Report to: Development Services Committee Report Date:
April 3, 2007
SUBJECT: PRELIMINARY REPORT
Dougson Investments Inc. (Nissan)/1475398 Ontario Inc. (BMW)
Official
Plan and Zoning By-law amendment applications to permit two additional automotive
dealerships on the east side of Kennedy Road, north of Helen Avenue in South
Unionville.
FILES:
OP.06-132776 and ZA.06-132779
PREPARED BY: Teema Kanji, ext. 4480
Senior
Planner, Central District
RECOMMENDATION:
That
the report dated April 3, 2007 entitled “PRELIMINARY REPORT, Dougson Investments Inc. (Nissan) /1475398 Ontario Inc.
(BMW), Official Plan and Zoning By-law amendment applications to permit two additional
automotive dealerships on the east side of Kennedy Road, north of Helen Avenue in
South Unionville (OP.06-132776 and ZA.06-132779)” be received;
That
staff be authorized to schedule a Public Meeting to consider the Official Plan
and Zoning By-law amendment applications;
And
that staff be authorized and directed to do all things necessary to give effect
to this resolution.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
As part of the original BMW
applications (2001) for lands at the northeast corner of Kennedy Road and Helen Avenue, two car dealerships were proposed on lands totaling
2.2 hectares. Staff were concerned that
the proposed dealerships were not in keeping with the intended range of uses
for Community Amenity Area designation of the lands. To address these concerns, BMW replaced one
of the dealership sites with a mixed use block consistent with the Community
Amenity Area (CAA) designation and a townhouse component. The application was approved on the basis
that one dealership on the lands would not adversely impact the ability of the
Community Amenity Area lands to function in its intended manner. As discussed in detail in the background
section of this report, there is a long history relating to the development of the
existing BMW site, which includes an outstanding appeal to the Ontario
Municipal Board (severance), unresolved Developers Group obligations, and lapse
of site plan approval for an employee parking lot.
The current applications
relate to lands immediately north east of the existing BMW Dealership, that are
now proposed for two additional dealerships BMW (1.33 ha) and Nissan (1.53 ha)
(Figure 1). The proposed BMW lands were
previously approved (2001) for mixed use and townhouses and specifically
prohibited an additional car dealership. The landowners are seeking Official Plan and
Zoning By-law amendments for two additional car dealerships (a dealership on
BMW lands with frontage onto Kennedy Road and a Nissan Dealership with frontage onto South Unionville Avenue) in addition to the existing BMW Dealership, which is
to remain. A future phase (20-25 year
timeframe) contemplates the construction of a parking structure for each
dealership and townhouse intensification of the site. A concurrent severance application has been
filed by the Owners of the proposed Nissan site to facilitate the consolidation
of land to create the lot proposed to be developed with a Nissan
Dealership.
Issues to be addressed
include finalization of outstanding matters relating to the existing BMW dealership
operations; resolution and completion of the local road network; servicing, stormwater management pond, grading, tree preservation and
other site plan-related requirements; buffering and relationship to adjacent
residential community; and appropriateness of the proposed dealerships in the
context of addressing the community amenity requirements and other policy
issues within the South Unionville Community.
A public meeting should be held at this time.
FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:
Not
applicable at this time.
The purpose of this report is provide
preliminary information regarding Official Plan and Zoning By-law amendment
applications for lands on the east side of Kennedy Road, north of Helen Avenue
and to obtain authorization for staff to schedule a Public Meeting to consider
the applications.
Subject lands and area context
The subject
lands are located immediately east of the existing BMW Dealership north of Helen
Avenue, in the South Unionville Planning District. The subject lands are owned by 1475398
Ontario Inc. (BMW, 1.33 ha) and Dougson Investments
Inc. (Nissan, 1.53 ha) and include a total land holding of approximately 2.9 ha
(7.2 acres) (Figure 1). The lands have an
irregular shape with frontages on Kennedy
Road, Helen
Avenue, and the future South
Unionville Avenue.
