) whichever is greater. Based on this standard, the proposed place of
worship would need a total of 145 parking spaces and the applicant has provided
145 spaces. The proposal meets the new
parking by-laws standard for on-site parking.
Staff are generally satisfied with site plan and elevations
The Owner’s consultant has been
working closely with staff to refine the site plan and building
elevations. The proposed building is
positioned close to 14th Avenue, providing a strong street related
presence. The height of the building
along 14th Avenue is 10.8 metres (35 feet). The rear portion of the building has a lower
height of 6.38 metres (20.9 feet). The
exterior building materials will consist of stucco and glazing. Staff are generally
satisfied with the site layout and building elevations.
CONCULSION
Staff are generally satisfied with the
proposal and recommend that it be approved, subject to the conditions outlined
in this report.
FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:
There are no financial impacts at this time.
ENVIRONMENTAL
CONSIDERATIONS:
The issue with respect to the proposed tree
removal at this site has been addressed in this report.
BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED
AND AFFECTED:
The application was circulated to all Town
departments and external agencies, and their recommendations/comments have been
incorporated into this 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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FILE PATH: Q:\Development\Planning\APPL\SITEPLAN\SC
04 009916 Cornerstone Chinese Alliance Church\Report.doc
ATTACHMENTS: Figure 1 – Location Map
Figure
2 – Area Context Map
Figure
3 – Air Photo
Figure
4 – Site Plan
Figure
5 – Elevations
AGENT: Mr. Jerry Heeringa
Ltd.
G.L.
Heeringa Ltd.
21
Leslie Drive
Stoney Creek ON L8G 3K2
Tel:
1-905-662-1400, Fax: 1-905-664-4388
Figure 1 –
Location Map
