April 18, 2006
REPORT TO DEVELOPMENT SERVICES
COMMITTEE
SUBJECT: RECOMMENDATION
REPORT
Wynberry
Developments Inc.
Wismer
Commons Community
Proposed
plan of subdivision and implementing zoning by-law amendment
File
No.’s: SU 01 119048 (19TM-01020 [Phase 2]) and ZO 01 119040
CONTACT/AUTHOR: Gary
Sellars, Senior Planner, East Development District (ext. 2960)
Regan
Hutcheson, Manager of Heritage (ext. 2080)
RECOMMENDATION:
That draft plan of
subdivision 19TM-01020
(Phase 2) (Wynberry
Developments Inc.), located on the south side of Monkhouse Road, east
of Spencer Avenue, be draft approved subject to the conditions outlined in
Appendix ‘A’ to the staff report dated April 18, 2006;
That the application submitted by Wynberry
Developments Inc. to amend Zoning By-laws 304-87 and 177-76, as amended,
be approved subject to the By-law including a height restriction to limit
permitted dwelling types to bungalows, a side yard setback provision
between dwellings to allow a proper separation and ensure the new development
does not give the appearance of a solid wall of new construction, and build- to provisions to ensure that
the dwellings are sited as close as possible to the front lot line to maximize
the rear yard setback, and the
draft by-laws attached as Appendix ‘B’ to the staff report dated April 18, 2006,
be enacted;
That the applicant agree to pay their proportionate share of
the Hwy. 48 flow control measures, to the satisfaction of the Director of Engineering;
That Wynberry Developments
Inc be granted a servicing allocation of 12 units for draft plan 19TM-01020
(Phase 2), such allocation to be from the total allocation for the Wismer
Commons Community, in accordance with the November 22, 2005 report on servicing
allocation;
That the Town
reserves the right to revoke or reallocate the servicing allocation should the
development not proceed in a timely manner;
That the
Region of York be advised of the servicing allocation for this development;
That the applicant
provide to the Town the 30% payment of the required subdivision processing fees
in accordance with the Town’s Fee By-law (By-law 211-83, as amended by By-law
2005-189);
And further that the draft plan approval for plan of
subdivision 19TM-01020 (Phase 2) will lapse after a period of three years
commencing April 18, 2006,
in the event that a subdivision agreement is not executed within that period.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
Not applicable
FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:
Not applicable
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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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Property
and Area Context
The
subject lands (Figures 1, 2 and 3) are located on the south side of Monkhouse Road, east of Spencer Avenue within
the Wismer Commons community. The lands
are currently vacant. The Markham Heritage
Estates subdivision, a unique community of relocated heritage dwellings which
were threatened on their original sites, is located to the south. Single detached dwellings are located on the
north side of Monkhouse
Road and to the west on Spencer Avenue. A stormwater management pond is located to
the east.
Official Plan
and Zoning By-law
The
Town’s Official Plan designates the lands Urban Residential. The Wismer Commons Secondary Plan designates
the lands Urban Residential – Low Density. The lands are currently zoned Rural
Residential (RR4) by By-law 304-87.
Wismer Secondary Plan
includes heritage policies
Policies in the Wismer Secondary Plan state that the
conservation of cultural heritage resources shall be consistent with the
provisions of the Official Plan. The
Markham Heritage Estates, which is adjacent to the Secondary Plan area, is a
cultural heritage resource. The Official
Plan indicates that through the use of zoning by-laws and other controls, the
Town will ensure that development adjacent to heritage buildings is designed,
sited or regulated in such a manner so as not to conflict with or destroy such
features, whenever possible.
Servicing
Allocation
On November 29, 2005 Council distributed
all remaining servicing allocation (6,406 units) to secondary plan areas and to
specific projects, ready to proceed. The
distribution was based on previously approved criteria and other considerations
as outlined in the February 15, 2005 allocation report. A total of 402 units (302 units,
plus 100 units previously assigned in February) were assigned to the Wismer
Commons community for the purpose of filling in several of the holes in the
fabric of this community; one of which is the subject lands.
