Report to: Development Services Committee Report Date: December 4, 2007

SUBJECT: PRELIMINARY REPORT

B.McGregor Developments Ltd.

Application for Zoning By-law Amendment to facilitate the construction of a 32 unit townhouse development at the northwest corner of 16^th Avenue and Stonebridge Drive within the Berczy Village Secondary Plan Area

ZA 07 110709

PREPARED BY: Sabrina Bordone, Planner – West Development District (ext. 8230)

RECOMMENDATION:

That a Public Meeting be held to consider the Zoning Amendment application (ZA 07 110709) submitted by B. McGregor Developments Limited to facilitate the construction of a 32 unit townhouse development at the northwest corner of 16^th Avenue and Stonebridge Drive within the Berczy Village Secondary Plan Area.

And that Staff be authorized and directed to do all things necessary to give effect to this resolution.

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 background information regarding an application for Zoning By-law Amendment within the Berczy Village Secondary Plan Area and to recommend that Committee authorize the scheduling of a public meeting to consider the application.

BACKGROUND:

The proposed by-law amendment applies to an approximately 0.925 ha (2.286 ac) parcel of land situated on the north side of 16^th Avenue, west of Stonebridge Drive within the Berczy Village Secondary Plan Area (Figure 1). Specifically, the proposed by-law amendment applies to a 3m wide portion of lot 81, lots 82-89 inclusive, and blocks 90 & 91, Plan 65M-3168 (19TM-95009) (see Figures 2 & 3).

The subject lands are currently vacant, with the exception of blocks 90 & 91 (municipally know as 59 & 57 Bridlefield Lane respectively), which each contain a single-detached dwelling. The lands also contain a number of mature trees.

Adjoining the subject lands are:

• 16^th Avenue to the south, with single-detached dwellings on the south side of 16^th Avenue
• Stonebridge Drive to the east, with single-detached dwellings on the east side of Stonebridge Drive
• Bridlefield Lane to the north and west, with single-detached dwellings on the north side and west side of Bridlefield Lane.

Subject Lands form part of Registered Plan 65M-3166

The subject lands form part of plan 65M-3166 (19TM-95009), which was approved and registered in 1997. At that time the applicant owned all of the lands contained within the plan of subdivision including lots 81-89 inclusive, as well as blocks 90 and 91 (municipally know as 59 & 57 Bridlefield Lane), which have frontage on Bridlefield Lane and access in between lots 83 & 84.

In order to re-subdivide the lots for the proposed townhouse development, the applicant will be submitting an application for part lot control exemption to the Town. Staff have also requested the submission of a site plan application for the proposed townhouse development, which will be submitted by the applicant in the near future.

Official Plan and Zoning

The subject lands are currently designated “Urban Residential” in the Official Plan. This designation is further designated as “Urban Residential – Low Density” in the Berczy Village Secondary Plan. This designation provides for single-detached, semi-detached, linked, duplex, and street townhouse units with direct frontage on a public street. As per the policies provided for in the “Urban Residential – Low Density” designation, the net density of all units shall be within the range of 17 to 37 units per hectare (6.9 to 14.9 units per acre). The net density of the proposed townhouse development is 34.59 units per hectare (13.99 units per acre).

The 3m portion of Block 81 and lots 82-86 inclusive are zoned Residential Two with a special site provision (R2*50) by By-law 177-96, as amended. This zoning permits a range of residential uses including single-detached dwellings, semi-detached dwellings, duplex, triplex, and fourplex dwellings, as well as townhouse dwellings.

Blocks 87-89 inclusive are zoned Residential Two – Special (R2-S) by By-law 177-96, as amended. This zone category permits the same uses that are provided for in the Residential Two zone category, as listed above.

Finally, Blocks 90 & 91 are zoned Residential Two – Special with a special site provision (R2-S*51) by By-law 177-96, as amended. This zoning also permits the same uses that are provided for in the Residential Two zone category, but the special site provision limits the maximum number of dwelling units to two. This special site provision was included to recognize the two existing homes.

Proposed Zoning By-law Amendment to facilitate proposed 32 unit townhouse development

The applicant is proposing a 32 unit townhouse development with access off Bridgefield Lane and Stonebridge Drive (Figure 4). Both the Residential Two and Residential Two-Special zone categories permit townhouse dwellings on a lot accessed by a lane. However, the special site provision (*51) currently applying to blocks 90 & 91 only permits a maximum of two dwelling units. The applicant is requesting that the Residential Two-Special (R2-S) zone category, with specific exceptions, apply to the entirety of the subject lands.

