Property and Area Context
The subject property is
approximately 2.06 hectares (5.10 acres) in area, located at the south east
corner of Markham Road and Anderson Avenue (which has just been extended to
the Greensborough community as the Castlemore Avenue extension, but not yet open). Located north of Bur Oak Avenue and south of Major Mackenzie Drive, the subject lands are vacant, with
storage piles of topsoil and fill from other construction sites. There is little vegetation, except for a few
trees scattered throughout the site. The
area context is as follows:
§
To the north of the subject lands is The Brick
furniture store. Further north are
properties containing a single storey, multi-tenant industrial/commercial building,
a recently built commercial plaza and the main Emerson Electric building
§
To the south are various one-storey multi-tenant
buildings with access from Anderson Avenue,
and further south, on the south side of Bur Oak Avenue
is the Mount Joy GO Train station.
§
To the west, across Markham
Road are vacant lands and the recently built Home
Depot and further west is the Wismer residential community
§
To the east are one-storey commercial/industrial
buildings and further east, across the railway tracks is the Greensborough
residential community
The Proposal is to add a mixed use
development to the list of permitted uses
The proposed
zoning by-law amendment is to permit a mixed use development consisting of
three apartment buildings, which would transition in height from 12 storeys
along the Markham Road
frontage to 10 storeys towards Anderson Avenue. The proposal contains a total of 624
residential units and 51,564 m˛ of retail/commercial space at grade.
The applicant
is proposing three access points, consisting of a right-in/right-out access on Markham
Road, and two full-moves accesses onto Castlemore
Avenue and Anderson
Avenue. The
proposal includes a total of 924 underground parking spaces to serve the
residents. A total of 99 surface parking
spaces are proposed to serve visitors and the commercial/retail uses.
Also proposed
is a 0.2 ha (0.5 ac) park block located at the northeast corner of the property
which is proposed to be conveyed to the Town to satisfy a portion of the
applicants’ parkland dedication requirements.
A site plan application in support of this proposal has not yet been
submitted.
Highway 48: 16th Avenue to Major Mackenzie Drive Urban Design Study
The Highway 48
Urban Design Study for the Markham Road
corridor between 16th Avenue
and Major Mackenzie Drive
was endorsed by Council in October 2005, and provides urban design and
development guidelines to be used in the evaluation of development applications
in the area. The vision for this corridor is to encourage a mixed-use,
pedestrian-oriented district that incorporates new forms and trends in
development that better support mixed retail and residential uses as well as
provide a community focus. These guidelines are intended to be implemented
progressively over many years as development and re-development proceeds. Hence, the purpose of the guidelines is to
steer development towards the vision of a high quality, mixed use and
pedestrian friendly district and to prevent undesirable built form and
developments that may preclude the long-term fulfillment of the Town’s vision
for this corridor.
A portion of
the subject land falls within the identified Avenue District (the street
frontage of the Castlemore Avenue
extension). This area is identified as a
key east-west linkage which joins the residential communities to the east and
west of Highway 48. Some key design
principles for the Avenue District include:
§
Pedestrian and cyclist friendly, urban mixed-use
streetscapes.
§
High quality design for all buildings and
facades to create a strong street relationship with a minimum height of 2-4
storeys.
The remainder
of the subject land falls within the Intensification and Future High Density
Residential District. The study
recognizes this area is currently industrial in character and provides for long
term redevelopment and intensification as a high density, residential node in
close proximity to the GO station, and with active street-oriented uses. Some of the key design principles for this
district call for:
§
High density development within close proximity
to the GO station with at least 2 leaseable floors within a mixed use
buildings.
§
Buildings are encouraged up to 8 – 12 storeys in
height at key gateway locations.
§
Step backs of upper floors above the 4th
storey to create an adequate transition to the street edge.
§
Minimum FSI of 1.0 should be achieved.
Town has Initiated Official Plan/Secondary Plan and
Zoning By-law Amendments to implement the Highway 48 Urban Design Study
On October 17, 2006, Development Services Committee
authorized staff to prepare Official Plan, Secondary Plan and Zoning By-law
amendments to implement the approved land use and urban design vision for the
Highway 48 corridor between 16th Avenue
and Major Mackenzie Drive,
as established in the Highway 48 Urban Design Study. On February
19, 2008, a meeting was held with landowners in the Highway 48
corridor to discuss the implications of the proposed amendments on their
properties and to receive their input. A
statutory public meeting was held on April
22, 2008.
It was staff’s intention to bring
forward a final recommendation report together with draft Official Plan and
Zoning By-law Amendments in the fall of 2008. However, as recently noted
at a Part A session of Development Services Committee, a significant number of
residential proposals have come forward in this corridor which involve
requested density increases and changes to the built form. To properly
address these changes, comprehensive transportation and servicing studies are
required for the entire corridor as well as the review of community services
such as schools and parks. These matters as well as developers group arrangements
need to be addressed in the Official Plan and Secondary plan amendments for the
area. Staff will continue with the
finalization of the process and necessary revisions to the draft Official Plan,
Zoning By-law amendments and site plan control application.
