Report to: Development Services Committee Report Date:
SUBJECT: STATUS UPDATE
Shops
on Steeles Redevelopment Proposal
Application for Official
Plan (Secondary Plan) Amendment.
File No.: OP 07 130802
PREPARED BY: Sally Campbell, Senior Planner – Zoning & Special Projects
RECOMMENDATION:
1) THAT the report entitled “ Status Update, Shops on Steeles Redevelopment Proposal, Application for Official Plan (Secondary Plan) Amendment, 2900 Steeles Avenue East, File No.: OP 07 130802” be received;
2)
AND THAT a Public Meeting be held to consider the
Official Plan Amendment submitted by Bayview Summit Development Ltd., which
seeks to permit a full range of retail, service
commercial and office uses as well as high density residential uses at the
property municipally known as 2900 Steeles Avenue East;
3) AND THAT the resident Working Group (established in May 2008 to provide input from local residents, relay information back to the community and explore urban design and development principles) continue to meet for the balance of the Official Plan Amendment application process;
4) AND THAT Staff be authorized and directed to do all things necessary to give effect to this resolution.
In October 2007 Bayview Summit
Development Limited made an application for an Official Plan Amendment to
permit a mixed-use retail, office and residential development on the subject property. The project was previously referred to as
Markhamgate Summit, but has reverted to the property’s original name of Shops
on Steeles. An application for a Zoning
By-law Amendment was submitted to implement the proposed Official Plan
Amendment; however, the applicant has requested that this application be held
in abeyance until the Official Plan Amendment application has been dealt
with. Following a series of meetings
with the applicant, Town staff and the Working Group held over the past two
years, which are detailed below, a revised Official Plan Amendment application
was formally resubmitted on
The applicant has generally been receptive to comments from
staff and from the Working Group and the revised masterplan concept starts to
address several critical elements of function, layout and design. For instance, the internal street grid
pattern has been improved to provide small development blocks and better permeability. Residential units have been provided across
the site and fronting Don Mills Road and
The outstanding matters that staff continue to address with the applicant relate to achieving an appropriate development density for the site given the local character and context; the height of the residential point towers and the need to create an acceptable transition in built form between the proposed development and existing neighbouring residential areas; reinforcing the retail function of the internal main street to create a vibrant pedestrian-oriented shopping/commercial environment; providing good connectivity with the existing communities to the south and west (pedestrian connections to the residential area to the north are provided); providing an appropriate amount of open space available for use by the existing community visiting the development and new residents / tenants; committing to the provision of sustainable development practices, including LEED, FLAP, transit-oriented development, traffic demand management; and, agreeing to an appropriate provision of affordable and special needs housing.
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this report is to:
a)advise members of the Development Services Committee of the ongoing work and negotiations that have taken place over the past 2 years;
b) introduce the revised redevelopment masterplan concept that has been submitted by the applicant as well as summarize the prevalent issues for consideration;
c)seek authorization to hold a statutory Public Meeting; and
d) reaffirm the ongoing role of the Working Group in the application process.
BACKGROUND:
Area Context
The subject
property is approximately 7.1 hectares (17.7 acres) in area and is located on
the northeast corner of
The subject
lands are bounded by the following uses:
·
To
the north and west are low density residential homes;
·
To
the south, across Steeles Avenue East in the City of Toronto are townhouses and
six-storey apartment buildings; and,
·
Highway
404 to the east and employment uses beyond.
Existing Uses
The site, which is zoned Community
Commercial and designated Major Commercial Area in the Official Plan, currently
supports a shopping centre, three additional commercial buildings on pads
located adjacent to
The subject site is currently
served by three access driveways. Two
are located along
Initial Official Plan Amendment Application
The intent of the initial Official Plan Amendment application submitted in October 2007 was to gradually phase the redevelopment of the existing mall and provide a comprehensively planned, mixed use development with a balanced mix of retail, office and residential. The general concept of the proposal was inspired by a Lifestyle Shopping Centre model that favours an unenclosed main street shopping experience and steers away from the automobile oriented suburban mall.
The applicant originally proposed 18,990 m2 (204,410 ft2) of retail space and 2,617 m2 (28,169ft2) of office space along a central shopping street running east/west through the subject site, with additional retail space extending along the two entrance streets from Steeles Avenue East.
The residential component was to comprise a gross floor area of approximately 157, 948 m2 (1,700,199 ft2) and contained in 2,057 units. Seven, mid to high rise buildings ranging from 10 to 32 storeys in height were proposed on the periphery of the subject site with the taller buildings proposed on the eastern portion of the site. The overall proposed floor space index was 2.5. In addition to the process chronology provided below the table attached at Figure No. 8 illustrates the evolution of the development proposal in terms of revisions to gross floor area, floor space index and building heights that have been made over the course of the application.
