Report to: Development Services Committee Report Date: October 21, 2008

SUBJECT: PRELIMINARY REPORT

Box Grove Developments Inc.

Applications for Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendments to permit a maximum floor area of 20,000 m² for a single retail premise and for Site Plan approval for a retail plaza at 500 Copper Creek Drive (Block 457 on 19TM-030012)

File OP 08-121619, ZA 08-121691 and SC 08-121694

PREPARED BY: Doris Cheng, Senior Planner – extension 2331

RECOMMENDATION:

That the report dated October 21, 2008 entitled “Preliminary Report, Box Grove Developments Inc., Applications for Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendments to permit a maximum floor area of 20,000 m² for a single retail premise and for Site Plan approval for a retail plaza at 500 Copper Creek Drive” be received;

That Staff be authorized to schedule a statutory Public Meeting to consider the proposed 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:

Not applicable

FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:

Not applicable.

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

The purpose of this report is to provide preliminary information regarding the application for Official Plan Amendment and Zoning By-law Amendment to permit a maximum floor area of 20,000 m² for a single retail premise and to amend the development standards to accommodate a retail plaza. A site plan approval application has also been submitted. The report also seeks authorization to hold a statutory public meeting with respect to the proposed Official Plan and Zoning By-law amendments.

BACKGROUND:

Complete Application Date

The applications by Box Grove Developments Inc. were received July 16, 2008. The applications were deemed complete on August 20, 2008.

Property and Area Context

The subject property is approximately 12.62 hectares (31.18 acres) in area. Currently, the lands are vacant and have been used for agricultural purposes in the past. Recently, the property has been cleared and graded as part of the draft approved plan of subdivision 19TM-030012. The property is located on the north-west corner of Copper Creek Drive and the future Donald Cousens Parkway. The surrounding context is as follows:

To the north of the subject lands is Highway 407.
To the south across Copper Creek Drive are lands within an approved residential plan of subdivision.
To the east across the Donald Cousens Parkway are lands designated for future employment (designated as Business Park), agricultural lands, and the CPR Havelock rail line.
To the west is a tributary of the Rouge River Valley, and beyond the tributary are low density, residential lands under construction as well as lands designated for future employment (Business Park).

The Proposal

The applicant is proposing to retain the Industrial - Business Corridor Area Official Plan designation applying to the lands. A site specific amendment to the official plan and zoning by-law to increase the maximum floor area for a single retail premise from 6,000 m² to 20,000 m² is requested. Changes to the development standards in the applicable zoning are also requested. The proposed commercial development includes a total gross floor area of 34,656 m², including a single Super Wal-Mart retail store with a gross floor area 18,592 m² containing integrated retail, service commercial, and restaurant uses. The balance of the floor space would be distributed over 10 buildings and is intended to accommodate retail stores and service shops (16,716 m²), offices (2,773 m²), restaurants and other uses.

OPTIONS/ DISCUSSION:

Provincial Policies

The Provincial Policy Statement (2005), the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe (June 16, 2006) and the Places to Grow Act (2005) all seek to promote economic development and competitiveness by providing an appropriate mix and range of employment lands to meet the long term needs of the Province. In addition, the Growth Plan states that major retail uses are considered non-employment uses. It should also be noted that the Places to Grow Act (2005), the implementing legislation for the Growth Plan notes that where there is a conflict between the Growth Plan and municipal documents, including the Official Plan and zoning by-law, that the Growth Plan shall prevail. Provincial policy implications with regard to the Growth Plan and the Places to Grow Act (2005) must be considered.

York Region Official Plan

The Regional Official Plan requires that any retail facilities in excess of 30,000 gross leaseable square metres shall require a Region-wide impact analysis that addresses transportation requirements, the impact on existing and approved future retail facilities, transit access to the facilities, and the manner in which the proposal is supportive of the centre and corridor policies of the Regional Official Plan. An objective of this policy is to ensure that employment areas are planned comprehensively and that applications are reviewed in a manner that maintains the planned function of the employment area. Comments from the Region of York are pending.

Official Plan Designation

The lands are designated “Industrial – Business Corridor Area” in the Markham Official Plan. These lands are specifically identified under Section 3.5.6.3.1 – Interim Site Specific Policies. The planned function as identified in this section refers to “locations for a mix of high quality business activities in corridors along major road frontages, primarily adjacent to industrial areas. Business Corridor Areas are intended for industrial and commercial uses that require the exposure offered by such locations in order to accommodate the business and service needs of companies and employees, and to accommodate at appropriate locations certain businesses that may also serve the general public.” This interim policy limits the size of individual retail premises to a maximum of 6000 m².