There are two swales located east of Kennedy
Road (Figure 3). There is an existing
single detached house with some mature trees along the Helen
Avenue frontage of the property. A portion of the site, immediately east of
the existing BMW Dealership is being used as an employee parking lot for the BMW
Dealership. The remainder of the site is
vacant with no significant vegetation.
Surrounding
land uses include vacant lands to the north.
To the south, across Helen
Avenue is a Volkswagon
dealership, single detached houses and further south is Highway 407. To the east are existing single detached residential
dwellings and to the west across Kennedy
Road are three existing auto dealerships
(Honda, Ford, Mercedes Benz) (Figure 3).
Existing BMW Dealership approved in
2001 at the northeast corner of Kennedy Road and Helen Avenue
In April
2001, Council approved applications for Official Plan Amendment and Rezoning to
permit an automobile sales establishment, a mixed use block and a townhouse
block (26 units) on lands owned by BMW at the northeast corner of Kennedy
Road and Helen
Avenue.
Official Plan and Zoning By-law
amendments prohibited additional dealerships
The 2001 Official
Plan and Zoning By-law amendments established specific development standards
for the existing BMW Dealership. This
included permitting only one automobile sales establishment, with a location
and maximum size equivalent to that now built for the existing BMW
Dealership. The amendments also
prohibited automobile sales establishments on additional lands under the same
ownership as the BMW dealership, which form part of the current applications
(Figure 7). The Official Plan and Zoning
By-law amendments required these additional lands under the same ownership as
the BMW to be developed with mixed uses (Kennedy
Road frontage) and residential uses (north
of Helen Avenue). As part of these previous applications, the
applicant presented to Council two context plans which illustrated how the
remaining BMW lands could be developed in the future with abutting lands to the
east (Figure 8 and 9). Both context
plans contemplated mixed uses and residential uses to reflect the Town’s
intended uses for the area. BMW is now
proposing to develop these lands with a second automobile dealership, which is
not consistent with previous approvals granted by Council.
A site plan
application was also approved in 2001 by Council to permit the construction of
a 3,592 m˛ (38,665 ft˛) Town & Country BMW Dealership (Figure 7). This dealership has since been constructed
and contains showrooms for new and used cars, an area for vehicle
service/repair and outdoor storage of vehicles.
Site plan approval for the mixed use block and townhouse blocks was
never pursued by the applicant.
Severance applications for the
existing BMW Dealership lands have been appealed to the Ontario Municipal
Board
In August
2001, the Committee of Adjustment granted provisional consent to create the
three separate parcels contemplated in the earlier Official Plan and Zoning By-law
amendment applications. One parcel would
be occupied by the existing BMW Dealership, and the other two parcels would
accommodate mixed use and townhouse blocks (Figure 7). One of the conditions of that severance was for
the applicant to submit to the Town a certificate from the Trustee for the
South Unionville Developers Group indicating that arrangements have been made
to satisfy any obligations financial or otherwise, as set out in the South
Unionville Developers Group Agreement.
The applicant
appealed this condition to the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) but a hearing date
was never scheduled. Recently, the OMB
advised that the file would be closed if they did hear back from the applicant
within 30 days. The applicant has
requested that this matter be heard and a hearing date has been scheduled for April 18, 2007. If the condition is upheld by the OMB, the
applicant will have a year from the date of the Board decision to fulfill the
severance conditions. Discussions are
ongoing between parties to resolve this issue.
Site plan approval for parking lot
for existing BMW Dealership has lapsed
In November
2002, the applicant applied for a minor variance (A/197/02) to permit a
temporary employee parking lot (98 parking spaces) on lands immediately east of
the existing BMW dealership building. Given
the Town & Country BMW’s urgent need for additional employee parking, staff
did not object to a minor variance to permit the parking lot expansion into the
residentially zoned lands on a temporary basis, provided the applicant applied
for a rezoning application to permit the parking lot use on a permanent basis. In addition to other conditions, Staff required
the applicant execute a site plan agreement with the Town, provide a 6 metre buffer along the eastern property line and privacy
fencing on the east and south boundaries of the proposed parking area. The conditions of approval were discussed and
agreed to by the applicant’s agent at the time.
The Committee
of Adjustment approved the parking use on a temporary basis only, for the
exclusive use of the BMW employees, for a period to expire on October 31, 2003. The applicant appealed this decision to the
Ontario Municipal Board requesting the use on a permanent basis and that the
additional fencing and buffering not be required. The Board determined that the parking lot
could be permitted on a permanent basis and a rezoning application was not
required, but the conditions relating to buffer and fencing remained. The applicant has not complied with the Board
order. The conditions of minor variance have not been fulfilled, and include
the following:
In August,
2002, the applicant obtained site plan approval for the employee parking lot (98
parking spaces) and a site plan agreement was sent to the applicant for
execution in July and November 2003).
The applicant did not execute the site plan agreement and site plan
approval has now lapsed.
BMW is now proposing to expand the existing
parking lot
The applicant
has now submitted a site plan application to comply with the requirements of approval
of the minor variance by the OMB.
However, the new site plan application proposes to expand the parking
lot from 98 parking spaces to 195 parking spaces and extend the lot south, to Helen
Avenue (Figure 10). The Official Plan and Zoning By-law
amendments approved by Council in 2001 required these lands to be developed
with mixed use and the lands north of Helen Avenue to be developed with
residential to be compatible with future low density residential housing
development of lands on the south side of Helen Avenue. The
proposed site plan application is not in keeping with the intent of the
Official Plan and Zoning By-law requirements for this site. The use is not permitted and the
appropriateness of allowing the parking lot to expand south to Helen
Avenue remains to be determined.
Proposal for two additional automobile
dealerships
The applicants
are now proposing a second dealership on the BMW lands with frontage onto Kennedy
Road and a Nissan dealership with
frontage onto the future South
Unionville Avenue, in addition to the existing BMW
dealership (Figure 4). The concept plan
submitted by the applicants indicates that the development will be phased. The initial phase would involve the
construction of the two additional automobile dealerships with extensive
surface parking. The final phase (20-25
year timeline) would include the construction of a parking structure for each
dealership and townhouses north of Helen
Avenue and along the eastern property
boundary (Figure 5).
Severance to create a lot for the
proposed Nissan Dealership
Dougson Investments Inc. (Nissan) and 1553204 Ontario Limited
have filed severance applications to facilitate the consolidation of land to
create the lot proposed to be developed as a Nissan dealership, a road
right-of-way (South Unionville Avenue) and the remainder of the lands will be
consolidated by 1553204 Ontario Limited to create a larger parcel (north of
South Unionville Avenue) proposed to be sold to a purchaser who intends to
develop these lands with Community Amenity uses (Figure 11). 1553204 Ontario Limited also owns lands on the
west side of Kennedy Road occupied by
Honda and Markville Ford.
The
recommended conditions of severance require the Owners to convey a road
right-of-way for South Unionville Avenue and a
north/south road that connects Helen
Avenue to South
Unionville Avenue.
The Owners will also be required to design and construct these roads as
a condition of severance. The severance
applications were heard by the Committee of Adjustment on January 24, 2007. The applicants requested that consideration
of these applications be deferred until the applicants and the Town can agree
on the conditions of severance, particularly relating to the location and
timing of providing the Town with a north/south road.
Official Plan and Zoning By-law
amendments required to permit the proposed uses
The Official
Plan designates the west portion of the lands which fronts onto Kennedy
Road as COMMERCIAL – Community Amenity
Area and the South Unionville Secondary Plan (OPA 22) designates the lands as
Community Amenity Area (Figure 6). The Community
Amenity Area designation provides for a range of commercial, residential and
institutional uses. The Official Plan
designates the majority of the eastern portion of the lands as URBAN
RESIDENTIAL, and OPA 22 designates it as Low Density Housing, which permits
single and semi-detached houses duplex and link dwellings at up to 14.8 units
per hectare (6 units per acre) (Figure 7).
In April
2001, Council approved Official Plan Amendment 83 (OPA 83), which permitted one
automobile sales establishment (existing Town & Country BMW) involving
accessory outdoor storage and/or display of vehicles, and automobile repair
uses within a fully enclosed building.
