Report to: Development Services Committee Report Date:
SUBJECT: RECOMMENDATION
REPORT
Applications by Times Group Corporation for Zoning By-law
Amendment to permit 744 apartment units and 48 townhouse units (total 792
units) and Site Plan Approval for 432 apartment units and 24 Townhouse units
(total 456 units – Phase 1) on Blocks 49 and 50 Plan 65M-3226 in the
Leitchcroft Community (Files ZA 08 129082 and SC 07127148)
PREPARED BY:
RECOMMENDATION:
1)
THAT the report
dated June 16, 2009, entitled: “Recommendation Report: Applications by Times
Group Corporation for Zoning By-law Amendment to permit 744 apartment units and
48 townhouse units (total 792 units) and Site Plan Approval for 432 apartment
units and 24 Townhouse units (total 456 units – Phase 1) on part of Block 49
and Block 50 Plan 65M-3226 in the Leitchcroft Community (Files ZA 08 129082 and
SC 07127148)” be received;
2)
THAT Zoning
By-law Amendment application (ZA 08 116428) to amend By-law 177-96, as amended,
submitted by Times Group Corporation to permit 744 apartment units and 48
townhouse units (total 792 units) on part of Block 49 and Block 50 Plan
65M-3226, be approved and the draft Zoning By-law Amendment attached as
Appendix B to this report be finalized and enacted;
3)
THAT the
application for site plan approval submitted by Times Group Corporation (file
SC 07 127148) to permit 432 apartment units and 24 townhouse units (total 456
units – Phase 1) on part of Block 49 Plan 65M-3226 in the Leitchcroft Community
be endorsed in principle, subject to the conditions set out in Appendix A
attached to this report;
4)
THAT the owner
enter into an agreement not to pre-sell dwelling units in the Phase II portion
of the development, until servicing allocation has been granted to this phase;
5)
THAT site plan
approval be delegated to the Director of
6)
THAT Part 7 of
the draft reference plan attached as Appendix ‘C’ to this report be declared
surplus pursuant to Town of Markham By-law 178-96 and that notice of the
proposed disposition of such lands be placed on the agenda for the Council
Meeting on June 23, 2009;
7)
THAT a by-law be
enacted at a future Council meeting authorizing the Mayor and Clerk to execute
a Transfer of Land and other related documents for the completion of the above
conveyances in a form satisfactory to the Chief Administrative Officer and the
Town Solicitor;
8)
AND THAT Staff be
authorized and directed to do all things necessary to give effect to this
resolution.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
The subject lands are located
on the south side of
Pursuant to an OMB hearing
held in December 2004, the Leitchcroft Secondary Plan (OPA 41), as amended,
provides for the proposed number of dwelling units on the subject lands. As part of this OMB decision, By-law 177-96
also permits high density residential, but does not provide for the proposed
number of units. The OMB decision did
not address the number of units on these lands because there was no servicing
allocation available at the time of the hearing and there was no municipally-approved
protocol for pre-zoning high density residential sites without allocation. The intent at the time of the hearing was to
proceed with a zoning by-law amendment to permit additional units on the
subject lands, once servicing allocation had been granted and/or a protocol for
pre-zoning lands without servicing allocation, had been developed.
A Public Meeting was held on
This report recommends that a
zoning by-law amendment to permit 792 residential units on the subject lands be
approved. The draft zoning amendment
contains separate hold removal provisions for the Phase I and Phase II portions
of the development. Phase I is placed under
an H1 provision, which cannot be lifted until the applicant: provides a traffic
study which addresses traffic impacts and possible mitigation measures, to the
satisfaction of the Director of Engineering; completes a servicing study, to
the satisfaction of the Director of Engineering to address potential capacity
issues in the existing sanitary sewers serving the proposed development;
executes one or more Development Agreements with the Town regarding the
provision of servicing and/or transportation infrastructure if required; and
executes a “no-pre sale” agreement applying to the Phase II portion of the
development for which allocation has not yet been granted. The Phase II portion of the development has a
separate H2 provision, which cannot be lifted until servicing allocation for
Phase II has been granted.
The zoning by-law amendment
also addresses minor changes to the zone boundaries between the community park
and the subject site, as well as the need to adjust the boundaries on the west
side of the park to reflect the ultimate configuration of the park once the
applicant has conveyed additional land (as part of site plan approval) to bring
the park up to
The draft zoning by-law
amendment is set out in Appendix ‘B’ to this report.
The report also recommends
that site plan approval be granted subject to the conditions set out in
Appendix ‘A’ to this report. Staff are
generally satisfied with the Phase I site plan, subject to: completion of all required engineering
studies to the satisfaction of the Director of Engineering; submission of
revised site plans which reflect the agreed-upon revisions to the boundary between
the park and the subject lands and additional technical matters, as well as
agreed-upon revisions to the elevations of the townhouses fronting South Park
Road; dedication of the required land to complete the community park; and
submission of an appraisal report for calculation of cash in lieu of parkland
requirements.
PURPOSE:
The
purpose of this report is to discuss the applications for zoning by-law
amendment and site plan approval to permit the above-noted applications. The report concludes that the draft zoning
by-law amendment attached as Appendix “B” should be finalized and enacted and
the site plan application should be endorsed in principle, subject to the
conditions set out in Appendix “A”.
BACKGROUND:
Property and
Area Context
The subject lands are located on the south side of
South Park Road, east of a proposed community park and west of the Staybridge
Suites Hotel, on part of Block 49 and Block 50, Plan 65M-3226 in the
Leitchcroft Community (See Figure 4).
Surrounding uses include medium and high density residential to the
north, a long term stay hotel to the east, a proposed community park to the
west and the Highway 407 corridor to the south.
The site is currently vacant and contains no significant environmental
features.
Proposed
Development
The ultimate development (Phases 1 and 2) consists of
a mix of 3 storey townhouses arranged in six blocks fronting onto the south
side of South Park Road, and 5 high-rise residential towers (three 13 storey
towers and two 12 storey towers) located along the western boundary of the site
(overlooking the proposed community park to the west) and along the southern
boundary of the site adjacent to the Highway 407 corridor (see Figures 5 and
6). A total of 48 townhouse units and
744 apartment units (total 792 units) are proposed to be developed in two
phases as follows:
§
Phase 1 (Block 49
on the west side of the site): consists of 24 townhouse units fronting South
Park Road and 432 apartment units in 3 high rise towers (13 storeys each)
adjacent to the park and Highway 407 (total 456 units);
§
Phase 2 (Block 50
on the east side of the site): consists
of 24 Townhouse units fronting South Park Road and 312 apartment units in 2
high rise towers (12 storeys each) adjacent to Highway 407 (total 336 units).
The owner is requesting a zoning by-law amendment to
increase the unit cap in the zoning by-law to permit the full number of
residential units (phases 1 and 2) (see Figure 5). The owner has also submitted an application
for site plan approval for the Phase 1 portion of the development (see Figures
6 to 10). This report considers both
applications.
Existing
Official Plan and Zoning By-law provisions
The subject lands are designated Commercial and
Community Amenity Area by the Markham Official Plan (Revised 1987), as amended;
and Community Amenity Area – Mixed use by the Leitchcroft Secondary Plan (OPA
42), as amended by OPA 127. OPA 127 was
approved pursuant to an Ontario Municipal Board order dated
The Leitchcroft Secondary Plan, through the amendments
of OPA 127, provides for high density residential development, up to a total of
1,920 residential units, on the blocks bounded by Times Avenue, Saddlecreek
Drive, Highway 7 and South Park Road; and on the subject lands located south of
South Park Road (See Figure 4). To date,
1,128 high density residential units have been approved and built on the blocks
located between Times Avenue and
It is important to note that OPA 127 further specifies
that these lands can only be rezoned to permit additional residential units
once Council has assigned additional servicing allocation. At the time OPA 127 was approved, servicing
allocation was not available for Blocks 41, 42 and 43 or for Blocks 49 and 50
(the subject lands) (see Figure 4), nor was there an approved Town or Regional
process for pre-zoning high density residential lands prior to servicing
allocation being granted.
