Report to: Development Services Committee Date Report: June 22, 2010
SUBJECT: Drive-through
Facilities Design Guidelines
File
No.: SD 03 016698
PREPARED BY: Sally
Campbell, Senior Planner – Urban Design
RECOMMENDATION:
1)
That the report entitled, `Drive-through Facilities
Design Guidelines, File No. SD 03 016698`, dated June 22, 2010, be received;
2)
That the guidelines presented in the Town of Markham Drive-through
Design Guidelines prepared by M. Behar Planning & Design Inc. be endorsed
in principle;
3)
That Staff have regard for the guidelines during their
review of development proposals and applications;
4)
That Staff continue to work towards bringing forward an
Official Plan Amendment and Town-wide Zoning By-law to provide a strong policy
basis for the Design Guidelines and to better regulate the location and design of
new drive-through facilities;
5)
And that Staff be authorized and directed to do all
things necessary to give effect to this resolution.
The purpose of
this report is to present the final draft of the Drive-through Design
Guidelines prepared by M. Behar Planning & Design Inc. (MBPD) in
consultation with Staff, members of the drive-through industry and their
representatives and local ratepayers associations.
The report seeks
the authorization of Committee to allow Staff to implement the Design
Guidelines, which will provide developers with a clear understanding of the
Town`s design requirements and expectations for drive-through facilities during
the preparation of proposals and during the review of development applications
involving drive-throughs.
The
Guidelines are also intended to provide the basis for the development of new
policy and zoning. Through this report
Staff request that Committee support the ongoing work
to bring forward an Official Plan Amendment that would provide the policy basis
for new zoning by-law provisions. These
zoning provisions are intended to provide clarity and certainty for the development
sector and businesses / residents of Markham regarding the Town`s preferred
location for drive-through facilities, what types of development applications
and approvals are required and details relating to setbacks, stacking lane
length and orientation, parking requirements etc.
In June 2008,
Committee received a presentation by Staff regarding concerns with respect to
drive-throughs, what other Municipalities have done and a possible strategy to
mitigate concerns. Following the
direction of Committee, Staff obtained a legal opinion regarding the likelihood
of success of a zoning by-law establishing a total prohibition on drive-through
facilities being upheld. A legal opinion
was sought and in a report to Committee in November 2008 Staff advised that the
Town not attempt a prohibition on all drive-throughs, but instead proceed with
preparing strong urban design guidelines and development standards to ensure
that pedestrian safety and streetscape considerations are not compromised, and
a more sustainable form of development achieved. These guidelines were to be accompanied by a
by-law that defined drive-throughs as a separate land use, prohibiting them
within specified areas and prescribing certain criteria, such as separation
distances, in areas where they may be permitted.
Staff was directed to report back to Development
Services Committee with recommendations regarding development standards and
urban design guidelines. The guidelines were anticipated to include
provisions to:
•
integrate operational elements of the site, e.g.
pedestrian, cyclist and motor vehicle movements;
•
enhance views from public streets and contribute to a
high quality public space;
•
create a safe and comfortable pedestrian and cyclist
environment; and
•
minimize impacts on
adjacent or nearby land uses.
The development standards were anticipated to include
provisions such as:
•
prohibit drive-throughs in specified zones e.g. zones
that permit residential uses;
• prohibit
drive-throughs within a certain distance of residential uses;
•
prohibit queuing lanes within certain distances of a
street; and
•
prohibit queuing
lanes between the building and the street.
M. Behar
Planning & Design Inc. (MBPD) was retained in August 2009 to undertake a
study to research current municipal practice and obtain stakeholder input, to prepare
a set of design guidelines for drive-through facilities and associated stacking
and parking areas; and, to inform and feed into the creation of an implementing
zoning by-law amendment to be prepared by Town Staff.
Following an
inception meeting with Staff, MBPD undertook the following stages during
research and development of the Guidelines:
Stage One
·
Analysis of existing applicable Markham planning
policy framework (including Provincial Policy and guidance)
·
Review of drive-through characteristics and impacts
·
Survey of Ontario Municipalities’ experiences with
drive-through facilities, including current policies, by-law provisions, design
guidelines and practices
·
Review of existing drive-through facilities within
Markham
·
Examination of areas within Markham where prohibiting
/ discouraging drive-throughs would be advantageous from a land use planning
and urban design standpoint.
Stage Two
·
Stakeholder Workshop (October 7, 2009). In addition to Town Staff, approximately 30
people attended representing various affiliations and professional expertise.
Stage Three
·
Preparation of Draft Guiding Principles and
Guidelines (October – November 2009)
·
Presentation to Development Services Committee Part A (December 2009).