The lands east of the constructed BMW are also subject to OPA 83, which
only permits this portion of the lands to be used for low and medium density
residential uses (detached, semi-detached and townhouse dwellings). As
mentioned earlier, a portion of these lands is now being used as an employee
parking lot for the existing BMW Dealership.
The lands
proposed to be developed with the new, second BMW Dealership are zoned
Community Amenity One *140 – Hold [CA1*140(H)] and Residential Two *141 – Hold
[R2*141(H)]. The lands zoned Community
Amenity One specifically prohibit motor vehicles body shop, motor vehicle sales
establishment and townhouse dwellings. The
lands zoned residential [R2*141(H)] are permitted to be developed with
residential uses with a maximum density of 50 units per hectare (20 units per
acre) (Figure 2).
The lands
proposed for a Nissan Dealership are zoned Single Family Rural Residential
(RRH) and Rural Residential One (RR1) under By-law 304-87, as amended and
Residential Two – Lane Access *52 (Hold) [R2-LA*52(H)] and Residential Two *31
(Hold) [R2*31(H)] under By-law 177-96, as amended (Figure 2).
Amendments to
the Official Plan and Zoning By-law are required to permit automobile sales
establishment, automobile repair uses and outdoor storage/display associated
with the proposed automobile dealerships.
Zoning by-law amendments are required for the proposed long-term
residential use on the proposed Nissan site lands, but have not been applied
for at this time.
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.
Existing Town & Country BMW Dealership
Proposed second BMW and Nissan Dealerships
Community Amenity Area required in South
Unionville
The planned
function of the Community Amenity Area along the east side of Kennedy Road is
to provide an identifiable node for South Unionville, comprised of a diverse
range and mix of commercial, service, community, institutional, recreational
and residential uses. The area is
intended to primarily serve the residents of South
Unionville, with commercial uses providing for their day-to-day
needs.
As part of
the original (2001) BMW application, two car dealerships were proposed totaling
2.2 hectares. At the time, staff
indicated concern that the proposed dealerships did not “fit” within the
intended range of uses for Community Amenity Area. To address these concerns, the applicant
replaced one of the dealership sites with a mixed use block consistent with the
Community Amenity Area (CAA) designation.
The application was approved on the basis that one dealership on the
lands would not adversely impact the ability of the Community Amenity Area
lands to function in the intended manner.
The applicant
is now proposing two additional automobile dealerships (a second dealership on
BMW lands and Nissan) in addition to the existing Town & Country BMW, three
in total. If the applications are
approved, the only remaining parcel available to provide a Community Amenity
Area to service the South Unionville Planning Area would
be east of Kennedy Road north of the future South Unionville Avenue
(approximately 3.14 ha) (Figure 4). Staff have had preliminary discussions with agents
representing these lands and have been advised that they intend to develop the
site with a mixed-use building. However,
no applications have been submitted at this time.
Additional auto dealerships not in
keeping with Markham Centre/South
Unionville vision
The approval
of two additional dealerships in this area, in addition to the other established
dealerships would undermine the Town’s urban design objectives for the Kennedy
Road corridor and the development of
transit supportive and pedestrian oriented development to support the Markham
Centre/South Unionville Vision.
Kennedy Road is a primary
urban corridor and arterial road. This
section of Kennedy Road is
considered a gateway location for Markham Centre and the South Unionville
Community, as both a high order land use destination and focal point due to its
high degree of accessibility and exposure.
Staff have met with the applicants on several occasions and indicated
that this area is not considered appropriate for any additional dealerships,
and the continued trend in that direction would not be supported. Improvements, expansions and enhancements to
existing automobile sales/storage sites may be considered based on merit, but
new site locations are to be discouraged.
Amendments to
permit two additional automobile dealerships would also contravene the intent
of the Town’s Smart Growth initiatives.
Such an important urban corridor should be characterized by high-density
mixed use development to take advantage of surrounding transit services (i.e.