Concurrent with the approval of OPA 127, the OMB also
approved By-law 2005-03, which rezoned the subject lands to Community Amenity
Area One*38(H) [CA1*38(H)]. In
accordance with the provisions of OPA 127, that zoning by-law amendment
permitted high density residential uses on the subject lands, but capped the
number of residential units in the Community Amenity Area *38 zone to those
approved and allocated at the time of enactment. As a result, a further zoning by-law
amendment is now required to permit the additional residential units proposed
on the subject lands.
Public Meeting held on April 7, 2009
A
public meeting for the zoning by-law amendment application was held on
Traffic: concerns
were expressed about the speed of existing traffic in the community, the need
for more traffic controls at busy intersections and possible traffic congestion
arising from the proposed development.
In this regard, the applicant has been advised that he must prepare a
traffic study and address possible mitigation measures. The traffic study is currently being prepared
by the applicant. The draft zoning
by-law amendment will place a Hold provision over the Block 49 portion of the
site, which cannot be lifted until (among other matters), Town staff are satisfied
with the traffic study. As noted at the public meeting, Council recently passed
a resolution to install a traffic signal at
Open space: the
matter of the proposed community park on the south side of
Streetscaping along
Concerns about additional high
density residential development on the subject lands: Several
residents sent written submissions prior to the public meeting expressing
concerns about additional high density residential development on the subject
lands, and requesting that the application for zoning by-law amendment to
permit the additional units proposed on this site be refused (see Appendix
‘D’). However, as noted above, in 2004
the OMB approved an amendment to the Leitchcroft Secondary Plan that provides
for the requested residential units on the subject lands. At the same time, the OMB also approved a
Zoning By-law Amendment to permit high density residential uses, although
zoning permission for the additional units was not incorporated into the OMB
approvals for technical reasons, because servicing allocation was not available
at the time and the Town and the Region had not developed a protocol for
pre-zoning lands that did not have servicing allocation. The current proposed zoning by-law amendment
conforms with the Official Plan and Secondary Plan, and is consistent with
earlier OMB approvals.
DISCUSSION
Town of
During the fall of 2008, York Region and Markham
developed a procedure to allow for the pre-zoning of high density residential
development prior to servicing allocation.
The process is based on (H) Holding zone controls and the premise that
once site plan approval has been granted, building permits may be issued 18
months prior to completion of the required water and wastewater facilities,
based on the following provisions:
§
Use of holding
provisions in the Zoning By-law. Removal
of these H provisions can take place up to 18 months prior to completion of the
water and wastewater facilities required for confirmation of servicing
allocation. As the applicant is
proposing to proceed with the development in two phases, under separate
servicing allocation schedules, separate holding zone provisions will be
applied for the Phase 1 and Phase 2 portions of the site;
§
Confirmation from
York Region that the required infrastructure to accommodate these applications
will be completed by December 2010.
(Removal of holding zone provisions and site plan approval could
therefore occur as early as
Servicing
allocation is available for Phase I, but Phase II has only received a partial
allocation
Servicing allocation for this site has been derived
from the following sources:
§
18 units of real
allocation granted to the site several years ago;
§
a “Sustainable
Development Through LEED” servicing allocation credit of 213 apartment units,
that York Region recently granted to the Times Majestic Court high density
residential development in Markham Centre, which was redeployed to the subject
lands. These 213 apartment units are
equivalent to 24 townhouse units and 183.2 apartment units (note that this does
not total 213 units due to the higher persons per unit standard for townhouses
compared to apartment units). Of these
units, 24 townhouses and 131 apartments were allocated to the Phase I portion
of this development and 52.2 apartments were assigned to the future Phase II
portion of the development on Block 50.
§
132 units of 2011
Conditional Allocation were assigned in February 2008.
§
Finally it is
anticipated that a “Sustainable Development Through LEED” servicing allocation
credit of 151 units will be granted for the Phase 1 development on the subject
lands, which will be retained on this site.
§
The total number
of units assigned from the above noted sources totals 456 units.
