RECOMMENDATION:
That the record of Public Meeting
held on July 7, 2003, entitled “Solarino Holding, Zoning By-law Amendment To
Add A Use To The Existing Industrial (M) Zone, 29 Laidlaw Boulevard,” be
received;
That the Zoning By-law Amendment
application (ZA.03-112553) submitted by Solarino Holdings for a permanent
by-law not be approved;
That the proposed temporary use
by-law attached as Appendix ‘B’ be approved and that the temporary use by-law
not be presented to Council for enactment, until the Owner has secured an appropriately
zoned site to accommodate the off site storage of vehicles associated with the
temporary motor vehicle sales establishment.
PURPOSE:
The purpose of
this report is to review the proposed Zoning By-law Amendment application by
Solarino Holdings to add retail use permission (motor vehicle sales) to the
existing list of uses permitted in the Industrial (M) Zone at 29 Laidlaw Blvd.
BACKGROUND:
The subject property is located at the southeast corner of Bullock Drive
and Laidlaw Boulevard and is municipally known as 29 Laidlaw Boulevard (Figure
1). In August 2000 the Development Services Committee
approved a site plan application for the construction of a two storey
multi-tenant industrial building. The
Owner has subsequently constructed this building and a portion of it is
currently occupied. Outside
landscaping and fencing work is also nearing completion. In August 2002, the Committee of
Adjustment approved a minor variance application to permit a commercial school
(Tae Kwan Do center) on the second storey of the building. An auto repair shop (Sam’s Garage) is
operating at the rear of the building and a travel agency is located at the
front of the building.
Current Official Plan designation and zoning
The property is designated Business
Corridor in the Official Plan. The
Business Corridor designation permits a range of office, industrial, service
and limited retail uses. The proposal
conforms with the Official Plan. The lands are currently
zoned Industrial (M), by By-law 1229, as amended. A by-law amendment is required to permit the proposed use.
The applicant has submitted an
application to rezone the property
The applicant has submitted an
application to rezone the property to add retail use permission to the uses
currently permitted on site. The
applicant is proposing to lease the front portion of the existing building to a
Kia car dealership, as a showroom only.
No outdoor storage or display of vehicles is proposed on the site. No changes are proposed to the original
approved site plan (Figure 3).
DISCUSSION
Insufficient parking spaces
The approved site plan provided for
a total of 40 parking spaces. The
current uses and the proposed retail use would create a shortfall of 35 parking
spaces on the site. The following
chart identifies the required parking spaces for the three existing uses and
the proposed retail use:
Existing (E) and Proposed (P) Use
|
Use
|
Parking Required
|
Net Square Meters
|
Parking Spaces required
|
Auto Car Repair Shop (E)
|
Industrial
|
1 space/40m˛
|
693
|
17
|
|
Travel Agency (E)
|
Business
|
1 space/30m˛
|
66
|
2
|
|
Tae Kwon Do Centre (E)
|
Commercial
|
1 space/20m˛
|
650
|
38
|
|
Car Dealership (P)
|
Retail
|
1 space/25m˛
|
466
|
18
|
Total
|
|
|
|
75
|
On August 14, 2002, the Committee
of Adjustment granted a minor variance to permit a Tae Kwon Do (TKD) centre to
locate on the second floor and to reduce the required parking from 63 to 40
spaces. The parking requirement for the
remaining vacant space in the building (car dealership area) was at that time
calculated using the industrial rate of 1 space/40m˛. The variance was rationalized based on a shared parking formula;
the parking demand of the TKD centre peaks in the evenings, as opposed to the
travel agency and car repair shop, which typically peaks during regular
business hours. In the course of
reviewing the current application, staff indicated that since the peak hours of
operation for the proposed car dealership and the TKD centre were similar, a
possible parking conflict may arise.
Staff requested that the applicant provide a parking study.
Off-site storage of inventory cars
The Business Corridor Official Plan
designation of the site provides for retail uses provided there is no accessory
outdoor storage. This would allow a
car dealership (retail use) subject to the prohibition of any outdoor storage
or display of vehicles (including demo vehicles) and provision of required
parking spaces. All vehicles would
have to be stored off site.
