Report to: Development Services Committee Report Date: June 22, 2010
SUBJECT: RECOMMENDATION
REPORT
Marander Montessori School
Zoning
By-law Amendment and Site Plan Amendment applications to permit a private
school in addition to an existing daycare facility at 5906 16th
Avenue
File
Nos. ZA 08-114478 and SC 08-124294
PREPARED BY: Edward
Mak, Planner, extension 8230
RECOMMENDATION:
1) That the report entitled
“RECOMMENDATION REPORT, Marander Montessori School, Zoning
By-law Amendment and Site Plan Amendment applications to permit a private
school in addition to an existing daycare facility at 5906 16th Avenue, File
Nos. ZA 08-114478 and SC 08-124294”, dated June 22, 2010 be received;
2) That the application submitted by Marander Montessori School to amend Zoning By-law 1229, as
amended, be approved, and the draft by-law attached as Appendix ‘A’, be
finalized and enacted without further notice;
3) That the site plan amendment
application (SC 08-124924) submitted by Marander
Montessori School to permit a private school in addition to the daycare
facility at 5906 16th Avenue be endorsed in principle, subject to
the conditions set out in Appendix ‘B’ to this report;
4) That site plan approval be delegated
to the Director of Planning and Urban Design or designate, to be issued
following execution of a site plan agreement.
Site plan approval is issued only when the Director or designate has
signed the site plan;
5) And that Staff be authorized and
directed to do all things necessary to give effect to this resolution.
PURPOSE:
The purpose
of this report is to recommend approval of the zoning by-law amendment and site
plan for a private school and daycare facility within existing buildings at
5906 16th Avenue.
Property and Area Context
The subject site
is approximately 0.39 hectares (0.97 acres) in area and is located on the north
side of 16th Avenue between Highway 48 and Heritage Corners Lane
(see Figure 1). A
daycare facility which services a maximum of 40 children occupies a converted
dwelling on the western portion of the site, which connects through a canopy to
a vacant building (former garage) occupying the eastern portion of the
site. The site is vegetated with mature
growth along the north, east and west property lines in addition to a mature tree
located in the front yard. There are no
other natural features on the site.
To the north and
west of the property are portions of the Heritage Estates subdivision. East of the property is the Rouge Valley
senior’s residence. South of the
property, across 16th Avenue, are residential lots backing onto 16th
Avenue (Figures 2 and 3).
Revised proposal to remodel vacant building with an
addition for a private school
The original application submitted in
2008 proposed a 774 m2 building expansion to accommodate a 130-student
private school, in addition to the existing daycare facility. The application has since been revised to reduce
the proposed private school to 48 students. Half of the additional 48 students
are proposed to be accommodated in a classroom in the remodelled 142 m2
vacant building, with the other half accommodated in a classroom in a future 83
m2 addition to the rear of the building (Figure 6).
The owner intends to operate the
existing daycare and the proposed private school as one facility extending the
service age range to children up to grade 3.
The existing canopy connecting to the daycare facility will be
maintained to provide weather protection for children traveling between the two
buildings. The existing building
footprint will be maintained with windows replaced or enlarged,
and exterior siding is proposed to be replaced to match the existing daycare
building exterior.
Two existing driveway accesses from
16th Avenue will be retained, but narrowed. A total of 19 parking spaces, including 4
spaces required for the future private school expansion, are proposed on site
in accordance with the Town’s parking requirements.
Official Plan designation and applicable Zoning By-law
The Official
Plan, as amended, designates the lands as Urban Residential. Official Plan Amendment 102, which was
tailored for the current use in 2003, provides for daycare and private
elementary school uses.
The site is zoned ‘Institutional’ under
By-law 1229, as amended, with a site-specific amendment that restricts the use
on the property to one day nursery licensed for not more than 40 children. The by-law also provided site specific
development standards, including a reduction in the required number of parking
spaces. The draft zoning amendment
attached as Appendix ‘A’ provides for the existing daycare permissions and a
private school with a maximum capacity of 48 students for a total of 88
students/children.
Site plan and building elevations are acceptable
The proposed site plan is considered
acceptable. The parking area has been
reconfigured to provide additional parking spaces along the eastern portion of
the property. Additional landscaping is
provided on site and along 16th Avenue to enhance the abutting
streetscape. A walkway has been provided
to enable a safe and direct pedestrian connection from the sidewalk into the
buildings. Although the two existing
driveway accesses are being maintained, driveway widths will be narrowed to 6
metres each and with directional restrictions (one-in/one-out) to improve the
on-site traffic circulation patterns.
