RECOMMENDATION:
THAT the application for zoning by-law amendment, File ZA.00-237529,
submitted by St. Dimitrija Solunski Macedonian Orthodox Church to permit an
expansion of the church parking lot at 58 and 60 George Street, Markham be approved,
and the implementing by-law, attached as Appendix "A" to the staff
report dated March 25, 2003, be enacted;
AND THAT the by-law contain a hold provision that would not be removed
until the Owner:
a) amends the existing
site plan agreement (to address among other matters, servicing/grading plans,
drainage issues, parking lot layout and illumination, landscape treatment, and
fencing); and
b) obtains approval from
the Committee of Adjustment for provisional consent to sever the Institutional
zoned lands (parking lot) from the Residential zoned lands, and agrees to
a condition of the consent requiring
the conveyance of a one-foot reserve to
the Town on the east boundary between the parking lot and residential
properties.
PURPOSE:
The purpose of the report is to consider
rezoning the rear portion of two residential properties to Institutional to
allow the expansion of a church parking lot, and to address any by-law
deficiencies for the remaining residential lots. This report also addresses concerns raised by area residents.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
St. Dimitrija Solunski Macedonian Orthodox
Church has applied to rezone the rear portion of the existing residential lots
at 58 and 60 George Street, and modify development standards to permit the
expansion of an existing parking lot at 201 Main Street Markham North. The church owns the two residential
properties. The church previously
attempted to expand the parking lot through an application to the Committee of
Adjustment for a minor variance. The
application was denied by the Committee of Adjustment and was denied on appeal
to the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB).
The OMB acknowledged that a parking problem existed and encouraged the
Town to facilitate the expediting of appropriate zoning by-law and site plan
amendment processes.
A
number of issues were raised at the public meeting held for this
application. The issues related to the
need for an expanded parking lot and its potential impact on adjacent
residential properties. In June 2002,
Council recommended that consideration of this application be deferred pending
further consultation with local residents and Church representatives. A number of meetings occurred during the
fall of 2002 and early part of 2003 in an attempt to resolve outstanding
issues.
The
conceptual site plan depicting the parking lot has been further revised to
provide enhanced buffering to adjacent properties. Church officials have also agreed to implement the necessary
landscape treatment to help buffer adjacent neighbours. Site plan approval is required for the
parking lot expansion. To address the issue of potential future expansion of
the parking lot, the recommended zoning by-law amendment includes a hold
provision. The Hold would be released
upon execution of an amendment to the existing site plan agreement to contain
detailed parking layout and landscaping plans,
and approval of a severance of the proposed parking lot lands from the
remaining residential parcels, to include a condition for conveyance of a one
foot reserve to the Town between the parking lot and the residential lands.
BACKGROUND:
Council required further consultation on resident concerns
On
June 18, 2002, Development Services Committee reviewed a staff report on the
rezoning application for 58-60 George Street.
The report is attached as Appendix ‘B’.
On June 25, 2002, Council recommended that consideration of the
application be deferred to allow time for a public information meeting to be
held with residents and representatives of St. Dimitrija Church.
A number of meetings were held to discuss issues
A
public information meeting, to discuss area resident concerns, was hosted by
Councillor Heath on October 28, 2002 at the old Markham Train Station Community
Room. Approximately 35 people were in
attendance as well as Deputy Mayor Scarpitti and Town staff. The issues raised were basically the same
issues raised at the statutory public meeting and can be summarized as follows:
-
Impact on property values (including concern about future parking expansion)
- Impact on neighbouring rear yard
amenity areas (noise, garbage, auto fumes, light infiltration, security)
-
Impact on adjacent vegetation (trees, roots)
-
Need for additional parking
At
the meeting, it was agreed that a smaller group of residents would meet with Church
officials to further discuss issues.
This meeting was held at the church on November 18, 2002. Staff did not attend this meeting. Church officials indicate that residents
requested a letter from the church to guarantee that the present structure of
the church would be satisfied with the number of parking spaces requested in
the application and that the church would not pursue additional parking closer
to George Street. A letter to this
effect was unanimously approved by the members of the St. Dimitrija Church
Committee on November 26, 2002. (See Appendix ‘C’).
