RECOMMENDATION:
That a Public Meeting be
held to consider Zoning Amendment Application ZA 03-114598 submitted by Delmark Investment Company, to permit a place of
worship at 85
Royal Crest Court.
PURPOSE:
Delmark Investment Company has submitted a rezoning application, on
behalf of the Chinese Evangelical Alliance Church of Toronto, to permit a place
of worship at 85 Royal Crest Court. The purpose
of this report is to provide preliminary information on the zoning application,
and to recommend that a statutory public meeting be held to consider the
application.
BACKGROUND:
Property and Area Context
The
subject property is located on the south side of Royal Crest Court west of Crown Steel Drive, and consists of 0.81 ha (2 acres) (See Figure 1). The site is presently vacant with no
significant vegetation or natural features.
Surrounding the site to the east, west, south, and on the north side of Royal Crest Court are
industrial and office commercial buildings.
Further north, behind the industrial building, is the CN principle line
(See Figures 2 & 3).
Official
Plan provides for a place of worship
The Official
Plan designates the subject property “General Industrial Area”. This designation provides for the proposed
use, subject to approval of a zoning amendment application. Official Plan
Amendment (OPA #115) for places of worship, which has yet to receive regional
approval, contains specific criteria for
evaluating applications for place of worship approval. The criteria relevant to the subject
proposal are discussed below:
1. Official Plan Amendment is required for
new and expanded places of worship sites in Industrial areas that have site
areas greater than 2.5 hectares.
The
proposed site for the place of worship will have an area of 0.8 hectares; hence
an official plan amendment is not required.
2. Location
criteria with respect to road classification.
Where the place of worship site is located in
Industrial (General Industrial Area) designation, it may be located on a
collector or local road. As mentioned above, the subject property is
designated General Industrial Area and the site is located on Royal Crest Court, which is a local road.
3. Ability to effectively manage negative
impacts of the proposed place of worship on the surrounding area.
The proposed place of worship is
surrounded by existing industrial uses.
Since the proposed development will be providing parking in accordance
with the Town’s new standards, parking issues during regular usage is not expected.
Other potential negative impacts such as those related to noise and light are
also not expected to be of concern in this industrial area. However, it is expected that the statutory
Public Meeting process will reveal any concerns from other landowners or
tenants in the vicinity and can be addressed at a later date.
4. Ability to effectively manage any impacts of traffic generated by the
place of worship on surrounding uses.
Since place of worship activities typically
occur during off-peak times such as weekends and weekday evenings, as is the
case with the proposed development according to the applicant, traffic
generated by the proposed place of worship is not expected to have a negative
impact on surrounding uses. This matter
will be examined further through the application review process.
5. Can
the site provide adequate access for vehicles; is the site accessible by
pedestrians; and is there existing or future availability of public transit
within short walking distance.
The
site is proposed to be served by a single access from Royal Crest Court. The need for
a second access and the ability to provide such an access will be reviewed
prior to completion of a staff recommendation on this application. Public transit is currently available along Crown Steel Drive and a portion of Royal Crest Court, but not during off-peak times to serve the place of
worship. Although public transit is
available along 14th Avenue during off-peak hours during weekdays, and within
walking distance from the site, adequate sidewalks are not available in the
area at this time to serve pedestrians.
Staff will review these matters further prior to a staff recommendation
on this application.
6 Considerations
with respect to off-street parking and internal traffic circulation.
As
discussed below, the applicant is currently proposing sufficient parking to
satisfy the Town’s new parking
requirements for places of worship.
However, parking and internal traffic circulation will be reviewed in
conjunction with matters such as building location and landscaping which are
identified below as issues to be resolved.
These matters will be considered through the application review process.
7. A
plan to provide for off-site parking, if required for special events held at
the place of worship.
This
matter remains to be discussed in detail with the applicant, as part of the
application review process.
8.
Proposed
landscaping including planting, grading and screening is appropriate to
complement the proposed place of worship and surrounding uses.
