Report to: Development Services Committee Date of Meeting: June 6, 2006
SUBJECT: RECOMMENDATION
REPORT
Box
Grove Centre Inc., Box Grove Hill Developments Inc.& Box Grove North Inc.
(19TM-030012) Phase 2
Proposed Plan of subdivision and implementing
zoning by-law amendments, Box Grove Planning
District. SU.
03-115555 and ZA. 03-115538
PREPARED BY: Biju Karumanchery,
Development Manager, East District ext.
2970.
RECOMMENDATION:
That the staff
report entitled “Box Grove Centre Inc., Box Grove Hill Developments Inc. &
Box Grove North Inc. (19TM-030012) Phase 2, Proposed Plan of subdivision and
implementing zoning by-law amendments, Box Grove Planning
District” dated June 6, 2006, be received;
That Phase 2 of
draft plan of subdivision 19TM-030012 (SU. 03-115555) located east of 9th
Line, north of 14th Avenue, proposed by Box Grove Hill Developments
Inc. & Box Grove North Inc. & Box Grove Centre Inc., be draft approved
subject to the conditions outlined in Appendix ‘A’;
THAT the
Director of Planning and Urban Design be directed to issue draft approval once the Owner has complied with
the requirement to enter into the agreement set out below restricting pre-sale
of certain residential lots in the subdivision;
THAT
prior to issuance of draft plan approval, the Owner shall enter into an
agreement with the Town, applying to Lots 343, 359, 378, 395 and 410 of draft
plan 19TM-030012, which agreement shall be registered on title, committing the
Owner not to enter into any agreements of purchase and sale with anyone, including other developers or builders, for the
subject lots until such time as:
·
the detailed design for the Markham By-pass
(including the completion of the Reference Plan) has been completed; and,
·
a revised draft plan, if required, has been
approved by the Town of Markham in
consultation with York Region, which incorporates the detailed design of the
Markham By-pass, as surveyed.
That zoning
application (ZA 03-115538) to amend By-law 304-87 and By-law 177-96, submitted
by Box Grove Centre Inc., Box Grove Hill Developments Inc. & Box Grove
North Inc. for lands east of 9th Line, north of 14th
Avenue, be approved and the implementing Zoning By-Laws attached as Appendix
‘B’ be finalized and enacted;
That the
applicants agree to pay their proportionate share of the Highway 48 flow
control measures, to the satisfaction of the Director of Engineering;
That servicing
allocation for 527 units be granted to Box Grove Hill Developments Inc., Box
Grove North Inc. and Box Grove Centre Inc. (19TM-030012) Phase 2 in accordance
with the November 22, 2005 report on servicing allocation;
That the Town
reserve the right to revoke or reallocate water and sewage allocation at its
sole discretion;
That the Region
of York be advised of the servicing allocation for this development;
That the
applicants provide to the Town the 30% payment of the required subdivision
processing fees in accordance with the Town’s Fee By-law (2005- 357);
And further
that the draft plan of subdivision approval shall lapse after a period of three
years commencing June 6, 2006,
in the event that a subdivision agreement is not executed within that period.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
The applicant has submitted
applications for draft plan of subdivision approval and zoning by-law amendment
to permit 527 residential units as well as a 0.1 ha.(0.25
ac.) parkette, a storm water management pond and approximately 17.9 ha. (44
ac.) of employment lands. A future
service station and associated retail/convenience store is proposed on the Town Arterial Road at the east limit of the Plan. The residential component consists of 383
single detached units and 144 semi-detached units.
The subject lands form part of the Box Grove Planning District and are generally
located east of 9th Line, north of 14th Avenue, south
of Highway 407 and west of the Canadian Pacific Railway tracks and Reesor Road. The property consists of approximately 54.7
hectares (135 acres). The lands comprise
the 2nd Phase of a larger draft plan of subdivision which was
partially draft approved and zoned in 2004 based primarily on the availability
of servicing allocation.
Sufficient
employment lands will be available within approved and proposed developments in
the area which, when combined with employment lands expected to be available to
the east, will satisfy the obligation in the MOU and the Secondary Plan that
42.5 ha (105 acres) of employment lands be provided within the Box Grove Planning District. In addition, a service station identified in
the Community Design Plan at the northwest corner of the proposed employment collector road
and proposed Town Arterial Road (possible Markham By-Pass Link) is proposed to
be relocated to Block 460 within the Plan subject to the approval of an
Official Plan Amendment application recently submitted by the applicant.