The proposed elevations of the
remodelled vacant building are complementary to the existing daycare building
with matching materials and colours. The
two garage doors in the vacant building will be replaced with windows to improve
the building appearance and provide a more appropriate relationship to the adjacent
structure.
Issues
identified at public meeting have been addressed
On October 21, 2008 a statutory Public
Meeting was held to obtain public input with respect to the proposed zoning by-law
amendment application for the subject site.
Four written submissions were received
together with three deputations voicing concerns with respect to the
appropriateness of the 130 student private school proposal, traffic generated
and potential queuing of vehicles on 16th Avenue, accidents stemming
from high speed limit and poor sightlines on 16th Avenue, request
for traffic light installation at this location, vehicles using Heritage
Corners Lane for drop-off and parking, and noise from increased children’s
playground usage. These matters have
been addressed below.
Scale of proposal has been reduced
Since the Public
Meeting in October 2008, the applicant has substantially reduced the capacity
of the private school proposal from 130 students to 48 students, thereby
reducing potential impacts of the proposed development on the surrounding area. The revised proposal is appropriate and will
function in a scale that is compatible with the existing daycare and
surrounding residential neighbourhood.
Traffic
study accepted by York Region
Concern was expressed by members of
the public and Committee that the proposed development would intensify existing
traffic issues in the vicinity of the property.
The applicant submitted a traffic impact study indicating that the
proposed private school containing 48 students will generate 23 additional
vehicular trips in the A.M. peak and 14 additional vehicular trips in the P.M.
peak. The report notes that there is no
conflict between the storage requirement for left turns at the Stone Quarry
Drive intersection and the left turning vehicles into the subject
property. It concluded that the traffic volume
generated by the proposal will have negligible impact on 16th Avenue
traffic, although increased delays exiting the site will be experienced. The reconfigured driveways provide for a
separate left turn lane exiting the site, which will prevent any delays in left
turns from the site from affecting site circulation. This report has been
reviewed and accepted by York Region Transportation Services. York Region has not identified any concerns regarding
sightlines on 16th Avenue nor requested traffic signal installation as
a condition of approval for the proposed development. The current speed limit on 16th
Avenue is 70 km/h, however, as part of the Region’s program to lower driving
speeds in urban transition areas speed limit reduction to 60 km/h is being
considered.
Sufficient
parking provided
The proposed development will provide
19 parking spaces, in accordance with the Town’s parking requirements. The expanded parking area will serve both the
existing 2-classroom 40-student daycare and the proposed private school
(including future classroom expansion) with 48 students. Given sufficient parking provided on site and
accessibility in and out of the property, staff are of
the opinion that overflow parking and school drop-off traffic on adjacent
streets will be averted.
Noise
from increased playground usage
The applicant advises that noise
levels from the children’s playground will remain similar to existing
conditions as staff is required to monitor the safety
of the children in controlled groups.
Therefore a similar number of children will be in the playground at any
particular time, but groups will be scheduled into separate time
slots/recesses.
FINANCIAL TEMPLATE (external link):
Not
applicable.
Not
applicable.
ALIGNMENT WITH STRATEGIC PRIORITIES:
The proposed daycare
and private school facility aligns with the strategic focus of Growth
Management, Transportation/Transit, and Environment by providing the following:
Growth Management
Transportation/Transit
Environment
BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:
All
requirements of the Town and external agencies have been reflected in the
preparation of this report and conditions of approval.
CONCLUSIONS:
Staff recommend that the draft Zoning By-law Amendment attached as
Appendix ‘A’ be finalized and enacted. Staff are also satisfied with the proposed site plan and
elevations and recommend that they be endorsed in principle subject to matters
outlined in this report and conditions attached in Appendix ‘B’.
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
ATTACHMENTS:
Figure 1 – Location Map
Figure 2 – Area Context and Zoning
Figure 3 – Air Photo 2009
Figure 4 – Proposed Site Plan
Figure 5 – Proposed Elevations (phase 1)
Figure 6 – Proposed Elevations (phase 2)
Appendix ‘A’ – Draft Zoning By-law Amendment (1229)
Appendix ‘B’ – Recommended Site Plan Conditions
APPLICANT: Margaret
Lee
Marander Montessori School
5906
16th Avenue
Markham
Ontario L3P 3J3
Telephone: 905-471-7118 Fax:
905-471-9338
Email: abmmeun@yahoo.ca
File path: Amanda\File 08 114478\Documents\Final Report