Report to: Development Services Committee Date of Meeting: December 12, 2006

SUBJECT: RECOMMENDATION REPORT

Miller Paving Limited

7781 Woodbine Avenue

Draft Plan of Subdivision (19TM-06001) and implementing zoning amendment applications to create industrial and commercial development blocks on the east side of Woodbine Avenue north of 14^th Avenue

FILES: SU.06-105672 and ZA.04-017225

PREPARED BY: Teema Kanji, Senior Planner, extension 4480

Central District

RECOMMENDATION:

That the report dated December 12, 2006 entitled “Miller Paving Limited, 7781 Woodbine Avenue, Application for Draft Plan of Subdivision (19TM-06001) to create industrial and commercial development blocks on the east side of Woodbine Avenue north of 14^th Avenue (SU.06-105672)” be received;

That the record of the Public Meeting held on May 16, 2006, regarding the proposed plan of subdivision be received;

That staff be authorized to schedule a Public Meeting to consider an official plan amendment to designate 11.9 ha (29.4 acres) of the subject property from INDUSTRIAL to INDUSTRIAL – General Industrial, in order to confirm the intended sub-category of Industrial use in the Official Plan;

That draft plan of subdivision 19TM-06001 located on the east side of Woodbine Avenue, north of 14^th Avenue, proposed by Miller Paving Limited, be draft approved subject to the “red line” revisions and conditions outlined in Appendix ‘A’;

That the applications to amend Zoning By-laws 2284-68 and 177-96 be approved and the implementing Zoning By-laws set out in Appendix ‘B’ be finalized and enacted;

That the Chief Administrative Officer and the Commissioner, Community and Fire Services, report back to the Council regarding the details of the terms and conditions of a Purchase and Sale Agreement with respect to land exchange/sale between the Town and Miller Paving Ltd.;

That the Purchase and Sale Agreement between the Town and Miller Paving Ltd is to be executed prior any final approval of the plan of subdivision for registration;

That the required Phasing Agreement and Environmental Management Plan shall address the timing of development, infrastructure, site remediation, and decommissioning and relocation of the existing Miller Paving operation, to the satisfaction of the Town;

That the applicant provide to the Town the required payment of 30% subdivision processing fees in accordance with the Town’s Fee By-law (By-law 2005-357); and

That the draft plan of subdivision approval shall lapse after a period of three years, commencing on December 19, 2006, unless extended by the Town upon application by the Owner.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

The 29.4 ha (72.7 acre) site is located east of Woodbine Avenue, north of 14^th Avenue. The applicant is proposing to develop the west portion of the property with Major Commercial and Business Corridor uses (17.5 ha) and the remainder of the lands with industrial uses (9.7 ha) and new roads (2.3 ha).

In 2005, Council approved an Official Plan Amendment (OPA 146) for the subject lands to permit large format shopping and office uses on the Woodbine Avenue frontage of the subject lands. In 2006, the applicant applied for approval of the draft plan of subdivision that also includes additional lands that were not designated commercial by OPA 146, and are intended by the Official Plan for INDUSTRIAL use. A technical Official Plan Amendment is required to deal with these additional lands (to confirm the intended General Industrial sub-category of the INDUSTRIAL designation), and a zoning by-law amendment is required to implement the draft plan of subdivision (Appendix B).

The property was originally used for sand and gravel extraction from the 1950’s to 1970’s and landfill was deposited on the property in the late 1970’s. The site is identified by the Ministry of the Environment (MOE), and in the Markham Official Plan, as a “Former Waste Disposal Site”. MOE has advised that the Minister’s approval (Section 46, Environmental Protection Act) for use of lands is not required because landfilling or waste disposal activities occurred on the property over 25 years ago. In accordance with the requirements of the MOE and the Town’s official plan policies, the applicant must submit a number of environmental reports (i.e. Phase II Environmental Site Assessment, Remediation Plan, etc.) to demonstrate that the environmental conditions of the site are suitable for the proposed commercial/industrial uses. These requirements have been included in the draft plan conditions (Appendix A).