Construction
of the 9th Line re-alignment is currently underway, and is expected
to be completed by the summer of 2006, subject to the right-of-way for the Rouge Bank Drive extension being acquired by the
Town. The purchase of the right-of-way
as well as adjacent parkland necessary to complete the developer’s parkland
obligations in the area is expected to be completed shortly.
The Environmental
Assessment Study for the Markham By-Pass has been completed and is awaiting Ministry
of Environment approval. A number of
matters with regard to the Town Arterial Road right-of-way acquisition and
construction remain to be determined.
There are lands in the Town’s ownership to be
transferred to the Owner upon confirmation of ultimate alignment of Town Arterial Road (possible Markham By-Pass).
A Phasing
Plan has been prepared and the Phasing Agreement between the Town and the
Developer’s Group has been executed and reflects most of the requirements of
the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) executed in June, 2002 between the
developers, the Town and the Region. Most
of the developer’s obligations within the MOU have been completed or are being
addressed to the Town’s satisfaction. Sufficient
servicing allocation has been assigned by Council to accommodate the 527
proposed units but the issuance of building permits is to be limited to 291
units within the subject Plan, in accordance with the MOU and the Phasing
Agreement, until the Markham By-Pass link is operational.
While the proposed Draft Plan
deviates slightly from the Community Design
Plan in certain instances, the proposed plan of subdivision generally conforms
to the intent of the Secondary Plan and Community Design
Plan. Staff are satisfied with the configuration of the draft plan of
subdivision and recommend that the plan be draft approved, subject to the
conditions above and in Appendix ‘A’.
FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:
Not applicable
Location
and Area Context
The subject lands form part of the Box Grove Planning District and are generally
located east of 9th Line, north of 14th Avenue, south
of Highway 407 and west of the Canadian Pacific Railway tracks and Reesor Road (Figure
1 & 2). The property consists of
approximately 55 hectares (135 acres).
Draft plan approval was granted for Phase 1
land
In May
2004, Council granted draft plan of subdivision approval for the applicant’s
Phase 1 lands (Figure 4). That plan
included 827 residential units, employment lands, a number of natural features
(woodlot, two minor tributaries of the Little Rouge Creek, minor tributary of Rouge River), a school block and a portion of a
future place of worship site. In June
2005, the Owner registered 442 residential units and conveyed to the Town two
minor tributaries of the Little Rouge Creek.
Some 75 units were transferred to other developers and those units were
also registered in 2005. Eight units
were deleted through minor revisions to the Plan at the final plan approval
stage. Registration of the remaining
Phase 1 lands consisting of 302 residential units and three employment blocks
totalling 14.9 ha. (36.8 acres) is imminent.
Lands in Town’s ownership to be transferred to the
applicant upon confirmation of ultimate alignment of Town Arterial Road (possible Markham By-Pass)
In 2001,
the Committee of Adjustment approved the conveyance of a 16.2 ha (40 acres)
parcel of land from the Ontario Realty Corporation (ORC) to Box Grove Hill
Developments Inc. located north of 14th Avenue and west of Reesor Road.
The lands to be retained having an area of 15.48 ha (38.25 acres) remained
under ORC ownership at that time.
The
proposed future alignment of the Town Arterial Road, also known as the Markham By-Pass
link, was proposed across part of the retained parcel. The ORC agreed to sell to the Town 8.51 ha
(21.04 acres) which had the potential to accommodate the Markham By-Pass
alignment, with the applicant front ending the acquisition of these lands (see
Figure 2). When the alignment of the
By-Pass has been finalized, the Town will retain ownership of a 20 metre right
of way through these lands, plus any lands needed for tapers, approaches or
other traffic control features as typically required for a Town arterial road. All land in excess of the 20 metre right of
way will be conveyed to the applicant. The
applicant also agreed at the time to protect for the possibility of the Markham
By-Pass becoming a 36 metre Region of York right of way. The additional right of way of approximately
16 metres, plus any land needed for tapers or approached, will be dedicated to
the Region based on their approved design and requirements at the applicable
stage in the development approval process.