It should be noted that in 2005, the Town updated its Business Corridor Area policies to clarify the intended function of the Business Corridor lands to serve the employment districts, and to specifically provide that “retail uses are not intended to accommodate the needs of the general public as their primary function.” The general policy update also capped the size of individual premises to 1000 m² with the exception of computer and office supply stores which were permitted up to a maximum of 3000 m². At that time subdivision and rezoning applications were underway for the subject lands and through discussions with the applicant the interim policies noted above (which were generally the same as the original Business Corridor Area policies) were allowed to continue pending the completion of those applications.

The subject lands designated “Industrial – Business Corridor Area” and subject to the interim policies provide for, among other uses, retail uses within individual premises that are not less than 300 m² and not greater than 6000 m² of gross floor area. The proposed Wal-Mart Store exceeds this size cap by 12,592 m² and hence the Official Plan Amendment application has been submitted. It should be noted that uses prohibited by the Official Plan on these lands include automobile repair and retail and industrial uses involving accessory outdoor storage and/or display of merchandise. The proposed Wal-Mart store will likely contain automobile repair uses and include accessory outdoor storage and/or display of merchandise. Should the Official Plan be amended to accommodate the proposed Wal-Mart, these additional uses will also have to be considered.

Furthermore, the Official Plan provides that any single retail premise in excess of 10,000m² of gross leaseable area is considered a large format retail development. Any development with a gross leaseable area of 10,000m² or group of proposed retail developments in excess of 30,000 m² may require a study/comprehensive municipal review to assess the impact of the proposal on the capability of the Town’s planned commercial structure to provide a full range of activity to serve the Town’s residents, employees and businesses. The applicant has submitted a market assessment study and a planning justification report in support of the proposal. These documents require a detailed review (the market assessment may require peer review), to determine whether the intent of the Official Plan in this regard is addressed and whether the conclusions contained in the reports are reasonable and acceptable.

Development requirements within the Commercial – Industrial Business Corridor Area designation include the following:

Siting, massing and scale of built form elements, and the complementary landscaping, shall contribute to the development of a streetscape that projects an image of quality business environment.
Development and redevelopment on lands fronting onto or adjoining major arterial roads shall generally consist of multi-storey buildings located in close proximity to the property line adjoining the public street.
Pedestrian accessibility, convenience and safety shall be a primary consideration in development and redevelopment.
Large surface parking areas should not be highly visible from public streets.

The review of the proposal will have regard for these policies as well as the urban design principles generally applicable to large format commercial developments. However, it should be noted that the planned function of the Business Corridor Area designation did not intend to accommodate large format retail development.

Boxgrove Secondary Plan (OPA #92)

The Boxgrove Secondary Plan (OPA #92) designates these lands as “Business Corridor Area”, subject to the general provisions of the Official Plan, as amended. It provides goals, principles and objectives to achieve the detailed policies of the Plan. Specifically for Employment Areas, the principles are identified in Section 4.2.3, stating that “the design and location of the employment areas shall capitalize on its highly visible and accessible location adjacent to Highway 407.” The objectives listed in Section 4.3.3 identifies that the development should “contribute to the Town’s employment targets through the provision of a range of opportunities for job-creating land uses adjacent to the proposed Highway 407/Transitway right-of-way and to ensure the provisions of a minimum 42.5 net hectares of Business Park and Business Corridor Lands” are maintained. The secondary plan employment policy implications need to be addressed.

In addition, provisions within the Secondary Plan prohibit direct access on to Donald Cousens Parkway. The proposed access on to Donald Cousens Parkway will have to be addressed in consultation with the Region of York.

The intent of the Planned Function of the Business Corridor

The Official Plan provides for Business Corridor Area sites in employment districts, primarily to serve companies and employees in the employment district. It was never the intent for major retail uses to be located in Business Corridor Areas. The policy framework does not envision permitting uses requiring outdoor storage or display of goods, or very large retail stores which require substantial parking areas which generate considerable traffic. This was the rationale for this designation’s 6000 m² cap in gross floor area. The store size caps within the Official Plan were intended to provide guidance for the intended form of retail to take place within each particular category of designation given that different forms of retail perform different functions. Commercial – Retail Warehouse Area and Major Commercial Area designation were introduced into the Official Plan to provide designations with planned functions intended to accommodate major retail development and large format stores. The current application must be assessed in the context of the planned function of the Business Corridor Area designation.