A Master Servicing Study prepared for the development of the subject lands has identified Town owned lands on the east side of Rodick Road (outside of the area of the draft plan) as the preferred location for a stormwater management pond. Town owned lands are also required to construct a portion of a road (Street ‘A’) that would extend across the subject lands and the Town lands, from Woodbine Avenue to Rodick Road.

The redevelopment of the Miller site and corresponding property requirements on Town property (storm pond and Street ‘A’) will have an impact on the existing Town Maintenance Yard Operations. The Operations Department recently initiated a two-phase Public Works Facility Master Plan Study, to review the existing facility portfolio and identify goals and objectives to be pursued over the next 20 years. One option recommends a site of approximately 10 ha (25 acres) in the future, in the vicinity of the Town’s existing yard maintenance operations [4.5 ha (11.1 acres)] on the west side of Rodick Road. Staff will be reporting back to Council on the Master Plan Study and the options available to the Town to meet maintenance operations requirements across the Town.

The applicant requires 0.37 ha (0.92 acres) from the Town to construct an east/west road connecting Woodbine Avenue and Rodick Road. This will result in an “orphaned” parcel of Town lands south of Street ‘A’ [1.3 ha (3.2 acres] and possible loss of a salt storage dome. The Town also owns a 1.75 ha (4.3 acres) parcel of land on the east side of Rodick Road, which the applicant requires to construct a stormwater management facility. The Owner will have to either purchase these lands from the Town or compensate the Town through a land exchange, at the discretion of the Town.

The subject plan of subdivision is to be revised to show a location for the storm pond on the subject lands, pending the applicant reaching agreement with the Town to locate a pond on Town owned lands. Any registration of the easterly industrial parcels on the plan of subdivision will likewise be dependent on the applicant reaching agreement with the Town on the proposed extension of Street ‘A’ through the Town owned lands. In the event that agreement cannot be reached, the final plan (road pattern and lotting) is to be revised to the satisfaction of the Town.

As directed by Council on June 27, 2006, senior staff is currently in discussions with the Owner with respect to a possible land exchange/sale of Town owned lands required for the Owner to develop the subject plan of subdivision. The intention is to formalize arrangements between the Town and Miller in regard to interim and long term solutions to address the impact of the Miller plan on Town lands, and the Town’s maintenance yard requirements in this area. Based on the applicant’s draft phasing plan (to be finalized to the satisfaction of the Town, as a condition of draft approval), the Town lands east of Rodick will be required by the applicant to construct the storm pond in 2007. Street ‘A’ is proposed to be extended to Rodick Road by 2011, corresponding to the draft Phasing Plan’s proposed 2010 timing of decommissioning and relocation of the existing Miller Paving operation.

It is recommended that a formal Agreement of Purchase and Sale with respect to land exchange/sale between the Town and Miller Paving Ltd. be executed prior to any final approval of the plan of subdivision for registration. In the event that the Town opts for land exchange, at the Town’s sole discretion, the applicant shall make lands within the plan of subdivision immediately adjacent to the Town works yard available to the Town on an equal ‘acre for acre’ basis, in a condition and configuration acceptable to the Town, and at no cost to the Town. Any land transaction, material relocation, site preparation, soil remediation or other costs relating to lands to be transferred by the applicant to the Town, are to be borne by the applicant.

Statutory public meetings were held on October 19, 2004 to consider the zoning by-law amendment application and May 16, 2006 to consider the draft plan of subdivision. Staff is generally satisfied with the draft plan. However, a portion of the draft plan adjacent to the existing Town facilities will need to be reconfigured in order to facilitate a future land exchange with the Town, subject to the details of the required Agreement of Purchase and Sale (Appendix A).

FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:

Not applicable at this time. Staff is to report back on the terms and conditions of an Agreement of Purchase and Sale between Miller Paving and the Town.

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this report is to discuss and recommend approval of the draft plan and approval of the implementing zoning for proposed plan of subdivision 19TM-06001, submitted by Miller Paving Limited to create commercial and industrial development blocks on the east side of Woodbine Avenue, north of 14^th Avenue. The report also recommends a Public Meeting be called to consider an Official Plan Amendment to confirm the General Industrial sub-category of INDUSTRIAL use for the easterly portion of the lands.