Conditions to this effect are included in Appendix ‘A’(condition 17.3). An agreement reflecting the above arrangement
was entered into between the applicant and the Town in 2001.
Proposed plan of subdivision (Phase 2)
The subject lands comprise the 2nd Phase
of a larger draft plan of subdivision which was partially draft approved and
zoned based primarily on the availability of servicing allocation. The subject site is intended to eventually accommodate 527 conventional
residential units as well as a 0.1 ha.(0.25 ac.) parkette, a storm water
management pond and approximately 17.9 ha. (44 ac.) of employment lands
including a future service station and associated retail/convenience
store. The residential component
consists of 383 single detached units and 144 semi-detached units (Figure 4). The proposed residential mix / lot frontages
are outlined below:
|
Unit Type
|
Frontage
|
No. of Units
|
|
Metres
|
Feet
|
|
Single
Detached
|
Min. 10.4
|
31.4
|
86
|
|
Single
Detached
|
Min. 12.8
|
41.9
|
216
|
|
Single
Detached
|
Min. 14.0
|
45.9
|
81
|
|
Semi-Detached
|
Min. 7.5
|
24.6
|
144
|
|
TOTAL 527
|
All the
proposed semi detached units are located in the south portion of the Plan,
between the easterly tributary of the Little Rouge Creek (Trib B) and the CPR
rail line.
Applicant is a signatory to the Developers Group Agreement A
Developers Group Agreement is in place for the Box Grove Area to secure community facilities including
parkland and schools, and to compensate the landowners on whose properties the
community facilities are located. The
applicant is a signatory to the Developers Group Agreement.
Phasing Plan has been prepared and the Phasing
Agreement has been executed
In May
2004, Council endorsed the Box Grove Community Phasing Plan subject to
revisions. This Phasing Plan reflects the
requirements of the Secondary Plan and the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between
developers in the Box Grove area, the Town and the Region of York, dated June
13, 2002,
which outlined the obligations of the parties towards transportation and
servicing improvements for the Box Grove community. A Development Phasing Agreement for the Box
Grove area, between the Town and the Box Grove developers, which formalizes
appropriate items identified in the Secondary Plan, MOU and the Development
Phasing Plan was executed on June 30, 2005.
Acquisition of required road and parkland are expected in the near
future
The 9th Line re-alignment
is critical to the continued development of the Box Grove area. While the majority of this road has been
constructed the Region of York has indicated that it will not allow this road
to become operational until Rouge Bank Drive
has been extended to a signalized intersection at the re-aligned 9th
Line to provide the residents of the Legacy community with direct access to the
re-aligned 9th Line. However,
construction of Rouge Bank Drive
extension has been delayed since the required right-of-way for this road
traverses a non participating owner’s property.
The Town, in cooperation with the Developers Group, is in the final
stages of negotiating the purchase of the necessary land from the property
owners. It is expected that the lands
can be acquired and the 9th Line re-alignment can be completed
during the summer of 2006.
As part of the purchase of the
right-of-way, the Town will also be acquiring a parcel of parkland of
approximately 1.1 ha. (2.8 ac.) necessary to complete the Community
Park and satisfy the parkland
requirements in the Box Grove area.
Proposed plan of subdivision generally conforms
to Secondary Plan and Community Design Plan
The lands
comprising the draft plan are primarily designated in both the Secondary Plan
and the
Community Design Plan (Figure 5) as Urban Residential – Low Density II, Community
Amenity Area I, Community Amenity Area II, Business Park Area and Business Corridor
Area. Both Urban Residential II – Low
Density and Community Amenity Area I designations permit single detached and
semi-detached dwellings and all but 15 units are located within these
designations. The 15 units located
within a Community Amenity Area II designation are discussed in further detail
later in this report.
With regard
to the proposed Plan, the Secondary Plan provides residential density
requirements only for the Urban Residential II – Low Density designation and
the proposed density of the units within this designation is shown in the table
below. In addition, since all the
residential units within the proposed subdivision are of a low density nature
the table below also shows the overall net residential density within the
subdivision:
|
|
Proposed Density
|
|
Permitted Net Density
Low
Density Housing II
17.0 to
37.0 units per net ha.