Councillor
Heath continued to pursue discussions with adjacent neighbours. A meeting was held on January 17, 2003 in
the Mayor’s Boardroom with four of the closest neighbours. Two representatives of the church and Town
staff were in attendance. After much
discussion, residents indicated that if the parking lot expansion was to occur,
the following actions should be undertaken:
- increase the fully landscaped buffer on the south boundary to 7-9 m
(eliminate 2 parking spaces)
- ensure mature landscaping treatment is used (larger calliper trees)
- introduce some form of permanent mechanism to prevent future expansion
of the parking lot towards George Street
- require the church to sell the George Street properties to others, not
related to the church
Staff
has followed up on these recommended actions.
They are discussed in the next section.
OPTIONS/DISCUSSION:
Conceptual site plan has been revised to address concerns
The
applicant has further revised the conceptual site plan to address the concerns
raised at the January 17, 2003 meeting with residents. The revised site plan indicates a large
landscape buffer between the proposed parking lot and adjacent properties to
the north and south. The setback to the
north boundary is over 8 metres and the setback to the south boundary is now
between 7 and 9.75 metres. This setback
and the landscape elements will help address any impact on existing vegetation and
provide separation between cars and the adjacent outdoor amenity areas. The increased setback on the south boundary
required the removal of two parking spaces.
Two additional parking spaces will be obtained by the removal of a
traffic island.
A
two metre landscape buffer is proposed along the eastern boundary. This will allow the planting of appropriate
vegetation and installation of light standards.
Although
issues such as detailed landscape treatment, fencing and light standards are
normally addressed at the site plan approval stage, many of these factors have
been explored with the residents and church officials. The applicant has been working with Town
Landscape Architects to find the correct number and selection of trees to help
provide privacy for adjacent residents.
White Cedar hedging is proposed along the north and eastern
boundaries. The enlargement of the
landscape area on the southern boundary will allow for some additional tree
planting in this area to supplement the extensive row of coniferous trees
already existing in the backyard of 4 Parkway Avenue. Three poplar trees will have to be removed from the middle of the
property. The applicant has also agreed
to use low level light standards to help prevent light pollution.
As
noted in our last report, the outdoor amenity areas to the rear of 58 and 60
George Street are acceptable.
Site Plan Approval is required
If
the requested rezoning is approved, the applicant will be required to amend the
existing site plan agreement for the church.
Site plan approval will address such factors as parking layout,
landscaping and buffer treatment, lighting, grading and servicing associated
with the parking lot. In particular,
the Engineering Department has noted the need for a drainage study and revised
servicing/grading plans to confirm that the site is serviceable for the
proposed use, and that the proposal will not detrimentally affect the grading
and drainage of surrounding properties.
The property is to be severed
The
portion of the property to be rezoned to Institutional for parking purposes is
proposed to be severed from the residential component through an application to
the Committee of Adjustment.
Future expansion of the parking lot to the east is to be
prevented
Staff
was asked to examine how to best prevent the future expansion of the parking
lot towards George Street. There is a
fear in the neighbourhood that some time in the future, parking lot expansion
could occur. The two properties fronting
onto George Street are zoned Residential and would not permit a parking lot use
even if the dwellings were demolished.
In addition to by-law enforcement, staff have looked at other options to
prevent future parking expansion, including restrictive covenants that could be
registered on title, a ‘heritage easement’ type agreement, and using a one-foot
reserve in favour of the Town along the property boundary between the
Institutional and Residential zones.
Planning staff, in consultation with Legal Services staff, agree that
introducing the one-foot reserve, in Town ownership, would legally prevent any
crossing of the reserve if the Town does not lift the reserve. The Town would acquire the one foot reserve
as a condition of the lot severance.
