RECOMMENDATION:
THAT the proposed Development Agreement between Tenstone
Developments Incorporated, the Town of Markham and the Regional Municipality of
York be authorized for execution on the basis of this staff report, subject to
finalizing details of the Agreement to the satisfaction of the Town Solicitor
and the Commissioner of Development Services.
AND THAT site plan condition A.10 of Phase 1 site plan approval, as
adopted by Council on July 8, 2003, respecting permanent underground
encroachments in municipal right-of-ways, be deleted, since the proposed Development Agreement will reflect the Town’s proposed policy for
treatment of underground encroachments, to the satisfaction of the Director of
Engineering.
PURPOSE:
The
purpose of this report is to describe the terms of the proposed Development
Agreement between Tenstone Developments Incorporated,
the Town of Markham and the Regional Municipality of York, for an approved
mixed-use development to be located on the northwest corner of Highway 7 and
Town Centre Boulevard (Figure 1 – Location Plan).
BACKGROUND:
On
July 8, 2003, as a condition of site plan approval, Council directed that
Tenstone Developments Incorporated enter into a Development Agreement to the
satisfaction of the Commissioner of Development Services and the Town
Solicitor, incorporating the principles outlined in a staff report entitled
“Tenstone Developments Inc. (Circa @ Town Centre)
Boulevard, dated July 7, 2003.” Council directed that the terms of the Agreement be brought back for authorization, prior to execution by the Town.
In November 2002, Council had approved amendments to
the Official Plan and Zoning By-law, as well as a Precinct Plan for this
development (Figure 2). At that time Council directed that Tenstone enter into
a Development Agreement for the entire site, which would provide the framework
for delivery, by the applicant, of key elements of public infrastructure to
support this development. The proposed Development Agreement is, in effect, a
Master Site Plan Agreement for the entire site. It provides conditions for
broader matters affecting the overall site, such as project phasing, terms of
the delivery of parkland, construction and dedication of the north/south public
road, payment of development charges, and a variety of off-site requirements,
such as provision of traffic signalization. The plans attached to the proposed
Agreement include: a Master Plan showing phasing; the overall streetscape plan;
overall landscape plan; the concept plan for the park, as well as a landscape
plan for the linkage across the adjoining Hydro lands to the corner of Rodick
Road and Highway 7. These schedules are appended as figures to this report.
Site plan agreements for the
various phases of this development will be approved as the project builds out.
Matters such as the final details of architectural and landscape design,
parking layout and access will be dealt with at the site plan approval stage.
The applicant received site plan approval for Phase 1 of this development on
July 8, 2003 (northerly highrise, amenities building, all of the townhouses and
the north/south road) and has been working with staff to finalize the Phase 1
site plan agreement.
OPTIONS/DISCUSSION:
Legal, Planning, Engineering and Urban Design staff
has prepared a draft Development Agreement, which the applicant has reviewed.
Staff is now prepared to recommend that this document be executed, subject to
resolving final wording of clauses. The following
sections of this report highlight seven major elements of the proposed
Agreement and briefly comments on how the project will proceed to building
permit issuance:
1. Draft
Development Agreement
Phasing of
Development and Parkland
As discussed in detail in previous reports on
this matter, phasing of building construction, underground parking,
streetscaping, landscaping, parkland development, infrastructure and all other
relevant elements for development of the entire site are set out in this
Agreement. Schedules and tables identifying the overall phasing, landscaping,
streetscaping, as well as a concept landscape plan for the public park and
hydro corridor linkage are appended to the proposed Agreement (see Figures
2,3,4 and 5 to this report). This Agreement will provide guidance for site plan
approval as the various phases of development proceed.
Parkland Dedication and Markham Centre Parkland Strategy
In accordance with the recommended Parkland Strategy for
Markham Centre (which was endorsed by Development Services Committee on
September 9, 2003), the Development Agreement recognizes the existing parkland
dedication standard for Markham Centre and provides for a parkland dedication
consisting of a combination of land (2.7 acres) and a cash-in-lieu
contribution, based on a land value of $600,000.00 per acre.