As noted above, the Phase 2 portion of the development
has only been assigned servicing allocation for 52.2 units. As a result, staff recommends that the
applicant enter into an agreement not to pre-sell Phase II units until full
servicing allocation has been granted to Phase II. The “no pre-sale” agreement will be
registered on the title of Block 50. In
addition, the Phase II portion will be placed under Holding provisions in the
Zoning By-law amendment, with hold removal conditional on Council granting the
required servicing allocation to complete Phase II.
Traffic and
other engineering studies required
Engineering staff have advised the applicant that a
traffic study and municipal servicing studies must be submitted to staff’s
satisfaction in support of the proposed development.
As noted above, residents have also raised concerns
about trip generation from the proposed development and the need to explore
measures to control traffic speeds and the safety of intersections in the
surrounding community. In addition to
standard traffic counts, this traffic study should address opportunities to
slow traffic speeds in the community and improve safety at key intersections.
To date the traffic study has not been submitted by the applicant. As a result, the draft Zoning Amendment set
out in Appendix ‘B’ places a hold provision on the Phase 1 portion of the
development, which requires, among other matters, submission of a traffic study
to the Town’s satisfaction. The site
plan approval conditions set out in Appendix ‘A’ also require submission of a
satisfactory traffic study as a condition of endorsement.
Engineering staff have also requested a servicing
study as the design flows in the local sanitary sewer system on
The engineering department also requested submission
of a number of additional studies including noise impact, stormwater
management, grading plan, erosion and sediment control plan and geotechnical
review. These studies are under review
and must be finalized to the Town’s satisfaction prior to site plan
endorsement, by the Director of
A
combination of parkland conveyance and cash-in-lieu of parkland will be required
as a condition of the phase 1 site plan approval
Pursuant to the 2004 OMB hearing, the applicant and
the Town agreed that a community park, not less than 3.24 ha (8 acres) in area,
would be required for the Leitchcroft Community on the south side of South Park
Road, between Times Avenue and Saddlecreek Drive. In August 2005, the Town granted site plan
approval for a 413 unit high density residential development on Blocks 41, 42,
43 immediately north west of this site.
As a condition of the site plan approval, the applicant conveyed to the
Town the initial portion of this community park, consisting of a 2.39 ha (5.9
acre) parcel located immediately west of the subject development.
Conveyance of the remaining land for the community
park, in the order of 0.85 ha (2.1 acres) will be required as a condition of
site plan approval for Phase 1.
Additional cash-in-lieu of parkland will also be needed to meet the
required parkland dedication for this phase.
The ultimate configuration of this park is shown as Parts 3, 4 and 5 on
the draft reference plan attached as Appendix C. Further parkland dedication, in the form of a
cash-in-lieu payment, will be required as a condition of the future Phase 2
site plan approval.
Adjustments
to boundaries of the proposed community park required
When the first portion of the community park was
conveyed to the Town in 2005, the configuration of the Phase 1 site plan had
not been determined. Since then, the
Phase I site plan has been developed and refined, and a portion of westernmost
apartment block and underground garage will encroach into a small portion of
the parkland conveyed to the Town in 2005.
As a result, a land swap between the Town and the applicant will be
required: a small portion of the original parkland dedication will be returned
to the owner of the subject application (Part 7 on the draft reference plan
attached as Appendix ‘C’), and a small parcel of land within the original
boundaries of the Phase I development will be conveyed to the Town for parkland
purposes (Part 5 on the draft reference plan attached as Appendix ‘C’). A Council resolution, declaring the small
area of parkland that is to be conveyed back to the applicant as surplus, is
also required and has been incorporated into the recommendations of this
report.
Since, as noted above, the applicant will also be
required to complete the dedication of the full
Adjustments to the boundaries of the Open Space One
Zone, on both the east and west sides of the park, will be also required as a
result of these boundary adjustments. These changes have been incorporated into
the zoning by-law amendment attached to this report.
Staff are
satisfied with the proposed site plan for Phase I
The proposed site plan for the first phase of
development includes three 13 storey apartment towers (432 units) linked by 2
two storey podiums (containing lobbies and amenity space) aligned along the
community park (western) and Highway 407 (southern) boundary of the site, plus
24 townhouse units in three blocks, aligned along the southern frontage of
South Park Road (see Figure 6). All
resident and the majority of visitor parking will be underground, with a small
surface parking area associated with the internal driveways located between the
townhouses and the apartment towers.