Staff have identified
insufficient landscaping as a concern and will work with the applicant to
provide additional landscaping as part of the site plan approval process.
9. The
place of worship design minimizes impacts on adjacent uses and is in keeping
with the Town’s policies with respect to visual appearance and applicable urban
design guidelines.
The
proposed building location is not in keeping with the character of the
surrounding area and staff will be working with the applicant to determine the
feasibility of relocating the building on site.
The visual appearance of the proposed building in relation to the
existing buildings in the area will also be reviewed with the Urban Design
division.
Zoning
By-law amendment is required
The
subject property is currently zoned Select Industrial and Limited Commercial
[M.C.(40%)] under By-law 108-81, as amended.
The current zoning permits a variety of industrial and commercial uses,
but does not include permission for a place of worship; hence a site specific
amendment is required to permit the proposed use.
Proposal
to permit a place of worship
The
applicant has submitted an application to amend the zoning by-law, on behalf of
the Chinese Evangelical Alliance Church of Toronto, to permit a place of
worship having a total gross floor area of 1,759 m2
(18,934.3 ft2). The
proposed development is to be constructed in two phases. The first phase will have a gross floor area
of 1,407 m2 (15,145.3 ft2),
and the second phase will have a gross floor area of 352 m2 (3,789 ft2). The proposed place of worship will feature a
prayer hall on the ground floor with approximately 400 seats. The basement is intended to contain
classrooms, meeting rooms, and a fellowship hall/gym (See Figures 4a/b &
5a/b). The applicant has also applied for
site plan approval. The site plan
application is currently being reviewed by staff, and will be processed
concurrently with the zoning application.
Proposed
place of worship has adequate parking
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. The following
chart shows the required and provided parking spaces for each phase and for the
entire development.
|
|
Net
Floor Area
|
Required
Parking
|
Parking
Provided
|
Phase 1
|
1032
m2
|
115
spaces
|
122
spaces
|
|
Phase
2
|
446
m2
|
50
spaces
|
67
spaces
|
|
Total
Parking
|
1478
m2
|
165
spaces
|
189
spaces
|
As
indicated in the above chart, the proposed place of worship will require a
total of 165 parking spaces, whereas 189 spaces are proposed for a total
parking surplus of 24 spaces. There is
sufficient parking on-site for the proposed development.
POTENTIAL BENEFITS OF APPROVAL OF THE
PROPOSAL:
The proposed use would provide a cultural service to the residents of
the Town of Markham as well as support the multi-cultural diversity of
the Town.
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.
Issues identified to date include:
- The proposed building location is a
concern from an urban design point of view. Urban Design staff have suggested that
the building be moved closer to the street with the parking area to be
located at the rear.
- Proposed site plan has insufficient
landscaping. Additional landscape
buffering will be needed to satisfy the requirements of the Urban Design
section.
- Other matters raised in this report with
respect to the criteria established in OPA 115 for evaluating applications
for places of worship approval.
ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS:
There
are no significant vegetation or natural features on site.
FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:
No financial
impacts at this time.
ACCESSIBILITY CONSIDERATIONS:
Accessibility considerations will be reviewed as part of the site plan
approval process.
BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:
The
application was circulated to all Town departments and external agencies, and
their recommendations/comments will be incorporated in the final report.
It would be appropriate to hold a Public Meeting to obtain comments on
the application for zoning by-law 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
|
FILE PATH: Q:\Development\Planning\APPL\ZONING\03 114598 Delmark
Investment Company\Preliminary
Report.doc
ATTACHMENTS: Figure 1 – Location Map
Figure 2 –
Area Context and Zoning
Figure 3 –
Aerial Photo
Figure 4a –
Site Plan – Phase 1
Figure 4b –
Site Plan – Phase 2
Figure 5a –
Elevation – Phase 1
Figure
5b – Elevation – Phase 2
AGENT: C.D.P. Real Estate Limited
Mr. Otto
Voros
5 McIntosh
Drive
Markham
ON L3R 8C7
Tel:
905-475-1433 ext. 225
Fax:
905-475-3143
