REPORT TO DEVELOPMENT SERVICES COMMITTEE

SUBJECT: RECOMMENDATION REPORT

1297482 Ontario Limited. Application for Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendment and Site Plan Approval to permit a 4-storey apartment building containing 16 units at 7713 Kennedy Road, on the east side of Kennedy Road south of 14^th Avenue.

CONTACT/AUTHOR: Nilesh Surti, Planner, ext. 4190

APPLICATION #: OP 05 012450, ZA 05 008482 and SC 05 008498

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT the Official Plan Amendment application (OP 05 012450) submitted by 1297482 Ontario Limited to permit a 4-storey apartment building containing 16 units at 7713 Kennedy Road, on the east side of Kennedy Road south of 14^th Avenue, be approved and the draft Official Plan Amendment attached as Appendix ‘A’ be finalized and adopted;

THAT the Zoning By-law Amendment application (ZA 05 008482) to amend By-law 193-81, as amended, submitted by 1297482 Ontario Limited to permit a 4-storey apartment building containing 16 units at 7713 Kennedy Road, on the east side of Kennedy Road south of 14^th Avenue, be approved and the draft Zoning By-law Amendment attached as Appendix ‘B’, be finalized and enacted;

THAT the Site Plan application (SC 05 008498) submitted by 129742 Ontario Limited to permit a 4-storey apartment building containing 16 units at 7713 Kennedy Road, on the east side of Kennedy Road south of 14^th Avenue, be endorsed in principle, subject to the standard conditions listed in Appendix ‘C’;

THAT servicing allocation for 16 units be granted to the proposed apartment development as per Council’s November 29, 2005, resolution;

THAT the Region of York be advised of the servicing allocation for this development;

THAT the Town reserve the right to revoke or reallocate water and sewage allocation at its sole discretion; and

THAT the Owner provide the necessary serving easements to the Town;

AND THAT the applicant be required to pay their proportionate share of the Hwy. 48 flow control measures, to the satisfaction of the Director of Engineering.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

Official Plan Amendment, rezoning and site plan approval applications have been submitted by 129742 Ontario Limited. The 0.17 ha (0.42 ac) site is located on the east side of Kennedy Road south of 14^th Avenue.

The proposal consists of a 4-storey condominium apartment building containing 16 units. Full vehicular access is proposed from Kennedy Road. A total of 24 surface parking spaces (20 spaces for residential parking and 4 spaces for visitor parking) have been provided on-site with 9 of those spaces located beneath a second floor overhang. The proposed development has a net site density of approximately 94 units per hectare (38 units per acre).

At a public meeting held to obtain comments from surrounding land owners, certain area residents raised concerns involving loss of trees and increased traffic along Kennedy Road. The traffic issue has been addressed to staff’s satisfaction. Staff will address the loss of trees to the extent feasible through the landscape review process.

The subject site can accommodate the proposed apartment building. The proposed development will have minimal impact on the surrounding properties and is considered appropriate development for the site. Staff is recommending that the draft Official Plan Amendment attached as Appendix ‘A’ be finalized and adopted that the draft Zoning By-law Amendment attached as Appendix ‘B’, be finalized and enacted, and that the Site Plan application (SC 05 008498) be endorsed in principle subject to the conditions noted in this report.

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS:

There are no financial impacts to the Town in this report.

Valerie Shuttleworth, M.C.I.P, R.P.P

Director, Planning & Urban Design

Jim Baird, M.C.I.P, R.P.P

Commissioner, Development Services

Property and Area Context

The subject lands consist of approximately 0.17 ha. (0.42 ac) located on the east side of Kennedy Road, south of 14^th Avenue (See Figure 1) and are part of a larger parcel with frontage on Chiavatti Drive to the east. A vacant single storey detached building is situated on the subject lands. The site contains a number of mature trees and other vegetation, particularly along the south, west and east boundaries. The site has an existing access to Kennedy Road (See Figures 2 & 3).

The lands to the east are vacant and are the balance of the applicant’s lands which, in combination with other lands, are the subject of current Zoning By-law Amendment and subdivision applications to permit low density residential development consisting of 17 single-detached lots. Abutting the subject site to the north is a 3m wide strip of land owned by the applicant and which form part of the above noted subdivision proposal. This strip of land is intended to be conveyed to the Town as a block as part of the applicant’s subdivision to the east and will be developed as a future public pedestrian walkway which will connect a new local street to the east with Kennedy Road.

To the north of the future walkway abutting to the north is a Bell Canada switching station. The three properties abutting to the south of the site are under one ownership and are zoned for low density residential use. Of these, the property immediately to the south of the subject site contains a heritage dwelling with zoning permission for a commercial use (Bridal Salon and Flower Shop) within the dwelling. The property to the south of the heritage property was recently given temporary use zoning permission to expand the commercial operation on the heritage property and the third property to the south is vacant. To the west, across Kennedy Road, are the Milliken Mills Community Centre and an existing retail plaza.

Proposal is for a 4-storey, 16 unit apartment building

The proposal, as shown on the site plan and elevations (See Figures 4 and 5) consist of a 4-storey condominium apartment building containing 16 units fronting onto Kennedy Road. Full vehicular access is proposed from Kennedy Road. The Town’s Parking By-law requires a total of 24 parking spaces (20 spaces for residential parking and 4 spaces for visitor parking) for the proposed development. The applicant proposes a total of 24 surface parking spaces on-site with 9 of those spaces located beneath a second floor overhang. The proposed development has a net site density of approximately 94 units per hectare (38 units per acre) (See discussion below).

Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendments are required

The Official Plan designates the subject property “Urban Residential” and requires that all Medium and High Density Housing categories be indicated on the map schedule of the Secondary Plan. The East Risebrough Secondary Plan (PD 2-2), which is a non-statuary Secondary Plan, generally serves as a land use policy guideline, and designates the subject lands “Urban Residential – Low Density Residential”.

Although the lands are designated for low density residential development, the proposed apartment on this site is considered appropriate as the site meets the locational criteria for high density development, as outlined in Section 3.3.2 b) of the Official Plan, including proximity to major shopping area, proximity to a major open space area, and location on an arterial road with access to public transit. Further, the public infrastructure in the vicinity (schools, parks, roads, hard services etc.) can accommodate the proposed development, the traffic generated can be adequately handled by the road system (see discussion below), and the site can accommodate adequate setbacks, landscaping, vehicular movement and parking.

The net site density of the proposed development is 94 units per net hectare (38 unit per acre) which falls within the High Density II designation of the Official Plan. A draft Official Plan amendment to redesignate the subject lands to Urban Residential – High Density II in the Official Plan is attached as Appendix ‘A’.

The lands are presently zoned Suburban Residential Second Density (SUR2) in By-law 193-81, as amended, which only permits a single-detached dwelling. A draft amendment to Zoning By-law 193-81, as amended, to permit the proposal is attached as Appendix ‘B’.

A public meeting was held on June 21, 2005

On June 21, 2005, a public meeting was held to obtain public input on the subject applications. The following are the key issues raised by residents at the Public Meeting, which have been addressed through the approval process.

All efforts are being made to preserve existing trees at this site

An area resident expressed concern at the public meeting with respect the loss of trees at the site. As noted previously, the site contains a number of mature trees and other vegetation, particularly along the south, west and east boundaries. The applicant has submitted a tree inventory and a preservation plan, which shows a few trees within the front yard being removed to accommodate the proposed driveway. Two trees at the northeast quadrant of property will also be removed to accommodate the proposed parking area. There are five trees that are located along the south property line or within a few metres of the south property line on adjacent property to the south. These trees may be impacted by the proposed development given the excavation required in the vicinity of these trees. Staff will work with the applicant in consultation with the abutting land owner to the south to ensure that all reasonable measures are taken to preserve these trees. In addition, staff will require larger calliper trees on the site as well as the planting of materials, over and above the normal practice, to compensate for the loss of the existing trees on the site.