BACKGROUND:

Subject Lands and Area Context

The subject lands consist of approximately 29.4 hectares located east of Woodbine Avenue, north of 14^th Avenue (Figure 1). Other lands to the south east were severed by the applicant to facilitate an approved Waste Transfer Station site at the north west corner of Rodick Road and 14^th Avenue.

The northeast portion of the property currently supports an office and garage complex, asphalt plant, and roller maintenance facility, asphalt testing lab, and refuelling areas by Miller Paving Limited. A bus washing facility and a waste transfer facility are located north of 14^th Avenue, west of Rodick Road (Figure 3). The site also contains a former aggregate pit and area of ponded groundwater.

The subject property is bounded to the north by a Hydro Corridor and lands being protected by the Province for a proposed future Highway 407 transitway, and further north by lands owned by Magna International and Highway 407 (Figure 3). To the south is an existing gas station located at the northeast corner of Woodbine and 14^th Avenues and further south across 14^th Avenue is a vacant property, a fire station, as well as existing industrial buildings. To the south and east is the remainder of the applicant’s original property, recently severed and currently being redeveloped for a new waste transfer facility (approved by Council in February 2006), as well as a Town owned works yard. Further east, across Rodick Road, and to the west, across Woodbine Avenue, are existing industrial/office buildings (Figure 3).

Proposal to develop lands for commercial/industrial uses

The applicant is proposing to develop the west portion of the property with Major Commercial and Business Corridor uses (17.5 hectares) and the east portion of the property with industrial uses (9.7 hectares). A number of new roadways are proposed as part of the plan of subdivision.

Proposed plan of subdivision

The subject lands are proposed to be subdivided into twelve blocks to accommodate commercial and industrial uses as identified in the table below.

Proposed Use	Block Number	Hectares	Acres
Major Commercial	Block 2	15.3	37.9
Business Corridor	Block 1	2.1	5.2
General Industrial	Blocks 4,5, 9 to 11	0.6 to 1.0	1.5 to 2.5
General Industrial	Blocks 3, 6 to 8 and 12	> 1.0	> 2.5
Roads		2.3	5.6
Total		29.4	72.7

Block 1 fronts onto Woodbine Avenue and is proposed to be developed with office and commercial uses. Block 2 also has frontage on Woodbine Avenue and is intended to be developed with large format retail stores. The remainder of the blocks (3 to 12 inclusive) are proposed to be developed with industrial uses.

The plan also provides for lands to complete an east/west collector road (Street ‘A’) connecting Rodick Road and Woodbine Avenue and lands required to complete two future roads (Streets ‘B’ and ‘C’) which will connect the subject lands to Miller Avenue to the north (Figure 5).

Official Plan Amendment required to designate lands to General Industrial

In 2003, Council adopted Official Plan Amendment 112 to redesignate the lands from Parkway Belt West to Industrial. The Official Plan also identifies a former Waste Disposal Site symbol at the southwest corner of the property, and provides that the Ministry of the Environment (MOE) confirm that the development satisfies the Environmental Protection Act and that various studies and mitigative measures are completed, to the satisfaction of the MOE and the Town. Environmental issues are discussed in greater detail below.

In 2005, the applicant applied for an official plan amendment to permit a large format shopping centre and office uses on approximately 20.47 ha (50.5 acres) of their lands, primarily contiguous to the Woodbine Avenue and Miller Road frontages. Miller’s total land holding at the time was approximately 35.6 ha (87.9 acres), and included 6.2 ha of lands which were subsequently severed to create a site for a new waste transfer station, adjacent to Rodick Road. In June 2005, staff was directed by Council to draft an official plan amendment for the westerly 17.5 ha portion of the applicant’s ownership. Official Plan Amendment (OPA) 146 was adopted by Council in December 2005, re-designating these lands to COMMERCIAL – Major Commercial and INDUSTRIAL – Business Corridor.

