RECOMMENDATION:
That
the record of the Public Meeting held on September 9, 2003, entitled, “Dogeden
and Life’s Ruff, 60 Bullock Drive”, be received;
That
the Zoning By-law Amendment application (ZA.03-114132) submitted by Dogeden for
a permanent by-law not be approved;
That
the proposed temporary use by-law attached as Appendix ‘A’, be enacted.
PURPOSE:
The
purpose of this report is to provide an evaluation of the applicant’s proposal
to permit service commercial uses, including dog daycare, grooming and sitting,
dog obedience school and accessory retail, within a unit of an existing
industrial building.
BACKGROUND:
Property and
area context
The
subject lands are located on the north side of Bullock Drive, west of Hawkridge
Avenue, municipally known as 60 Bullock Drive.
The 0.71 ha (1.7 ac) property contains a 2,192 m2 (23,595 ft2)
multi-tenant industrial building. To
the west and east are industrial buildings and to the south, across Bullock
Drive and to the north, across the railway tracks are single detached
dwellings.
The applicant has submitted an application to amend the
zoning by-law
The
applicant has submitted an application to amend the zoning by-law to permit
service commercial uses at 60 Bullock Drive (unit 1). The applicants propose to operate two businesses from the unit,
more specifically a dog daycare/sitting, pet grooming and accessory retail
(Dogeden) with the second business operating an obedience/training for dogs
(Life’s Ruff). The applicants indicate
that their businesses do not accommodate overnight stay for the animals and
that the dogs are supervised and kept inside the facility at all times. Dog walking is an available service;
however, an employee of Dogeden visits the client’s residence and the dog is
taken for a walk in the owner’s neighbourhood and not in the vicinity of 60
Bullock Drive.
Town
staff indicated to the owners that the use was not permitted at 60 Bullock
Drive and rezoning is required. The
applicants do not presently operate out of the unit at 60 Bullock Drive,
however they have commenced interior renovations of the unit. Dogeden’s current
location is within a commercial plaza at 6545 Highway No. 7. The applicants indicate that there have been
no complaints from the adjacent tenants at the existing location. Town records indicate a complaint in April
of 1998, questioning if a dog daycare was permitted. Information on this complaint is not available, and there is no
record of any other complaints.
Current Zoning and Official Plan designation
The
subject property is designated Business Corridor in the Official Plan. The intent of this designation is to
identify locations for a mix of high quality business activities in corridors
along major road frontages, while permitting a range of office, industrial,
service and limited retail uses.
Business Corridor areas are intended for industrial and commercial uses
that require the exposure offered by major road frontages. The proposal may be considered to comply
with the Official Plan, subject to Council being satisfied with the application
for zoning amendment.
The
subject lands are currently zoned Industrial (M) by By-law 1229, as amended,
and a zoning amendment is required to permit the proposal.
OPTIONS/DISCUSSION:
The unit is soundproofed to protect against unwanted
noise
The
applicants indicated that the back of the unit is soundproofed to reduce any
unwanted noise for the adjacent tenants and that sound absorbing baffles have
been installed from the ceiling, to further mitigate potential noise.
The
applicant has provided staff with a study from an acoustical consultant
(Appendix ‘B’). The consultant has
completed a Reverb Time Report. Initial
reports showed that the sound levels in the unit were ‘very bad’. However, following the installation of
baffles and insulation, the consultant has concluded that the noise level in
the unit is now considered ‘very good’.
Insufficient parking spaces
Based
on standard Parking By-law requirements, the proposed use requires 15 parking
spaces in addition to the 81 parking spaces required for the remaining uses for
a total of 96 parking spaces (including 4 handicapped parking spaces), whereas
only 58 are provided (including 2 handicapped spaces). This represents a shortfall of 38 spaces
from the by-law requirements. The
applicants have indicated that peak operating times would be from 7 a.m. to
9:30 a.m. and from 4:30 p.m. till 7:00 p.m. for Dogeden and from 6:00 p.m. till
10:00 p.m. on weekdays and 8:00 a.m. till 3:00 p.m. on Saturdays for Life’s
Ruff (obedience school).
A parking utilization study has been completed for the
subject property
The
applicant has provided a parking utilization study, prepared by Lea Consulting
Ltd. (Appendix ‘C’) Staff had
specifically asked that the parking utilization study include, but not be
limited to, the following issues:
- A study of at least two
weekdays and one weekend day (Saturday), when all businesses would be
considered at full operation,
- Comment on the number
of staff parking spaces required,
- Distinguish between the
number of patrons for each use in the building,
- An analysis of the
parking situation at the existing Dogeden location.
Parking consultant concludes that there is sufficient
parking supply to meet demand
During
the two weekdays studied, the consultant found that a maximum of 23 parking
spots were occupied at any one time (at 60 Bullock Dr.), while 35 spots
remained vacant. On Saturday, a maximum
of 14 spots were occupied, leaving 44 spots vacant. During the time of study, a maximum of 40% of the parking supply
at 60 Bullock Drive was occupied.
At
the same time, an analysis of the parking spaces being utilized by Dogeden, at
their current location, was nine, which included 5 staff members. The consultant also notes that the customers
of Dogeden were only at the site for a limited amount of time (about 1 minute).
In
order to estimate the additional parking that would be required by the dog
obedience school (Life’s Ruff), the consultant obtained class size information
from the applicant. The consultant concluded
that this use would occupy between 9 and 15 parking spaces (including
staff). It was also noted that the
obedience school would be operating on a different schedule from the dog
sitting/grooming use.
It
is the opinion of Lea Consulting, that the parking supply at 60 Bullock Drive
is currently under utilized, and that the addition of the Dogeden facility
would not have a negative impact on the parking at the subject property. The consultant also noted that if Dogeden,
Life’s Ruff and the existing uses at 60 Bullock Drive were operating at their
peak, 47 parking spaces would be occupied, and 11 parking spaces would remain
vacant.
Staff have reviewed the study provided by Lea Consulting
and feel that the issues that required study have been adequately
addressed. Staff agree with the
conclusions, however, given the changing needs of multi-tenant buildings like
60 Bullock (eg. change in tenancy, etc), staff feel the need to place a
condition on the zoning by-law, requiring the applicant to readdress this issue
in three years. On this basis, a
temporary use by-law, for a period of three(3) years, could be considered. This would enable staff to monitor the
parking situation. Should a problem
arise, the applicant is aware that Council has the authority to not extend the
use provision beyond the initial three(3) year period.
Staff have received numerous letters in support of the
application
Staff have received numerous
letters in support of this application (Appendix ‘D’).
Concerns raised at public meeting have been addressed
Staff have also received letters
from the tenant in the neighbouring unit and residents across the railroad
tracks to the north of the subject property, in opposition to the proposal
(Appendix ‘D’). The main concerns
raised were in regards to noise and parking.
As noted in the above sections of this report, the applicant has
implemented noise control measures within the unit, and provided staff with a
report from a noise consultant deeming the noise level ‘very good’, after the
implementation of these measures. A
parking utilization study, prepared by Lea Consulting Ltd., concluded that
there would be ample parking supply on the site to accommodate the proposed
uses. Staff are satisfied that the
applicant has incorporated appropriate measures to mitigate the impacts of this
use in an area context.
FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:
There
are no financial implications for the Town in this report.
BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:
The
application was circulated to internal departments and external agencies and
any issues have been discussed in this report.
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Valerie Shuttleworth, M.C.I.P., R.P.P.
Director of Planning & Urban Design
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Jim Baird, M.C.I.P., R.P.P.
Commissioner of Development Services
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L3P 3B4
