Report to: Development Service Committee Report Date: June 15, 2010

SUBJECT: INFORMATION REPORT

Amendment to the Business Corridor category in all applicable Town Zoning By-laws

PREPARED BY: Stephen Kitagawa, Senior Planner – East District ext 2531

RECOMMENDATION:

1) That the report dated June 15, 2010, entitled “Information Report, Amendment to the Business Corridor category in all applicable Town Zoning By-laws” be received as information to the Public Meeting scheduled for June 15, 2010.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

Not applicable.

1. Purpose 2. Background 3. Discussion 4. Financial

5. Others (HR, Strategic, Affected Units) 6. Attachment(s)

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this report is to provide preliminary information regarding a Town initiated Zoning By-law amendment. The proposed amendment will have the affect of applying consistent zoning provisions across all applicable parent by-laws so that the zoning of all future lands added to the Business Corridor zone category will be consistent with the intent of the Official Plan. The proposed amendment will also address certain inadvertent zoning permissions granted since March 2005, following the introduction of more stringent policies in the Business Corridor Designation by OPA 132.

This report contains general information in regards to applicable Official Plan and other policies as well as other issues and the report should not be taken as staff’s opinion or recommendation.

BACKGROUND:

Basis of OPA 132

The “Business Corridor” designation is a sub-category of the primary “INDUSTRIAL” designation in the Official Plan. Business Corridor Area lands are intended for a mix of high quality business activities, primarily in corridors along major road frontages adjacent to industrial areas.

In March 2005, Official Plan Amendment 132 was adopted, and it was approved by the OMB in August 2005. The amendment refined the planned function of the Business Corridor Area designation to place a greater emphasis on accommodating the business and service needs of companies and employees as opposed to the general public. The OPA also reduced the maximum permitted gross floor area of any individual retail premise from 6000 m² to 1000 m² of gross floor area with the exception that computer retail and office supply stores may have a maximum gross floor area of 3000 m². In addition the amendment also addressed certain matters with regard to use permissions.

The amendment introduces stronger policies, brought forward to clarify that it was not the intent of the Business Corridor Area designation to accommodate larger format retail stores primarily serving the retail needs of the general public. These types of facilities are intended to locate in the Major Commercial Area or Retail Warehouse Area designations identified in the Official Plan. A summary of the differences between the original and new Business Corridor policies are listed below in Table 1.

Summary of BC Policy Differences (Table 1)
BC policies prior to OPA 132	BC policies following OPA 132
Retail uses, with individual premises having generally not less than 300 square metres of gross floor area;	Deleted
Institutional uses including government services compatible with and complementary to the planned function and policies of the category of designation, but not including places of worship	Institutional uses including government services compatible with and complementary to the planned function and policies of the category of designation;
Private schools pemitted	May be approved, but subject to the review of a specific development proposal and rezoning, pursuant to the provisions of the OP and any Secondary Plan.
Retail uses permitted within the Industrial (Business Corridor Area) shall generally be limited to individual premises having not more than 6,000 m² GFA (Subject to the review of a specific development proposal and rezoning).	Retail uses permitted within the Industrial (Business Corridor Area) shall be limited to individual premises having generally not less than 300 m² GFA and not more than 1,000 m² GFA with the exception of computer and office supply stores which may be up to a maximum of 3,000 m² GFA.
	Refined planned function of the BC designation to place a greater emphasis on accommodating the business and service needs of companies and employees. Retail uses are not intended to accommodate the needs of the general public as their primary function.

Amendment to Town’s By-laws to reflect OP policies

Since 2005, Planning staff have had regard for the new BC policies in discussions with prospective applicants and in review of development proposals.

However, it has come to staff’s attention that there are instances where lands designated BC in the Official Plan and zoned since 2005, and which were intended to be subject to the new policies, are covered by zoning provisions in the applicable parent by-law that reflect the previous BC permissions and not the new policy directive. In particular, 6 sites shown on Figure 1 have since 2005 been zoned BC under By-law 177-96, without amending the original 6000 m² maximum premise size permission in the BC zone provisions or the parent by-law. The zoning of the parent by-law (By-law 177-96) that affects these properties as well as all other applicable parent by-laws must be brought into conformity with the Official Plan policies to correct the inadvertent zoning permissions and to ensure that the zoning of all future lands added to the BC zone category reflect the revised policies of the Official Plan, as amended by OPA 132.