The townhouses will front directly onto
Vehicular access will be provided at two driveway
entrances, one opposite the southern terminus of Times Avenue adjacent to the
park, and an eastern entrance at the boundary with Block 50. Pedestrian access will be provided between
the townhouse blocks and at the driveway entrances. A ten metre wide landscaped area between the
driveway and the north wall of the apartment building adjacent to the park will
provide a generous space for resident access to the park.
At the
Applicant
has agreed to revise the townhouse elevations
The bases of the high density residential blocks are defined by a
cultured stone material with the remainder of the building to be constructed of
face brick with some E.F.S. elements (pre-cast architectural panel) and
balconies with pre-finished aluminum railings with tinted glass covers.
The townhouses are constructed of similar
materials with cultured stone bases and predominantly brick facades.
Staff has requested changes to the roof configuration of the townhouse
blocks. Currently, the shed roof design does not create a strong
streetscape elevation. The consultant has agreed to redesign the roof to
create a gable end relationship to the street.
Staff are satisfied with the proposed elevations for
the apartment buildings and linking podiums.
Revised townhouse elevation drawings, to staff’s satisfaction, will be
required prior to endorsement of the site plan.
Proposed
site plan does not provide for minimum parking supply required by the Parking
By-law
The site plan proposes a total of 1291 parking spaces
over both phases, whereas By-law 28-97 (the Parking By-law) requires 1314
spaces. This represents a parking
reduction of 17.5%. Staff’s policy is to
require a parking justification study, when a proposed reduction in parking
supply exceeds 10%. The parking study
has not yet been submitted. As a result,
the draft zoning by-law does not amend parking standards applying to this
site. Revisions to the site plan to
accommodate the required number of parking spaces, or based on results of the
parking study, a variance to permit reduced parking, will be required prior to
endorsement of the site plan.
LEED certification
The Owner will be required to agree to attain a
minimum LEED silver accreditation for the proposed buildings and secure this
through the site plan agreement (Appendix ‘A’)
Solar
Thermal project proposed
The applicant has been working on a feasibility study
for an Integrated Solar Thermal Building Energy System on the subject
lands. The consultant’s final report was
submitted in June 2008. The applicant
has indicated that this project is not being considered for the Phase 1 portion
of the proposed condominium project.
Staff are seeking further clarification from the applicant regarding the
potential to implement this system as part of the Phase 2 portion of the
development.
CONCLUSION
Staff
recommends that the site plan be endorsed in principle, subject to the
conditions attached as Appendix ‘A’, and that the draft zoning by-law, attached
as Appendix ‘B’ be finalized and enacted.
FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS AND TEMPLATE: (external link)
There
are no financial considerations associated with this report.
HUMAN RESOURCES CONSIDERATIONS
There
are no Human Resources considerations associated with this report.
ALIGNMENT WITH STRATEGIC PRIORITIES:
The
proposed development supports several of the Town’s Strategic Priorities, as
follows:
Growth
Management - development represents intensification along a transit corridor.
Transportation/Transit - proposal
is for a higher density, transit oriented development.
Environment - development
will incorporate several innovative energy and water conservation techniques.
BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:
All relevant Town departments and external agencies
have been circulated and their comments will be incorporated into final
recommendations.
RECOMMENDED
BY: ________________________ ________________________
Biju Karumanchery M.C.I.P R.P.P. Jim Baird M.C.I.P R.P.P.
