RECOMMENDATION:
That the Record
of Public Meeting held on October 8, 2002 regarding the Official Plan amendment
and implementing zoning by-law for 5928 and 5958 16th Avenue, Files OP 02 111644, ZA 02
111669, submitted by Graywood Developments Ltd., to permit a retirement home, be received;
And That
the application to amend the Official Plan (revised 1987) to provide for a
retirement home, be approved and the draft amendment attached as Appendix ‘A’
to the staff report dated January 21, 2003, entitled "Graywood
Developments Ltd.", be adopted by Council;
And That
the application to amend the zoning by-law to permit a retirement home, be
approved and the implementing by-law, set out in Appendix “B” to the staff
report dated January 21, 2003, be enacted;
And Further
That the application for site plan approval of a retirement home, be approved,
subject to the following conditions:
1. That the Owner enter into a site plan agreement with the Town;
2. That prior to execution of the site plan agreement, the
Owner shall submit final drawings, and comply with all requirements of the Town
and authorized public agencies, to the satisfaction of the Commissioner of
Development Services including but not limited to the following: building evaluations and a restoration plan
for the two heritage houses;
3.
Prior to the
execution of a site plan agreement, the Owner agrees to the designation of the
two houses under the Ontario Heritage Act and agrees to enter into Heritage
Conservation Easement agreements to ensure the continued protection of the
heritage buildings;
4.
That the site
plan agreement include provisions for the payment by the Owner of all
applicable fees, recoveries, development charges and parkland dedications;
5.
That
site plan approval shall lapse after a period of three years commencing January
21, 2003, in the event that the Owner does not enter into a site plan agreement
with the Town during that period;
6.
That the Owner provide for internal
refuse storage areas to the satisfaction of the Director of Environmental
Services;
7.
That prior to final site plan
approval, the Owner submit a tree inventory and preservation plan, to the
satisfaction of the Commissioner of Development Services.
8.
That the Owner make arrangements with
Markham Museum for the opportunity to establish volunteer partnership for
programs within the Museum and access to the Museum from the retirement
home.
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this report is to provide an evaluation of the
applicant’s proposal for amendments to the Official Plan and zoning by-law to
permit a retirement home (Graywood Developments Ltd)
on the subject lands. The report
recommends adoption of the Official Plan amendment. The report also evaluates and recommends approval of the zoning
by-law amendment and approval of the proposed site plan, subject to conditions.
BACKGROUND:
Property and Area Context
The subject land is approximately 1.09 hectares (2.70
acres) in area and is located on the north side of 16th Avenue west
of Highway 48, and east of Heritage Corners Lane (the access road to the
Heritage Estates subdivision) (see Figure 1).
To the north of this property is the Markham Museum and a portion of the
Heritage Estates. To the west is a
single residential lot fronting onto 16th Avenue (this property is
currently the subject of applications to permit a Montessori School) and a
vacant portion of the Heritage Estates subdivision. East of the property is an established commercial plaza. South of the property, across 16th
Avenue, are residential homes backing onto 16th Avenue.
There currently exist two heritage buildings on the
site that are listed on the Markham Inventory of Heritage Buildings. In the southwest corner of the property
(5928 16th Avenue) is the John D. Hess House, C. 1877, which is a
brick, clad building in its original location with a barn behind it. At the east side of the property (5958 16th
Avenue) is the Christian Ramer Tenant House, C. 1872, which is a plain
aluminium clad wooden building moved to its present location to accommodate the
widening of 16th Avenue and the construction of the abutting
commercial plaza to the east.
Current Zoning and Official Plan Designation
The
lands are currently zoned Rural Residential One (RR1) by By-law 304-87 (see
Figure 2). It is a remnant parcel of
Study Area 1B of the 1976 Official Plan that has yet to be designated in our
current Official Plan. Study Area 1B
included this piece of property and the undeveloped lands between 16th
Avenue and Major Mackenzie Drive and between Highway 48 and Ninth Line. The major portion of the 1B lands are now
part of the Greensborough Secondary Plan.
Proposed Application
The
applicant, in a joint venture with Alert Care, is proposing to construct a
3,133 square metre (33,729 square foot) two storey, retirement home consisting
of 90 units (see Figure 4). The
applicant is also proposing to retain the John Hess heritage house in its
present location and move the heritage portion of the Christian Ramer Tenant house
adjacent to the Hess dwelling to create an additional 6 units for a total of 96
units. The average age of the residents would be 80 years. The facility will have a number of central
common facilities located mainly on the ground floor including, dining room,
chapel, wellness room, theatre, central foyer, crafts/games room, library,
hairdresser, etc. Possible additional
facilities include hydrotherapy room, and outside lawn
bowling/croquet/shuffleboard area. The
units will range in size from 31.9 square meters (340 square feet) to 88.6
square meters (954 square feet) consisting of studios, and 1 and 2 bedroom
units. Kitchens will not be provided
within the units. Services provided to
the residents include:
activity/lifestyle programs, healthcare monitoring, emergency call bell
monitoring, 24 hour staff, housekeeping, laundry service, bathing assistance,
off site town transportation, all meals, etc.
The
exterior of the building will be decorative brick in Victorian style not
inconsistent with the existing two storey historical buildings in the southwest
corner of the site. The applicant is
proposing to relocate the Christian Ramer Tenant House next to the John D. Hess
house to create an improved streetscape.
