RECOMMENDATION:
That
a Public Meeting be held to consider applications submitted by Greenbelt
Volkswagon Ltd, for Zoning By-law and Official Plan amendments (OP.03-108969,
ZA.03 –108969), to permit an expansion of the existing Greenbelt Volkswagon
dealership at the southeast corner of Kennedy Road and Helen Avenue;
And that staff schedule a Public Meeting when
the issues outlined in the April 22, 2003 preliminary report have been
sufficiently addressed by the applicant.
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this report
is to provide preliminary information regarding applications for Official Plan
and Zoning By-law amendments and Site Plan approval to permit the construction
of a dealership building intended to function as a new component of the
existing Greenbelt Volkswagon dealership, and to recommend that a Public
Meeting be scheduled for the Official Plan and Zoning By-law amendment
applications when issues identified in this report have been addressed to the
satisfaction of staff.
BACKGROUND:
The subject lands form part of the South
Unionville Planning District. The
subject lands are located at the southeast corner of Kennedy Road and Helen
Avenue and consist of two parcels: a westerly parcel adjoining Kennedy Road
(1.09 ha), municipally known as 7997 Kennedy Road, containing the existing
Greenbelt Volkswagon dealership building and an easterly parcel (0.633 ha),
municipally known as 31 Helen Avenue, which was recently purchased by the
applicant. The Official Plan and Zoning
By-law amendment applications apply only to the easterly parcel. The total area of the two parcels combined
is 1.72 hectares (4.25 acres).
The existing dealership building is
approximately 1,368 m² (14,726 ft²) and was constructed in 1960, with several
additions to the building over the years (Figure 1 and 3). The easterly portion of the lot contains an
existing heritage dwelling which has been recommended by Heritage Markham for
designation under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act.
The property is bounded to the south by
Highway 407 and a stormwater management pond, which serves Highway 407. To the west across Kennedy Road are vacant
lands owned by the Ontario Realty Corporation (ORC); part of the ORC lands are
proposed to be developed as a YMCA. To
the east are single detached residential dwellings, and to the north across
Helen Avenue is the existing BMW dealership (Figure 3).
It should be noted that the existing
noise attenuation berm, which generally buffers the South Unionville community
from Highway 407, extends along the entire District boundary from approximately
100 metres east of Kennedy Road to McCowan Road. The berm does not extend to the rear of the subject lands because
at the time of construction there was insufficient land available due to
conflict with the existing Highway 407 stormwater management pond and because
the design of the future west bound off ramp to Kennedy Road remained to be
confirmed at the time.
There is a drainage ditch on the subject
lands, generally located along the property line separating the two
parcels. This ditch conveys drainage
from Highway 407, the stormwater management pond serving Highway 407, as well
as lands to the south of the Highway.
The ditch drains northward to Helen Avenue and eventually to Tributary 5
across Kennedy Road. The site also
contains some mature trees, particularly in the vicinity of the heritage
dwelling and along the drainage ditch.
Expansion of the existing dealership is proposed
The applicant has submitted
applications for Official Plan and Zoning By-law amendments to permit a new
1,876 m² (20,194 ft²) building for the expansion of the existing automobile
dealership operation. The existing
dealership building would be used for the sale of lower end and used Volkswagon vehicles, and the new proposed building would be used
for the sale of Volkswagon’s luxury models.
The submitted plans show a proposed
new building on the easterly portion of the site (Figures 4 and 5). The currently proposed site layout indicates
that the existing ditch, which runs north-south through the middle of the
property, would be relocated to the east end of the property, with landscaping,
and would serve as a buffer between the dealership site and the residential
properties to the east. The applicant is also proposing to retain the existing
152 m² (1,636 ft²) heritage dwelling on the property, as recommended by
Heritage Markham, and use the house as an office. Heritage Markham has also advised that the applicant should
submit an archaeological assessment prior to any disturbance of soils on the
site, as well as enter into a Heritage Conservation Easement Agreement with the
Town.
Staff have requested that the new building be located
further west
Staff conducted a preliminary
review of the drawings and had recommended that the new building be constructed
as an addition to the existing building.
The applicant indicated this is not feasible due primarily to head
office requirement that the new building, which is intended to sell luxury
models and serve a different clientele, be physically separated from the
existing building. The applicant also
indicated that the new upscale building would not fit well with the existing
building, which was not intended to be upgraded at this time. As an alternative, staff requested that the
proposed building be located further west on the site, closer to Kennedy Road,
more or less in line with the existing building. This would help to create a better street edge in combination with
the existing dealership building and the BMW dealership building on the north
side of Helen Avenue. The location of
the building is a key issue, which remains to be addressed.
Area Specific Development Charge By-law proposed for Helen
Avenue
Helen Avenue is a local road with
rural characteristics, which is signalized at Kennedy Road. The design and reconstruction of Helen
Avenue, to upgrade it to urban standards (including all underground municipal
services) remains to be carried out. Engineering staff have prepared an Area
Specific Development Charge By-law for Helen Avenue, and it is anticipated to
be approved by Council by the end of May 2003.
The applicant will be required to pay all applicable development
charges.
Zoning by-law and Official Plan amendments
are required
The
Official Plan designates roughly the westerly two-thirds of the property as
Commercial, and the remainder of the lands at the east end as Urban
Residential. Similarly, the Secondary
Plan designates the westerly two-thirds of the property as Community Amenity
Area and the easterly portion as low-density housing. In order to accommodate the proposed dealership expansion an
Official Plan amendment is required to redesignate the easterly portion of the
property from residential to commercial in the Official Plan and from Low
Density housing to Community Amenity Area in the Secondary Plan.
In
addition, the Community Amenity Area category of the Official Plan does not
permit retail uses involving accessory outdoor storage and/or display of
merchandise and therefore, to accommodate a car dealership, site specific
permission to permit such use within the Community Amenity Area designation
would also be required.
The westerly portion of the subject
lands are zoned in part as Highway Commercial (C3) under By-law 122-72, as
amended, with an automobile sales establishment as a permitted use. The remainder of the westerly parcel is zoned
as Single Family Rural Residential (RRH) and Rural Residential One (RR1) under
by-laws 122-72, as amended, and 304-87, as amended, respectively, but with site
specific exceptions which permit parking of vehicles as an accessory use to the
existing dealership. The easterly
parcel is zoned Rural Residential One (RR1) under By-law 304-87, as
amended. In order to accommodate the
proposed dealership expansion, the easterly portion of the lot should be
deleted from by-law 304-87 and incorporated into By-law 122-72, and rezoned to
permit automobile sales.
An amending by-law
should also restrict the location of parking areas, areas for outdoor display
of vehicles, service bay and/or overhead loading door locations, etc. to ensure
that this development will not negatively impact the existing and future
residential properties to the east.
Any zoning by-law amendment should ensure
that the entire site contains only one dealership.
It is our understanding that the current
proposal is for expansion and upgrading
of an existing, long established auto dealership use and not for the
introduction of an additional, separate auto dealership user. However, one of the concerns regarding the
proposed development is that the owner or a future owner could sever the lands,
generally along the existing property line, and sell either the existing
dealership site or the lands containing the proposed new building to another
dealership. As another car dealership
is not considered desirable in the South Unionville community, staff would
propose measures to ensure that the subject lands are not severed in the future
to create two separate dealerships. To
this end, staff would recommend that any rezoning also include the existing
dealership site so that a comprehensive integrated by-law can be created for
the entire site. Any amending by-law
could then include wording to ensure all of the subject lands are used as a
single, integrated development containing only one automobile sales
establishment.
Road pattern established in the Community
Design Plan is being altered
The
Community Design Plan for the South Unionville Planning District introduced a
street pattern for the District (see Figure 6) and as part of this pattern
Caboto Trail, which stretches east-west along the south boundary of the
District, was intended to swing up through the subject lands (through the
easterly parcel) and intersect with Helen Avenue. The applicant proposes to eliminate the north-south component of
this road from the subject lands and has suggested that Caboto Trail could
swing north through the lands immediately to the east of the subject
lands. It has been suggested by the
applicant that the relocated road together with the relocated ditch would
provide a desirable boundary between the proposed dealership site and
residential uses to the east.
POTENTIAL BENEFITS OF APPROVAL OF THE
PROPOSAL:
Some of the anticipated benefits
include:
·
Creation of a distinct
separation/boundary between the residential and the commercial (dealership)
uses; and
·
Where a noise berm is not available
to separate development parcels from Highway 407, commercial uses are less
impacted by noise.
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:
·
Zoning by-law amendment application
should only be considered if it is to include existing dealership site, and
limit any permission to a single, integrated dealership use;
·
Site layout (including the location of
the proposed new building), landscaping and buffer/screening remain to be
finalized/resolved;
·
Acceptability of re-locating the
existing ditch must be reviewed;
·
Acceptability of proposed road
relocation must be reviewed;
·
Archaeological Assessment is necessary
for review and approval prior to any disturbance of soils on the site;
·
Actions to be taken with respect to
the existing heritage dwelling on the property including the possibility of a
Heritage Conservation Easement Agreement with the Town;
·
Payment of Area Specific Development
Charge (By-law currently being prepared) for Helen Avenue reconstruction;
·
Tree inventory and preservation plan
must be submitted for review and approval;
·
Review of on-site loading and
off-loading of delivery trucks;
·
Review access/egress design with
respect to potential impact of commercial traffic on Helen Avenue; and
·
Review compatibility issues associated
with the operational characteristics of automobile sales establishments (i.e.
lights, outdoor paging systems, delivery of vehicles, outdoor storage and
display, noise etc.) and their impact on adjoining residential uses.
FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:
BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:
The applications were circulated to internal
departments (Fire, Building, Engineering, Design, Waste Management), and
external agencies for comments.
Public Meeting should be held when issues have been addressed
to staff’s satisfaction
It is recommended that a public
meeting be held to obtain public input on this application when issues
identified in this report have been addressed to staff’s satisfaction.
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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/App/Zoning/03108969/DSC_April22
ATTACHMENTS:
Figure
1: Location
Figure 2: Area
Context/Zoning
Figure 3:
Aerial
Figure 4:
Proposed Site Plan
Figure 5:
Proposed Elevations
APPLICANT/AGENT: Martindale Planning Services Tel:
(905) 427-7517
c/o
Bob Martindale Fax:
(905) 427-2328
23
Elizabeth Street