Senior
Commissioner of
Development Manager Development Services
ATTACHMENTS:
Figure
1 – Location Map
Figure
2 – Area Context/Zoning
Figure
3 – Air Photo
Figure
4 – Community Context
Figure
5 – Master Plan
Figure
6 – Phase 1 Site Plan
Figure
7 – Building A elevations
Figure
8 – Building B elevations
Figure
9 – Building C elevations
Figure
10 – Townhome elevations
Figure
11 – Colour renderings
Appendix
‘A’ – Conditions of Site Plan Approval
Appendix
‘B’ – Draft Zoning By-law Amendment
Appendix
‘C’ – Draft Reference Plan
Appendix ‘D’ – Submissions
received
\\MARKHAM.CA\APPS\AMANDADOCS\PLANNING\SAVEPATH\14557519002.DOC
APPLICANT: Times Group
Corporation
Attn: Hashem Ghadaki, President
330
Highway 7 Penthouse 3
AGENT: Malone
Given Parsons
Martin
Quarcoopome
P: 905-513-0170
F: 905-513-0177
Appendix A:
Conditions
of Site Plan Approval
1. THAT site plan approval shall lapse after a period of three
years commencing
2. THAT the site plan shall comply with the requirements of
By-law 177-96, as amended;
3. THAT prior to endorsement of the site plan, the Owner shall:
a) submit
an updated traffic study, to the satisfaction of the Director of Engineering,
to address trip generation associated with the proposed development and measures
to mitigate traffic speeds in the community and improve pedestrian safety at
key intersections. (Phase 1 and Phase 2);
b) submit
revisions to the following studies, if required, to the satisfaction of the
Director of Engineering:
o Servicing Study
(Flow Monitoring Study);
o Stormwater
Management Study;
o Site Servicing
Study;
o Grading plan;
o Erosion and
Sediment Control Plan;
o Noise Impact Study;
o Geotechnical Report.
c) submit
revised site plan and elevation drawings, to the satisfaction of the Director
of
o the staff-endorsed
realignment of the property line between the subject lands and the proposed
neighbourhood park to the west,
o revisions to the
alignment of the westerly driveway to avoid any encroachments into the proposed
neighbourhood park to the west;
o revisions to the
elevations of the proposed townhouse units fronting
o indication on the
site plan of the area of landscaped open space as a percentage of total lot
area;
o indication on the
site plan of the depth of the proposed porches of the townhouses fronting
o revisions to the
distance between the principle entrance to the apartment buildings and the fire
access route to ensure a minimum 3 m and maximum 15 m separation distance;
d) meet with the Fire Department to confirm the
location of Fire Department connections, private yard hydrants and fire access
route signs. The approved location of these
facilities will be shown on the revised site plan.
e) submit
a surveyor’s certificate certifying compliance with the maximum height
provisions applying to the subject lands, as set out in By-law 177-96, as
amended;
f) submit revised site plan that provides for
the required number of parking spaces as set out in By-law (parking by-law) or
alternatively, submit a parking justification study to the satisfaction of the
Director of
g) secure approval of the site plan from the
Ministry of Transportation.
4. THAT prior to execution of the site
plan agreement, the owner shall:
a) Dedicate
to the Town, free of all costs and encumbrances, a 8,851.3 m2 (2.19
ac) parcel on the western boundary of the proposed neighbourhood park, shown as
Part 3 on the attached draft reference plan;
b) Dedicate
to the Town, free of all costs and encumbrances, a 410.4 m2 (0.1 ac)
parcel on south east side of the proposed neighbourhood park, show as Part 5 on
the attached draft reference plan;
c) Enter
into a Development Agreement with the Town of Markham, to the satisfaction of
the Director of Engineering, addressing the construction and financing of
servicing infrastructure, as identified in the servicing study and road
improvements as identified in the traffic study, if required;
d) submit
a Landscape Plan and associated cost estimates, prepared by a Landscape
Architect having O.A.L.A. membership, to the satisfaction and approval of the
Director of
f) submit
an appraisal report for the subject lands for the purposes of calculating
cash-in-lieu of parkland;
e) secure
approval of a severance or part lot control exemption to adjust the property
lines between blocks 49 and 50 to reflect the revised boundaries of the Phase 1
development.
5. That the Site Plan Agreement shall:
a) provide
for payment by the Owner of all applicable fees, recoveries and development
charges;
b) contain
provisions for satisfying Town Departments including all requirements of the
Director of Engineering, the Fire Department, Waste Management and Roads;
c) contain a clause whereby the Owner agrees to attain LEED silver for the proposed
development and provide appropriate securities.