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REPORT TO DEVELOPMENT SERVICES COMMITTEE |
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TO: |
Mayor and
Members of Council |
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FROM: |
Jim Baird,
Commissioner of Development Services |
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Valerie
Shuttleworth, Director, |
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PREPARED BY: |
West District Planner |
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DATE OF MEETING: |
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SUBJECT: |
PRELIMINARY REPORT Thanh Chu ( Application for Zoning By-law
Amendment to Permit a ZA.05-024111 |
RECOMMENDATION:
That a Public
Meeting be held to consider the Zoning Amendment application (ZA 05 024111)
submitted by Thanh Chu to include a commercial school as a permitted use at 55
Glen Cameron Rd, located east of Yonge St on the south side of Glen Cameron Rd
within the Thornhill Secondary Plan Area.
PURPOSE:
The purpose of
this report is to provide preliminary information regarding the application
submitted by Thanh Chu for a Zoning By-law Amendment to include a commercial
school as a permitted use at
BACKGROUND:
The 0.78 hectare (1.93 ac) subject lands
support an existing two-storey multi-tenant industrial building and are
municipally identified as
Adjoining the property are:
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The Canadian National Railway (CNR) to the south
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Industrial buildings to the east and west
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Single-detached dwellings to the north
Official Plan
and Zoning
The Official Plan designates the lands
“Industrial”. This designation is
further refined by the Thornhill Secondary Plan to “Business Corridor Area –
Glen Cameron/Doncaster”. The Thornhill
Secondary Plan stipulates that uses provided for within the “Business Corridor
Area – Glen Cameron/Doncaster” designation include those listed under Section
3.5.6.3 of the Official Plan and include, among other uses, private and
commercial schools.
The lands are zoned “Industrial” (M) by
By-law 2237, as amended, which permits a variety of industrial uses. An amendment is required in order to add a
commercial school to the list of permitted uses for the subject lands (Figure
2).
Proposal is for a
The applicant has submitted an application for a Zoning By-law Amendment
to permit the operation of a commercial school on the subject lands (
POTENTIAL
BENEFITS OF APPROVAL OF THE PROPOSAL:
The potential benefits of the proposed
development are as follows:
The general intent of the
“Business Corridor Area – Glen Cameron/Doncaster” designation in the Thornhill
Secondary Plan is to encourage the gradual upgrading of the area by narrowing
the range of permitted industrial uses, by allowing greater recognition of
emerging types of commercial uses through a rezoning process. The proposal to add a commercial school to
the list of permitted uses on the subject property will assist in implementing
the planned function of the “Business Corridor Area – Glen Cameron/Doncaster”
designation in the Thornhill Secondary Plan.
CONCERNS/ISSUES
TO BE RESOLVED:
The following is a brief summary of
concerns/issues raised to date. These matters, and any others identified
through the circulation and detailed review of the proposal, will be addressed
in a final staff report to be presented to Committee at a later date:
Striping of
Above Grade Parking Area
As previously stated a total of 103 parking
spaces are required for the subject lands when considering the introduction of
the proposed commercial school. There
are currently pavement markings that designate parking stalls in the
underground parking lot, with a limited number of parking spots marked above
grade. A site plan has been developed
that illustrates the potential above grade parking layout (Figure 4). The parking lot layout that has been provided
demonstrates the potential for 109 parking spots on site, including 55
underground and 54 above ground parking spaces, including 5 physically disabled
spaces. In this regard, the proposed
parking layout demonstrates compliance with the number of parking spaces
required by the Town’s Parking Standards By-law 28-97, as amended. Town staff, however, are concerned about the
limited number of marked parking spots provided above grade, as visitors will
not be provided with clearly demarcated parking stalls which may result in
haphazard parking on site. Staff have requested
the applicant mark the above grade spaces in order to clearly delineate the
available on site parking. The applicant
has not yet fulfilled this request because of the winter months.
Zoning By-law Amendment
to Incorporate Non-Conforming Uses
The application is to permit the operation of
a commercial school on the subject lands.
During the zoning review of the application, it was determined that
there are other uses operating in the existing multi-tenant industrial
building, which are not permitted under the current zoning by-law. These uses include an additional commercial
school, retail stores, and business offices.
All non-conforming uses should be brought into conformity with the
zoning by-law or removed. Amending the
zoning by-law to incorporate these non-conforming uses will not affect the
parking requirements for the existing building, as the parking calculation
performed by Town Staff took these uses into consideration. Furthermore, Town Staff will ensure that the
Zoning By-law Amendment will limit the floor area for these non-conforming uses
to current levels in order to ensure compliance with the number of on-site
parking spaces.
The non-conforming uses that have been
identified are also provided for under the “Business Corridor Area” designation
provided for in the Official Plan. In this
regard, amending the zoning by-law to incorporate all non-conforming uses will
not result in any detrimental impacts on the site, will bring the entire
building into conformity with the zoning by-law, and will assist in
implementing the planned function of the Official Plan and Thornhill Secondary
Plan. The applicant will be formally
amending the application to incorporate all non-conforming uses currently
operating on the subject property.
FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:
None at this time.
ENVIRONMENTAL
CONSIDERATIONS:
There is no significant vegetation or natural
features on site.
ACCESSIBILITY CONSIDERATIONS:
A total of five handicapped parking spaces
are required to be provided on site. All
five parking spaces have been provided at grade.
BUSINESS UNITS
CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:
All Town departments and external agencies
have been circulated on the application and all comments will be considered in
a final report.
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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 |
FILE PATH: \\MARKHAM.CA\APPS\AMANDADOCS\PLANNING\SAVEPATH\3602524061.DOC
ATTACHMENT
FILE PATH: Q:\Geomatics\New
Operation\2006 Agenda\ZA\ZA05024111.dgn
ATTACHMENTS: Figure 1 – Location Map
Figure
2 – Area Context and Zoning
Figure
3 – Air Photo
Figure 4 – General Site Plan with Proposed Parking Layout
APPLICANT/AGENT:
Attn: Melissa Markham
L3R
9T3
Phone
# (905) 477-7776 ext. 2231
Fax
# (905) 477-3309
Figure 1