The Agreement also acknowledges
the intent to credit the owner for the delivery of enhanced park improvements,
beyond the Town’s standard, which is currently valued at approximately
$85,000.00 per acre. The proposed credit for the enhanced improvements to the
parkland is calculated at up to a maximum of three times the base standard. The
proposed Agreement further recognizes the intent of the Town to permit the
Owner underground rights below the parkland for underground parking, at a nominal
sum. The value for the use of the
rights below the parkland for private parking is predicated on the Owner
entering into an agreement with the Town containing wording which specifies
public benefits associated with the future use of parking, including parking
authority relationships, membership in the Markham Centre Transportation
Management Association, and public access to commercial parking during off-peak
hours.
Based on this formula, the
parkland contribution as provided for in the draft Development Agreement is as
follows:
Parkland
dedication required 6.9
acres
Credit for over dedication (north of Cox Boulevard) (0.9 acres)
Land
to be conveyed (2.7
acres)
Total
Parkland by Cash-in –Lieu 3.3
acres
Balance
owing cash-in-lieu (3.3 acres x $600,000 per acre) $1,980,000.00
Less
credit for enhanced parkland (based upon $255,000 in
improvements
per acre in 2003 dollars) $688,500.00
Plus
value for below grade rights nominal
Total
balance owing to Town upon execution $1,291,500.00
Park Design and Construction
The
design of the public park is shown conceptually on a schedule attached to the
proposed Development Agreement. The ultimate park design will be incorporated
into a Final Park Plan prepared by the owner’s landscape architect for approval
by the Town, prior to commencement of construction of the first park phase. The
terms of this Development Agreement, as negotiated with the owner, require that
the owner construct the park.
Construction and Dedication of the new North/South public road
The
owner will construct the north/south public road at its sole expense and to
Town specifications and shall ensure that the road is dedicated and open to the
public prior to occupancy of any of the townhouse units in this project. Both
of the highrise towers , senior’s/office building and two office buildings will
ultimately link to the north/south public road. The connection of the highrise
towers will be made in Phase 3 when the senior’s/office building and associated
underground garage is constructed.
While
the original development approvals of this project were based upon a full turn
movements intersection with signalization, (which is supported by Town staff),
Region of York staff, at this time, wish to restrict the access to Highway 7 to
right-in/right-out only, pending an environmental assessment examining
provision of rapid transit in the Highway 7 corridor. As a result, the proposed
Agreement provides for the provision of limited access to Highway 7
(unsignalized R-in/R-out access), based upon Tenstone’s verification that the
first Phase of development can be supported by this access arrangement (see
Letter from Transportation Consultation attached as Appendix A).
The
proposed Agreement would provide that the Owner shall endeavour to secure
approval for a full movement signalized intersection from the Region prior to
site plan approval of any future phases of this development and contribute to ½
the cost of the signalization.
Planning
staff has advised the Region of York of the Town’s proposed approach respecting
development of the future north/south public road.
Timing of Infrastructure Development
- signalization of Town Centre Boulevard and
Cox Boulevard is required prior to occupancy of the northerly apartment
building;
- design, construction and installation of
the sidewalk improvements along Cox Boulevard is required prior to
occupancy of any townhouses;
- design, construction and installation of
signals and pedestrian crossings for the intersection at Cox Boulevard and
Rodick Road is required prior to occupancy of any of the townhouses west
of the public road;
- design and construction of Cox Boulevard
roadway improvements (including traffic calming measures, turning lanes,
curb modifications, parking lay-bys, street lighting) is required prior to
any occupancy of the northerly apartment building.
- financial guarantees will be provided by
the Owner for a proportionate contribution to the future urbanization of
Highway 7 which will be undertaken once the ultimate design of Highway 7
incorporating rapid transit and the requisite widening is complete
Development Charges
Based
on discussions with staff and the Committee appointed by Council to resolve the
parkland contribution for this project, the Owner has agreed to pay area
specific development charges for Phase 1 Markham Centre on the basis of
$1,200.00 per residential unit. This
figure has been agreed upon in advance of a new area specific development charge
being finalized for Markham Centre and the Owner acknowledges that in the event
the new area specific development charge adopted is less than the agreed upon
figure, no refunds will be granted by the Town for the difference. The applicant further agrees to not appeal
the new updated development charge for Markham Centre when adopted, and the
Town-wide ‘Hard’ Development Charge By-law.
Based
on the above, the owner agrees to pay area specific development charges for
Phase 1, as follows:
546 units @ $1,200.00 per unit $655,200.00
Below Grade Construction in the Public Right of Way
The
owner has proposed to encroach into the public right-of-way with shoring for
the purpose of constructing the apartment buildings adjacent to the street.