Increased traffic is not considered to be of concern

Another concern raised by an area resident involves the potential for higher traffic levels along Kennedy Road as a result of this development. The Region of York (Transportation and Works Department) have advised that the proposed apartment building containing 16 units would have minimal to no traffic impact on Kennedy Road, and therefore increased traffic due to this proposal is not considered to be of significant concern.

Issues identified in the Preliminary Report have been addressed

A number of issues identified by staff in the April 5, 2005, Preliminary Report have been resolved as follows:

Compatibility with adjacent uses

The proposed apartment building fronts onto Kennedy Road, which is a regional arterial road. As noted in this report, the proposed apartment building satisfies the locational criteria for high density development as outlined in Section 3.3.2 b) of the Official Plan. The lands to the south are currently used for commercial purposes and it is expected that these lands will be redeveloped for other commercial or higher intensity residential uses in the future, and therefore compatibility is not considered an issue in this context. Compatibility concerns only exist with regard to the proposed low density residential subdivision to the east under the same ownership. However, the proposed four-storey building will be approximately 27.5 metres (90 feet) away from any future dwellings to the east. It is felt that the proposed use and built form are compatible with adjacent uses.

Servicing and Stormwater Management studies have been undertaken

The applicant has submitted servicing and stormwater management studies in support of this development. The proposed development will be connected to the existing sanitary sewer on Kennedy Road, which has sufficient capacity to accommodate the proposal. To accommodate servicing the applicant has agreed to a 3m easement adjacent to the future walkway to the north, along the rear portion of the property, and a 1.5 easement between the walkway and the proposed building at the front of the property. While a 6m easement/block is preferred for servicing, in this instance the Engineering Department is generally satisfied with the submitted studies, solutions and easements proposed by the applicant’s engineering consultant.

Servicing Allocation

On November 29, 2005, Council approved a new servicing allocation strategy. The proposed development was granted 16 allocation units based on the November 29, 2005, staff report, which dealt with servicing allocation.

Future integration of the proposed development with the properties to the south

As noted previously, the three properties to the south are under one ownership. While no application has been submitted to redevelop these properties, the potential exists for redevelopment of these lands, possibly for one consolidated development. Given the location of the parking area at the rear, it will be possible, if appropriate, to integrate the subject development with a future development to the south. The appropriateness of any possible future integration of these properties would need to be reviewed once development applications have been submitted for the lands to the south. The site plan agreement for the subject site will include a provision for future integration of the properties, if required by the Town.

Site Plan and Building Elevations are acceptable

The proposed four storey condominium apartment building provides a strong building presence along Kennedy Road as most of the building is within 4 metres of the front property line. The building also provides visual interest through the use of a mansard roof, which helps to minimize the height and scale of the building. The Kennedy Road elevation features two glazed three and four storey bays facing the street. The exterior building materials will consist of a stucco base at the ground floor and brick. The height of the building from the finished grade to the top of the mansard roof is 15.8 metres (51.8 feet). A 1.4 metre (4.6 feet) north side yard setback is proposed from the 3-metre wide pedestrian walkway to be provided along the north property line and a 3 metre (9.8 feet) side yard setback is proposed from the south property line. The proposed building will be approximately 20 metres (65 feet) from the rear property line and approximately 27.5 metres (90 feet) from future low density residential dwellings to the east. The proposed parking area is located to the rear of the building. The parking area is accessed from Kennedy Road by means of a driveway through the ground floor of the building. Landscape opportunities are present along the west, south and east property boundaries (see Figure 4). Staff is satisfied with the site layout and building elevations.

The applicant has provided an internal refuse storage area. The condominium corporation will be responsible for ensuring that all waste and recycling containers are placed out on a garbage pad along Kennedy Road at the time of collection and returned to the internal refuse storage area. Municipal waste collection service will be available to the condominium corporation. The Waste Management Department has advised that this is a standard practice for apartment buildings.

FINANCIAL TEMPLATE (Separate Attachment):