Authorization for Public Meeting

On April 13, 2010, a memorandum was forwarded seeking authorization from Development Services Committee to schedule the statutory Public Meeting for a Town initiated zoning amendment. This was to address certain inadvertent zoning (see discussion below) and to bring Business Corridor zone provisions in parent by-laws into conformity with the Official Plan. It was the understanding that an information report would be forwarded to Development Services Committee on the day of the Public Meeting. The Public Meeting for this proposed amendment is scheduled for June 15, 2010.

OPTIONS/ DISCUSSION:

Properties zoned prior to the approval of Official Plan Amendment 132 should retain existing zoning permissions

The majority (24) of the properties that are currently zoned Business Corridor, were zoned prior to the approval of OPA 132 and therefore, predate the new policy directive. Since the amending By-laws that affect these properties were enacted prior to the approval of the OPA, it is recommended that the proposed zoning amendment should not alter the existing zoning permissions or status of these properties. The proposed amendment should include a provision allowing the 24 properties to be subject to the Business Corridor zone provisions that were in place prior to the passing of OPA 132.

Properties zoned Business Corridor since March 2005 are intended to be subject to the new policies

Six properties (Figure 1) zoned Business Corridor since March 2005 are subject to zoning standards and use permissions that reflect the original Business Corridor policies, but were intended to be subject to the new Business Corridor policies. All 6 of the affected properties are located north of Elgin Mills, south of 19^th Avenue, west of Woodbine Avenue and east of Highway 404 and are governed by by-law 177-96, as amended. The lot areas of these parcels range from 0.56 ha (1.38 ac) to 3.63 ha (8.96 ac) and the lot frontages range from 30.67 m (100.91 ft) to 202.59 m (664.6 ft) (Table 2). The proposed amendment will reduce the maximum permitted gross floor area of any individual retail premise on these properties from 6,000 m² to 1,000 m² and address the changes in use permissions (Table 1). This will bring the 6 properties into conformity with the Official Plan.

Properties exempt (grandfathered) in Official Plan Amendment 132

Following the Public Meeting for OPA 132, three exceptions were incorporated into the proposed Official Plan Amendment to allow active applications to proceed without being affected by the Amendment. Since that time, one of the properties was rezoned to Business Corridor and is currently being developed with a shopping centre anchored by a Walmart. A second property was redesignated and rezoned to Major Commercial following an OMB hearing in December 2005. The lands are not yet developed. The remaining property is not currently zoned, but is exempted from the provisions of OPA 132.

CONCERNS AND ISSUES TO BE RESOLVED:

Not applicable.

FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS AND TEMPLATE: (external link)

Not applicable.

HUMAN RESOURCES CONSIDERATIONS

Not applicable.

ALIGNMENT WITH STRATEGIC PRIORITIES:

The proposed amendment will align with the strategic priority of Growth Management by bringing the Town’s By-laws into conformity with the employment policies of the Official Plan.

BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:

Staff will consult with the appropriate departments any of their requirements will be reflected in a future recommendation report, if necessary.

Biju Karumanchery, M.C.I.P.,R.P.P. Jim Baird, M.C.I.P.,R.P.P.

Senior Development Manager Commissioner of Development Services

ATTACHMENTS:

Figure 1- Properties with Original Business Corridor Provisions (Enacted Following the Approval of the OPA)

Q:\Development\Planning\Official Plan Amendments\Information Report to DSC 061510.doc

Lot Area and Lot Frontage (Table 2)
	Lot Area	Lot Frontage
Parcel 1	0.56 ha (1.38 ac)	30.76 m (100.91 ft)
Parcel 2	2.59 ha (6.39 ac)	202.59 m (664.6 ft)
Parcel 3	2.54 ha (6.27ac)	126.23 m (414.14 ft)
Parcel 4	1.38 ha (3.40 ac)	108.15 m (354.82 ft)
Parcel 5	2.0 ha (4.94 ac)	42.52 m (139.50 ft)
Parcel 6	3.63 ha (8.96 ac)	132.58 m (434.97 ft)