Staff
also consulted with Legal Services staff regarding the Town’s ability to
require the applicant to sell the two George Street properties to other
non-church related parties. Such a
requirement would be difficult to enforce at law and could be construed as
being discriminatory. Rather, it was
recommended that the municipality should use the planning controls at its
disposal, including zoning, site plan approval and a one-foot reserve.
A hold provision is to be included in the zoning by-law
amendment
To
ensure that the applicant addresses a number of important issues, the proposed
zoning by-law amendment, attached as Appendix ‘A’, includes a hold
provision. The hold on the
Institutional zoning would not be removed until the applicant has severed the
property through the Committee of Adjustment, to be conditional on the
conveyance to the Town of a one-foot
reserve between the properties, and until the applicant has entered into
an amendment to the site plan agreement
to address issues such as parking
layout, landscape treatment, lighting and drainage/servicing to the
satisfaction of the Commissioner of Development Services.
Residential development
standards are addressed in the by-law amendment
The zoning by-law amendment rezones the rear
portion of the properties at 58 and 60 George Street to Institutional use and
addresses the following residential development standards for the remainder of
the properties:
|
R1 Zone
|
Zone Requirements
|
58 George Street
|
60 George Street
|
|
Side Yard- One storey
|
4 ft.
|
3.59 ft. (existing)
|
3.66 ft. (existing)
|
|
Rear Yard
|
25 ft.
|
24.6 ft.
|
35.4 ft.
|
The reduced size of the two residential lots
complies with the R1 zoning standards in terms of lot area, lot coverage, and
net floor area ratio.
Conclusion
The OMB found that the existing Church,
including the associated assembly hall located in the lower level, and parking
is legally permitted and in full compliance with By-law 169-96 (the zoning
by-law which rezoned the property from Residential to Institutional and
established the parking standards). No
additional parking is legally required.
It was, however, uncontested at the Board hearing that the existing
parking spaces for the 180 seat Church and 200 seat assembly hall were
inadequate in a practical sense to meet this Church’s demonstrated demand for
parking. Often parking for Church
patrons spills over into the adjoining residential neighbourhood. The Board concluded that this was a problem,
and that it was in the interest of the Church, the Town and the local residents
to try to mutually resolve the parking issue.
A
number of meetings have been held to address the outstanding concerns of
neighbours. The Church has provided a
revised conceptual parking lot proposal that can be supported subject to the
conditions addressed in this report. It
is recommended that the zoning by-law amendment (including hold provisions),
attached as Appendix ‘A’, be approved.
The hold on the Institutional zoning would not be removed until the
applicant has severed the property through the Committee of Adjustment, to be
conditional on the conveyance to the Town of a
one-foot reserve between the properties, and until the applicant has
entered into an amendment to the site
plan agreement to address issues such
as parking layout, landscape treatment, lighting and drainage/servicing to the
satisfaction of the Commissioner of Development Services.
FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:
None
at this time.
BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:
The
rezoning application was circulated to internal departments and Heritage
Markham.
ATTACHMENTS:
Appendix
‘A’ Proposed Zoning By-law Amendment
Appendix
‘B’ Development Services Commission
Report from June 18, 2002
Appendix
‘C’ Letter from St. Dimitrija Church
dated November 26, 2002
|
|
|
|
|
Valerie Shuttleworth, M.C.I.P., R.P.P.
Director of Planning & Urban Design
|
|
Jim Baird, M.C.I.P., R.P.P.
Commissioner of Development Services
|
Q:\Development\Heritage\PROPERTY\GEORGE\58-60\DEVELOPMENT
SERVICES COMMITTEE mar 25, 2003.doc
Document: Q:\Development\Heritage\PROPERTY\GEORGE\58-60\DEVELOPMENT
SERVICES COMMITTEE mar 25, 2003.doc
Owner: Mr.
Steve Dzandzurovski, President
St.
Dimitrija Solunski Macedonian Orthodox Church
201
Main Street Markham North
Markham,
ON L3P 1Y4
905-471-5555
tel
905-471-5580
fax
Location Map:
