May 29, 2006 - Official Plan Amendment and draft Zoning By-law Amendment as may be required. Background: ..... Attachmen
STAFF REPORT May 29, 2006 To:
Scarborough Community Council
From:
Director, Community Planning, Scarborough District
Subject:
Final Report OPA & Rezoning Application 04 135572 ESC 36 OZ Proponent: 1707546 Ontario Inc. 3771-3775 St Clair Ave E Ward 36 - Scarborough Southwest
Purpose: This report reviews and recommends approval of an application to amend the Official Plan and the Zoning By-law for a 17-unit townhouse development at 3771-3775 St. Clair Avenue East, east of Brimley Road. Financial Implications and Impact Statement: There are no financial implications resulting from the adoption of this report. Recommendations: It is recommended that City Council: (1)
amend the Official Plan for the former City of Scarborough substantially in accordance with the draft Official Plan Amendment attached as Attachment 5;
(2)
amend the Zoning By-law for the Cliffcrest Community substantially in accordance with the draft Zoning By-law Amendment attached as Attachment 6; and
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authorize the City Solicitor to make such stylistic and technical changes to the draft Official Plan Amendment and draft Zoning By-law Amendment as may be required.
Background: Site Description The 2,572 square metre (0.63 acre) property is situated on the large triangle bounded by Brimley Road, St. Clair Avenue and Kingston Road. The lands are currently vacant and have a frontage of 47.5 metres (155.8 feet) on St. Clair Avenue East. The site is surrounded by a 10storey apartment building to the south, a Bell Canada switching station to the east and a place of worship to the west. Also within the triangle there is a Canadian Tire store, three motels, a Women’s Shelter and 3 apartment buildings. Single-family dwellings exist on the north side of St. Clair Avenue. Proposal The applicant proposes to develop the vacant parcel of land with 17 three-storey townhouses in 3 blocks, as shown on Attachment 1, Site Plan. Eight townhouses would front onto St. Clair Avenue and nine townhouses would be situated at the rear, accessed by an 8 metre (26 feet) wide private street with an integrated pedestrian sidewalk. This configuration would permit City vehicles to pick up garbage and recyclables from each house and would provide pedestrian access to St. Clair Avenue. Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendment applications, along with a Site Plan Control Application were submitted by the applicant in May 2004, proposing to develop the land with 18 townhouses in two rows, perpendicular to St. Clair Avenue, with visitor parking at the rear. At staff’s request the proposal was revised to provide townhouses fronting on St. Clair and a block of townhouses at the rear. Planning staff have worked with the applicant to achieve the City’s objectives, while maintaining the viability of the project. The applicant proposes to develop the site with freehold townhouses on a common elements condominium private driveway. The driveway has been designed to accommodate garbage and recycling pick up by the City. One enclosed parking space is proposed at the rear for each of the eight dwellings fronting onto St. Clair Avenue. Each of the nine townhouses at the rear of the property is proposed to have two parking spaces – one in the enclosed garage and one in front of the garage. Toronto Official Plan At its meeting of November 26-28, 2002, City Council adopted the new Official Plan for the City of Toronto. The Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing approved the new plan, in part, with modifications. The Minister's decision has been appealed in its entirety. The Official Plan is now before the Ontario Municipal Board. The hearing commenced on June 13, 2005 and will continue on June 5, 2006.
-3Once the Plan comes into full force and effect, it will designate the site Mixed Use Area. Mixed Use Areas are made up of a broad range of commercial, residential and institutional uses, in single or mixed use buildings, as well as parks and open spaces and utilities. In Mixed Use Areas, development will locate and mass new buildings to provide a transition between areas of different development intensity and scale, particularly providing setbacks from and a stepping down of heights towards lower scale neighbourhoods. Such development also makes better use of existing urban infrastructure and services. St. Clair Avenue is a major street. The Plan policies provide that proposed developments must enhance the quality of the public realm by framing and supporting the street and pedestrian activity by locating buildings parallel to the street and preserving existing mature trees wherever possible by incorporating them into the landscaping design. Former City of Scarborough Official Plan The site is designated Highway Commercial Uses. Highway Commercial Uses were established in the 1960’s to provide commercial facilities serving the traveling public and are restricted to service stations, automotive service centres, restaurants, hotels and motels. Zoning The site is zoned Highway Commercial (HC). This zone permits automobile sales, service and maintenance uses, fraternal organizations, funeral homes, hotels and motels, places of worship, professional and business offices, recreational uses, specialized commercial uses and day nurseries. Site Plan Control A Site Plan Control application (04 135586 ESC 36 SA) has been filed for this development and is currently in circulation. Reasons for the Application Residential uses are not allowed in the Highway Commercial designation of the current Official Plan for the former City of Scarborough. The Highway Commercial zoning in the Zoning By-law would not permit the proposed residential development. Community Consultation A community consultation meeting was held on April 27, 2005. Ten people were in attendance, including the applicant and project architects, Councillor Ashton and City staff. Two main issues issues arose from this meeting. The community would like the large tree on the St. Clair Avenue boulevard to be saved. Representatives from the Anglican Church of St. George were interested in determining how this development and construction would impact the church property.
-4Other comments received since the meeting include: lack of green space in the area; limited play areas for children in the area, and concerns with the proposed increase in density. Agency Circulation The application was circulated to all appropriate agencies and City Departments. Responses received have been used to assist in evaluating the application and to formulate appropriate bylaw standards. School Accommodation The Toronto District School Board has advised that there is insufficient space at the local schools to accommodate students anticipated from this proposed development and others in the area. The TDSB has requested that as a condition of approval, the applicant is to advise prospective purchasers of the school situation and to erect a sign on the property. The Toronto Catholic District School Board did not reply. Comments: Land Use and Density The immediate area of the proposed 17-unit townhouse development is one of mixed uses, including a number of 8 to 10-storey apartments, motels, commercial uses and a place of worship. The 3-storey townhouses will provide an appropriate transition between the single-family dwellings on the north side of St. Clair Avenue, to the 10-storey apartment to the south of this development and will also utilize existing urban infrastructure and services such as parks, recreation and shopping facilities. The proposed density of 66 units per hectare (27 units per acre) is well within the maximum density permitted in the Medium Density Residential designation of 100 units per hectare (40 units per acre), in the former City of Scarborough Official Plan. The land use and proposed density is considered appropriate for the development of this land and is recommended for approval. Development Infrastructure Policy and Standards (DIPS) The Development Infrastructure Policy and Standards (DIPS) Phase 2 Report, dated November 16, 2005, containing staff’s recommendations for a set of design standards for new local residential streets and criteria for their use, was adopted by City Council at its meeting of December 5-7, 2005. Council directed that all streets in new townhouse developments should be designed to permit curbside garbage collection by City vehicles, as well as other City services such as snow removal and fire services.
-5The DIPS initiative recognized that on small sites such as in this proposal, it would be difficult to achieve the design standards for a public street. In cases where grade-related intensification is desirable and where large apartment types are not appropriate and adjacent land cannot be consolidated to allow for a subdivision with public streets, privately owned streets or “mews” may be considered. Staff have developed criteria to identify where a private street may be considered as an appropriate exception to the Official Plan Policy that all new streets be public. Appropriate private streets and associated private servicing infrastructure will form the common elements to be maintained by a condominium corporation. It is intended that private streets provide the frontage and addresses of residential units and accommodate the typical range of services and utilities such as individual curbside solid waste and recyclable collection by the City. The development proposes an 8-metre wide private road and provides a mews development at the rear, which would be consistent with the DIPS criteria. The private road functions as a street with trees, sidewalks and can accommodate municipal services such as fire, public pick up of garbage and recyclables, and it would provide access to 9 townhouses, which is within the maximum number of units that can be supported by private roads. The 8 townhouses that would front on St. Clair Avenue will frame the street and provide landscaping, while parking would be accommodated at the rear, supporting good urban design objectives. Access and Parking The project has been revised from a 6-metre wide to 8-metre wide driveway to accommodate for curbside City pick up of garbage and recyclables. The proposed 8-metre wide private driveway would allow large service vehicles to enter and maneuver on the site, while also providing an integrated 1.7 metre wide pedestrian walkway consisting of upgraded paving finish and would connect to the St. Clair Avenue sidewalk. The zoning By-law requires one parking space per dwelling unit. The applicant proposes to provide a total of 25 parking spaces for the 17 houses (approximately 1.5 spaces per unit). Originally the applicant intended to provide two spaces per unit plus two visitor spaces on site, with a 6-metre wide private street and smaller rear yards for the units along the south side. However, in order to provide sufficient space for the City tree on St. Clair Avenue and also allow more private amenity space in the rear yards of approximately 8.6 metres (28 feet) for the 9 townhouses, and to provide for the 8-metre-wide driveway required under DIPS, additional parking spaces for the 8 units fronting on St. Clair Avenue could not be accommodated. In order to design the site to accommodate DIPS, there is limited space available for on-site visitor parking. There is the potential for one visitor parking space in front of unit 10. The 25 parking spaces for residents plus the one visitor space would be considered adequate in this case. The area is well served by public transit routes along St. Clair Avenue (Number 9 and 102 buses), Brimley Road (Number 12B bus) and Kingston Road (Number 12 bus) and the proximity of the Scarborough GO station near Midland Avenue and St. Clair Avenue.
-6Tree Protection The large City tree on St. Clair Avenue has an extensive canopy. The tree is to be retained and protected during construction. The extensive canopy requires that the proposed townhouses be set back 7 metres from the street32. Although this constrains the development on this small site, City staff and the applicant have worked to design the project to achieve the City’s objectives and also maintain a healthy environment for the tree. Consultation With Abutting Owners Following the Community Consultation meeting, the applicant advises that they have met with the board of directors of St. George’s Anglican Church, and have resolved the matters of construction staging and building finishes at the west side of the development. Urban Design The proposal with eight street-oriented units on St. Clair Avenue and nine townhouses at the rear, would comply with the infill townhouse guidelines in terms of good building mass to define the street, as well as private open space and building separation. The houses fronting on St. Clair Avenue would have seven metres of private open space which can be used for landscaping. In addition, these units would have balconies at the rear. The units at the rear would provide approximately 8.6 metres of rear yard and a deck for the enjoyment of the residents. Both the front yards and the rear yards proposed, exceed the minimum standards for townhouse developments. Landscaping details will be further refined before site plan approval. The space separating the two rows of buildings is sufficient to provide for landscaping and parking in front of the units. Green Space and Play Areas The Brimley Road – Kingston Road – St. Clair Avenue triangle is an area designated for mixed use development and contains higher density residential and commercial uses. A park has not been planned at this location. However, a number of large open spaces are situated in the vicinity – R. H. King Collegiate Institute and Anson Park to the north, St. Augustine’s Seminary and the Scarborough Bluffs to the south. These facilities provide for local and regional recreational needs of the population and would be readily accessible to residents of this development. Development Charges It is estimated that the Development Charges for this project will be $130,000. This is an estimate and the actual charge is assessed and collected upon issuance of the Building Permit.
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Conclusions: The proposal represents a residential infill and redevelopment of a vacant commercial property with 17 new freehold townhouses. The proposed development would be compatible with the surrounding established area. City Staff have worked with the applicant to provide an appropriate development and have also provided for the protection of a large City tree on St. Clair Avenue. The proposal represents appropriate planning for the area, with a housing form consistent with the new Toronto Official Plan.
Contact: Aristotle Christou, Senior Planner Ph: (417) 396-5228 Fax: (417) 396-4265 Email:
[email protected]
Allen Appleby Director, Community Planning, Scarborough District
List of Attachments:
Attachment 1: Attachment 2: Attachment 3: Attachment 4: Attachment 5: Attachment 6:
Site Plan Elevations Zoning Application Data Sheet Draft Official Plan Amendment Draft Zoning By-law Amendment
-8Attachment 1:
Site Plan
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Attachment 2:
Elevations
- 10 Attachment 3:
Zoning
- 11 Attachment 4: Application Type Details Municipal Address: Location Description: Project Description:
Applicant: WALTON ADVOCATES NORMA WALTON
Application Data Sheet
Official Plan Amendment & Rezoning OPA & Rezoning, Standard
Application Number:
04 135572 ESC 36 OZ
Application Date:
May 17, 2004
3771-3775 ST CLAIR AVE E, TORONTO ON CON B PT LT24 **GRID E3605 The applicant originally proposed to develop the vacant 0.25 hectare parcel of land with 18 townhouses. The revision submitted in March 2006 indicates 8 townhouses fronting on St. Clair Avenue and 9 townhouses at the rear serviced by an 8 metre wide private street. Agent: Architect: Owner: E.R.A. ARCHITECTS 1607546 ONTARIO INC. INC. MARGARET GOODFELLOW
PLANNING CONTROLS Official Plan Designation: Highway Commercial Uses Zoning: HC-Highway Commercial Height Limit (m):
Site Specific Provision: Historical Status: Site Plan Control Area:
Y
PROJECT INFORMATION Site Area (sq. m): Frontage (m): Depth (m): Total Ground Floor Area (sq. m):
2572.11 47.5 54.6 954.59
Total Residential GFA (sq. m): Total Non-Residential GFA (sq. m): Total GFA (sq. m): Lot Coverage Ratio (%): Floor Space Index:
2552.58 0 2552.58 37.11 0.99
DWELLING UNITS Tenure Type: Rooms: Bachelor: 1 Bedroom: 2 Bedroom: 3 + Bedroom: Total Units: CONTACT:
Height:
Storeys: Metres:
3 9.23
Total Parking Spaces: Loading Docks
26 0
FLOOR AREA BREAKDOWN (upon project completion) Condo, Freehold Above Grade Below Grade 0 Residential GFA (sq. m): 2552.58 0 0 Retail GFA (sq. m): 0 0 0 Office GFA (sq. m): 0 0 0 Industrial GFA (sq. m): 0 0 17 Institutional/Other GFA (sq. m): 0 0 17
PLANNER NAME: TELEPHONE:
Aristotle Christou, Senior Planner (416) 396-5228
- 12 Attachment 5:
Draft Official Plan Amendment
Authority:
Community Council Report No. ~, Clause No. ~, as adopted by City of Toronto Council on ~, 2006 Enacted by Council: ~, 2006 CITY OF TORONTO Bill No. ~ BY-LAW No. ~-2006 To adopt an amendment No. 1157 to the Official Plan for the former City of Scarborough with respect to lands municipally known as 3771 - 3775 St Clair Avenue East WHEREAS authority is given to Council under the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.P. 13, as amended, to pass this By-law; and WHEREAS Council of the City of Toronto has provided adequate information to the public and has held at least one public meeting in accordance with the Planning Act; The Council of the City of Toronto HEREBY ENACTS as follows: 1. Amendment No. 1157 to the Official Plan for the former City of Scarborough, consisting of the attached text and map designated as Schedule ‘1’ is hereby adopted.