Proposal
The
applicant has applied for draft plan of subdivision approval and an implementing
zoning by-law amendment. The proposed plan of subdivision is
comprised of 12 single detached lots having frontages of 18.3m (60 ft.) on Monkhouse Road and depths
of 35m (115 ft.) (Figure 4).
OPTIONS/ DISCUSSION:
Wismer Commons Community
Design Plan and Heritage Estates
To address the issue of the Heritage Estates proximity to
adjacent development lands, the Wismer Commons Community Design
Plan includes the following provisions:
- Extra
lot depth and lot frontage;
- A 3.0
m landscape buffer at the rear of the new lots;
- A
requirement for rear detached garages to reflect the garage situation in
the Heritage Estates;
- Architectural
control over the rear elevations of the new dwellings
Extensive
consultation has been undertaken with residents and the applicant
Since the spring of 2002, extensive discussions have
occurred regarding this application. Two
statutory public meetings were held (May
7, 2002 and June 7, 2005)
and six information meetings were organized by Councillor McKelvey for Markham
Heritage Estates residents (May 6 and 22 in 2002, October 30 in 2003, May 6 in
2004, March 24 in 2005 and February 2 in 2006).
The key items of concern were the scale and massing of proposed
dwellings and the visual impact on Heritage Estates (the new development grading
being higher than Heritage Estates), the placement of garages and the most
appropriate type of landscape buffer treatment.
Residents do not want a repeat of the problems that occurred
with the dwellings situated to the west of Heritage Estates on Spencer
Avenue, as a result of final grades.
From 2003 onwards, Planning
and Heritage staff have informed the applicant the following:
-
Proposed 2 storey units are not supported due to
overall height and roof massing;
-
Bungalow units are preferred for all the lots backing
onto the Heritage Subdivision (especially critical is behind the James Thomas
House at the head of the heritage subdivision and at the high point of the
grade towards the west end of the row;
-
The new dwellings should be as far away from the Heritage
Estates as possible leaving additional space for any buffer planting along the
back;
-
Notwithstanding the requirement of the Community Design
Plan, rear yard detached garages are not recommended, as the grade would result
in a 8 foot foundation wall facing Heritage Estates;
-
A dense evergreen screen should be planted in the
buffer area behind the Heritage Estates, which will eventually grow to reduce
views of the new subdivision;
Rear yard detached garages are not being
proposed for the subject lands
The Wismer
Commons Community Design Plan recommends that the dwellings constructed on the
lots adjoining Heritage Estates include rear yard detached garages to reflect
the same feature in Heritage Estates.
The dwellings to the west of Heritage Estates were constructed with rear
yard detached garages. However, due to
the grade differential between the Wismer Commons lands and Heritage Estates,
the garages tend to sit higher than the Heritage Estates dwellings. The residents of the adjoining Heritage Estates
dwellings have expressed concern that the rear yard detached garages are
visually obtrusive when viewed from Heritage Estates. The applicant has agreed
to not use rear yard detached garages in the subject plan of subdivision.
The subject lands have been regraded to prevent
dwellings with walk-out basements
The front
portion of the subject lands at Monkhouse Road
is between 1 and 1.5 metres (3.3 to 4.9 ft.) higher than the adjoining lands
within Heritage Estates. This grade level was established to match the
servicing and grading for new residential development to the north and west of Monkhouse
Road. This
grading would allow dwellings to include walk-out basements, which would
increase the massing of the dwellings when viewed from Heritage Estates (see
Figure 6 for an illustration of the initial rear elevation submission). To
ensure that dwellings with walk-out basements could not be built, staff, in
consultation with Ward Councillor McKelvey, granted approval to the applicant
to regrade the lands. The rear portion of the subject lands at the property
line has been graded to match the grade of the Heritage Estates lands. The land then rises over a 3 metre distance
(3:1 slope) (Figure 5). The new
dwellings will be located closer to Monkhouse Road
without rear walk-outs.
The applicant has agreed to provide
landscape screening and incorporate heritage features into the rear building
elevation designs
In
response to the concerns of the adjoining Heritage Estates residents and in
compliance with the Wismer Commons Community Design Plan, the applicant has
agreed to provide landscape screening at the rear of the proposed lots as
follows:
·
2 to 2.5m high cedar hedge along the rear
property line
·
75mm caliber deciduous trees at the top of the
slope in the rear yard
The
applicant has also agreed to upgrade the rear building elevation designs of the
proposed dwellings to incorporate heritage features that would be compatible
with the heritage dwellings in Heritage Estates. The applicant has provided three elevations:
one bungalow option and two 2-storey options (see Figure 7).
