RECOMMENDATION:
THAT the report
entitled “PRELIMINARY REPORT –
Staff-initiated amendments to the Markham Official Plan and the Cathedral
Community Secondary Plan (OPA 42) to incorporate the Woodbine Avenue By-pass
and other technical revisions (File OPA 01 118128), be received;
AND
THAT a Public Meeting, be scheduled for June 28, 2004, to consider the proposed
amendments to the Markham Official Plan and the Cathedral Community Secondary
Plan (OPA 42);
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this report is to provide preliminary information
regarding staff-initiated amendments to the Markham Official Plan and the
Cathedral Community Secondary Plan relating to the new Woodbine Avenue By-pass
and other technical amendments to the plan related to the designation of the
new by-pass.
BACKGROUND:
Location and Context
The Cathedral Community is located
between Highway 404 and the Hydro One corridor east of Woodbine Avenue, and is bounded on the south by Major Mackenzie Drive and on the north by the Hamlet of Victoria
Square. The planning district comprises
some 310 hectares in total, of which a majority is agricultural land either
actively farmed or vacant. Most of the
site is table land, although several key environmental features are located in
the district, including:
·
Carleton Creek
which flows in a southerly direction year-round from a point immediately west
of Woodbine Avenue, north of the Cathedral, and along the east side of Woodbine
Avenue toward Major Mackenzie Drive within a well defined valleyland corridor;
·
An 8 hectare
(19.8 acre) woodlot, designated as an Environmentally Significant Area, located
east of Highway 404 and north of Elgin Mills Road at the north edge of the Cathedral Community. Staff are working closely with the landowners
group to develop a strategy to ensure that the woodlot is conveyed to the Town
as public land;
·
A small
watercourse and valleyland area located at the north west corner of the Major Mackenzie Drive/Woodbine Avenue intersection.
This stream flows into the Carleton Creek south east of the
intersection.
·
Several other
woodlots, hedgerows and specimen trees that have been identified as being
worthy of preservation.
Currently there are a limited
number of buildings on the subject lands, including several listed and
designated heritage buildings. Chief
among these is the Cathedral of the Transfiguration, which will form the focal
point for the proposed cathedral community.
On the east side of Woodbine Avenue (the East Cathedral Community) two large residential subdivisions are
under construction.
Surrounding uses include the
Woodbine North Community, a mixed live-work community on the south side of
Major Mackenzie Drive between Highway 404 and Woodbine Avenue; estate
residential subdivisions on the south side of Major Mackenzie Drive east of
Woodbine Avenue and the east side of the Hydro One corridor. The hamlet of Victoria Square is located at the north east boundary of the
community.
History of the Cathedral Community Secondary Plan (OPA 42)
The Cathedral Community Secondary
Plan (OPA 42) was adopted by the Town of Markham in November 1996, and was approved by the Region of
York, with modifications, in July and September 1997.
In January 2001, King David
Developments Limited submitted
applications for rezoning and subdivision approval to permit a compact, mixed
use residential and commercial development focused on the Cathedral of the
Transfiguration on the west side of Woodbine Avenue. A key element in this application was a proposal
for a new arterial road by-pass of Victoria Square that had not been identified in the 1996 Secondary
Plan. During the spring and summer of
2001, a number of other landowners west of Woodbine Avenue in the Cathedral Community also submitted applications
for rezoning and draft plan of subdivision approval showing an alignment for
the proposed by-pass through their lands.
In September 2001, Council endorsed
the concept of a new arterial by-pass west of Woodbine Avenue and supported the Region’s proposal to hire a
consultant to undertake an environmental assessment of the proposed by-pass.
The Region began work on the
Woodbine By-pass environmental assessment study in the summer of 2002 and
completed the study in the fall of 2003. The
Environmental Assessment study has now been filed with the Ministry of
Environment. One landowner, located well
north of the Cathedral Community, has filed an objection to the proposed
alignment. However, it is extremely
unlikely that resolution of this objection would have any impact on the
recommended by-pass alignment within the Cathedral Community.
Concurrent with the by-pass EA
study, the Region prepared an Official Plan Amendment to designate the proposed
by-pass in the Regional Official Plan.
This Official Plan Amendment was appealed by a landowner north of Victoria Square, and the appeal will be resolved concurrently with
the resolution of the EA appeal noted above.
In October 2002, the landowners
group submitted the background studies for the West Cathedral Community,
including a Community Design Plan, as required by the Cathedral Community
Secondary Plan. As a result of the new
by-pass, evolution in the overall vision for the Cathedral Community since the
Secondary Plan had originally been approved 1997 and discussions with the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority regarding the
design of the open space system, a number of technical changes to the land use
plan for West Cathedral were proposed.
The purpose of this secondary plan
amendment is to update the Cathedral Community Secondary Plan and incorporate
these changes in to the plan.
Proposed changes to the Cathedral Community Secondary Plan
In the draft document prepared by
the West Cathedral landowners group, a number of changes are proposed to the
Cathedral Community Secondary Plan, as follows:
- Delineation of a new Woodbine Avenue arterial road by-pass and
relocation of Markland Street to the west, adjacent to the Highway 404
right of way;
- Widening of the Business Park
and Business Corridor areas adjacent to Highway 404, from a minimum width
of approximately 110 metres in the existing secondary plan to a minimum
width of approximately 200 metres in the proposed plan. As a result, the proposed secondary plan
contains larger Business Park
and Business Corridor areas than the current plan;
- Deletion of the southern and western open space corridor,
originally proposed adjacent to Markland Drive,
to be replaced with a wider east-west open space corridor alongside
Carleton Creek. These changes are
supported by extensive documentation contained in the Environmental Impact
Study and Environmental and Stormwater Master Plan, currently under review
by the Town and the TRCA;
- Relocation of the community and neighbourhood parks and proposed
school sites;
- Relocation and redesign of the stormwater management system and
stormwater management ponds;
- Reduction of the “Community Amenity Business Area” designation at
the south end of the community, to include only the lands immediately
north of Major Mackenzie Drive and east of Markland Street. The former Community
Amenity Business Area designation on the property to the north (up to the
By-pass) is now replaced with a mix of Medium Density and Low Density
housing designations;
- Replacement of the Community Amenity Area designation along Elgin Mills Road west of Victoria Square with a Medium Density Residential designation;
- Relocation of the Community Amenity Main Street designation west of the Cathedral (which is envisioned as a mixed
use, pedestrian oriented “High Street”) one block to the north, to line up
with the transept of the Cathedral;
- Designation of a mid block 404 cross over;
- Deletion of the extension of the northbound off ramp extension from
Highway 404 at the Major Mackenzie Drive interchange, which is intended to travel northward from Major Mackenzie Drive to Markland Street through the West Cathedral Community.
- Deletion of the ‘Mixed Use’ policies in the Cathedral Precinct
Designation (Section 4.4.1) that currently require mixed use development
and at-grade retail and commercial surrounding the Cathedral.
- Delete references to a greenbelt separator between employment and
residential districts (Section 5.1 c)) to reflect changes in the community
design plan and the new by-pass.
- Reduction in the projected number of residential units from 4,150
to 4,100.
- Replace references to “Markland Street” (Section 5.9.1 i)) with references to the “Woodbine By-pass”.
It is important to note that no
changes have been proposed in this draft amendment to the existing retail floor
space cap of 6,000 m2 (65,000 sq. ft.) contained within the Markham
Official Plan’s Business Corridor and Community Amenity Area designations,
although retail floor space issues are under review as part of the ongoing
Commercial Policy Review. The owner of
the property fronting onto the north side Major Mackenzie Drive has recently submitted an application for a
large-format retail centre containing individual retail modules up to
approximately 13,560 m2 (146,000 sq. ft.) in floor area. This application was addressed in a recent
preliminary report to Development Services Committee on May 18, 2004.
The approved and proposed Land Use
and Transportation Plans (Schedules AA and BB) are attached as Figures 4, 5, 6,
and 7. The text of the draft amendment
is attached as Appendix A.
The above-noted changes are
supported by an extensive set of background studies, which are currently under
review by Town Staff and outside agencies.
POTENTIAL BENEFITS OF APPROVAL OF THE PROPOSAL:
The proposed changes to the Cathedral
Community are in keeping with the original intent of the Cathedral Community
Secondary Plan. They represent a
refinement and update of the original policies.
Key benefits of the amendments include:
- Designation, in both the Markham Official Plan and the Cathedral
Secondary Plan of an arterial road by-pass of Victoria Square;
- Updated school and park locations;
- Refinements to the open space system;
- Refinements to the Cathedral Precinct and High Street;
- Designation of a mid block cross over of Highway 404.
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 Community Design Plan and
other background studies, will be addressed in the final Official Plan
Amendment and a staff recommendation report, if required, to be presented to
Committee at a later date:
·
Recognition of the northerly
extension of the northbound 404 off ramp between Major Mackenzie Drive and Markland
Street. A similar access road is also required north
of Elgin Mills. The Town’s
Transportation Group has previously indicated that this infrastructure will be
needed in the future to accommodate anticipated traffic volumes, and should be
identified and protected in the Secondary Plan.
·
Resolution of the local road
network in several key areas (see Figure 5), including:
o
the low density housing area
immediately south of the Cathedral, which is designed with a looped road system
which is not well connected to the Cathedral;
o
the looped road system in the
medium density area located immediately north and north west of the
Community Amenity Business Area at the south end of the community; and
o
the road and block pattern in
the area surrounding the intersection of Markland Street
and Highway 404 Crossover;
·
Opportunities to provide
additional neighbourhood park space at the western end of the Cathedral
Precinct, near the by-pass;
·
Opportunities for a moderate
increase in building heights along the Community Amenity Main Street Area
(“High Street”) west of the Cathedral from 4 storeys to 6 storeys;
·
Mandating at-grade commercial
in the Cathedral Precinct and along High Street (the Community Amenity – Main Street
designation), to provide additional policy direction regarding the envisioned
mixed-use character of these areas;
·
Resolution of the land use
interface between the Cathedral Precinct and the proposed low density
residential to the immediate south. In
this regard, consideration should be given to introducing more medium density
housing forms in the blocks immediately south of the Cathedral Precinct;
·
Resolution of the land use
interface and road layouts between the Community Amenity Business Area adjacent
to Major Mackenzie Drive and the residential neighbourhood immediately to the
north.
·
Developing an acceptable
strategy to preserve the table land portion of the woodlot located at the south
west corner of the community. In this
regard, consideration should be given to designating these trees as an environmentally
significant area (ESA) in the revised Secondary Plan.
Many of these
issues are directly related to the recently-submitted West Cathedral Community
Design Plan and related documents, and will be addressed through the detailed
review of these documents.
FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:
No financial
considerations have been identified to date.
ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS:
The revised Secondary Plan proposes
changes to the open space system set out in the existing Plan. Chief among these is removal of a looped open
space corridor along the old Markland Street alignment, linking the east-west
Carleton Creek corridor to the southernmost Stormwater Management Pond near
Woodbine Avenue, and widening of the open space corridor along Carleton Creek
west of Woodbine (see Figures 4 and 5).
The Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, in previous discussions,
has supported this proposal. The
landowners group has submitted extensive documentation, in the form of an
Environmental Impact Study and an Environmental and Stormwater Master Plan
which addresses these changes in detail.
These documents are currently under review by the Town and the TRCA.
ACCESSIBILITY CONSIDERATIONS:
There are no accessibility
considerations associated with this proposal
ENGAGE 21ST CONSIDERATIONS:
The proposed Secondary Plan promotes a number
of key goals set out in “Engage 21st Century Markham”. These include:
·
A strong environmental
focus, which provides significant open space amenities and protects and
enhances the Carleton Creek, an important green space;
·
Provides for efficient use
of infrastructure and managed growth, through compact development patterns,
design and layout based on the principles of new urbansim, and high levels of
architectural and urban design;
·
Transit-supportive land use
patterns and densities;
·
An open space and trail
network that will be fully integrated within the West Cathedral Community.
BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:
The draft Secondary Plan Amendment
is in currently in circulation. Relevant
agency and department comments will be incorporated into the final document.
CONCLUSIONS:
The proposed changes to the
Secondary Plan, together with the Community Design Plan and associated
background studies are currently under review by Town Staff and outside agencies. Any revisions to these documents, as
appropriate, will be reflected in the final Secondary Plan Amendment presented
to Development Services Committee. It
would therefore be appropriate schedule a public meeting at this time.
ATTACHMENTS:
Figure 1 – Location Map
Figure 2 – Zoning and Area Context
Figure 3 – Air Photo
Figure 4 – Existing Land Use Plan, Schedule AA Cathedral Community
Secondary Plan
Figure 5 – Proposed Land Use Plan, Schedule AA Cathedral Community
Secondary Plan
Figure 6 - Existing Transportation Plan, Schedule BB Cathedral Community
Secondary Plan
Figure 7 – Proposed Transportation Plan, Scheduel BB Cathedral Community
Secondary Plan
Appendix A – Draft Secondary Plan Amendment
|
|
|
|
|
Valerie Shuttleworth, M.C.I.P., R.P.P.
Director of Planning & Urban Design
|
|
Jim
Baird, M.C.I.P., R.P.P.
Commissioner of Development Services
|
Q:\Development\Planning\Teams\WEST\Cathedral Community\draft
plan\DEVELOPMENT SERVICES COMMITTEE - preliminary report draft secondary plan.doc
FIGURE 1 – LOCATION
OWNERS: Cathedral
Landowners Group
c/o Mr. Andrew Orr
West Cathedral
Management Inc.
30 Madras Place,
Brampton ON L6S 2Z2
Phone: 905-792-3464
Fax: 905-458-9480
AGENT: Ms Julie Bottos
Stantec Consulting Ltd.
300-7270 Woodbine Avenue
Markham ON L3R 4B9
Phone: 905-474-0455
Fax: 905-474-9889
LOCATION MAP:
