Report to: Council Date
of Meeting: June
27, 2006
SUBJECT: Markham
Extended Driveways Working Group
PREPARED BY: J.
Baird, Commissioner, Development Services
A. Taylor, Commissioner,
Corporate Services
RECOMMENDATION:
That the Development Services and
Corporate Services report entitled “Markham Extended Driveways Working Group”,
dated June 27, 2006, be received;
And that the Working Group be
recognized and thanked for their report and recommendations that reflect public
input received;
And that the
revised draft by-law, be approved and enacted;
And that Council confirms,
pursuant to Section 34 (17) of The Planning
Act, that no further notice is required prior to the adoption of the by-law;
And that Council endorses the
following actions to be undertaken by the Town in relation to by-law
implementation, administration and enforcement practices:
·
Accept the principle of the Working Group for an
amnesty on enforcement of the new standards on existing driveways, except for
the worst offenders and implement a grace period for worst offenders to be
brought into compliance;
·
Begin immediate enforcement of the new standards
on new or modified construction;
·
Report to Council in September 2006 recommending
the licensing of all contractors who provide paving/interlocking services in
the Town of Markham;
·
Prepare a communications/education plan to be
implemented on January 1, 2007;
·
Concentrate on education and communications in
2007
·
Report on a program of incentives to be offered
to encourage voluntary compliance with the regulations, in existing built up
areas to be presented to Council at the end of 2006
·
Begin seeking conformity of the worst offenders,
through incentives in June 2007;
·
To revise the standard form of Subdivision
Agreement to require all developers and/or builders to be responsible for the
hard surfacing of the driveways.
And that the financial
expenditures necessary for enforcement, included in the financial template, be
approved.
FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:
Not applicable
Many homeowners in the Town of Markham
have been widening their driveways to accommodate additional front and exterior
side yard parking. At Council’s request,
a strategy has been developed to deal with concerns about the widths of parking
areas (driveways and parking pads) on residential lots and the impact front and
exterior yard parking potentially has on the character of a dwelling and
neighbourhood.
The draft strategy to regulate
private property parking in front and exterior side yards was discussed at a
Public Meeting on November 22, 2005
and at a Development Services Committee meeting on April 18, 2006.
A staff recommendation report was considered by Markham Council on April 25, 2006. Council gave two readings to a zoning By-law
amendment based on the staff recommendation, and called for additional public
consultation (including formation of a Working Group with a community
representative from each ward and further public information meetings) prior to
any final enactment of a new By-law.
The strategy presented at the April 25th, 2006 Council
meeting was comprised of four parts:
- Proposed amendments to the Town’s zoning By-laws;
- a public communication component;
- an on-street overnight parking program; and
- an enforcement program.
A number of issues were raised at
the April 25th, 2006
Council meeting, requiring further public input and consultation.
Purpose
of the Working Group:
Council on April 25 authorized the formation of a Working
Group, comprised of citizen representatives from the eight (8) wards across the
Town, to facilitate further community consultation on the front yard parking
issue. The Working Group members were
appointed to provide additional information and advice to Council from a
community perspective. The members also
participated in broader community dialogue on the parking issue through the
five (5) public info sessions held between May 29th and June 8th,
and considered this public input in formulating the Working Group’s
recommendations to Council.
June 19, 2006 Development Services Committee Meeting:
The Development Services Committee of Council held a special
meeting on June 19, 2006
and received the following submissions:
Ÿ
Record of the public consultation process
since April, 2006 (including minutes of three Working Group meeting, five
community information meetings, and written submissions received);
Ÿ
Recommendation Report of the Working Group
(attached as Appendix ‘A’);
Ÿ
Further public comments and written submissions
were received at the June 19 meeting.
Development Services Committee on
June 19 referred the Working Group
recommendations to staff for comment.
Comments
As stated at the June 21
Development Services Committee meeting, staff very much appreciates and
respects the hard work and recommendations of the citizens Working Group
appointed by Council.
The Working Group’s proposal
reflects input they received from their own observations and discussions, their
contacts in the community and while attending the Community Information
sessions.
It is our opinion that the By-law
originally recommended by staff, that received two readings by Council on April
25th, is based on sound principles and can still be supported. However, the Working Group has recommended
modifications to the By-law based on extensive public input, and it is also our
opinion that these modifications can be accepted and supported.
The by-law that received two
readings at Council on April 25, 2006
included the following key provisions regarding maximum driveway width:
“6.2.4.2 Maximum Driveway
Width
a) The maximum driveway
width shall be equal to the greater of:
i) the garage door width plus 1.5 metres;
or
ii) 6.1 metres, provided a minimum 40% soft landscaping
is provided in the front or exterior side yard that the driveway is located.”
The Working Group has recommended
that this section of the By-law be revised as
follows:
“…by increasing the
maximum driveway width permitted under a) i) to 2.0 metres wider than the
garage door opening, provided that a minimum 1.5 metre wide soft landscaping
apron is provided from the street to the front of the garage.”
The Working Group’s proposal will
allow the parking area to be 2.0 metres wider than the garage door opening,
provided soft landscaping, with a total width of 1.5 metres, connects the front
lot line to the dwelling. For example,
on a 6 metre (20 foot) wide lot a 1.5 metre wide landscape strip from the front
property line to the front of the home equates to a minimum 25% landscaping
requirement. The effect of the Working
Group’s recommendations would be a 0.5 m (1.6 foot) increase in width of the
driveway, compared to the maximum width recommended by staff, which would give
greater allowance for two cars to be parked side be side even on the smallest
lots. The permitted width of a typical
single car garage driveway on a small lot (assuming a 2.5 metre garage door
opening) becomes 4.5 m (14.8 feet) rather than the 4 m (13.12 feet) recommended
by staff – see Figures attached for graphic depiction.
If Council decides to adopt the
Working Group recommendation and allow the parking area width to be 2.0 metres
wider than the garage door opening, Development Services Commission staff
recommend that the provision requiring a 1.5 metre wide soft landscape strip be
changed to a provision requiring a minimum 25% soft landscaping requirement on
lots with frontages less than 10.1 metres and 40% for lots with frontages
greater than 10.1 metres. These
modifications are incorporated into the By-Law.
Table 1 provides
some typical statistics of cars and parking space widths.
Tables 2 to 8 attached summarize some additional examples of the differences
between the effect of the Working Group’s proposal and the Draft By-law that
received two readings. Tables 2 to 8
also show the impact of the further modification suggested by staff (25% to 40%
minimum soft landscaping, rather than the “1.5 m strip” recommended by the
Working Group).
|
Table 1 – Base Statistics
|
|
Typical Car Width –
|
1.8 metres (5.9 feet)
|
|
Minimum Parking Stall –
|
2.6 metres wide (8.5 feet)
|
|
Minimum Space between cars –
|
0.7 metres (2.3 feet)
|
|
Minimum Width to Park Two Cars
Side by Side –
|
4.3 (14.1 feet) to 5.9 metres
(19.4 feet)
|
Table 9 - Driveway Survey,
summarizes the results from the most recent survey of residential
driveways. Should Council decide to
adopt a By-law that includes the revised provisions as recommended by the Working
Group, staff anticipate that about 87% of the existing homes in the Town will
comply with the By-law, subject to these homes providing a minimum 1.5 metre
landscape strip. (The 1.5 metre
landscape strip recommendation arose after the time of the survey and was not
tested.) If the provision that requires
parking areas to be set back from the side lot line, (a distance equal to the
minimum setback requirement for the main building) is deleted the compliance
rate would increase by approximately 8%, from 87% to 95%. However, neither the Working Group nor staff
recommended deletion of this requirement for new or modified construction (for
reasons of drainage – including side yard swales, landscaping and buffering and
snow storage). By-law enforcement staff
advise that, in the case of existing driveways that pre-date the proposed
by-law, any side yard encroachments (in and of themselves) will not be
considered in the “worst offence” category for the purpose of enforcement unless
there is interference with proper lot drainage.
Further technical modifications
to the draft by-law, based on the Working Group recommendations and further
discussion between staff and members of the Working Group, include no motor
vehicle parking parallel to the street.
[6.2.4.1 d)]. Parallel parking on
that portion of a permitted driveway that crosses the municipal boulevard will
still be allowed. This is particularly
helpful where there is a sidewalk. (Note
that the Working Group was of the opinion that parallel parking in the front
yard could not be supported for reasons of visual impact and headlight glare
affecting neighbouring dwellings. But
they were also of the opinion that parallel parking could be supported on the
driveway crossing over the boulevard between the sidewalk and the street, as
headlight glare at this location would not impact the neighbouring dwellings
and that such parking would be preferable to overnight on street parking).
All of the above suggested
modifications are contained in the revised By-Law. Staff are of the opinion that the principles
contained in the revised By-law are acceptable and can be supported, and
reflect the public input received.
Administration and Implementation Matters:
New or Modified Driveway Construction
– The recommendation provides for immediate enforcement of the new standards on
new or modified construction. In
addition, the standard form of subdivision agreement is to be amended
immediately to require the Developers to be responsible for the hard surfacing
of the driveways. (This is on the observation
that when builders leave the driveway in a “gravel only” condition there is a
higher likelihood that the homeowner may contract with an independent paving
company to construct driveways not in conformity with Town regulations.) Further, a report will come forward in
September to require the paving/interlocking brick contractors to be licensed. Enforcement staff will prepare a “checklist”
that provides a step by step process for the licensees including a summary of
Town zoning regulations, with respect to residential parking provisions.
Existing Driveways – Staff accepts the principle of the
Working Group for an amnesty on enforcement of the new standards on existing
driveways except for the worst offenders, and are recommending a grace period on enforcement
for the worst offenders. Staff are also
recommending that the balance of 2006 be used for the preparation of a
communications/education plan.
Commencing in January 2007, staff will concentrate on educating
residents on the new standards through various communication media. Commencing in June 2007, enforcement staff
will begin to attempt to gain conformity, through incentives, of the “worst
offenders”, and in particular those have paved beyond 75% of their front yard.
A report will be presented to
Council before the end of 2006 on a program of incentives to be offered to
encourage voluntary compliance with the new standards for all properties in
existing built up areas. In the case of
“worse offenders” removal of hard surfaced areas in excess of the 75% will not
be required, rather the method of enforcement through 2007 will be an informal
one and no charges will be laid on existing non-compliant driveways. However, commencing in January 2008,
enforcement staff will be issuing notices of violation and laying charges
against residents who park on the area in excess of 75% of the front yard.
On Street
Overnight Parking
Staff concur with the Working
Group’s guiding principle that the general prohibition of on street overnight
parking should be maintained.
CONCLUSION:
The Working Group should be
recognized and thanked for their report and recommendations that reflect public
input received. The modified by-law and
the recommended administration and enforcement practices, will provide a sound
framework for dealing with issues of front yard parking.