Report to: Development Services Committee Report Date: March 18, 2008

SUBJECT: PRELIMINARY REPORT

Application for Official Plan Amendment

Markhamgate Summit

2900 Steeles Avenue East

Northeast corner of Don Mills Road and Steeles Avenue East

File No.: OP.07-130802

PREPARED BY: Stephen Kitagawa, Senior Planner

RECOMMENDATION:

That a Public Meeting be held to consider an application for Official Plan Amendment by Markhamgate Summit to permit a mixed use retail, office and residential community, municipally known as 2900 Steeles Aveue East when issues identified in this report are sufficiently addressed.

That a resident working group, as outlined in this report be established.

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

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this report is to provide preliminary information regarding an Official Plan Amendment application submitted by Markhamgate Summit municipally known as 2900 Steeles Avenue East and to recommend that a statutory public meeting be held to consider this application when issues identified in this report are sufficiently addressed.

BACKGROUND:

The subject property is approximately 7.1 hectares (17.7 ac) in area and is located on the northeast corner of Don Mills Road and Steeles Avenue East (Figure 1).

The subject site is bounded by the following uses:

• To the north and west, are townhouses
• To the south, across Steeles Avenue East, townhouses and six storey apartment buildings in the City of Toronto.
• To the east, across Highway 404, employment uses.

The existing mall contains retail and office

The site currently supports a shopping centre (Shops on Steeles). The existing mall is enclosed and contains 22,634 m² (243,638 ft²) of retail space (Food Basics, Sears Outlet store, general retail and 3 restaurants) and 2,829 m² (30,448 ft²) of office space. The gas station located at the northeast corner of Don Mills Road and Steeles Avenue East does not form part of the proposal or application and is under separate ownership.

The subject site is currently served by three access locations. Two are located along Steeles Avenue East. The most eastern of these accesses is fully signalized and has full moves, whereas the western access is a right-in/right out access. The third access, located on Don Mills Road, has full moves, however, is not signalized.

Redevelopment to be phased

The applicant is proposing to gradually phase the redevelopment of the existing mall and contemplates a comprehensively planned, mixed use development with a balanced mix of retail, office and residential. The general concept of the proposal is inspired by a Lifestyle Shopping Centre model that favours an unenclosed main street shopping experience and steers away from the automobile oriented suburban mall (Figure 4).

The residential component proposes a gross floor area of approximately 157, 948 m² (1,700,199 ft²), and in 2,057 units. Seven, mid to high rise buildings ranging from 10 to 32 storeys in height are proposed on the periphery of the subject site abutting Steeles Avenue East and Don Mills Road. The taller buildings are proposed on the eastern portion of the site. (Table 1). The overall floor space index is 2.5.

TABLE 1 – Residential component of proposal

Block	Area	Units	Storeys
A	16,362 m^2 (176,124 ft^2)	213	10
B	15,671 m^2 (168,688 ft^2)	204	18
E	22,858 m^2 (246,050 ft^2)	298	24
F	22,858 m^2 (246,050 ft^2)	298	24
H	24,889 m^2 (267,916 ft^2)	324	28
I	26,733 m^2 (287,761 ft^2)	348	30
J	28,577 m^2 (307,610 ft^2)	372	32
Total	157, 948 m^2(1,700,199 ft^2)	2,057

The applicant is proposing 18,990 m² (204,410 ft²) of retail space and 2,617 m² of office space. The retail/office space would be primarily along the central shopping street running east/west through the subject site, with additional retail space extending along the two entrance streets from Steeles Avenue East (Table 2)

TABLE 2 – Retail and office component

Block	Retail Floor Area	Office Floor Area
C	3,416 m^2 (36,770 ft^2)	N/A
D	3,103 m^2 (33,401 ft^2)	900 m^2 (9,688 ft^2)
E	1,080 m^2 (11,625 ft^2)	N/A
F	1,330 m^2 (14,316 ft^2)	N/A
G	3,749 m^2 (40,355 ft^2)	1,080 m^2 (11,625 ft^2)
H	1,500 m^2 (16,146 ft^2)	N/A
I	912 m^2 (9,819 ft^2)	N/A
J	800 m^2 (8,611 ft^2)	N/A
K	3,100 m^2 (33,369 ft^2)	637 m^2 (6,858 ft^2)
Total	18,900 m^2 (204,410 ft^2)	2,617 m^2 (28,170 ft^2)

The existing accesses are to remain. Site circulation will be facilitated by the proposed east/west Shopping Street.