In 2006 the applicant applied for a draft plan of subdivision to create the commercial parcels (17.5 ha) on Woodbine, and to create industrial parcels on the additional developable lands to the east (11.9 ha). The proposed industrial parcels which form part of the draft plan of subdivision, while designated INDUSTRIAL through OPA 112, were not provided with any sub-category of INDUSTRIAL use by OPA 146. Consequently a technical amendment to the Official Plan is required to introduce an appropriate industrial sub-designation on these lands. In this instance, staff recommend that the General Industrial sub-designation be applied, as being consistent with the proposed (and existing) uses and zoning of these lands. As part of this report, staff is seeking authorization to schedule a Public Meeting to consider this technical amendment. The public meeting can be scheduled in early 2007.

Zoning by-law prepared for subject lands

The subject lands are zoned Industrial Four (M4) by By-law 2284-68, as amended (Figure 2). The M4 zone permits a range of industrial and limited commercial uses. A zoning by-law amendment is required to permit the proposed major commercial and business corridor uses, as well as to update the industrial use categories for the remainder of the site. The applicant has not provided a conceptual site plan for the site. The zoning by-law has been drafted incorporating development standards applied to other recently approved large format shopping centres such as the commercial development at Kirkham Drive/Markham Road (Appendix B). Amendments are also required to delete the subject lands from By-law 2284-68 and to incorporate the subject lands within the Town’s Urban Expansion Area By-law 177-96 (Appendix B).

The zoning by-law contains Hold (H) provisions as identified in OPA 146 to ensure:

· A subdivision agreement is executed;

· Necessary infrastructure is in place to service the lands including an acceptable location for a stormwater management pond;

· Lands required for rights-of-way, etc. have been secured;

· Lands can be served adequately by the existing commercial transportation network;

· Any contamination will be remediated, to the satisfaction of the Town;

· Any existing or potential off-site contamination has been addressed to the satisfaction of the Ministry of the Environment and the Town;

· An area specific Development Charge By-law is enacted;

· Developers Group or alternative agreement is in place to address costs of development not dealt with under the Development Charge By-law; and

· A site plan for the commercial lands has been endorsed.

These Hold (H) provisions will also be applied to the industrial lands not covered by OPA 146 (Figure 5). The applicant is agreeable to this.

OPTIONS/DISCUSSION:

Town owned lands identified as preferred location for stormwater management pond

Currently, the stormwater on the site partially drains to the pond at the location of the former aggregate pit. This will continue on a temporary basis until the permanent stormwater pond is constructed (currently proposed by the applicant in 2007). The pond will then be filled and incorporated as development lands within the draft plan of subdivision.

The Miller Group has prepared a Master Servicing Study (February 2006) for the Highway 407/Rodick Road Employment Lands which captures a total land area of approximately 89.4 ha (220.9 acres). The Study proposes a location for this new stormwater management facility on Town owned lands east of Rodick Road, outside of the area of the proposed draft plan of subdivision (Figure 4). The Town owned parcel of land is currently used for storing excavated material and composting materials. These operations would be displaced, and have to be relocated, in order to accommodate the construction of a new stormwater management facility.

It is recommended that the plan be “red line” revised to show a storm pond location within the plan of subdivision, pending the outcome of negotiations between the applicant and the Town in regard to the applicant’s proposal to locate the storm pond on Town owned lands east of Rodick Road.

If the Town cannot be appropriately compensated or alternatively, an appropriate property exchange between the Town and Miller Paving Limited cannot be negotiated then the draft plan of subdivision to be registered, and the Master Environmental Servicing Plan, will have to be revised to include an on-site stormwater management pond within the proposed draft plan of subdivision, to the satisfaction of the Director of Engineering (Appendix A). Interim and long term solutions to address the impact of the Miller plan on Town lands, and the Town’s maintenance yard requirements in this area, are under negotiation between the parties. It is recommended that a formal Agreement of Purchase and Sale with respect to land exchange/sale between the Town and Miller Paving Ltd. be executed prior to final approval of the plan of subdivision (see recommended resolution and conditions of draft approval).