A minor tributary is adjacent to the site

A minor watercourse is located adjacent to the property. This tributary of the Rouge River is designated as “Environmental Protection Area – Minor Tributary” in the Secondary Plan. The proposed 20,000 m² premise is adjacent to this watercourse. The application has been circulated to the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority for comment.

Applicable Zoning By-law

The lands are zoned “Business Corridor” in By-law 177-96, as amended by By-laws 2005-5 and 2006-17. Permitted uses within the Business Corridor zone include a number of related employment and industrial uses, restaurants (only as an accessory use in an office building, hotel or trade/convention centre) and also retail stores subject to an individual premise having a minimum net floor area of 300 m² and a maximum net floor area of 6000 m².

The zoning amendment application submitted by the applicant would permit an increase to the maximum permitted floor area for a single retail premise from 6,000 m² to 20,000 m² to permit the development. If this application proceeds to an approval, the zoning by-law would also have to be amended to accommodate automobile repair and retail and industrial uses involving accessory outdoor storage and/or display of merchandise.

The applicant has submitted a site plan

Staff have concerns related to the orientation, location and configuration of the retail pads (Retail I, J and A). The comments include re-orienting the buildings to provide a stronger pedestrian oriented development along Copper Creek Drive and internally to the site, focusing and strengthening the connection between the residential neighbourhood and the commercial development to encourage and provide opportunity for residents to walk or bike. Staff has also identified specific concerns related to the location, orientation, mass and façade treatment of the large format store at issue. All buildings on the site should be designed to emulate the building facades proposed for buildings E and C. Both buildings E and C create a multi-storey, pedestrian orientated, main street façade which creates and strengthens the connection along this “main street” and into the site.

Regard will be given to the development requirements currently outlined in the Official Plan, as amended and the Urban Design Guidelines for the Business Corridor designation. The intent of the Business Corridor Urban Design Guidelines is to:

Produce streetscapes defined by attractive multi-storey buildings aligned at the street edge within a landscape foreground.
Minimize the negative visual effect of extensive areas of surface parking visible from the street edge.
Provide for an attractive, comfortable, safe environment for pedestrians as well as safe vehicular movements.
Establish building forms, site planning principles and landscape standards which will guide the development of quality urban spaces.
Provide a consistent architectural treatment similar to the existing Box Grove retail development on Ninth Line.
Encourage transit-supportive and pedestrian friendly development.

The goal of the design guidelines is to encourage and establish a consistently high standard of development in the Business Corridor and achieve a recognizable urban streetscape which will project an image of quality business activity. This will establish an urban design presence throughout the site to achieve a unified community vision consistent amongst all buildings. Elements should include a consistent two-storey building design which gives the image of a multi storey commercial building and a unified themed development. This is of particular importance at this primary gateway location into the Box Grove employment lands.

Potential Benefits of the Proposal

The proposed amendments will provide additional commercial and retail services to meet the needs of the Markham community.

Concerns and 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 proposed development will be addressed in a final staff report to be presented to Committee if required, at a later date. Concerns and issues identified to date include:

Consideration in the context of the planned function of the Business Corridor designation.
Consideration in the context of Provincial, Regional and Town employment policies.
Proper land use and urban design treatment at this important gateway to the Box Grove employment lands.
The Region of York planning staff must determine if the application will be exempt from Regional approval, and how it will be dealt with in the context of the Regional Official Plan policies.
The applicant has submitted a Market Assessment which may require peer review.
A site plan review having regard for matters such as placement of buildings, urban design principles for the Business Corridor designation, landscaping and appropriate provisions for pedestrian movements remain to be addressed.
Appropriate environmental sustainability initiatives for this large scale development needs to be identified.
The site plan shows direct access on to Donald Cousens Parkway. Access is not currently permitted as per the Secondary Plan provisions, and will be subject to traffic impact analysis in consultation with the Region of York.
Comments from Toronto and Region Conservation Authority regarding the Rouge River Tributary remain outstanding;
Additional studies and/or plans which may be deemed necessary through the review process. These studies may include:

§ Regional Impact Study pursuant to the Region of York Official Plan

§ Comprehensive municipal review with regard to the impact and future supply of employment lands within the Town pursuant to the Town of Markham Official Plan

§ Stormwater management/servicing study

§ And any other study which may be deemed necessary through the review process.

FINANCIAL TEMPLATE (external link):