A total of 3,505 parking spaces are proposed for the site, 2,467 to be dedicated to the residential portion of the development. All the residential parking will be located below grade, except for some visitor parking. 1,038 retail/office parking spaces are proposed to be provided. The applicant is proposing 60 to 80 retail/office parking spaces in an open lot on the northeast corner of the site as well as 80 to 100 on-street parking spaces. The remainder of the retail/office parking spaces will be located in a 3 to 4 level parking structure, located on the north side of the property.

The by-law currently requires 1.5 parking spaces per residential unit (1.25 plus 0.25 for visitor parking) and 1 parking space per 23 m² of leasable floor area. A preliminary review of the parking requirements indicates that 4,248 parking spaces are required, however further clarification and details are required to refine the calculation. Staff will review the residential parking standard in an attempt to ensure that the proposal is transit supportive.

Official Plan and Zoning By-law

The Thornhill Secondary Plan, adopted in 1991, designates the subject lands Major Commercial. The planned function provides for large scale multi-use, multi-purpose centre or area offering a diverse range of retail, service, community, institutional and recreational uses serving a major portion of the municipality and/or broader regional market. The Major Commercial designation provides for a range of commercial uses such as retail stores, services uses, offices, banks, hotels and restaurants among other uses.

The Commercial (Major Commercial) designation in the Official Plan (as amended by OPA 26 in October 1994) provides for medium density and high density residential, subject to the review of a specific development proposal and rezoning, pursuant to the provisions of any implementing Secondary Plan and to ensuring that the planned function of the lands is maintained and that the location is appropriate. However, the Thornhill Secondary Plan has a site specific policy relating to the subject site that states that “As changes in the use of this site are considered in the future, the major priority should be to enhance and strengthen the retail appeal of this facility. Accordingly, non-retail uses should be discouraged unless clearly demonstrated to be compatible with and support the primary retail function.” The applicant has submitted an application to amend the Secondary Plan to permit the high density residential uses.

Official Plan policies for the Major Commercial designation provide that siting, massing and scale of development, and landscaping, shall contribute to and reinforce the importance of these lands as a major multi-purpose focus in the Town. Development and re-development shall contribute to an attractive, pedestrian-friendly streetscape that is not dominated by large surface parking areas. Attractive, safe, convenient and easily-accessible pedestrian connections shall be provided to all adjoining streets and transit facilities and, where appropriate, between on-site facilities and uses. In circumstances where the urban design issues associated with a development proposal are particularly significant, or require detailed consideration of matters beyond the content of the design guidelines, Council may require the preparation of specific design studies in support of the proposal.

The lands are zoned Community Commercial, by By-law 2612, as amended. The Community Commercial zoning permits a planned shopping centre with uses ranging from hotels, offices, retail stores, restaurants and personal service shops, among other uses. A zoning by-law amendment is required to permit the residential use as well as incorporate site specific development standards. The zoning by-law amendment application has not yet been applied for, but presumably will be applied for at the same time as a future site plan application.

OPTIONS/ DISCUSSION:

Open House and Community Information Meetings held on January 29, January 30 and February 26

A Community Information Meeting, hosted by Councillor Shiner (City of Toronto) was held on January 29, 2008. Issues with respect to traffic and the building heights were expressed at this meeting. Names of residents who wished to volunteer and participate on a working group have been forwarded to staff.

An Open House was held on January 30, 2008, hosted by the applicant to obtain feedback and to inform residents of the proposal. This was an informal gathering where the applicant displayed the concepts and answered resident questions.

A Community Information Meeting, hosted by Councillor Shapero, was held on February 26, 2008. The objective of this meeting was to obtain feedback from the public and to obtain names of residents who volunteered to be part a working group. Issues/concerns with respect to traffic, height/density and transition to adjacent uses, provision of services, the outdoor mall concept and construction noise/dirt were expressed at this meeting.

The purpose of the working group is to obtain more detailed input from the residents on the proposal and to work with staff and the applicant to gain a better understanding of the proposal and the context in which it will be evaluated. Revisions and suggested changes will also be reviewed. As well, resident working members are expected to relay information regarding the progress of the application, and any revisions, back to the larger community. Staff plan on holding a series of working group meetings to review the proposal in depth with more focused discussion than the larger Community Information meeting forum permits. It is proposed that the working group will review the proposal, consider development options and explore urban design and development principles and other issues (eg. traffic) as identified in this report and at the community meetings held to date.

No servicing capacity available

The residential portion of this application has not yet received servicing allocation. Following the allocation distributions to 2011 recommended in the February 5, 2008, Servicing Allocation report, there are many residential development applications in Markham awaiting additional servicing capacity from the Region. The Region and the Town will continue to review options and timing of servicing allocation that can relate to 2012 building construction and beyond. However, it will likely be a limited amount.

Studies required

The following studies are required:

• Traffic Impact Study (received and circulated to MTO, York Region, City of Toronto and to the Town’s Transportation Section)
• Functional Servicing Study
• Noise Impact Study
• Stormwater Management Study
• A review of the potential replacement/loss of retail space and the potential shift in the type of retailing that may be involved.
• Phasing Plan
• Tree Inventory and Preservation Plan
• Shadow Study
• Analysis of adjacent parks and recreational uses

Staff are also requesting additional information related to the following:

• Built form analysis (Examination of the relationship of the proposed buildings and the existing neighbourhoods to the north west and south. The use of an interactive 3D model of the site and surrounding neighbourhoods would be beneficial)
• Potential street and block pattern (Showing proposed entrances internal circulation pattern, grouping of buildings, parking and open space)
• Views, vistas and view terminations
• Buffer and edge treatment
• Vehicular circulation, parking, servicing and loading
• Types of parks, squares, open space and linkage to pedestrian network (identification of public parks and open spaces in the neighbourhood. Understand public space in the proposal and how it relates to the surrounding neighbourhood.)
• Improvement of Steeles Avenue (identify any ROW improvements – street trees planters, lighting etc.)
• Land uses at grade along Steeles and Don Mills Road

FINANCIAL TEMPLATE (external link):

Not applicable.

ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS:

Council has directed staff to investigate LEED silver certification for all development proposals and the applicant has been advised accordingly. As part of any future site plan approval process, Staff will explore opportunities with the applicant to support sustainable development and a range of green building strategies.

ACCESSIBILITY CONSIDERATIONS:

Accessibility considerations will be reviewed as part of any future site plan approval process.

ENGAGE 21^ST CONSIDERATIONS:

The proposed rezoning application promotes certain key goals set out in “Engage 21^st Century Markham” by providing for the use of existing infrastructure and compact development. Efficient and effective growth management is a strategic priority for the Town and the proposed infill development promotes effective growth management by optimizing the use of the Town’s current infrastructure.

BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:

The application has undergone a full circulation to obtain comments and conditions from all internal departments and external agencies.

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

ATTACHMENTS:

Figure 1 – Location Map

Figure 2 – Area Context and Zoning

Figure 3 – Air Photo

Figure 4 – Concept Plan

Figure 5 – Urban Plaza View Looking East

Figure 6 – Shopping Street View To The West

Figure 7 – Aerial View Looking East

Walker Nott Dragicevic Associates Limited

Attn: Andrew Fernacik

172 St. George St.

Toronto, ON

M5R 2M7

Tel: 416-968-3511

Fax: 416-960-0172

File path: Amanda\File 07 130802\Documents\Recommendation Report