ENACTED AND PASSED this ~ day of ~, A.D. 2006. DAVID R. MILLER, Mayor (Corporate Seal)
ULLI S. WATKISS, City Clerk
- 13 AMENDMENT NO. 1157 TO THE OFFICIAL PLAN OF THE FORMER CITY OF SCARBOROUGH 1607546 Ontario Inc 3771 - 3775 St Clair Avenue East The following Text and Map, designated as Schedule ‘1’, constitute Amendment No. 1157 to the Official Plan for the former City of Scarborough (being an amendment to the provisions of the Secondary Plan for the Cliffcrest Community. The sections headed ‘Purpose and Location’ and ‘Basis’ are explanatory only and shall not constitute part of this amendment.
- 14 PURPOSE AND LOCATION The purpose of this amendment is to change the land use of the vacant land on the south side of St. Clair Avenue East, east of Brimley Road, from a Highway Commercial Uses designation to a Medium Density Residential designation. This will enable the development of 17 townhouses, in a form and scale of development compatible with the adjacent uses. BASIS The owners propose to redevelop the vacant property with 17 townhouses – 8 street townhouses fronting on St. Clair Avenue East and 9 townhouses on a private road at the rear accessed from St. Clair Avenue. The land is surrounded by high-rise buildings, a place of worship, and a Bell Canada switching station. A Canadian Tire store and three motels are also located in the immediate area. Single-family dwellings and the R. H. King Academy exist on the north side of St. Clair Avenue. The amendment would encourage compatible residential infill development on the triangle bounded by Kingston Road, Brimley Road and St. Clair Avenue, close to public infrastructure and public transportation.
OFFICIAL PLAN AMENDMENT A.
The Cliffcrest Community Secondary Plan Land Use Map, Figure 4.10, is amended for the lands situated on the south side of St. Clair Avenue East, east of Brimley Road, by deleting the Highway Commercial Uses designation and replacing it with an RM (66) - Medium Density Residential designation
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- 16 Attachment 6:
Draft Zoning By-law Amendment
Authority:
Scarborough Community Council Report No. ~, Clause No. ~, as adopted by City of Toronto Council on ~, 2006 Enacted by Council: ~, 2006 CITY OF TORONTO Bill No. ~ BY-LAW No. ~-2006 To amend the Cliffcrest Community Zoning By-law No. 9396, as amended, With respect to the lands municipally known as, 3771 - 3775 St Clair Ave E WHEREAS authority is given to Council by Section 34 of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.P. 13, as amended, to pass this By-law; and WHEREAS Council of the City of Toronto has provided adequate information to the public and has held at least one public meeting in accordance with the Planning Act; The Council of the City of Toronto HEREBY ENACTS as follows: 1. Schedule ‘A’ of the Cliffcrest Community Zoning By-law is amended by deleting the current zoning and replacing it with Multiple-Family Residential (M) zoning, so that the amended zoning shall read as follows as shown on Schedule ‘1’: M – 30 – 41 – 87 – 103 – 365 – 366 – 367 2.
Schedule “B”, PERFORMANCE STANDARD CHART is amended by adding the following Performance Standards: MISCELLANEOUS 365.
One dwelling unit per 150 m² of lot area.
366.
Balconies, decks and unenclosed porches may extend a maximum of 1.8 metres from the main wall.
367.
Maximum lot coverage 40%.
ENACTED AND PASSED this ~ day of ~, A.D. 2006. DAVID R. MILLER, Mayor (Corporate Seal)
ULLI S. WATKISS, City Clerk
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