Lands required from the Town and Ontario Realty Corporation to complete Streets ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’

Street ‘A’

Official Plan Amendment 146 (OPA 146) identifies a new east/west collector road (Street ‘A’) to extend east from Shields Court and connect with Rodick Road. As discussed below, this proposed road has been included in the draft plan and will bisect the existing Town yard maintenance operations where it connects from the draft plan to Rodick Road. This extension of Street ‘A’ will result in an “orphaned”, poorly configured parcel of Town owned land, and possible loss of a salt storage dome. The timing of construction of Street ‘A’ to Rodick Road (currently proposed by the applicant as 2011) is dependent upon an acceptable phasing plan and negotiations with the applicant on the land transfer/sale of Town lands. The applicant will be responsible for constructing Street ‘A’ to Rodick Road, and for satisfying the Town in regard to land exchange/sale of the Town lands required for the road, and the “orphaned” Town lands south of the road.

Streets ‘B’ and ‘C’

OPA 146 identifies a north-south public road (Street ‘B’) linking the east west collector road (Street ‘A’) to Miller Avenue. The proposed draft plan provides for two north/south roads (Streets ‘B’ and ‘C’). In order to construct these roads the applicant will have to acquire land from the Ontario Realty Corporation (ORC). The applicant has had preliminary discussions with ORC in this regard.

The applicant’s draft phasing plan (to be finalized to the satisfaction of the Town) indicates that Street ‘B’ is to be constructed from Street ‘A’ to Miller Avenue in 2007, in order to be in place to provide additional road network to service the Commercial lands on Woodbine Avenue.

The final road pattern within the Industrial section of the plan of subdivision will depend in part on the outcome of the negotiations between the applicant and the Town with respect to the Town possibly acquiring lands within the Miller draft plan of subdivision. In particular, the lotting pattern and road pattern at the east end of the plan (Streets ‘A’ and ‘C’ and associated lotting) may need to be revised to reflect land exchange/sale agreement between the parties.

Public Works Facility Master Plan Study to be completed by December 2006

The redevelopment of the Miller site and corresponding property requirements on Town property will have an impact on the Town maintenance yard operations.

The Operations Department recently initiated a two-phase Public Works Facility Master Plan Study. The purpose of the study is to review the existing Town facility portfolio and identify goals and objectives to be pursued over the next 20 years. One option recommends a site of approximately 10 ha (25 acres) in the future, in the vicinity of the Town’s existing yard maintenance operations [4.5 ha (11.1 acres)] on the west side of Rodick Road. Staff will be reporting back to Council (in camera) on the Town’s requirements for maintenance operations at this site, as well as, negotiations with the Owner with respect to land exchange/sale.

Revision to proposed industrial blocks required to facilitate future land exchange

The current configuration of Block 8 does not meet the frontage requirements of the General Industrial (GI) zoning standards in By-law 177-96. The General Industrial zone requires a minimum frontage of 60 metres, whereas the proposed Block 8 has a frontage of approximately 50 metres, and has constrained access to Street ‘A’. In addition, Blocks 6 to 9 inclusive may also need to be reconfigured in order to facilitate a future land exchange with the Town to facilitate the construction of a stormwater management pond on Town land, and the proposed road across Town land (Street ‘A’). This is a condition of draft plan approval (Appendix A). Details of any land exchange/sale are to be addressed in the Agreement of Purchase and Sale, and in the subdivision agreement and final plan for the Miller subdivision or any phase thereof.

Purchase and Sale Agreement required prior to issuance of draft plan approval by the Director of Planning and Urban Design

Negotiations with the applicant with respect to a possible land exchange/sale of Town lands, development phasing and Markham’s long term maintenance yard requirements are ongoing. The Town maintenance yard has an area of approximately 4.1 ha (10.1 acres), and the applicant requires 0.37 ha (0.92 acres) to construct an east/west road connecting Woodbine Avenue and Rodick Road. This will result in an “orphaned” and poorly configured parcel of Town owned land south of the road [1.3 ha (3.2 acres] and possible loss of a salt storage dome. The Town also owns a 1.75 ha (4.3 acres) parcel of land on the east side of Rodick Road, on which the applicant proposes to construct a stormwater management facility. The Owner will have to either purchase these lands from the Town or compensate the Town through a land exchange.