The applicant has not committed to construction
of bungalows to reduce the proposed development’s visual impact on Heritage
Estates
Town staff
has asked the applicant to construct only bungalows, to reduce the proposed
development’s visual impact on Heritage Estates. The applicant provided concept drawings to illustrate
the potential impact of bungalows versus 2-storey dwellings viewed from Markham
Heritage Estates (see Figures 8 and 9). The
drawings illustrate that the roofscapes and massing of the 2-storey dwellings
would be quite visible from Heritage Estates compared to the use of
bungalows. The applicant has not agreed
to construct bungalows, but has offered to include a bungalow model as an
option as part of his sales program. The
Heritage Estates residents have requested that only bungalows be permitted on
the proposed lots to ensure the integrity of Heritage Estates is maintained.
The applicant has not demonstrated to
staff’s satisfaction that the heritage attributes of Heritage Estates will be
conserved should two storey dwellings be constructed on the subject lands
All developed properties within Markham Heritage Estates are
designated under the Ontario Heritage Act and are considered
protected heritage properties. The
Provincial Policy Statement issued under the Planning Act, includes specific cultural
heritage policies. Municipal decisions
on land use are to be consistent with the Policy Statement. The policies indicate that significant built
heritage resources and significant cultural heritage landscapes shall be
preserved. Heritage Estates, Canada’s
only heritage subdivision, fits this criteria and warrants special
consideration and controls on adjacent development.
The Policy Statement
permits development and site alteration on lands adjacent to protected heritage
property, where it has been demonstrated that the heritage attributes (context
and appearance) of the protected heritage property will be conserved. Mitigative measures and/or alternative
development approaches may be required in order to conserve the heritage
attributes affected by the adjacent development.
The applicant has not demonstrated to staff’s satisfaction
that the heritage attributes of Heritage Estates will be conserved should two
storey dwellings be constructed on the subject lands.
Staff recommends that a height restriction and
build to provisions be included in the implementing zoning by-law
Due to the
concerns identified above with respect to the impact two storey dwellings may
have on the abutting Heritage Estates, staff recommends that the implementing
zoning by-law for the proposed plan of subdivision include:
·
a height
restriction to limit permitted dwelling types to bungalows
·
a side yard setback provision between dwellings
to allow a proper separation and ensure the new development does not give the
appearance of a solid wall of new construction
·
build to maximum front yard setback provisions
to ensure that the dwellings are sited as close as possible to the front lot
line
It is also recommended that the landscape buffer strip on
the new lots be secured through a restrictive covenant registered on title. This has been included as a recommended
condition of draft approval.
Heritage Estates is
unique in Canada and should be protected
The Markham Heritage Estates is a significant heritage and
visual asset to the Town of Markham. The view looking north is the most
significant and photographed in the subdivision. In order to ensure that the significant
investment that the Town has made to the subdivision is not compromised, it is
vitally important that any new construction located behind the subdivision be
designed, graded, planted and spaced appropriately to ensure that its visual
impact is minimized. Action is needed to
help preserve the renowned historical ambiance of the Heritage Estates and
protect this unique and innovative heritage planning initiative pioneered by
the Town.
Figure 1 - Applicant/Agent & Location Map
Figure 2 - Area Context/Zoning
Figure 3 - Air Photo
Figure 4 - Proposed Plan of Subdivision
Figure 5 - Typical Section Of Grading At Rear Of
Lots
Figure 6 - Initial Elevations Submitted By
Applicant (Walkouts and Rear Garages)
Figure 7 - Proposed Rear Elevations by
Applicant (October 2005)
Figure 8 - Streetscape View Looking North from David Gohn Circle (Bungalows)
Figure 9 - Streetscape View Looking North from David Gohn Circle (Two Storey)
Appendix ‘A’ - Conditions of Draft Approval
Appendix ‘B’ - Draft Zoning By-law Amendments
FIGURE
1
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