Moreover, as noted below, the
subject proposal involves an increase in density over and above what is
identified in the Official Plan. It is
staff’s recommendation that comprehensive traffic and servicing studies should
be completed in considering whether the proposed densities can be
supported. Staff has requested that the developers initiate comprehensive
traffic and servicing studies for the area, however the time frame for
completing these studies remains to be determined.
Site Plan Application has not been
submitted
The applicant
has not submitted a formal site plan application to be considered in conjunction
with the zoning amendment application, but have provided a conceptual site plan
for consideration (Figure 4). The
conceptual plan identifies a proposed park block at the north east corner of
the site, and the proposed 12 and 10 storey buildings would be situated close
to Highway 48/Markham Road and Anderson Avenue
to provide a defined street wall. The parking to serve the residents is
proposed underground, but some surface parking spaces are proposed to serve
visitors and the retail/commercial stores at grade. No conceptual elevations are available at
this time. Staff will request the
conceptual elevations to be made available for the future statutory public
meeting.
The Official Plan
The subject
lands are designated “Major Commercial Area” in the Town of Markham
Official Plan, as amended. This designation
provides opportunities for multi-use, multi-purpose centres offering a range of
retail, service, community, institutional and recreation uses serving a major
portion of the municipality and / or a broader regional market. It is intended to serve as an identifiable
destination for major shopping needs, recreation, entertainment and hospitality
uses. It is intended to accommodate
office development and medium and high density housing at appropriate
locations.
The applicant
is proposing a total of 624 units on this 2.06 hectare (5.1 acre) site. This results in a proposed density of 303 uph
(122.4 upa) and the development would have a Floor Space Index (F.S.I) of 2.86. The Town of Markham
Official Plan currently permits a maximum net density 148
uph (60 upa) as identified in the High Density II provisions.
The Town
initiated Draft OPA for the Markham Road Corridor also provides that the
subject lands shall be developed with higher density housing in accordance with
the current Official Plan (Revised 1987) policies for high density residential
development. Further, the Draft OPA
provides for a minimum building height of 4 storeys and a maximum of 8 storeys.
A minimum FSI of 1.0 is also provided
for at the intersection of Castlemore Avenue
and Markham Road, with
maximum height of 12 storeys. While no
maximum FSI is proposed in the Draft OPA for the Markham Road Corridor at this
time, the applicant is proposing an FSI of 2.86. An appropriate density for the development will
require further review.
In
addition, all buildings with frontage along Markham
Road are required to provide ground floor related
retail and commercial uses. It should be
noted that the Draft OP policies for the Markham Road Corridor are still
evolving.
Applicable Zoning Bylaw
The site is zoned Select
Industrial and Warehousing (MI) under By-law 88-76, as amended, and Commercial,
retail and residential uses are currently not permitted on the lands. A
zoning by-law amendment is required to accommodate the proposal.
The proposed zoning by-law
amendment does not comply with the current Official Plan (Revised 1987)
policies. However, this proposal will
bring the zoning by-law into conformity with the Draft Official Plan policies
for the Markham Road Corridor once the Draft OP has been finalized.
POTENTIAL BENEFITS OF THE PROPOSAL:
§
Is generally in keeping with and furthers the
vision of Urban Design Study for the area.
§
Provides high density residential development
within close proximity to the Mount Joy GO Transit station.
§
Provides alternative housing options for the
surrounding communities.
§
The applicant intends to comply with the
Sustainable Development Through LEED Program.
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, at a later date.
§
Assess the appropriate size and location of the
proposed park block.
§
The proposed development has an F.S.I. of 2.86
and a density of 303 units per hectare (122.4 units per acre) which exceeds the
High Density II provisions in the Official Plan. An appropriate density for the
development remains to be determined.
§
Comprehensive traffic and servicing studies for
the Markham Road corridor
from 16th Avenue
to Major Mackenzie Drive are
to be undertaken;
§
Ensure conformity with the Highway 48 Urban
Design Guidelines and the vision for the area.
§
The scale and massing of the buildings,
streetscape design and open space require further review by the Urban Design division.
§
Need to examine the integration of transit
supportive opportunities with the residential and mixed commercial-retail development
§
A site plan application is required.
ALIGMENT WITH
STRATEGIC PRIORITIES:
The application
needs to be considered in the context of the Town’s strategic priorities of
Growth Management and Transportation and Transit.
BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:
The
application has been circulated to various Town departments and external
agencies and is currently under review.
Requirements of the Town and external agencies will be reflected in the
preparation of the final report, if required.
CONCLUSIONS:
Staff recommend that a
statutory public meeting be held to consider the proposed Zoning By-law
amendment once comprehensive traffic and servicing studies for the Markham Road
corridor from 16th Avenue to Major Mackenzie Drive have been
submitted to staff’s satisfaction.
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:
