RECOMMENDATION:
That the report dated April 22, 2003, entitled,
“Final Report - Town Initiated Official Plan
Amendment and Re-Zoning, Markham Centre YMCA and ORC lands at 7996 Kennedy Road, Concession 5,
Part Lot 8, Markham, Ontario File Number OP 02.116451 and ZA 02.111702” be
received;
That
the record of the Public Meeting held on Tuesday September 10, 2002 with
respect to the related re-zoning be received;
That
the record of the Public Meeting held on Tuesday February 4, 2003 with respect
to the related Official Plan amendment be received;
That the Official Plan Amendment (OP
02.116451) and re-zoning application (ZA 02.111702) be approved subject to the
following:
That the Secondary Plan Amendment
incorporating the revisions to the Central Area Planning District, PD 33-1 (OPA
21), for 7996 Kennedy Road (northeast corner of Kennedy and Highway 407), as
set out in Appendix A to this report be adopted;
That the Zoning By-laws, as set out in Appendix
B attached to this report, be enacted (including a Hold Provision on the
proposed Business Park density, beyond 100%, to be removed upon completing the
following, to the satisfaction of the Town:
a)
Site plan approval of a specific
development proposal,
b)
Submission and approval of a Detailed
Precinct Plan,
c)
Execution of a site plan agreement,
d)
Detailed Transportation study,
e)
Stormwater Management report, and
f)
Any additional studies which the Town
may require).
And that landowners acknowledge that
Markham is currently undertaking a financial strategy for Markham Centre which
will contemplate amongst other techniques, designating the area as a community
improvement district, pilot tax incentive zone and/or special tax assessment
zone and agree to support, in principle, this undertaking;
And further that the Thomas Rivis House
is to be preserved within any future development of the property, subject to
the submission of a site plan application, review, and commentary by Heritage
Markham.
PURPOSE:
The report identifies key issues
associated with the proposal for the YMCA and associated parking facilities, as
well as office, institutional, education facilities and limited commercial uses
on the lands. A site plan application for
the proposed YMCA site is pending. This
report also recommends that the draft Official Plan Amendment and implementing
zoning bylaw for the Business Park Area designation be approved. The amendment reinforces the currently
permitted Industrial (Business Park) uses and removes the broader range of
Commercial (Community Amenity Area) uses.
BACKGROUND:
Site description and area context
The subject lands are currently owned by the Province of
Ontario and front onto the unassumed access easement to the Unionville GO Train
Station. Kennedy Road is located to the
east, while Highway 407 is located to the south, and the GO Rail line is
situated west of the site. The lands
are vacant except for the designated Thomas Rivis Heritage Home, which will
require preservation and restoration, to be dealt with in greater detail
through a future site plan application for the YMCA.
The site is comprised of approximately 28 acres (11.3
hectares) of land, of which 2 acres is to be provided for parking facilities
under a long-term lease, and 4 acres is proposed to be conveyed to the YMCA
(refer to Figure 4). The unassumed road
is to be dedicated to the Town, and the remaining Ontario Realty Corporation
(ORC) lands (which have been declared as surplus) are proposed to be zoned as
Business Park. The remaining lands will
be held by the Province, of which, a portion will be held by the ORC until
consideration of the parking needs with respect to a potential future MTO
transit station along Highway 407 (adjacent the GO station) are resolved.
Chronology of events
In recent years, the YMCA has been in discussions with
the Town of Markham regarding the potential of locating a facility within
Markham Centre. Council endorsed the
Principles of a Framework for the Development of a new YMCA, in April
2002. During these negotiations, the
Province of Ontario agreed to provide land for nominal consideration as a
future YMCA site with associated parking facilities (on a long-term lease
basis). To assist the ORC in marketing
its surplus lands, the Town agreed to rezone the lands for Business Park uses,
which would also permit the YMCA facility and associated parking. On June 14, 2002, the Town of Markham
announced plans for the development of the YMCA in Markham Centre.
At the September 10, 2002 Development Services Committee
meeting, staff brought forward a report related to a Town initiated rezoning to
permit the YMCA and Business Park uses.
At the meeting, a potential purchaser for the lands, objected to the
Town initiated rezoning and interpreted the current ‘Community Amenity Area’
designation in the Official Plan as an opportunity for a mix of uses including
businesses, institutional, professional offices and residential uses. Committee requested staff investigate and
bring forward a preliminary report regarding the need for a Town initiated
Official Plan amendment for the lands, to remove any ambiguity of the intended
uses of this gateway location, and the impact it will have on the future of
Markham Centre.
As part of the negotiated agreement between the Town and
the Province, the Town has requested the dedication of Part 6 (road
dedication), Part 7 (YMCA proposed site location), and Part 8 (access road
right-of-way to Helen Avenue from Kennedy Road) as illustrated on Figure 4, for
the purposes of public municipal access.
The remaining Parts 4 and 5 will be leased from the Ontario Realty
Corporation for parking and site access.
A public meeting was held on February 4, 2003 related to
the Town initiated Official Plan and Secondary Plan amendment.
DISCUSSION:
This report reviews preliminary technical issues and
recommends approval of the Official Plan, Secondary Plan, and Zoning By-law
amendments. While a number of matters
are discussed, this report is for the purposes of establishing Official Plan
policies and zoning requirements. The
YMCA and future developer of the remaining parcel will be required to submit
site plan applications for their respective proposed developments, which will
be reported on separately in the future.
It is through consideration of these future site plan applications that
detailed technical issues will be resolved.
Staff are satisfied that the issues identified in this
report can be resolved through the site plan approval process and it is appropriate
for the Official Plan and Zoning By-law amendments to proceed.
The ORC lands for the YMCA will be transferred to the
Town of Markham
On March 18, 2003, the Mayor and Council endorsed the
execution of all of the required documents to finalize the land transfer
between ORC and the Town for the proposed YMCA lands. The Towns’ Legal
Administration Division has been working with ORC to finalize the Agreement of
Purchase Sale and conveyance of the property.
It is anticipated the land transfer will be completed by the end of
April.
Official Plan and Secondary Plan
The Official Plan Land Use Schedule ‘A’ designates these
lands as Commercial, and more specifically, as ‘Community Amenity Area’ on
Schedule ‘H’. The Town of Markham is
proposing to re-designate the lands in the Official Plan from ‘Commercial’ to
‘Industrial’ on Schedule ‘A’ – Land Use and from ‘Community Amenity Area’ to
‘Business Park Area’ – on Schedule ‘H’ – Commercial / Industrial
Categories. This re-designation within
the Official Plan (Revised 1987) as amended, would eliminate any ambiguity as
to the desired uses for the lands. A
copy of the proposed Official Plan Amendment is attached as Appendix ‘A’.
An amendment to the Markham Centre Secondary Plan (OPA
#21) is also required. Currently, the
Secondary Plan identifies the lands as a possible secondary school site,
however the York Region Board of Education has acquired an alternate site in
Markham Centre for a high school, and no longer requires these lands. The Secondary Plan provides under Section
4.4.1 j), that in the event that the site is not required for educational
purposes, the permitted use shall include a significant employment component,
given its gateway location. The
amendment to the Secondary Plan (OPA #21) ensures that only Business Park uses
are provided for, and eliminates any uncertainty as to the appropriate uses for
the lands by removing reference to the broader range of ‘Community Amenity
Area’ uses. A copy of the proposed
Secondary Plan Amendment is included within Appendix ‘A’.
The site is part of the East Precinct of the Markham
Centre District, and is ideally suited for Business Park uses due to its high
degree of exposure, its prime gateway location for significant employment and
business opportunities, and its accessibility via Highway #407, Kennedy Road,
and the future Enterprise Boulevard.
The location is served by Region of York transit, and is adjacent to the
GO station commuter rail facility. This
will provide opportunities for employers to promote the concept of
transportation demand management (TDM) to employees, and to utilize public
transportation as a mechanism to support the Smart Growth ideals of Markham
Centre.
The Town initiated zoning amendment will permit the
YMCA and Business Park uses
The lands are currently zoned Agricultural and Single
Family Rural Residential (RR4) under Bylaw 122-72 (see Figure 2). This key gateway location provides the
opportunity to increase the amount of employment lands available in the Town of
Markham. In addition, to the employment
uses, a rezoning is necessary to permit the YMCA facility.
The Town is proposing to zone the 4 acres of land to be
dedicated to the YMCA for the recreational facility, to an Open Space (O2)
category. Staff propose to zone the
balance of the lands as prestige Business Park. The attached draft by-law includes a floor space index (FSI) of
100% (BP 100%), with a Hold provision [H 150%] for a potential increase in FSI
subject to a site plan approval of a specific development proposal, the
submission and approval of a detailed precinct plan for the business park area,
the execution of a site plan agreement, a detailed transportation study, a
stormwater management report, and any additional studies which may be required
by the Town (refer to Appendix B). The
remaining lands not transferred to the Town will be sold by the Ontario Realty
Corporation with the zoning by-law in place to permit office, institutional and
post secondary educational facilities and accessory uses.
Based on the Draft Reference Plan provided by the Ontario
Realty Corporation (ORC), it is anticipated that the lands to be zoned as
Business Park (BP) would yield a gross floor area (GFA) of approximately
89,165m˛. The maximum amount of GFA
will be subject to a Hold removal and Town approval, and would yield
approximately 133,750m˛ of office space at a floor space index (FSI) of
150%. Maximum floor areas, based on
final parcel sizes net of any road dedication, are to be confirmed at the site
plan application stage.
The proposed zoning by-law has been drafted to define
building envelopes to conform to the urban design objectives for Markham
Centre. This will result in buildings
of pedestrian scale design, street related location, and pedestrian
accessibility. The final design of the
site will be subject to further review once detailed site plan applications
have been submitted.
Proposed stormwater management for
South Unionville
The Town of Markham is reviewing its final
alternatives for the South Unionville storm water management options as part of
the environmental assessment process.
The Engineering Department brought forward a report to Council on April
1, 2003 requesting Council endorse the recommendations of the study. These recommendations include requiring
landowners to implement and maintain on-site source controls for storm water
management in accordance with the approved environmental assessment study and
design in accordance with the policies and criteria of the Town.
The report identifies the west branch of
Tributary 5, which crosses the lands, and drains approximately 42 hectares of
land to the Rouge River. This branch of
Tributary 5 has been identified as significant in its function and will require
preservation. The tributary may be
relocated, subject to an Environmental Assessment, Town review, and Toronto and
Region Conservation Authority approval as part of the future site plan approval
process.
Municipal services
The Engineering Department will require a servicing study
that will address the provisions and/or extension of sanitary sewer, storm
sewer, water main services and storm water management in conjunction with the
East Precinct Plan. Once the study is
complete, and a site plan application has been submitted for review, the
landowners will be required to make arrangements with the Town to pay and
install water and sewer service connections within the right-of-way, as
required by the Director of Engineering and the Region of York.
GO Access Road widening and traffic
improvements at Kennedy Road are required
Lands for the future expansion of the GO
Access Road (identified as parts 6 and 8 on Figure 4) will be transferred by
the ORC to the Town for a portion of the future required 26.0 metre
right-of-way. Area landowners will be
required to pay their share of the construction costs of the road widening
based on the area of lands that have direct access to the road, upon
finalization of the calculations for an area specific Development Charge
By-law.
Traffic improvements will be required at the
signalized intersection of the improved GO Access Road and Kennedy Road. These improvements will be required to
accommodate the projected turning movements and vehicular demand to and from
Kennedy Road. A review of shared access
opportunities, to minimize the number of accesses to Helen Avenue will also be
undertaken. These traffic improvements
must be completed in accordance with required and approved traffic studies (to
be submitted as part of future site plan applications) and the requirements of
the Region of York.
The Thomas Rivis Heritage House
will be subject to Heritage Planning requirements
The
designated Thomas Rivis Heritage Home at 7996 Kennedy Road, is a significant
structure to be preserved within any future development of the property,
preferably on its original foundation, and in an appropriate and visible
setting within the development. If this
is not possible, Heritage Staff has agreed that the dwelling may be relocated
to another location on the subject property, which does not compromise the
aesthetics of the dwelling, provides an appropriate landscape area around the
dwelling, and would allow the dwelling to continue to face Kennedy Road.
The YMCA
has agreed to incorporate the existing structure within the new development as
a functional component of the plan. The
site plan application will include the integration of the heritage structure,
and include detailed plans outlining how the building is to be restored and
oriented within the site, for review and commentary by Heritage Markham. In addition, if the accessory buildings and
their components cannot be preserved within the development, the accessory
buildings should be documented by a professional and their availability for
relocation and salvage be offered at no cost to Heritage Markham and the
Markham Museum salvage.
FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:
The Town and Province have agreed to donate the required
lands for the YMCA, as part of the Town’s capital contribution to the
project. Funding for the project will
be provided by the Town of Markham, the YMCA and through community fundraising
efforts. Negotiations continue on the
final details of the financial agreements, which will be confirmed to the
satisfaction of Council, prior to the construction of the YMCA facility.
BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:
The zoning and official plan amendment
applications have been circulated to various departments and agencies for
comment. Detailed requirements of other
departments and agencies will be incorporated into implementing agreements and
conditions of site plan approval.
Toronto and Region Conservation
Authority
The Toronto and Region Conservation
Authority (TRCA) have reviewed the proposed Zoning and Official Plan amendment,
and have no objection to the proposal in principle, since it does not appear to
affect the program or policies of the Authority. Once a site plan application has been submitted to the Town, the
TRCA will review the application and provide comments and approval with regards
to floodplain or possible modification to the on-site watercourse (on the ORC
lands, located on the proposed MTO transitway lands), fill regulations, and the
limit of development affecting the property.
The applicant will also be required to obtain approval and permits
related to storm drainage and any requirements for the potential relocation of
the west branch of Tributary 5 to the satisfaction of the Engineering
Department and the TRCA.
Region of York
The Region has noted that once a site
plan application has been submitted to the Town, the application will be
subject to a detailed site plan review to determine the requirements for the
protection of the right of way along Kennedy Avenue, potential road
improvements, and ensure protection of the daylight triangle at the
intersection of Kennedy and Helen Avenue.
York Region Transit Consortium – Light Rail Transit (LRT) alignment
The Region of York and the York Region
Transit Consortium are currently undertaking the Environmental Assessment Study
for the Highway 7 Rapid Transit project.
One of the alignments being considered for the rapid transit line may
result in property implications on the lands subject to these
applications. Discussions will continue
with the Ministry of Transportation (MTO) to consider a combined transit-way
station with the existing Unionville GO Train station and the proposed LRT
route. The Environmental Assessment
study is anticipated to identify the preferred alignment for the rapid transit
route by May 2003. The westerly portion
of the subject lands could be required to accommodate the rapid transit
alignment and will need property protection, until such time as the rapid
transit project finalizes an alignment.
The required land easements will be determined as a requirement through
the site plan and Environmental Assessment processes.
Ministry of Transportation
A letter from the Ministry of
Transportation dated September 6, 2002, identifies that they have no objection
in principle to the proposed rezoning of the subject property. However, the west side of the subject lands
has been reserved for a transit-way station and the future Highway 407
transit-way line. As such, the lands
are not subject to the zoning amendment.
The Ministry of Transportation also
states that no access will be permitted to the property from Kennedy Road,
between Highway 407 and Helen Avenue.
Any future uses of the lands will be subject to MTO review of a detailed
site plan application. Permits pertaining
to (but not limited to) site drainage and traffic generation, will be required
prior to any development being undertaken on the subject property, and prior to
the Town of Markham issuing any building permits.
GO Transit
GO Transit has reviewed the proposed
zoning and Official Plan amendments and have no objections, however, they note
that the Environmental Assessments undertaken for York Region for the Highway 7
and Markham North-South Transitways do not include planning for incremental
parking requirements with the proposed interface at the Unionville GO Station.
York District School Board and York
District Catholic School Board
Official Plan Amendment No. 21
identified these lands as a potential secondary school location. The subject lands were also considered by
the York District School Board as a potential location in the past, however, in
2002, the York District School Board acquired an alternate site in Markham
Centre for a high school, and no longer requires these lands.
Since it is anticipated that the
proposed zoning amendment will not yield additional students, no new facilities
will be required as a result of this application. Therefore, the York District and York Catholic School Boards have
reviewed the application and have no comments or objections to the proposed
zoning and Official Plan Amendment.
Conclusion
The zoning and Official Plan amendments
will provide for additional employment development and a new recreational
facility with a Town-wide focus.
Further review of site plan applications will be directed by the overall
vision of the Markham Centre Secondary Plan, Guiding Development Principles,
and emerging performance measures.
Given that these Town initiated amendments represent an important
opportunity to implement the vision for Markham Centre, it would be appropriate
to approve the Official Plan Zoning By-law Amendments.
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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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DOCUMENT:
Q:\Development\Planning\APPL\OPAPPS\02
116451 YMCA\DSCApril 22, 2003.doc
ATTACHMENTS:
Figure
1 – Location Map
Figure 2 – Area Context and Zoning
Figure
3 – Aerial Photograph
Figure
4 – Draft Reference Plan
Appendix
A – Draft Official Plan Amendment
Appendix
B – Draft Zoning By-law
FIGURE 1 – LOCATION MAP