(6.8 to
14.9 units per net acre)
|
24.65 units per net hectare
(9.97 units per net acre)
|
|
Overall Net Residential Density
|
27 units per net hectare
(10.98 units per net acre)
|
Housing type mix targets
contemplated by the Secondary Plan have been modified Appendix 1 to the Secondary Plan, which
is not an operative part of the Plan, sets housing type mix targets of 77% low density housing and 23% medium
density housing for the Secondary Plan area.
The Community Design Plan refined those housing type mix
targets, in part through the elimination of Community Amenity Area II lands
which would have contained medium density housing, to accommodate the final
alignment of the employment collector.
The proposed housing mix within the plans of subdivision (Phases 1 and
2), which is approximately 91% low density housing and 9% medium density
housing is generally consistent with the distribution of residential land use
categories (which determines the housing types) in the Community Design Plan.
The location of 15 single
and semi-detached units within a small
Community Amenity Area II designation is considered acceptable The Secondary Plan identified a Community
Amenity Area II designation between Trib.
B and the employment collector (Figure 5).
However, in accordance with provisions of the Secondary Plan,
refinements to the design vision for the Planning
District were undertaken through the Community Design
Plan. One of the refinements included a
realignment of the employment collector so that it became a single loaded road
adjacent to the east side of Trib B providing visual interest and secure public
access to the valley. This adjustment
eliminated the majority of the Community Amenity Area II designation within the
Planning District, leaving a small vestige of
this designation at the southwest corner of the employment collector and the
right-of-way for the proposed Markham By-Pass Link.
This designation would only
accommodate medium or high density developments but the applicant is proposing
12 semi-detached and three single detached units. The applicant’s goal is to be consistent with
the built form in the immediate vicinity.
As there is no compelling reason to have a medium density development in
this particular area staff does not object to the development as proposed.
Service station site is proposed
to be relocated The Community Design
Plan identifies a future service station site at the northwest corner of the
employment collector and the right-of-way for the proposed Markham By-Pass
Link. However, to address the concerns
of certain residents to the east of the proposed subdivision whose property was
being significantly impacted by a previously proposed alignment of the Markham
By-Pass Link right-of-way, Regional staff conducting the EA for the By-Pass
moved the final proposed alignment of the Markham By-Pass Link, in consultation
with Town Staff and the applicant, slightly to the west. This realignment created a parcel (Block 460)
on the east side of the proposed Markham By-Pass, generally where it meets the
CPR Rail line. This parcel, in the
applicant’s opinion, was not ideal for industrial development and the applicant
has submitted an Official Plan Amendment application to redesignate Block 460
to permit a service station (see Figure 2) and associated convenience retail
use.
Realignment of employment
collector provides access to employment lands east of the proposed Markham
By-Pass
The slight realignment of the Markham By-Pass
Link, as discussed above, has resulted in a realignment northward of the
employment collector relative to its position in the Community Design
Plan. The new location of the
signalized intersection where the employment collector meets the By-Pass
(Figure 4) will allow the extension of the employment collector east of the
By-Pass and thereby provide good access to the By-Pass for the future
employment lands located east of the By-Pass.
This is significant in light of the Secondary Plan provision which
prohibits direct vehicular access from individual lots and blocks to the
By-Pass or the Town Arterial Road.
An appropriate amount of
employment lands have been provided The Secondary Plan requires that 42.5 ha (105
acres) of employment lands be provided within Box Grove, of which 14.912 ha
(36.8 acres) were draft approved as part of Phase 1. The proposed plan of subdivision includes
17.87 ha. (44 ac.) of employment lands required for the Box Grove Area (Figure 4). Staff’s calculations indicate that lands
owned by others to the east can, based on reasonable assumptions for roads and
valley lands, accommodate the remainder of the required employment lands.
It should be noted that all of the employment
lands east of the Town Arterial Road have been denoted with a Regional Gateway
symbol in the Secondary Plan to reflect the fact that these lands have been
identified by the Province as a potential site for a regionally scaled
transportation gateway, intended to become a transfer point among various modes
of local, regional and interregional transit facilities. Development of the Regional Gateway is to be
integrated with, and include employment generating land uses. Employment lands in the Draft Plan in this
area will be zoned with a Hold ‘H’ provision to ensure that the development of
the lands will be carried out in a comprehensive manner with input from the
Province and other external agencies.