GO Train, future Viva alignment, future Highway 407 transit way), community
uses such as YMCA, new schools and parks in the area. The proposal does not provide significant
employment, does not promote transit supportive development, and is not in
keeping with Town initiatives regarding mixed land use and compact urban form.
Final
location of stormwater management facility to be
determined
There are currently two temporary stormwater
management ponds located east of Kennedy Road, which were constructed as part
of two draft plans of subdivision [United Castan –
Markham Corporation and Abidien Inc. (Swallow’s
Nest)]. Development cannot proceed on
the balance of the lands east of Kennedy
Road (including the applicant’s lands) prior
to the construction of a permanent stormwater
management facility to replace the two existing temporary stormwater
management ponds. The current proposal
contemplates the entire stormwater management pond
within a future park north of South
Unionville Avenue. A servicing strategy for this area
is required in order to address this issue, which may require a more detailed
evaluation of on-site storage opportunities to minimize the size of the stormwater management pond.
Location of South
Unionville Avenue and north/south road to be finalized
The South Unionville Secondary Plan (OPA 22) contemplates
an east/west collector road known as South
Unionville Avenue, extending from McCowan Road to Kennedy
Road, and a north/south road which
connects South Unionville Avenue with Helen
Avenue.
This local north/south road is vital to the overall traffic circulation for
the area because the only other connection from South
Unionville Avenue to Helen
Avenue is at Harry Cook
Drive. The Town will require that Nissan (and
1553204 Ontario Limited) provide these right-of-ways to the Town as a condition
of the proposed severances (Figure 11).
Applicants are not signatory to the
Developers Group Agreement
A Developers Group Agreement is in place for the South
Unionville Area to
secure community facilities and to compensate the landowners on whose
properties the community facilities are located. The applicant will be required to be a
signatory to the Developers Group Agreement, and pay their proportionate share
as per the South Unionville Secondary Plan (OPA 22).
Area Specific Development Charge By-law to be amended
There is
currently an Area Specific Development Charge (ASDC) By-law in place for the
South Unionville Area. The Engineering
Department is in the process of amending the ASDC By-law to include updated
cost estimates required in the South Unionville area. Until such by-law is amended, all development
within the area will be subject to the current ASDC By-law 42A-1.
Not Applicable
There are two
swales located east of Kennedy Road (Figure 3). One swale runs north/south on the BMW
property and the second swale originates at Kennedy
Road and extends east to the Nissan
property. The subject lands are within the TRCA screening zone and this may
have an impact on the proposed development.
TRCA has not provided comments at this time, but all comments will be
considered in the final report.
Not Applicable
The proposed
development provides for a key goal set out in “Engage 21st Century
Markham” by providing lands required for the construction of South
Unionville Avenue, and a north/south road that would
connect South Unionville Avenue to Helen
Avenue.
Town
departments and external agencies have been circulated with these applications
and all comments will be considered in the final report.
It is recommended that a public meeting be held to receive
input on the proposal, and that the applications be referred back to staff for
a final report.
RECOMMENDED BY:
________________________ ___________________________
Valerie
Shuttleworth, M.C.I.P., R.P.P. Jim Baird,
M.C.I.P., R.P.P.
Director of Planning & Urban
Design Commissioner of Development
Services
File Path: Amanda\File ZA 06-132779/Documents tab\Preliminary
Report
ATTACHMENTS:
Figure
1: Location Map
Figure
2: Area Context/Zoning
Figure
3: Air Photo
Figure
4: Conceptual Site Plan – Initial Phase
Figure
5: Conceptual Site Plan – Final Phase
Figure 6: South Unionville Secondary
Plan Area (OPA 22)
Figure
7: Approved BMW Site Plan
Figure
8: Context Plan A – presented to Council
2001
Figure
9: Context Plan B – presented to Council
2001
Figure 10:
Site plan – parking lot expansion
Figure 11:
Land Ownership
AGENT:
The Planning Partnership
c/o Rick Merrill
1255 Bay Street, Unit 201
Toronto, ON
M5R 2A9
Tel: (416)
975-1556
Fax: (416)
975-1580