One access is proposed off of 16th Avenue. There is provision for 48 parking spaces
and extensive landscaping to the rear and west side of the site is proposed.
DISCUSSION:
Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendment required to allow development to
proceed
The proposed
retirement residence will contribute to the availability of the housing supply
for the target demographic group of active seniors, while also providing some
aging-in-place facilities and services.
The site layout and design is
responsive to existing physical and natural features both on and surrounding
the lands, and is compatible in height and architectural style to surrounding
development. The surrounding uses of
commercial to the east, institutional to the north (Markham Museum),
residential to the north and west (Heritage Estates) and the potential of a Montessori
School to the west indicate that the designation of Institutional would be
compatible with the surrounding properties.
Based on the preceding, the development of a retirement home on the
lands subject to this Amendment is considered to be appropriate.
The Official Plan
amendment (Appendix “A”) proposes to designate the site “Institutional” and
provide for only
the retirement home on these lands. It
is not the intention of the Official plan that all institutional uses be
permitted on a site designated “Institutional.” In order to ensure orderly development and compatibility with
existing and proposed uses in the area, a retirement residence will be the only
institutional use provided for on these lands.
To permit the
construction of a retirement home on the subject property, a zoning by-law
amendment is required. Although there
are a number of uses allowed within an institutional zone, the by-law restricts
the permitted uses to only a retirement home.
A draft by-law is attached as Appendix “B”.
Heritage Buildings
Heritage Markham
has reviewed the proposal to retain the
John Hess heritage house in its present location and move the heritage portion
of the Christian Ramer Tenant house beside the John Hess house. The Committee is satisfied with this
arrangement with a number of conditions that will be included in the site plan
agreement including restoration plans for the two houses and interpretive
plaques. Heritage Markham is also
requesting the houses be designated under the Ontario Heritage Act and be
protected by heritage conservation easements.
To ensure the easement is completed staff recommends the easement be in
place prior to the execution of a site plan agreement. Staff is preparing a report for a future
committee meeting to designate these buildings. Further review of the buildings will be required prior to the
execution of the site plan agreement.
Urban Design
The Urban Design
staff are generally satisfied with the layout of the buildings, access and
parking lot layout. A tree inventory
and preservation plan will be required prior to final site plan approval. The materials and massing of the facility
are generally satisfactory, however additional work will need to be done on the
elevations to provide more consistent details and a better relationship with
the heritage buildings being retained on site.
Minor revisions will be completed before final site plan approval.
Sanitary Sewer Restriction
This development will drain to the Robinson Creek sanitary
trunk sewer. Currently there is
limited capacity within this system to accommodate 64 residents based on the
full development of lands to the north of 16th Avenue (e.g.
industrial lands on the east side of Highway 48 and up to 1500 people in
Greensborough). These lands will take
a number of years to achieve full build out.
In addition, the Region of York is currently constructing the 16th
Avenue trunk sewer to Stone Mason Drive, which will eliminate this
restriction. The Region is expected to
have this completed by the end of 2003.
The owner is anticipating the opening of this home in the spring of
2004. Therefore, we anticipate there
will be no issues related to the sanitary sewer capacity.
Parking Study
The applicant has requested a reduced parking requirement
for this development. In support of
this request a parking study was submitted by Read, Voorhees and
Associates. The study identifies there
will be a maximum of 8 employees on the site at any one time. The average age of the residents will be 80
years old and are not expected to be driving.
The operator will supply a van to transport the residents on
outings. Therefore, there will be
limited vehicles owned and used by the residents. Most parking activity will be by visitors. Comparing other senior’s homes of this
nature in other communities throughout Ontario, the ratio of parking spaces to
units ranges between 0.15% and 0.54%.
The study indicates that a ratio of 0.50% (48 parking spaces) would be
more than enough to accommodate parking needs for this site. Staff have reviewed this study and are
satisfied that this ratio would provide adequate parking facilities for this
development.
Markham Museum
Markham Museum staff have reviewed this application and are
interested in establishing opportunities for programming and volunteer
partnership. They are suggesting the
operator meet with the Museum representatives to discuss this opportunity
further and to consider a gate between the Museum and the retirement home to
allow easy access to the museum for potential volunteers from the home.
FINANCIAL
CONSIDERATIONS:
None at this time
BUSINESS
UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:
The Official Plan and zoning amendment
and site plan applications submitted by Graywood Development have been
circulated to various departments and external agencies. Requirements of the Town and external
agencies have been reflected in the preparation of this report and conditions
of approval.
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Valerie
Shuttleworth, M.C.I.P., R.P.P.
Acting
Director of Planning
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Jim Baird, M.C.I.P., R.P.P.
Acting
Commissioner of Development Services
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ATTACHMENTS: Figure 1 – Location Map
Figure
2 – Area Context/zoning
Figure
3 – Aerial map
Figure
4 – Site Plan
Figure
5 – Elevations
APPENDIX: Appendix A – Draft Official Plan Amendment
Appendix
B – Draft Zoning By-law
Applicant/Agent Peter Grady Tel.: (416) 599-1930
Graywood
Development Ltd. Fax: (416) 369-8163
Box
130, Suite 500
370
King Street.
Toronto,
Ontario
M5V
1J9
Q:\Development\Planning\APPL\OPAPPS\02111669
- GRAYWOOD DEVELOPMENTS LTS\Final Report.doc