Most obligations of the Memorandum of
Understanding have been met
As noted
earlier, the Owner, together with other developers in the Box Grove area,
entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Town and the Region
of York outlining obligations of the parties towards transportation and
servicing improvements for the Box Grove community. To date the obligations have been addressed
by the developers as follows:
- Municipal
water has been installed to the property line of each remaining lot in the
existing Box Grove Hamlet.
- Oversizing
of sanitary sewers to accommodate existing properties in the Box Grove
Hamlet has been designed and submitted to the Town for approval.
- Construction
of the 9th Line re-alignment is currently underway, and is
expected to be completed by summer of 2006, subject to the right-of-way
for the Rouge Bank Drive extension being acquired by
the Town (see discussion above).
- Sufficient
employment lands appear to be available within approved and proposed
developments in the area which, when combined with employment lands
expected to be available to the east, will satisfy the obligation in the
MOU and the Secondary Plan that 42.5 ha (105 acres) of employment lands be
provided within the Box Grove Planning District.
- With
the approval of the existing applications for draft plan approval, on the
north and south sides of 14th Avenue, and the imminent
acquisition of parkland from a non participating landowner as discussed
above, all the required parkland required for the Box Grove area and
agreed to with the area developers will be available.
- A
financial contribution of $500,000 to the Town by the developers will have
been submitted in full once a small draft approved plan of subdivision on
the south side of 14th Avenue is registered.
The Box
Grove developers are also obligated to construct a road that could form part of
the Markham By-Pass. This is discussed
later in this report.
The EA Study for the Markham By-pass has been
completed and is awaiting MOE approval; the detailed design of the By-Pass may
affect lotting
The Region
of York has completed the “Individual Environmental Assessment for
Transportation Improvements in the Markham By-Pass Corridor South of Highway
407” (Markham By-Pass EA). This Study includes the realignment of 14th
Avenue to provide for an at-grade intersection
with the Markham By-Pass extension near the CP Rail with protection for an
ultimate grade separation of 14th Avenue
over both the Markham By-Pass and the CP Rail.
The EA Study was submitted
to the Ministry of the Environment (MOE) on December 23, 2005 for formal review as required
under the Ontario Environmental Assessment Act (EAA). Timing of final approval is uncertain at this
time. The preferred alignment of the
Markham By-Pass, with a 36 metre right-of-way, traverses the east portion of
the subject lands.
While the general location of the recommended alignment of
the Markham By-Pass and the 14th
Avenue grade separation is known, it is
possible that modifications to these alignments could potentially occur through
the EA approvals process and the final detailed design and alignment of the By-Pass. While the Region of York would prefer that
the east portion of the plan not be draft plan approved until a final decision
has been made by the Ministry of the Environment with respect to the Markham
By-Pass EA, the Region is requesting that, in the event the Town chooses to
draft approve the entire Plan, certain pre-conditions of draft approval as well
as specific conditions of draft approval related to this matter be part of the
approval.
The pre-condition to be satisfied prior
to the granting of draft plan approval involves a requirement that the
applicant enter into an agreement with the Town, to be registered on title,
which prohibits the sale of five (5) residential lots until such time as the
detailed design of the By-pass is completed and a revised Draft Plan, if
required, has been approved by the Town in consultation with the Region. The related condition of Draft Plan approval
requires that these five (5) lots be subject to a Holding provision pending the
completion of the detailed design of the By-Pass and the approval of a revised
Draft Plan if necessary. A pre-condition
of draft approval has been included as part of the staff recommendation above and conditions of Draft Plan approval
are included in Appendix ‘A’.
The Town Arterial Road is required to support the build out of the subject Plan
The
Secondary Plan identifies a route alignment and a 20 metre right-of-way for a Town Arterial Road from the realigned 9th
Line where it meets the CPR Havelock Line northeast to the Highway 407/Markham
By-Pass ramp/interchange. This route
alignment is expected to be shared with the alignment of a portion of the
Markham By-Pass, subject to its confirmation as the most appropriate route
through the Environmental Assessment Study.