Specific exceptions required for the Residential Two-Special (R2-S) Zone Category

At this time, two specific exceptions to the Residential Two-Special zone category are being sought by the applicant. The first exception is to allow for one of the townhouse blocks to contain a total of nine units, instead of the maximum of eight units (as provided for in the definition of townhouse building in Section 2 of By-law 177-96, as amended). The second exception is to allow for a reduced rear yard setback. Any additional exceptions identified through the review of the site plan application will be identified at the Public Meeting.

Holding Provisions on the Subject Lands

Staff recommend that holding provisions be placed on the zoning of subject lands, if the proposed by-law amendment application is approved. At this time, staff have identified two conditions of hold removal. The first condition will pertain to site plan approval being issued by the Town. Since the proposed townhouse development will not be facilitated through draft plan of subdivision, but rather site plan approval and part lot control exemption, a site plan agreement is required in order to secure for all conditions, securities, letters of credit, etc., which may be identified during the review of this proposal. The second condition of hold removal pertains to servicing allocation being provided for the proposed townhouse units.

Potential benefits of approval of the proposal:

The proposed development would provide a number of potential benefits, including:

• Intensification of lands that are currently under utilized, which will promote the Town’s objectives for compact urban form.
• The proposed by-law amendment would facilitate the development of a 32 unit townhouse development on the subject lands, which is consistent with the “Urban Residential – Low Density” designation in the Berczy Village Secondary Plan.

OPTIONS/ DISCUSSION:

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, if required, to be presented to Committee at a later date:

• Compatibility with existing single-detached residential development and zoning in the area;

• Servicing allocation to accommodate the proposed townhouse development needs to be reviewed;
• The need to accommodate visitor parking particularly as it applies to the townhouses fronting onto 16^th Aveneue where on-street parking is not permitted;
• The issue of visitor parking, and its potential for spilling out into the existing residential community, has been identified as a concern;
• Submission of a site plan application or, at a minimum, a scaled concept plan, for staff’s review of the proposed built form and building setbacks;
• Submission of a tree inventory and preservation plan;
• Submission of a noise impact study to address impacts on townhouses fronting onto 16^th Avenue;
• Submission of a functional servicing study has been requested by staff from the Town’s Engineering Department to confirm the availability of existing sewer and watermain capacity that will be required to accommodate the additional flows.

Concerns Raised by Existing Area Residents

Staff are in receipt of letters from existing area residents regarding the proposed townhouse development. The issues and concerns raised in these letters are summarized below:

• Capability with existing single-detached residential development in the area;
• Increase in traffic congestion within the existing community and its potential impacts on pedestrian and child safety;
• Visitor parking for the proposed townhouse development;
• Preservation of existing mature trees and vegetation which currently exists on the subject lands;
• Potential for increased pollution (both vehicular and noise).

FINANCIAL TEMPLATE (external link):

Not applicable.

ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS:

The subject lands currently contain a significant amount of mature vegetation. A tree inventory and preservation plan will be required to determine how the existing vegetation can be incorporated into the proposed site plan.

ACCESSIBILITY CONSIDERATIONS:

Not applicable.

ENGAGE 21^ST CONSIDERATIONS:

Approval of the proposed Zoning By-law Amendment is consistent with a key goal set out in the “Engage 21^st Century Markham” with respect to Managed Growth. The proposed development will complete the urban fabric of a key parcel in the Berczy Village community.

BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:

The proposal is currently in circulation to other Town Department and agencies for their review and comments.

RECOMMENDED

BY: ________________________ ________________________

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

Director, Planning & Urban Design Commissioner, Development

Services

File path: Amanda\File 07 110709\Documents\Recommendation Report

ATTACHMENTS:

Figure 1: Location Map

Figure 2: Area Context/Zoning

Figure 3: Air Photo

Figure 4: Conceptual Plan for Proposed Townhouse Development

AGENT:

Maria Gatzios

Gatzios Planning & Development Consultants Inc.

7030 Woodbine Ave., Suite 500

Markham, ON L3R 6G2

Tel: (905) 479-9502

Fax: (905) 946-8971