Deputations from industry stakeholders revealed dissatisfaction with
some of the guidelines and the wording in the introductory sections relating to
perceived negative impacts of drive-through facilities.
Stage Four
·
Detailed discussions with members of the fast service
food industry and their representative to accommodate some of the operational
requirements and ensure a fair and balanced set of guidelines were produced
(meetings in March and May 2010)
·
Refinement and finalization of Guidelines for
presentation to Committee for endorsement.
Structure of the Guidelines document
The first
three sections provide background and an introduction to the study and to the
guidelines. These sections include
policy context, characteristics of drive-through facilities, issues and challenges
presented by this form of development and details of the public consultation
process, including the stakeholder’s workshop and ongoing consultation with
industry representatives. The Guidelines
are attached to this report as Appendix 1.
The Guidelines
themselves are arranged as follows (the number in brackets indicates the number
of separate guidelines under each heading):
·
Locational Criteria (1)
·
Site Size (3)
·
Relationship to Adjacent Uses (4)
·
Site Access, Vehicular and Pedestrian Traffic (7)
·
Stacking & Queuing (10)
·
Buildings and the Streetscape (13)
·
Landscaping, Signage and Lighting (14)
·
Servicing & Utilities (3)
The overall
intent of the guidelines is to assist in regulating the layout, built form and
appearance of drive-through facilities as well as to assist in mitigating any
adverse impacts. The guidelines will
provide direction during the pre-consultation and planning approval process to
promote, properly assess and achieve appropriate forms of drive-through
development.
Gas stations not included
During the
course of the study, stakeholders representing the petroleum sales industry raised
concerns that gas stations and their associated services present a different
set of locational and operational challenges.
Furthermore, at the meeting of Development Services Committee on
December 1, 2009 the matter of applying the guidelines to car wash facilities was
raised.
As a result, it is proposed that a
separate set of guidelines be prepared that can better respond to the unique
circumstances, including safety considerations, at gas stations whether these
have a drive-through food service component / car wash or not.
The location of auto related
development, which includes gas stations, is currently well regulated through existing
Official Plan policy and zoning; although some minor adjustment to current
development standards relating to set backs and location of stacking lanes may
be required. It is considered that
effective design guidelines for gas station developments will provide a useful
planning / design tool in the future and, while many of the basic design
principles applied to the other drive-throughs will apply to gas stations, some
specific guidelines will be adapted to respond to the operational constraints
prevalent at gas stations.
Staff will prepare these guidelines
in-house with a view to bringing these forward by the end of 2010/early 2011. The
Canadian Petroleum Products Institute and other stakeholders will continue to
be engaged in the process.
Official Plan Amendment
Staff plan to bring forward an Official Plan Amendment later in
the year, which will provide a strong policy basis for the ongoing
implementation of the Drive-through Guidelines as well as a foundation for new zoning
by-law provisions. It is not the intent
to regulate the location of drive-through development through the Official
Plan, but to provide certainty and clarity to the development sector and
Markham residents as to the Town`s expectations in terms of the type of development
application required for drive-through development proposals and general locational
considerations. Furthermore, identifying
drive-through facilities as a distinct and separate land use within the
Official Plan will assist in ensuring that this type of land use is afforded
careful attention as the Town works towards delivering intensification, mixed
land uses, and development.
Zoning By-law Amendment
During
preparation of the Official Plan Amendment noted above, Staff will also finalize
new zoning by-law regulations, which will provide development standards
informed by the guidelines. It is
intended that the Town-wide Zoning By-law relating to drive-through facilities
will regulate the following:
·
Zones / areas where drive-throughs are not permitted
·
Distance separation requirements between the
drive-through and any zone boundary where residential development is a
permitted use
·
Lot requirements – area, frontage
·
Number of drive-through facilities permitted on a lot
·
Length and location of stacking lane
·
Setbacks and width of landscape strips
·
Special Parking Standards
There are no financial implications to the Town at this
time.
Not
applicable.
Through the
implementation of endorsed Drive-through Design Guidelines Staff can work
towards achieving balanced, sustainable growth and creating policies related to
reducing car reliance, achieving safe-streets and protecting our air quality.
Planning
& Urban Design have been involved in the study and
development of the Guidelines and will be responsible for their implementation.
RECOMMENDED
BY: ________________________ ________________________
Biju
Karumanchery, M.C.I.P, R.P.P Jim
Baird, M.C.I.P, R.P.P
Senior
Development Manager Commissioner, Development
Services
Appendix 1 –
Town of Markham Drive-though Facilities Design Guidelines
Q:\Development\Planning\ZONING AND SPECIAL
PROJECTS\Drive Throughs\Design Guidelines\DSC June 22 Report.doc