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TO: |
Mayor and Members of Council |
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FROM: |
Jim Baird, Commissioner of Development Services Valerie Shuttleworth, Director of
Planning & Urban Design |
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PREPARED BY: |
Murray
Boyce, Senior Project Coordinator, Policy and Research |
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DATE OF MEETING: |
2003-06-17 |
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SUBJECT: |
Terms
of Reference Framework for Highway 7 Corridor Study |
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RECOMMENDATION:
THAT
the staff report entitled “ Terms of Reference Framework for Highway 7 Corridor
Study”, dated June 17, 2003 be received for information.
AND THAT staff report back on the consultant selection and detailed work program upon completion of the “Request For Proposal” process.
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this report is to provide information
on the terms of reference framework for a Highway 7 Corridor Study to assist
staff with the development of a comprehensive Strategy for the Highway 7
Corridor, as authorized by Development Services Committee on October 8, 2002.
The terms of reference framework attached to this
report as Appendix “A” provides a guideline for the Purchasing Department to
issue a “Request for Proposal” to lead candidate firms, with demonstrated
qualifications and expertise in land use planning and urban design, to
undertake the Highway 7 Corridor Study. (Funds are allocated to this study in
the 2003 Capital Budget).
BACKGROUND:
On October 8, 2002, the Development Services
Committee received a report entitled “Developing A Strategy for the Highway 7
Corridor”, and authorized staff to undertake a study to develop a comprehensive
strategy for the sustained and integrated future planning of the Highway 7
Corridor in Markham.
The staff report described and summarized for the
Committee a number of current planning strategies, studies and initiatives
underway that collectively demonstrate the significance of the Highway 7
Corridor as a location where unprecedented rapid transit service, mixing of
land uses, and higher density forms of development will be achieved. Set within that context, the report
identified the importance of confirming an overall Town vision for the future
urban structure of the Highway 7 Corridor and development of a comprehensive
strategy to achieve the vision.
The report identified that the Strategy must be
transit-oriented and contain specific policies and integrated actions to
provide for transit supportive development, as appropriate, along the Highway 7
Corridor. For study purposes the Highway 7 Corridor will include the Highway 7
right-of-way and adjoining lands within approximately 500 metres, based on
current best knowledge that transit use is significantly higher where walking
distance is within 500 metres of a rapid transit corridor (roughly a 6 minute
walk).
It is intended that the Strategy will address
specific policy and implementation requirements along the Highway 7 Corridor
related to:
·
land use;
·
development and design standards;
·
transportation;
·
infrastructure; and
·
financial arrangements.
It is also intended that the strategy will establish
a comprehensive and integrated decision-making framework to deliver an overall
vision for the Highway 7 Corridor consistent with the objectives of all parties
involved, including the Region of York and the York Rapid Transit Plan
consortium (who are currently undertaking an environmental assessment for the
Highway 7 Transitway.)
The Committee requested that staff incorporate
work/resource requirements for developing a Strategy for the Highway 7 Corridor
in the 2003 Business Plan and Budget Submission of Town Departments, as
required. Council subsequently approved
the 2003 Capital Budget with a line item in the Development Services Commission
budget to engage consultants to work with staff on the development of the
Strategy, including necessary land use and transportation studies.
DISCUSSION:
At
this time, staff wishes to retain consultants to undertake a land
use/transportation study to provide the technical background and overall
context necessary for the development of a comprehensive strategy for managing
the future urban structure in support of transit services within the Highway 7
Corridor in Markham. A detailed Terms
of Reference framework for the Highway 7 Corridor Study is attached as Appendix
‘A’ to this report.
The
study is intended to confirm and articulate Markham’s overall vision for a
transit supportive urban structure of the Highway 7 Corridor and to provide the
necessary information to support decisions relating to the development of a
comprehensive strategy to achieve the vision.
The study will identify the objectives, guiding principles and key
components of the strategy.
The
study will identify the requirements of a comprehensive policy framework for
the strategy relating land use policies, development and design standards, and
transportation management policies. The
study will also establish an implementation framework including the
identification of financial tools and infrastructure improvements necessary to
deliver key components of the strategy.
It
is intended that the study will supply the necessary information to provide the
basis for an official plan amendment to designate a planning area and establish
specific policies, standards and programs comprising the components of the
strategy to be applied within the planning area.
The study is presently seen as proceeding through three phases:
Phase
1 – Inventory and Assessment of Current Conditions
An
inventory and assessment of the current urban structure of the Highway 7
Corridor is underway and will include a baseline evaluation, policy review, and
the identification of opportunities, constraints and special planning
issues. The inventory and assessment
will take into account the land use, development and design standards,
transportation, infrastructure and financial components of the study.
Upon
completion of the inventory and assessment, the information gathered will be
organized into key segments of the Highway 7 Corridor based on their
characteristics and function. The analysis will also highlight issues to be
addressed regarding each segment of the Corridor.
Phase
2 – Confirmation of Town’s
Vision/Development of Strategy Components
Based
on the comprehensive understanding of the current urban structure of the
Highway 7 Corridor and the identification of opportunities and constraints for
transit supportive development provided in Phase 1, a vision will be confirmed
for the future urban structure of the Highway 7 Corridor.
The
vision will be expressed through the development of a comprehensive strategy
comprised of five components: Land Use,
Development and Design Standards, Transportation, Infrastructure and
Finance. The vision will also be
expressed through the definition of corridor segments for which specific
policies, standards, and programs comprising the strategy components could be
applied. Finally, the strategy for
achieving the vision must have a schedule with near and long time frames for
achieving transit services and transit supportive development.
In
this phase of the study, a vision statement and objectives for the
comprehensive strategy will be articulated and a set of development principles
will be confirmed for the Highway 7 Corridor.
Each of the five strategy components will be developed to, among other
things, address the opportunities, constraints and special planning issues
identified earlier in the study, and to identify preliminary policy
requirements and implementation options.
During
this phase, the Phase 1 findings and Phase 2 strategy development options will
be presented to Development Services Committee and at a subsequent public open
house/information session to obtain input and feedback.
Phase
3 – Outline of a Comprehensive Strategy and
Requirements for Implementation
In this phase, the overall vision and an outline of requirements for a comprehensive strategy to achieve the vision will be fully developed. This will include recommendations for actions necessary to achieve the vision including, but not limited to, a policy framework which would form the basis of amendments to municipal planning documents, transit and infrastructure program requirements, and a time table for the implementation of the strategy components accounting for phasing and staging of actions at specific corridor segments.
The Phase 3 recommendations will be presented to Development Services Committee and at a subsequent public open house/information session to obtain input and feedback.
Staff
has identified the following guidelines for the study budget and schedule:
·
the
study will have a target (maximum) budget of $75,000 plus applicable GST with
the study budget being divided into three components; and
·
the
study will be completed within approximately 6-8 months of the execution of the
study contract.
The
study will require a consultant team with expertise in analysis, and the
development of purposeful, flexible strategies and policies in the areas of
land use, urban design, transportation planning and municipal finance.
CONCLUSION:
The
attached terms of reference framework for the Highway 7 Corridor Study has been
forwarded to the Purchasing Department as a guideline for issuing a “Request
For Proposal” to candidate “lead”
firms, with demonstrated qualifications and expertise in land use planning and
urban design, to undertake the Highway 7 Corridor Study. The “lead” firm would also need to
demonstrate in-house expertise in other components of the study (ie.
transportation and municipal finance), or identify a team of associated
sub-consultants.
The
Purchasing Department will notify the Finance and Administration Committee of
the award of the Highway 7 Corridor Study contract in its monthly report on all
contracts approved and awarded by Commissioners and the Chief Administrative
Officer.
Planning
staff will also report back to the Development Services Committee on the
consultant selection and detailed work program upon completion of the “Request
for Proposal” process. Staff have
identified the Development Services Committee as an appropriate forum for
obtaining Council input and feedback on the consultant study findings and draft
recommendations at key stages of the study work program.
FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:
Sufficient
funds to retain a consultant to carry out the Highway 7 Corridor Study have
been approved in the 2003 Development Services Commission Capital Budget
Account No. 80 5399 5185 005.
ATTACHMENTS:
Appendix
A – Terms of Reference Framework for Highway 7 Corridor Study
Document:
Q:\Development\Planning\MISC\MI465\dscJun172003.doc
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Valerie Shuttleworth, M.C.I.P., R.P.P.
Director of Planning and Urban Design |
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Jim Baird, M.C.I.P., R.P.P. Commissioner of Development Services |