Engineering staff has reviewed this request and in a report on this agenda,
recommends that the Town establish a policy and conditions for the encroachment
of shoring into the right-of-way to facilitate the construction of underground
structures. Subject to approval of this report, entitled “Markham Centre Shoring
Encroachment Agreement”, the Development Agreement will reflect the terms of
the approach recommended in that staff report. To that end this report
recommends deleting the requirements for the Phase 1 site plan approval that
effectively prohibit permanent underground encroachments.
Walkway on Public lands
The
owner will provide working drawings for a detailed walkway design for a
proposed walkway across the adjoining hydro corridor based upon the Hydro
Corridor Landscape Plan, which is attached as a schedule to the proposed
Development Agreement. The owner will also provide a letter of credit to secure
the cost of construction of the proposed walkway prior to occupancy of the
townhouses west of the new north/south public road. The Town agrees to construct
and maintain the walkway, subject to any agreement negotiated by the Town with
appropriate authorities.
2. Site Plan Agreement
Status
Site Plan approval was granted for Phase 1 (northerly highrise,
amenities building, townhouses and public road) on July 8, 2003, subject to
conditions. A site plan agreement is now being drafted for Phase 1 of this
development. As discussed earlier in this report, since new guidelines for
permanent underground encroachments are being recommended for adoption and will
be reflected in the proposed Development Agreement, it is appropriate that the
following condition of Tenstone’s site plan approval for Phase 1, be deleted:
“A.10. THAT the
Owner shall design the site so as to eliminate any permanent underground
encroachment onto the municipal road rights of way”.
This is considered a minor change, since all
conditions other than #10 would remain.
Next Steps
While the proposed Development Agreement is a Master
Site Plan Agreement for the entire site that provides conditions for broader
matters affecting the overall site, such as project phasing, and the terms of
parkland delivery, more detailed matters, such as the architectural treatment
and landscape design, parking layout and access are being dealt with at site
plan approval stage. Site plan agreements for the various phases of this
development will be approved as the project builds out.
The applicant received site plan approval for Phase
1 of this development on July 8, 2003 (northerly highrise, amenities building,
all of the townhouses and the north/south road) and has been working with staff
to finalize the Phase 1 site plan agreement. The Development Agreement and Site Plan Agreement for Phase 1 must be
executed before the hold restriction appended to the zoning of the lands can be
removed and building permits secured.
FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:
The financial considerations have been resolved for this development
proposal under Development Charges and the cash-in-lieu of parkland
contribution as set out in this report.
ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS:
This application is located within
Markham Centre and as such has been reviewed by the Advisory Committee, with
particular emphasis on Green Infrastructure.
Through this review process the applicants have agreed to use District
Energy to provide heating and cooling and have undertaken to provide energy
efficient appliances and a green roof to help promote environmental
sustainability by reducing heat island effect and stormwater discharge. A green
roofing system is a permanent green space on top of a building. The green roof
technology includes: roof structure and insulation, waterproofing membrane,
drainage layer, landscape cloth to contain the roots and soil, soil/specialized
growing medium and the plants.
ACCESSIBILITY CONSIDERATIONS:
This project is not geared specifically to address the needs of mentally
or physically challenged individuals, however accessibility requirements will
be implemented through the building permit review process, in accordance with
the Ontario Building Code.
ENGAGE 21ST CONSIDERATIONS:
This project helps to provide the framework for the timely
delivery of well-planned new communities, such as Markham Centre, that are
phased and coordinated with the provision of infrastructure.
BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:
The
Development Agreement has been circulated to all applicable department and
agencies for comment. Detailed requirements of the applicable departments and
agencies have been incorporated into the agreement.
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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
DOCUMENT Q:\Development\Planning\APPL\SITEPLAN\02110607\dsc0916mu.pm.doc
ATTACHMENTS:
Report Figures
Figure 1 Location
Map
Figure 2 Precinct
Plan
Figure 3 Master
Phasing Plan
Figure 4 Master
Landscape Plan
Figure 5 Overall
Streetscape Plan
Figure 6 Concept
Plan for Public Park (Open Space Concept)
Figure 7 Concept
Plan for linkage over hydro corridor
Appendix A Letter
from Owner’s Traffic Consultant
APPLICANT/AGENT: Mr. Steve Upton
4800
Dufferin Street
Toronto,
Ontario
M3H
5S9
Telephone: 416-736-2541
Fax: 416-661-0978
LOCATION PLAN