The Owner will be required to execute an Agreement of Purchase and Sale (with timing and phasing provisions) satisfactory to the Chief Administrative Officer and Town Solicitor, which will document the Town and the Owner’s commitments. It is recommended that this be required prior to the release of the draft plan for registration, and be reflected in the subdivision agreement. It is recommended that the Chief Administrative Officer and the Commissioner of Community and Fire Services report back to Council on the terms and conditions of the Agreement.

In the event that the Town opts for land exchange, at the Town’s sole discretion, the applicant shall make lands within the plan of subdivision immediately adjacent to the Town works yard available to the Town on an equal ‘acre for acre’ basis, in a condition and configuration acceptable to the Town, and at no cost to the Town. Any land transaction, material relocation, site preparation, soil remediation or other costs relating to lands to be transferred by the applicant to the Town, are to be borne by the applicant.

Traffic Impact Study to be revised to address Ministry of Transportation

The proposed 407 Transitway and associated Woodbine Station are planned on the north side of Miller Avenue between Woodbine Avenue and Rodick Road. The Transitway will require two accesses from Miller Avenue, one of which will need to be signalized. A Traffic Impact Study has been prepared for the subject lands; however it does not take into consideration the Transitway. The Ministry of Transportation (MTO) has requested that the Traffic Impact Study be revised to address the following:

The best location for any road extension intersections with Miller Avenue in association with the two Transitway Station access
The impact of traffic generated by the proposed development on Miller Avenue, Woodbine Avenue and Rodick Road and the fully developed Transitway station
The submitted draft plan shows a concept for proposed roads (Streets ‘B’ and ‘C’ extensions) to in future be extended “across” the Transitway lands as a loop road. MTO advises that the “loop road” concept would impact the Transitway, and reference to it is to be removed from the applicant’s draft plan.

MTO recently initiated the Environmental Assessment process for the Highway 407 transitway and this is expected to be completed in 3 years. The Ministry will be requested to sign off on the proposed intersection locations at Miller Avenue (i.e. locations of Streets ‘B’ and ‘C’ on the Miller Plan) in the coming months, so as to not delay the subdivision agreement and registration process.

As a condition of draft plan approval, the Owner will be required to make revisions to the draft plan that may be required to achieve the recommendations of the Traffic Impact Study.

Development Phasing Plan has been submitted for review

OPA 146 requires that a Development Phasing Plan be submitted to address the timing of the comprehensive development of the lands, including the following:

Closure/removal of the existing uses;
Development of commercial and industrial lands;
Provision of infrastructure (municipal services and road construction); and
Any required environmental remediation.

A preliminary phasing plan has been submitted by the applicant for review. The existing Miller operations are proposed to be decommissioned and phased out by 2010 and Street ‘A’ is proposed to be constructed (from Woodbine Avenue to Rodick Road) in 2011. Street ‘B’ is shown to be constructed to Miller Avenue in Phase 1 (2007) in order to provide alternate access to the Commercial lands. The Engineering Department recommends that monitoring of traffic conditions be required, and that Street ‘A’ be constructed sooner if required to mitigate commercial traffic requirements. The phasing plan will need to be finalized and approved prior to final release of the plan of subdivision. This is addressed in the conditions of draft plan approval (Appendix A).

Additional technical supporting documents are to be submitted

Along with the studies noted above, the Engineering Department will require the following technical supporting documentation either prior to, or as a condition of subdivision approval:

· Functional Servicing Plan

· Geotechnical Analysis and/or Soil Stability Study

· Internal Functional Traffic Design Study

· Noise Impact Study

· Erosion and Sediment Control Plan

· Environmental Site Assessment (ESA) Phase II

· Environmental Impact Study

· Environmental Management Plan

· Conceptual Built Form Master Plan

Preliminary environmental site screening report prepared as part of Highway 407/Rodick Road Study

The property was originally used for sand and gravel extraction from the 1950’s to 1970’s and fill was deposited on the property in the late 1970’s. As part of the Highway 407/Rodick Road study, a preliminary environmental site screening report was prepared by the Town’s consultants to characterize the site and identify areas of potential contamination, and to provide recommendations for additional studies/action plans. According to the study, the majority of the subject property has a moderate potential for contamination, but there are significant areas along the easterly portion of the property with a high potential for contamination.

