Report to: Development Services Committee                   Date
of Meeting: September 19,
2006

SUBJECT:                          PRELIMINARY
REPORT

1685455
Ontario Inc.

Application
for Zoning Amendment

4550 Steeles Avenue East
and adjacent Town-owned lands municipally known as 4576 Steeles Avenue East

File
Nos.: ZA 06 126186 and SC 06 122264

PREPARED BY:               Scott
Heaslip,  Senior Project Coordinator

Central
District

RECOMMENDATION:

That the Preliminary Report dated
September 19, 2006 on an application for zoning amendment submitted by 1685455
Ontario Inc. be received,

That a public meeting be held to consider the rezoning
application; and,

That Council authorize the continued processing of the
application, without prejudice, as it applies to the Town-owned lands,
municipally known as 4576 Steeles
Avenue East;

And further that Legal and Engineering staff be authorized
to continue discussions with the applicants regarding the design and possible
acquisition of the surplus portion of the future Midland Avenue road allowance.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

Not applicable.

FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:

Not applicable.

1.
Purpose                2. Background         3. Discussion             4.
Financial         5. Environmental

6. Accessibility       7. Engage 21st             8. Affected Units       9. Attachment(s)

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this report is to
provide preliminary information regarding the zoning amendment application
submitted by 1685455 Ontario Inc. for 4550
Steeles Avenue East and an adjacent, vacant
Town-owned property municipally known as 4576 Steeles Avenue East.  The Town-owned lands were acquired in
1989 to accommodate the future extension of Midland Avenue north, eventually to
provide for a direct connection to Old
Kennedy Road.
The applicants are seeking to acquire the lands which may be surplus once
the design for the Midland Avenue
extension has been completed and incorporate them into this comprehensive
development scheme.

BACKGROUND:

The applicants are seeking to
combine the two properties and construct a six-storey multi-use building,
oriented towards Steeles Avenue
and containing approximately 8,317 square metres (89,526 square feet) of
retail, restaurant and commercial floor area.  Within the six-storey component of the
building 82 residential units are proposed.  A one and two storey building
façade will be oriented along the Midland Avenue extension to accommodate
the majority of the commercial component.

In addition, two, 3-storey
townhouse blocks containing a total of 36 units are proposed at the north end
of the site.  The plan contemplates
the future extension of Thelma
Avenue, through the subject lands, to connect with
the Midland Avenue
extension. (see Figure 4)

The applicant has submitted applications for rezoning and
site plan approval.

Property and Area
Context

The subject property is located in the Milliken Community,
at the north-west corner of Steeles
Avenue and the future Midland Avenue extension.   The site is occupied by a one and
two storey industrial building.  Surrounding
land uses include lands designated Urban Residential Medium Density in the
Milliken Main Street Secondary Plan (OPA 144) to the north, including the recently
approved applications for draft plan approval and zoning amendments to permit
street townhouses fronting onto a new public street by Eastern Creative Group
Ltd.

To the west, fronting on Steeles Avenue, is a one-storey
commercial project containing a restaurant, gas bar and muffler shop.  To the north of these lands, fronting
onto Old Kennedy Road
(no. 31), is a site which is subject to an application by L & P Financial
Group Inc. for zoning amendments to permit 66 stacked townhouse and apartment
units in concert with grade-related retail uses. Further north are other lands fronting
onto to Old Kennedy Road
which have been designated for Community Amenity and Medium Density uses in the
Secondary Plan.  Local commercial and
restaurant uses exist on the south side of Steeles Avenue, opposite this site, in
the City of Toronto.

The site to the east which is also the subject of separate
applications contains a vacant designated 2 storey heritage building known as
the Milliken Public School, built in 1929 and several
mature trees.  The proposal for
these lands includes a mixed-use development consisting of a residential
building (113 units) with approximately 1725m2 of commercial/retail space at grade and 2 townhouse
blocks (6 units each).  This
proposal will be the subject of a Public Meeting before Development Services
Committee on October 3, 2006.

Secondary Plan

The southerly portion of the lands is designated
“Community Amenity Area – Steeles
Avenue” in the Official Plan (OPA 144
– Milliken Main Street Secondary Plan), while the portion north of the
proposed Thelma Avenue
extension is designated Urban Residential Medium Density.  Lands designated Community Amenity are
intended to be developed with retail and office uses along Steeles Avenue with
medium to high density residential uses permitted subject to a site-specific
development proposal.  The Urban
Residential Medium Density designation provides for a range of townhouse,
garden court apartment, duplexes, triplexes and other forms of multiple unit
housing.

The secondary plan includes the following policy regarding
the Midland Avenue
extension:

“8.14
Collector Roads

c) Extension
of Midland Avenue north of Steeles Avenue to Old Kennedy Road  - minor collector road with a maximum 23
metre right-of-way.   The minor
collector road will intersect with Old
Kennedy Road at a point approximately midway
between Steeles Avenue
and Aldergrove Drive.  Detailed design will be defined through
an environmental assessment to be undertaken by the Town, other required
studies and implementing development approvals.”

Zoning

The southerly portion of the combined site is zoned
Community Amenity Four – Exception 285 (CA4*285[H]).  Permitted uses include a range of
commercial uses associated with the site’s location adjacent to Steeles Avenue.  The lands north of the Thelma Avenue
extension are zoned Residential Two – Exception 276 (R2*276[H]), which
permits the proposed townhouse uses.
Relief is required to the by-law to permit the proposed higher density
residential uses, in concert with the mix of commercial uses, subject to appropriate
development standards relating to such matters as parking, floor space index,
setback and height.

OPTIONS/ DISCUSSION:

Proposal includes
Town-owned lands

As noted, this proposal includes approximately
0.66 ha. (1.64 acres) of Town-owned lands municipally known as 4576 Steeles
Avenue East which were acquired by the Town to facilitate the extension of
Midland Avenue, north from Steeles, eventually connecting to Old Kennedy Road.

The applicants have submitted a
letter to the Town’s Manager of Real Property formally advising of their
interest in acquiring the surplus portion of this property following completion
of the design of the Midland
Avenue extension.  Based on a preliminary design analysis approximately
6600 square metres of land could be available for sale, depending on the final
road design.

Given the lack of an Environmental
Assessment for the extension of Midland
Avenue, the final alignment and property
requirements have not been determined.
Staff are reviewing the requirement for an EA with the applicant’s
consultants.  Should it be
determined that one is required, this process could be commenced in early 2007.

In order to provide the formal
authority for staff to continue discussions with the applicants regarding the
road allowance and land uses issues associated with this proposal, it is recommended
that Council authorize planning staff to continue processing this application
without prejudice to the Town’s right to exclude it’s lands from
consolidation within the development, including the holding of a public meeting.  It should be noted that a small
component of the surplus road allowance may be sought to be conveyed in support
of the development application for 4600
Steeles Avenue East.  The ultimate disposition of these lands
will be the subject of a separate report to Council.

Parking contemplated beneath the Thelma Avenue extension

The applicants propose to place
all of the required parking within a below-grade garage structure accessed via
ramps off the Thelma Avenue
extension.  In order to achieve the proposed
mix of uses and density, the majority of the site area will be encumbered by
underground parking, including the lands beneath the future extension of Thelma Avenue. In
order for the Town to be in a position to determine if a strata title would be
an appropriate mechanism to achieve our road allowance requirements, the
applicant will be required to demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Director
of Engineering that there will be no need for municipal services to be located beneath
this portion of Thelma Avenue.
Otherwise, the applicant will be required to relocate this parking or reduce
the density of the development.

Community Information
Meetings

On June
19, 2006, a Community Information Meeting was held to present the
proposed developments for this site and the adjacent property at 4600 Steeles Avenue East,
to gain feedback from the community.
Due to a low turn out at the first meeting, a second Community
Information Meeting was held on July
26, 2006.  This meeting focused
on traffic congestion in the area and resident concerns with the 4600 Steeles
project relating to community safety, building height and interface with the
residential community and conservation of the adjacent heritage building.

POTENTIAL BENEFITS OF
APPROVAL OF THE PROPOSAL

The proposed development, in combination with the
applicant’s proposed development at 4600 Steeles Avenue East, will visually identify
the intersection of Steeles and Midland
as a gateway into the Milliken Main Street Secondary Plan Area. The development
is pedestrian and transit oriented, and the residential component will help to
diversify the housing stock in the vicinity.  The two developments could potentially facilitate
the early construction of the Midland
Avenue extension, and would act as a catalyst for other
development in the Main Street Milliken area.

CONCERNS/ISSUES TO BE
RESOLVED:

The following is a brief summary of issues/concerns 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.

Detailed review of the proposal, including height
and density, to ensure conformity with the Secondary Plan;

Servicing allocation has not been specifically
assigned for the proposed development.  A total population of 722.6 (55
towns and 250 apartment units) has been assigned to the trustee of the
Milliken Main Street Secondary Plan area to be distributed through the future
Developer’s Group;

Detailed review of the recently submitted traffic
study;

An environmental remediation plan may be required
to demonstrate that the lands are suitable for the proposed development.

The need for an Environmental Assessment for the
extension of Midland Avenue;

Determination of surplus Town lands, if any, and
consolidation into the development;

The alignment and nature of the Thelma Avenue
extension through the applicant’s lands, including the possibility
of parking beneath the road allowance.

FINANCIAL TEMPLATE (Separate Attachment):

There may be financial issues
associated with the disposition of the surplus portion of the Midland Road
allowance.  These matters will be
addressed in detail in a subsequent report.

ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS:

An environmental remediation plan
may be required to demonstrate that the lands are suitable for the proposed
development.  This matter will be
addressed in more detail through staff review of this application.

ACCESSIBILITY CONSIDERATIONS:

There are no accessibility issues with respect to this
application.

ENGAGE 21ST CONSIDERATIONS:

This proposal aligns with the
following key Town of Markham
Corporate Goals: Managed Growth, Quality Community and
Infrastructure Management.

BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:

The applications have been circulated to internal
departments and external agencies for comments.

RECOMMENDED BY:

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

Director of Planning
& Urban Design

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

Commissioner of Development Services

ATTACHMENTS:

Figure 1 –
Location Map

Figure
2 – Area Context

Figure
3 – Air Photo

Figure
4 – Proposed Site Plan

Figure
5 – Proposed Elevations

Figure
6 – Proposed Elevations

APPLICANT/AGENT:          Applicant:                               Agent:

1685455 Ontario
Inc.               Kirkor
Architects & Planners

911 Denison St,
Unit 3B           Simon Ko

Markham, ON                         20 Martin Ross Avenue

Tel:
416-809-8066                   Toronto, ON

Fax:
905-948-8188
Tel: 416-665-6060

Fax:
416-665-1234

File path:
Q\development\planning\appl\zoning\06126186\preliminary report