Parking study requested
A preliminary Planning report was
received by Development Services Committee outlining staff’s concern with the
parking shortfall. At the July 7, 2003,
public meeting the applicant was requested to submit a parking utilization
study. Following the review of the
parking study, staff met with the applicant and noted the following concerns:
·
The parking study does not include
employee parking.
·
The comparison to the showroom in
Richmond Hill does not include hours of operation beyond 6:00 p.m. on a
weekday. Typically, car dealerships are
open until 9:00 p.m. on weekdays.
Therefore the parking demands could possibly conflict with the Tai Kwan
Do Academy’s peak hours of operation.
·
Hours of
operation cannot be controlled by the Town and could result in future conflicts
with new/existing uses.
·
The applicant is
proposing off-site storage of the vehicles at 9331 Markham Road. The site is zoned Highway Commercial (M.HC),
by By-law 88-76, as amended, which prohibits open storage yards for vehicles,
unless associated with an on site automobile sales and leasing
establishment. A suitable location for
the off site storage of the vehicles needs to be confirmed.
·
Staff question whether the parking
counts were randomly assigned to the uses within the complex or whether
inquiries were made on the patrons destination.
Applicant has submitted an addendum
to the original parking study
The applicant submitted an addendum to
the original parking study which addressed most of staff’s concerns. The addendum included tables incorporating
staff parking requirements and included data for weekday evening parking use
(6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.). To
distinguish the allocation of patrons for each use surveyed, the parking
analysis employed an on-site observation method. As each parking space was occupied by a patron, the surveyor
observed the unit entered by the patron to confirm the parking allocation for
each use.
After reviewing and commenting on the
parking study, staff cannot support the application for a permanent
by-law. Although the applicant has
indicated staggered hours of operation for the current existing uses, the use
mix could change in the future. The
parking study also identifies the closing times for each of the existing
uses. Since the Town cannot control the
hours of operation for individual uses, any change in the closing times may
impact the parking demands. Staff could
consider a temporary use by-law, which would allow staff to monitor the
parking.
Letter of intent indicates that 29
Laidlaw is a short term solution
Staff have indicated to the applicant
that the application as submitted, for permanent use, could not be
supported. However, the applicant
indicated that they have a letter of intent from the parent company (Kia Canada
Inc.), which includes a schedule (attached to this report) dealing with
temporary use. The schedule to the letter
of intent (Appendix ‘C’), states that the property at 29 Laidlaw is not
configured as a traditional new car dealership and therefore is considered a
short term solution that will be suitable for not less than three (3) years
from the commencement of business.
The applicant continues to propose
off-site storage of vehicles at 9331 Markham Road. The Zoning Section has confirmed that the outdoor storage of
vehicles is only permitted with an associated automobile sales and leasing
establishment (on the same site). Staff
recommend that should Council support the temporary use by-law approach, that
the amending by-law not be brought forward to Council and enacted until an
appropriate location for the outdoor storage of vehicles has been secured by
the applicant.
On this basis and subject to satisfying
staff’s concerns with respect to parking as outlined in this report, a
temporary use by-law for a period of three (3) years could be considered. This would enable staff to monitor the
parking and should a problem arise, the applicant is aware that Council has the
authority to not extend the use provision beyond three (3) years.
FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:
No
financial implications are to be considered in this report.
ENVIRONMENTAL
CONSIDERATIONS:
None
at this time.
ACCESSIBILITY
CONSIDERATIONS:
None
at this time.
BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:
The
application was circulated to Town Departments and commenting agencies and any
issues have been discussed in this report.
|
|
|
|
|
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
|
DOCUMENT: Q:\Development\Planning\APPL\ZONING\03
112553 Solarino Holdings\final report.doc
ATTACHMENTS: Figure 1 – Location Map
Figure 2 – Area Context/Zoning
Figure 3 – Approved Site Plan
Appendix A – Explanatory Note
Appendix B – Draft Zoning By-law Amendment
Appendix C – Letter of Intent
APPLICANT/AGENT: Brutto Consulting Tel: 905-851-1201
Attn: James Okawa Fax: 905-851-8772
61
Creditview Road, Suite 1
Vaughan, ON
L4L
9N4