Applicant must demonstrate environmental condition of site is suitable for the proposed commercial/industrial uses

Section 46 of the Environmental Protection Act (EPA) requires the Minister’s approval for use of lands or land covered by water which was previously used for landfilling/waste disposal. The Town received a letter from the Ministry of the Environment (MOE) on October 31, 2006 indicating that Section 46 approval is not required because landfilling or waste disposal activities occurred on the property over 25 years ago. The MOE also recommended that a Phase I and II Environmental Site Assessment and Environmental Management Plan be conducted for the site.

In accordance with the requirements of the MOE and the Town’s Official Plan policies, the applicant will be required to provide the Town with the following, prior to final approval of the draft plan of subdivision:

· Phase II Environmental Site Assessment

· A complete Remediation Plan

· Environmental Management Plan (EMP)

· Record of Site Condition be filed with the Environmental Site Registry office of the MOE, summarizing the environmental condition of all the lands

· Environmental clearance letter for any lands to be conveyed to the Town

Staff will retain a peer review consultant (at the Owner’s cost) to review and comment on the above noted documents. If the environmental reports identify environmental conditions that do not warrant development, the applicant will be required to amend the draft plan, to the satisfaction of the Town. The Town will also be requesting appropriate financial securities to ensure that any off-site contamination is remediated and a monitoring program is provided (Appendix A).

Clearance required from the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority

The Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) has indicated that if satisfactory arrangements cannot be made with the Town to locate the proposed stormwater management pond on Town owned lands on the east side of Rodick Road, then the following will be required:

Draft plan will have to be amended to locate the requisite stormwater management pond within the Owner’s current land holdings; and
The Master Environmental Servicing Plan will have to be revised, to the satisfaction of the TRCA.

This is addressed in the “red line” revisions and conditions of draft approval. The onus is on the applicant to provide for a stormwater management pond on – site, or to satisfy the Town as to the terms of a land exchange/sale to potentially locate the pond on Town owned lands.

The TRCA has also requested that the zoning by-law include a Hold (H) provision to ensure that adequate arrangement have been made to implement the proposed stormwater management strategy. This Hold (H) provision has been included in the proposed zoning by-law (Appendix B).

Clearance required from the Ministry of Natural Resources

As indicated earlier, the site contains a former aggregate pit. The Owner will be required to submit rehabilitation site plans for the former aggregate pit pursuant to the Aggregate Resources Act, R.S.O., c.A.8., to the satisfaction of the Ministry of Natural Resources, and the Director of Engineering. This is a condition of draft plan approval (Appendix A).

An Area Specific Development Charge By-law has not been completed

An area specific development charge by-law for the Highway 407/Rodick Road area has not yet been prepared by Town staff. The process is in the early stages and a by-law may not be in place prior to the proposed development moving forward. If this is the case, an agreement with the owner will be required to ensure that an estimate of the required charges is paid in advance of the final development charge by-law, prior to registration of a subdivision agreement (Appendix A). In addition, the applicant will be required to enter into a Front End and Credit Agreement for the upfronting of external infrastructure required to accommodate their development (i.e. stormwater management pond, Rodick servicing road improvements, etc.).

Conceptual Built Form Master Plan required

Official Plan Amendment 146 (OPA 146) requires that the applicant submit a Conceptual Built Form Master Plan to illustrate the design principles underlying the proposed development including access, streetscape and built form. The Master Plan will also include the location of all buildings on the site, the overall pedestrian network, landscaping and demonstrate how the buildings will relate to each other. Development applications submitted for the subject property will be assessed against the Conceptual Built Form Master Plan. This is to be a condition of draft plan approval (Appendix A). It is intended that the Master Plan form part of the subdivision agreement and guide site plan approval of future development.

No issues identified at public meeting

A public meeting was held on May 16, 2006. There were no written submissions or comments from the audience with respect to the proposed draft plan of subdivision.

FINANCIAL TEMPLATE (Separate Attachment):