Chronology
The following list summarizes key events of the past two years:
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
A series of meetings were held with applicant
and the Working Group, as follows:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
·
Staff met with the applicant, architect and
planning consultant team several times during the early part of 2009 to discuss
the proposed master plan concept submitted in support of the Official Plan and
Zoning By-law Amendment application.
·
July 2009 – staff provide status update to
working group members.
·
August 2009 – revised applications were
submitted. However, the detailed
proposal and master plan concept did not sufficiently reflect past discussions
and directions. Therefore, with the
support of the Ward Councillor, further talks with the applicant and project
architect took place.
·
Staff have reaffirmed redevelopment principles
Throughout discussions with the
applicant over the course of the past two years, during which a number of
alternative masterplan concepts have been reviewed, staff have presented the
key principles considered vital to the successful redevelopment of the subject
site. With specific reference to the
masterplan concept, these principles include appropriate scale of
intensification (density), contextual building height, at-grade retail to frame
streets, incorporating retail/commercial uses at the base of residential
buildings, redeploying residential density across the site, appropriate
transition in heights across the site in relation to adjoining neighbourhoods,
pedestrian connectivity and comfort through exemplary public realm design and
minimized surface parking lots. These
and other prominent issues will be discussed later in this report.
The current redevelopment proposal
As noted above, a revised Official
Plan Amendment application with supporting masterplan concept and technical
study addenda was submitted on
The main focus of the proposed
development, as set out in the
Retail
The total proposed retail gross
floor area is 22,736 square metres (244,728sq.ft) and includes the existing two
storey Sears Canada Outlet store, which will be renovated to include a new
relocated food store, an enlarged relocated drug store with potentially an
associated medical clinic, and new retail uses proposed to occupy the second
storey.
Retail uses are also proposed in
the ground floors of buildings situated along
Office
The total proposed office space is
8,928 square metres (96,100sq.ft), which is an increase of 2,829 square metres
(30,451sq.ft) to the existing amount of leasable office space. The proposed redevelopment also includes
potential for community amenity space on site, with current consideration for
the provision of approximately 930 square metres (10,000sq.ft) of space, the
location and details of which have not yet been determined. A portion of the proposed office space (5,227
square metres (56,267sq.ft)) is to be located in a future phase where the gas
station is currently located.
Residential
Five high-rise residential point
towers are proposed ranging in height from 18 to 32 storeys on the eastern portion
of the site closer to the Highway 404 /
A portion of residential units
would be provided above retail / commercial ground floor space facing
The number of residential units is
estimated at 1,787, which was arrived at using an estimated average unit size
of 81.5 square metres (877sq.ft). The
A table summarizing the site
statistics of the latest application compared to the existing situation is
attached as Figure No.6. The chart
attached as Figure No. 8 indicates the evolution of the application since the
original submission and the key components of the latest proposed development
are illustrated on the masterplan concept submitted in support of the
application, which is attached as Figure No.4.
Traffic and Parking
The Traffic Impact Study (TIS)
dated August 2009 and the addendum thereto concludes that the projected traffic
volumes associated with the redevelopment proposal can be satisfactorily
accommodated by the boundary road network and intersections. Other than minor traffic signal timing
improvements no roadway or intersection improvements are proposed. Markham Transportation staff are currently
reviewing the TIS.
The proposal provides a total of
1,968 residential parking spaces and 983 non-residential spaces. The Parking Assessment submitted as part of
the TIS asserts that the site is in an excellent location with frequent transit
service, which supports other non-automotive modes of transportation, with
future plans to introduce higher-order transit on
In this regard, the Regional
Transportation Plan that was adopted by Metrolinx in November 2008 includes a
Light Rail Transit (LRT) line in the
A Class Environmental Assessment for the Don Mills / Leslie Street LRT project commenced in 2007 and according to a recent Viva update the Environmental Project Report is temporarily on hold pending input from local municipalities.
The Metrolinx RTP 16 to 25 year
plan identifies
The Parking Assessment provides a
comparison of the Town’s requirements, (Parking Standards By-law 28-97) with
those of the City of
Residential – 1,968 total spaces
provided below grade (rate of 1.1 spaces per unit).
