Report to: Development Services Committee Report Date: June 17, 2008
SUBJECT: RECOMMENDATION
REPORT
Baldath Rampersad
Applications for
rezoning and site plan approval to permit a daycare centre and medical
offices at 10137 Woodbine Avenue
File
Nos: ZA
07127816 & SC 07 124013
PREPARED BY: Geoff Day, Planner - West
Development Team
RECOMMENDATION:
That the report dated June 17,
2008, entitled “Applications for rezoning and site plan approval to permit a
daycare centre and medical offices at 10137 Woodbine Avenue” be received;
THAT Zoning By-law Amendment application (ZA 07 127816) to amend By-laws 304-87 and 177-96,
as amended, submitted by Baldath Rampersad to
permit a daycare centre and medical/professional offices at 10137 Woodbine
Avenue, be approved and the
draft Zoning By-law Amendment attached as Appendix ‘A’, be finalized and
enacted;
THAT Site Plan
Control application (SC 07 124013) submitted by Baldath Rampersad to
permit a daycare centre and medical/professional offices at 10137
Woodbine Avenue, be endorsed in principle, subject to the conditions attached as
Appendix “B”.
AND That site plan approval be delegated to the Director of Planning
and Urban Design or her designate, to be
issued following execution of a site plan agreement. Site Plan approval is issued only when the
Director has signed the site plan.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
Not applicable
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this report is to
provide recommendations regarding an application for a Zoning By-law Amendment and
Site Plan approval to permit a day care
centre in the existing heritage building and new medical/professional office
building at 10137
Woodbine Avenue.
Property and Area Context
The subject property has an area of 0.39 hectares (0.96 acres), and is
located on the east side of Woodbine Ave, north of Major Mackenzie Drive, municipally known as 10137 Woodbine Avenue (Figure 1).
The existing building on the property, which is presently
vacant, was individually designated under part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act in October of 2007.
A single detached dwelling is located
to the north, a vacant parcel of land owned by Metrus Developments to the
south, and a future neighbourhood park within the Cathedral Community will be
located across the new alignment of Woodbine Avenue and the Woodbine
By-pass to the west. A tributary of Carlton Creek bisects the subject property
(Figure 4).
The Official Plan designates the lands Community Amenity
Area and Hazard Lands (Carlton Creek).
The Cathedral Secondary Plan designates the lands Community Amenity
Area-Corridor and Hazard Lands (Figure 3).
The portion of the lands designated Community Amenity Area-Corridor
provides for office and daycare uses.
The lands are currently zoned Agricultural (A1) by By-law
304-87, as amended (Figure 2). A zoning
by-law amendment is required to permit the proposed medical office and daycare
centre.
The owner has submitted applications for rezoning and site plan approval
to permit
a day care centre in the existing heritage building and new
medical/professional office building at 10137 Woodbine Avenue (Figures 5&6).
A public
meeting was held on May 6, 2008 to consider
the proposed zoning by-law amendment and site plan applications. One of the issues raised at the meeting
stemmed from concerns from local area residents over the possibility of being
exposed to X-Rays from medical devices commonly found in doctor’s or dentist’s
offices. Staff suggested that tightening
the zoning provisions to prohibit medical laboratories could address the
concern. After additional research and
careful consideration, Staff are of the opinion that
permitting medical offices without allowing for laboratory equipment could place
undue limitations on the medical building. The use of x-ray machines is governed by
provincial acts and regulations. In Ontario, healthcare
x-ray machines are covered by the Healing Arts Protection Act. Safety considerations for x-ray machines are
laid out in Ontario Regulation 663/00 "X-RAY SAFETY CODE". Regulation 663/00 outlines what the owner of
an x-ray machine needs to do to become registered. This includes providing specifications on where the
machine is to be located, shielding, position of the doors and windows. With these Provincial regulations in place,
Staff are of the opinion that it is not necessary to
add additional “use” restrictions to the zoning of the subject development.
Current site plan has undergone significant modifications
to comply with Town requirements
The proposed
site plan has undergone significant modifications to comply with Town
requirements. The relationship of the buildings to one
another and to Woodbine
Avenue, on site
vehicular and pedestrian circulation, and the significantly improved parking
layout have been provided to the satisfaction of the Planning Department.
Landscaping
will be installed around and throughout the site with specific focus on the
environmental buffer area. Permeable
paving will be installed in the designated play areas which will assist in
reducing impacts from stormwater run-off (Figure 7).
All lighting
will be required to be of directional form in order to minimize lighting
impacts on surrounding properties and on night skies.
The proposed development complies with Toronto and Region
Conservation Authority (TRCA) requirements
The TRCA has
reviewed the rezoning and site plan applications and has advised that, as a
condition of Site Plan Approval, all buildings be located outside of the
Regional Storm Flood Plain, and are to be flood proofed to the satisfaction of
the TRCA. Further, the owner shall
restore and enhance the lands within the Carlton Creek corridor and 10m
environmental buffer.
Conveyance of the river, valleylands
and a 10 metre wide environmental buffer into public ownership
It is
standard Town practice to ensure, through conditions of development approval, the
conveyance of all Hazard Lands and associated 10 metre environmental buffers into
public ownership. The creek corridor and
environmental buffer will be conveyed to the Town free of all costs and
encumbrances and zoned Open Space One (OS1).
The owner will be required to restore and enhance the creek corridor and
environmental buffer across the subject lands with extensive planting of native
woody species to the satisfaction of the TRCA and the Town.
Jurisdiction of Woodbine
Avenue and future frontage for site
When
construction of the Woodbine By-pass is complete, this section of Woodbine
Avenue will be transferred from the Region
of York to the Town. Until that time,
this section of Woodbine Avenue remains under
the jurisdiction of the Region of York.
The Region provided
the following initial comments/conditions:
After the Woodbine By-pass is open and operational, this
section of Woodbine Avenue will become
a local road (renamed Victoria Square Boulevard). Given the future ownership of this road, the
Region has confirmed that their 36 metre right-of-way will not be required and
will rely on the Town’s Engineering Department to
apply their engineering standards for local roads to this site. Town Staff will continue to work with the
Region in order to determine an appropriate interim solution until such time as
the future Victoria Square Boulevard has been transferred to the Town.
The future frontage of this property will be significantly
affected by the realignment of what is now Woodbine
Avenue and the future Woodbine Avenue
By-pass (Figure 8). When these roads are
ultimately realigned, the Owner may have opportunities for additional land
acquisition along the frontage of the subject property. In the interim, the Owner has been involved
in preliminary discussions with the Town’s Manager of Real Property and the
Manager of Parks and Open Space Development in order to ascertain the extent of
this “new” frontage and the ultimate configuration of the access to what will
be Victoria Square Boulevard. Once the
Woodbine By-pass is completed, any future development proposals by the Owner
will require further approvals by the Town.
Technical Studies under review
The required technical studies addressing stormwater
management, site servicing and grading and traffic impacts have been submitted to
the Town and the Region and are presently under review.
Adequate parking drop-off and an outdoor play area
have been provided for the subject development
The outdoor
play area and parking drop-off for the day nursery have been incorporated into
the proposed development to the satisfaction of the Town. The Town’s parking
by-law requires a total of 35 parking spaces for the proposed development which
includes 2 spaces for the physically challenged. The proposed site plan provides a total of 32
spaces. Given that the majority of the parking use by the daycare parking
is for weekday morning drop off and evening pick up, with very low demand
between, and no demand at all during evenings and weekends, staff support a 3 space
reduction in the parking requirement for the subject development. This
has been accommodated in the attached draft by-law amendment.
The proposal has been reviewed by the Town Architect,
Heritage Staff and Heritage Markham
The 2 storey
medical/professional office building is located at the minimum set-back to Woodbine
Avenue helping to create a built edge to the road while still respecting
(through adequate separation) the existing heritage building. The
medical/professional office building is comprised of stucco and will contain a
white roof. As the materials used in white
roofs have reflective properties, they have the potential to lessen a buildings’
reliance on air conditioning systems during the summer months, thereby reducing
local ambient temperatures. White Roofs
have proven effective, as heat transfer is mitigated with white reflective material compared to traditional
black roofs.
The medical building blends with the character of the
school house and addition. The building presents some historical
references such as 6 over 6 windows and a sympathetic building massing. The buildings are
appropriately located as the proposal respects and supports the
preservation of the heritage school house.
Elevations are well articulated and
organized. The applicant has worked
extensively with Heritage Markham and Heritage Section staff to restore the exterior heritage features
of the old schoolhouse while providing for alterations and additions to convert
the building to a viable modern use. The
site plan agreement will contain a restoration plan and specifications relating
to the appropriate treatment of the heritage building. A landscape plan has been submitted and is presently under review. All existing trees and mature vegetation
will be preserved (Figure 7). A tree
preservation plan and fencing will also be required as a condition of site plan approval.
Green Initiatives
On May 6 2008, Staff received a verbal commitment from
the applicant outlining the following green initiatives:
These
components will be incorporated into the final site plan agreement.
No financial
implications are to be considered in this report.
Not
applicable.
Growth Management
The proposed rezoning application supports the Town’s strategic focus
of growth management and environment. The Official Plan designation
of Community Amenity Area and Hazard Lands will
be
preserved ensuring the land will be used for employment uses. With the conveyance of the valley lands and
environmental buffer into public ownership, the Town has ensured that this area
will be preserved in an open space designation for years to come. Finally, the preservation of built heritage
has been achieved by protecting and refurbishing the existing heritage building
on site.
Environment
The applicant
has committed to several green initiatives as outlined in this report.
The proposal
has been circulated to other Town Departments and agencies and all comments
have been addressed in this report.
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:
Appendix ‘A’ -
Draft Zoning By-laws
Appendix ‘B’ – Endorsed Site Plan Conditions