It is expected that construction of the Markham By-Pass, if approved by
the MOE, will not be initiated until 2012 or later. In the interim the area Developers Group will
be required to construct the Town Arterial Road, subject to the Town acquiring the
necessary right-of-way from non participating owners. The necessary land acquisition is to be
financed through Town Wide Development Charges.
Based on the current transportation study for the area the completion of
the Town Arterial Road is required to support the full build out of the Box
Grove area. Building permit restriction
until this road is built is discussed in greater detail below.
A number of matters with regard to the Town Arterial Road right-of-way acquisition and construction remain to be determined
A number of
matters with regard to the Town Arterial Road right-of-way acquisition and
construction remain to be determined.
Although staff has initiated discussions with regard to the acquisition
of the land necessary to complete the right-of-way for the Town Arterial Road from two non participating
landowners, the timing of land acquisition is not certain. Expropriation may be
one alternative but since the properties in question are not currently part of
a plan of subdivision process, expropriations may involve an Environmental
Assessment process for one or both parcels of land. Further, since the lands are already part of
the Environmental Assessment process for the Markham By-Pass the Town’s ability
to carry out a separate EA process for the same properties at this time must
also be determined.
Another
possibility is to obtain the necessary lands as a condition of a future
subdivision approval. In the Spring 2006
servicing allocation distribution staff is recommending that 150 units of
allocation be assigned to the Box Grove Trustee to facilitate the development
of a key parcel of land which will contain a segment of the Town Arterial Road.
An application for this parcel has not been submitted but it is hoped
that the availability of servicing allocation would provide the incentive and
encourage the submission of an application.
Further,
the Town in consultation with the Region of York and the Box Grove developers
must also determine whether to proceed as per the MOU with an interim two lane
rural road or, in order to avoid “throw-away” costs, construct the ultimate
four lane road consistent with the future Markham By-Pass. Finally, the future intersection alignment
of 14th Avenue with an interim two lane or
ultimate four lane road and the C.P Railway track has to be finalized and
additional lands east of the C.P.R may be required to construct a safe
intersection.
Sufficient servicing allocation is available to
accommodate 527 units (Phase 2)
Sufficient
servicing allocation (1365 units) for the first Phase of development in Box
Grove, including Phase 1 of this Plan of subdivision, was granted in 2004. The Phasing Agreement between the Town and
the Developers’ Group executed in June 2005, which was based on the principles
established in the MOU, provide that servicing allocation over and above the
initial 1365 units is subject to the 9th Line re-alignment being
completed and operational by December 31, 2006 and the Town Arterial Road being
designed and constructed no later than December 31, 2007, subject to the
necessary right-of-way being available.
As noted
above, the 9th Line re-alignment is expected to be completed this
summer but the timing of completion of the Town Arterial Road remains uncertain.
As
discussed below, build-out of the applicant’s residential lands in the area
will not be permitted until the Town Arterial Road is completed, pursuant to the MOU.
Building permits will be limited to 80% of the
units within the applicant’s ownership
The MOU and
the Phasing Agreement provides that no
Group member (with the exception of certain
small landholdings specified in the Phasing Agreement) shall receive
building permits for more than 80% of the total number of units within their
ownership until the Town Arterial Road (Markham By-Pass Link) is fully
constructed, including across non participating owner(s) lands, (subject to the
acquisition of such non- participating owner’s land by the Town), provided such
80% release of lands for development can be supported by transportation
analysis.
The
transportation study submitted for the Box Grove area provides that the Markham
By-Pass Link will be required to support the build out of the Phase II
lands. An update of the Transportation
Study will be required prior to the registration of the final 20% of the
applicant’s land holdings in the area.
Within the
Box Grove area the applicant owns residential lands that will accommodate,
according to currently submitted plans, approximately 1294 units. Therefore, the zoning of approximately 258 of
these units, which include about 236 units within the proposed Plan, will be
subject to a Hold ‘H’ provision which will not allow building permits to be
issued until the Markham By-Pass Link is completed.
Certain site specific technical studies remain
to be completed
The Owner
will be required to provide an updated Traffic Impact Study and Internal
Functional Traffic Design Study prior to the build out of the Box Grove area. A Servicing Study and a detailed Noise Study will
need to be completed, to the satisfaction of the Town, prior to registration of
any phase.
Public Meeting was held to consider subdivision
and zoning amendment applications
On Tuesday,
February 17, 2004, a public meeting was held to consider the proposed plan of subdivision
and zoning amendment applications. The
following summarizes the
concerns
raised with respect to the subject lands (Phase 2) and how each issue has been
addressed:
9th
Line will be accessible during construction
One
resident expressed a concern that access might be restricted on 9th
Line during construction. Construction
vehicles will be required to access the subject lands primarily from Copper Creek Drive (employment collector) but 14th Avenue may also be utilized, subject to
Region of York approval.
Acceptable
location for proposed gas bar
The lands
at the northwest corner of the proposed employment collector road and proposed Town Arterial Road (possible Markham By-Pass Link) are
currently identified in the Community Design Plan as an automobile service
centre site. A resident inquired about
the safety of locating a gas station at this intersection with regard to access
and egress. However, as noted above, the
applicant is proposing to relocate the service station site to the east (Block
460). At either location, access/egress
for a service station will be reviewed in consultation with the Region of York
at the site plan approval stage.
Additional concern was raised by area resident
following Public Meeting
Following
the public meeting, an additional letter was received by an area resident
expressing concerns with the potential location of the Markham By-Pass.
The Owner
of 7960 Reesor Road expressed concern with the location of the proposed Town Arterial Road and the possible location of the
Markham By-Pass link as initially proposed and as it relates to their
property.
The
previously proposed alignment of the Town Arterial Road and the possible Markham By-Pass
link, approximately 250 metres south of the Hwy. 407, would have required the
acquisition of more or less 57 metres of the rear portion of the
non-participating property in question (7960 Reesor Road).
This would have resulted in a rear yard setback of approximately 22
metres for the existing house on that property from the proposed road
right-of-way and this was a matter of serious concern for the property
owners.
However, as
noted above, the final proposed alignment of the By-pass Link was adjusted to
reduce the impact on 7960 Reesor Road and it is staff’s understanding
that the property owners are not objecting to the final preferred alignment of
the road.
Proposed
zoning by-law amendments
In
accordance with the Secondary Plan requirements, the applicants have applied
for zoning by-law amendments to implement the proposed draft plans of
subdivision. The subject lands are currently zoned Agricultural One (A1)
and Institutional (INST) under the Town’s rural area By-law 304-87 (Figure
2). It should be noted that in 1983, the majority of the northwest
portion of the lands owned by the applicant were zoned Institutional (INST)
under By-law 304-87 consistent with the Ministers Zoning Order, which permitted
a cemetery use. Through the approval of the Box Grove Secondary Plan by
the Ontario Municipal Board, the Minister’s Zoning Order was rescinded and the
lands can now be rezoned to implement the proposed draft plan of subdivision.
Amendments
are required to delete the lands from By-law 304-87, and to incorporate the
subject lands within the Town’s Urban Expansion By-law 177-96. The
proposed zoning for the plan of subdivision under By-law 177-96 will include
the following:
- Residential Two (R2) zone category for all
single detached and semi-detached lots, with exceptions;
- Business Corridor (BC);
- Business Park (BP); and
- Hold ‘H’ provision
related to the construction of the Markham By-pass Link will be applied to
the 236 units located on the east side of the easterly tributary of the Little Rouge Creek. In addition, five lots will be subject
to a separate Hold ‘H’ provision to address requirements of the Region of
York related to the alignment of the Markham By-pass. A Hold ‘H’ provision will also be
applied to the lands zoned Business Park on the east side of the Markham
By-Pass to ensure that the development of the lands will be consistent
with the Regional Gateway provisions of the Secondary Plan as discussed
above.
These zone
categories/exceptions will contain development standards consistent with those
proposed on similar lots on other proposed plans of subdivision in the vicinity
and current Town standards. Draft amending zoning by-laws for the
proposed plan of subdivision are attached as Appendix ‘B’.
Conclusion
While the proposed Draft Plan deviates slightly from the
Community Design Plan in certain instances,
the proposed plan of subdivision generally conforms to the intent of the Secondary
Plan and Community Design Plan. Staff are generally satisfied with the configuration of the draft plan
of subdivision and recommend that the plan be draft approved, subject to the
conditions of draft approval attached as Appendix ‘A’, and that the
implementing zoning by-law contained in Appendix ‘B’ be finalized and enacted.