Non-residential – 983
spaces provided:
199
– existing Sears store roof parking
114 – proposed parking structure
roof
320
– within proposed parking structure
153
– split between three surface parking lots
50
– on-street space
147
– below grade
983
In earlier discussions staff advised that, given the mixed-use nature of proposal and the aim to provide transit-oriented development, there may be a logic in applying similar parking requirements as applied in Markham Centre. In this regard the proposed parking compares with the Markham Centre requirements, as set out in the chart below. Applying the Markham Centre parking requirements for supermarkets would result in a reduction of 75 parking spaces to the current proposed parking numbers.
|
Use |
|
Shops
on Steeles Proposed Parking |
|
Residential |
1.2 spaces per
unit (incl. visitor) |
1.1 spaces per
unit (incl. visitor) |
|
Retail |
1 space per 30
m2 net floor area |
1 space per 30
m2 net floor area |
|
Supermarket |
1 space per 30
m2 net floor area |
1 space per 18
m2 net floor area |
|
Office |
1 space per 37
m2 net floor area |
1 space per 37
m2 net floor area |
Open Space and Public Realm
An area of open space is proposed
towards the eastern portion of the development site. The masterplan concept shows a park of 4,422
square metres (1 acre) built at grade over structured parking. The park will be publicly accessible;
however, the future ownership, maintenance and parkland credit arrangements
have not yet been determined.
All vehicular routes within the
development have sidewalks on both sides of the driveway. Key pedestrian connections are between five
and eight metres wide (16 to 26 ft) with street trees and enhanced
plantings. Two existing pedestrian
connections to the north will be maintained and enhanced. The private streets will be publicly
accessible and designed to resemble a public street system.
OPTIONS/ DISCUSSION:
The following section of this report sets out the main issues for consideration during the course of the application process. These issues have been communicated to the applicants and their consultant team since the first submission. The revised masterplan concept submitted has responded in part to some of the matters raised.
No servicing allocation is available for the residential proposal
The residential portion of this
application has not yet received servicing allocation. The Town has received a servicing allocation
request from the applicant’s agent, and the Town will consider this when York
Region provides servicing allocation to the Town for 2013 and beyond.
Within the context of the Region of York’s Intensification Matrix Framework, as confirmed by the Regional Official Plan (adopted by Regional Council on December 16, 2009 and by the Town’s Intensification Strategy), Markham’s GMS recognizes the subject site for potential intensification under the Town’s Major Corridor category. In relation to the Region’s Intensification Matrix Framework the Major Corridor category is consistent with the Regional Corridor group of intensification areas.
Within the Regional Official Plan hierarchy of identified intensification areas:
· Regional Centres shall generally achieve a minimum density of 2.5 FSI per development block (3.5 FSI adjacent to the Langstaff/Longbridge Station on the Yonge Subway Extension).
· Regional Corridors - for lands adjacent to other rapid transit stations and/or other select areas an appropriate FSI per development block shall be determined by the local municipality, in consideration of community character and context.
The subject lands fall within lands adjacent to other rapid transit stations and/or select areas identified above. The current submission indicates a density of 2.5 FSI, the majority of which (1.6) is attributed to the proposed high-rise residential buildings. Town staff will review the potential impact of the density proposed in relation to the Regional Official Plan Intensification Matrix, the Town’s Growth Management Study exercise for identified intensification areas, and local area context in relation to existing and planned transportation infrastructure. We will continue to work with the applicant and stakeholders to determine the appropriate density in this specific context.
Redevelopment of the site must be phased and linked to delivery of
rapid transit
It was suggested to the applicant
that residential units should be included in earlier phases to improve the mix
of uses on the site and support rapid transit use. The current proposal has responded to this
request and some residential units are proposed as early as phase 2 and 3 of a
total of 7 phases. A breakdown of the
phasing is provided at Fig. No.6.
Mix and affordability of residential units
There
is potential for the proposed development to deliver some residential units for
moderate and low income households and for those with particular housing
needs. Any future provision as part of
the proposal will be informed by the Affordable and Special Needs Housing
Strategy that is currently being prepared.
This strategy will inform growth management practices based on creating
sustainable, healthy and complete communities and will determine specific
community needs and requirements, as well as actions necessary to implement
affordable and special needs housing initiatives.
Application of Section 37 of the Planning
Act
Depending on phasing
and the amount of intensification deemed appropriate, the Town will discuss
with the applicant the provision of community benefits associated with increases
in height and/or density.
Sustainable practices
The
Built Form
A key principle of successful
intensification is achieving an appropriate transition of built form, both in
terms of the relationship of new building to adjacent areas and the general
relationship of existing and proposed buildings, across the development site.
Relationship with surrounding
residential areas
The relationship between the proposed
development (in particular the proposed high-rise residential point towers) and
the existing surrounding neighbourhoods has been raised as a concern throughout
the course of the discussions and working group meetings.
The Yonge Steeles Corridor Study report and guidelines, dated September 2008, provides sound principles of graduation of height and density which can, where appropriate, be applied to other redevelopment proposals and identified intensification areas. The Town is also currently undertaking a comprehensive Built Form, Massing and Height Study, to be applied to all of the Town’s future intensification areas. The proposal submitted by the applicant proposes a 45 degree angular plane (1:1) measured from the building face of the nearest residential property to the closest proposed residential building. An example of the applicants’ proposed angular plane measured from adjacent properties to the north of the application site is illustrated at Fig. No.7.
The merit of applying an “angular plane”, and different approaches to measuring angular planes (e.g. the Yonge Steeles Study recommends a 1:2 angular plane for the study area), needs to be considered. The recommendations of the Town’s current Built Form Study are anticipated to come forward to DSC in April 2010, and should be applied to the subject application.
Staff will continue to work with the
applicant with regard to applying an appropriate angular plane to create a
comfortable transition in the built form that respects the character of the
neighbouring residential areas and minimizes adverse impacts, such as
overshadowing and visual amenity.
Transition across the site
The proposed built form ranges between
2 and 8 storeys across the majority of the site, from west to east. At a point adjacent to the existing
signalized intersection on
The proposal has responded, in part,
to requests from staff and the Ward Councillor to increase building height
across the
Grid street pattern
It is important that the new street
pattern within the site can evolve over time in order that certain blocks can
be more easily redeveloped in the future as buildings or functions become
obsolete. The ideal minimum block size is
approximately 80 metres by 80 metres (260ft x 260ft) and the proposal does
illustrate a strengthened pattern of streets and blocks that responds to this
design objective.
Retail
It is important that the future
development presents a strong built edge facing
For this reason it is considered appropriate to strengthen the retail function of the main east west internal street by incorporating additional retail frontages along the south side of this street. This will create a more comfortable and safe pedestrian setting, encouraging people to walk between stores rather than drive, and will better support the viability of stores and businesses.
At the detailed zoning and site plan
stages of this redevelopment project the applicant will be asked to demonstrate
a more robust retail main street, which will require a different treatment or relocation
of ramps serving the underground parking garages and provision of street
related retail. This can be achieved
through zoning provisions in the future that require a minimum percentage of
the street to be framed by a building edge.
Staff will continue to pursue this objective through discussions with
the applicant.
Status of masterplan
concept
The masterplan concept submitted in support of the Official
Plan Amendment application allows Town staff, local residents and decision
makers to properly assess the potential function, built form and impacts
resulting from the proposed change to the Official Plan designation for the
subject site. This will ensure that a
clear vision for the redevelopment of the site is well articulated in the
Official Plan Amendment in order that future zoning provisions can be crafted
to reflect the vision that will lead to good site plan applications in the
future.
The master plan concept, dated
Working
Group
The chronology provided earlier in
this report sets out the topics discussed by the Working Group, and minutes
from each Working Group Meeting have been kept.
The repeated concerns from the
Working Group relate to height and density of the residential component,
traffic impact, pedestrian priority, open space provision and ensuring an
attractive and accessible retail environment that will be viable.
It is proposed that future Working
Group meetings will be convened to review the current revised proposal, the
first of which will take place prior to the Statutory Public Meeting. The number and frequency of future meetings
will be finalized by staff in consultation with the group and Ward Councillor.
Next Steps
It is proposed that a Working Group meeting take place within a few weeks from the date of this report and prior to the Statutory Public Meeting (April target).
Staff continue to receive formal
comments from external agencies, including the Region of York, which is the
approval authority for this Official Plan Amendment and the City of
FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS AND TEMPLATE: (external link)
Not applicable at this time.
HUMAN
RESOURCES CONSIDERATIONS
Not applicable
ALIGNMENT WITH STRATEGIC PRIORITIES:
Subject to revisions, the proposal
presents a potentially beneficial redevelopment and intensification project in accord
with the Town’s Growth Management objectives (transit oriented development,
mixed use, sustainability initiatives, development phasing).
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,
Services
ATTACHMENTS:
Figure 1 – Location Map
Figure 2 – Area Context and Zoning
Figure 3 – Air Photo
Figure 4 – Masterplan Concept
Figure 5 – Three Dimensional View
Figure 6 – Site Statistics &
Phasing
Figure 7 – Cross Section
Figure 8 – Site Statistics from October 2007 – December 2009
Appendix A – Working Group terms
of Reference
File path:
Amanda\File 07 130802\Documents\Update Report