Report to: Development Services Committee Date of Meeting: May 2, 2006

SUBJECT: PRELIMINARY REPORT

Terra Nero Investments. Application for Zoning By-law Amendment and Site Plan Approval to permit a coin car wash and quick lube facility at 77 Anderson Avenue, northeast corner of Bur Oak Avenue and Anderson Avenue

PREPARED BY: Nilesh Surti, Planner, ext. 4190

East Development Team

RECOMMENDATION:

That a public meeting be held to consider the applications submitted by Terra Nero Investments for Zoning By-law Amendment (ZA 06 106227) and Site Plan Approval to permit a coin car wash and quick lube facility at 77 Anderson Road, northeast corner of Bur Oak Avenue and Anderson Avenue.

RECOMMENDED BY:

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

Commissioner of Development Services

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

Director of Planning and Urban Design

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

Not applicable

FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:

Not applicable

Property and Area Context

The 0.46 ha (1.14 ac) site is located at the northeast corner of Bur Oak Avenue and Anderson Avenue. The eastern edge of the property is traversed by Mount Joy Creek (formerly Exhibition Creek). The property is presently vacant with no other significant vegetation (See Figure 1).

Immediately to the north and to the west, across Anderson Avenue, are existing industrial buildings. To the south, across Bur Oak Avenue, is the Mount Joy GO Station and associated commuter parking area. To the east, the subject property is bounded by the railway tracks, and across the railway tracks, are medium density residential development forming part of the Greensborough Community (See Figure 2 & 3).

A coin car wash and quick lube facility is proposed

The applicant has submitted applications for rezoning and site plan approval to permit a coin car wash and quick lube facility having a total gross floor area of 1,083.6 m² (11,664 ft²). The proposal, as shown on the site plan and elevations, consists of a two-storey quick lube building situated close to the intersection and a single-storey coin car wash building located along the north property line. The quick lube operation will contain three servicing bays. The coin car wash operation will contain eight self-service wash bays and two full-service detailing bays, all facing Bur Oak Avenue. Also proposed are six vacuum stalls along the Bur Oak Avenue street frontage. The site plan shows two accesses to the site, one each from Anderson Avenue and Bur Oak Avenue.

The Parking By-law requires that parking for the proposed development be provided at a rate of 1 parking space for every 25 m² of net floor area. The proposed development requires a total of 26 parking spaces. The submitted concept plans show a total of 32 surface parking spaces on-site.

Official Plan and Zoning

The Official Plan designates the subject property “Major Commercial Area”. This designation provides for the proposed uses subject to the review of a specific development proposal and rezoning application acceptable to Council.

The subject property is currently zoned Select Industrial with Limited Commercial (M.IC) under By-law 88-68, as amended. The current zoning permits a variety of industrial, office and limited commercial uses, but does not include permission for automobile services and car wash uses. A site specific Zoning By-law amendment is required to permit the proposed uses.

Highway 48 Urban Design Guidelines

In October 2005, Council endorsed the Highway 48 Urban Design Study to be used as a guideline in the evaluation of development applications within the Highway 48 corridor between 16^th Avenue to Major Mackenzie Drive.

The subject lands fall within the Bur Oak Avenue Urban Design District. The urban design vision for Bur Oak Avenue calls for a strong commercial, residential and civic focal point centred on the Mount Joy GO Station located at the intersection of Bur Oak Avenue and Highway 48. Bur Oak Avenue is envisioned as a key east-west spine joining the residential communities to the east and west of the Highway 48 corridor. Bur Oak Avenue should create a pedestrian-friendly, urban mixed use environment. Guidelines for this district include the following:

mix of uses and buildings
retail at grade and consistent rhythm of entrances
a minimum 2 to 4 storeys in height for the first 10 metres from Bur Oak Avenue, and a maximum of 8 storeys beyond the first 10 metres.
consistent and animated street edge, with a minimum of 70% building frontage along Bur Oak Avenue.
parking should be provided at the rear of the buildings and screened from view
on-street parking should be provided to foster vitality of the street’s businesses and reduce traffic speed.

As indicated above, the applicant has submitted applications for rezoning and site plan approval to permit a coin car wash and quick lube facility. The original site plan submitted for staff review showed a single building for the coin car wash and quick lube operation located along the north property line. Staff reviewed the design guidelines with the applicant and indicated concerns with respect to the proposal’s ability to meet the guidelines. At minimum staff suggested that the buildings should be moved closer to the Bur Oak Avenue street frontage in order to provide for a consistent and animated street edge. As well, staff requested that the building orientation should be reversed so that the open bays faced the interior of the site. Furthermore, moving the proposed building closer to the street would screen the parking area from street view.

To try to address concerns raised by staff, the applicant has revised the site plan to show the two-storey quick lube building moved to the intersection, which occupies almost a third of the developable Bur Oak Avenue street frontage. In addition, the Owners have indicated their willingness to eliminate the parking spaces adjacent to the Bur Oak Avenue street frontage and increase the width as well as upgrade the landscape buffer along Bur Oak Avenue. Although the Owners have worked with staff to address some of the urban design concerns, staff remains concerned that the proposed development does not provide for a strong building presence along Bur Oak Avenue in accordance with the Highway 48 Urban Design guidelines.

10-metre buffer from top-of-bank is to be provided

The application has been circulated to the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, who are reviewing the submitted site plan to determine the top-of-bank elevations for the Mount Joy Creek through this property. Once the top-of-bank is defined on this property, the applicant is required to provide a 10-metre buffer inland from the top-of-bank. Hard surfaces, including structures or pavement, will not be permitted within the 10-metre buffer.

Potential Benefits of Approval of the Proposal:

This proposal would provide the following benefits:

Provide additional commercial services for the growing communities of Greensborough and Wismer Commons.

Concerns/Issues to be resolved

The following is a brief summary of concerns/issues raised to-date. These matters, and any other identified through the circulation and detailed review of the proposal, can be addressed in a final staff report to be presented to Committee at a lager date.

Conformity of the proposed development with the urban design guidelines identified in the Highway 48 Urban Design Study
Provision of a 10-metre buffer from the top-of-bank of Mount Joy Creek
Compatibility with adjacent uses

Public Meeting is recommended

It is recommended that a Public Meeting be held to obtain public input with respect to the Zoning By-law Amendment application.