THE FIFTH MEETING OF THE
COMMERCIAL POLICY REVIEW COMMITTEE
TOWN OF
Canada Room,
MINUTES
Attendance
Members:
Mayor D. Cousens
Deputy Mayor F. Scarpitti
Councillor J. Virgilio
Councillor G. McKelvey
Other Council Members:
Regional Councillor J. Jones
Councillor D. Horchik
Councillor K. Usman
Staff
J. Livey, Chief Administrative Officer
J. Baird, Commissioner of Development
Services
V. Shuttleworth, Director of Planning and Urban Design
R. Blake, Senior Project Coordinator
K. Bavington, Committee Clerk
Representatives
of Loblaw Properties Limited
Mario Fatica - Loblaw
Steve Thompson - Loblaw
Jack Eisenberger - Fieldgate
Lou Meandro - Fieldgate
Steven Zakem - Aird& Berlis LLP
Eileen Costello- Aird & Berlis LLP
Dave Saunders - Lea Associates, Traffic Consultant
Harry Froussios - Zelinka Priamo, Planning Consultant
The fifth
meeting of the
1. LOBLAW PROPERTIES LIMITED
2938 MAJOR MACKENZIE DRIVE
EAST IN THE WEST
CATHEDRAL COMMUNITY, OFFICIAL
PLAN AND ZONING
BY-LAW AMENDMENTS TO PERMIT A
LARGE FORMAT
RETAIL PLAZA (OP 04 010924, ZA
04 010910) (10.3, 10.5)
On
The Chair summarized the status of the applications and the position of
the Town.
Steven Zakem of Aird & Berlis, led a presentation by the applicant’s
representatives. He gave a brief summary of the background of the application,
outlined their current position, and provided an agenda of issues for
discussion at this meeting, as follows:
a) Currently Permitted Uses
Mr. Zakem suggested that the only planning amendments required are to
deal with the increase in the store cap size on the west portion, to allow
retail along the road frontage, and to increase store
cap size on the east portion. He noted that under current policies the
applicant could develop three stores of 60,000 square feet each.
The applicant has agreed to eliminate the 2 proposed gas bars and the
car wash on the site, and to preserve the required land for the 404 off-ramp
extension.
A revised site plan was presented, indicating more retail structures along
b) Woodlot
The applicant advised that his consultant does not consider the woodlot
to have a significant basis for preservation. Although it is a Regionally
significant woodlot as identified in the Regional Tree By-law and the Black
Maple trees are identified as a locally and regionally rare species, they are not
an endangered species. The applicant is willing to provide financial compensation
for the loss of the woodlot. The Committee indicated the woodlot preservation
is crucial.
Mr. Zakem discussed the impacts of preserving the woodlot. Re-locating
the Loblaw store would complicate the access points and be detrimental to urban
design issues. Two options were displayed by the applicant for alternate
configurations and alignments of the Loblaw store, accesses, and parking lots.
Discussions included the possibility of obtaining more land to the north,
however the applicant indicated they are not interested in tying up more funds
on this project. It was also suggested that the Loblaw proposal move to the
easterly property, and the applicant indicated that it is not feasible due to
commitments made to various tenants for the easterly site. Committee noted that
the constraints evidenced in this presentation would indicate that the site is
not suitable for the proposal and that the proposed development is too large to
fit on this site.
c) 404 Off-ramp
The applicant has agreed to preserve the required land for the 404
off-ramp extension. The ramp has not been identified in
d) Fire Hall
The applicant is prepared to sell the parcel of land indicated at the
south-east corner of the easterly site to the Town at flow-through costs.
Access and amount of required land have yet to be determined.
e) Urban Design
The applicant is willing to talk about Urban Design issues, such as
gateway features and architectural details, at a later stage of the process.
Mr. Zakem referred to a “Cathedral Village Urban Design Brief” prepared by Loblaw
consultants, dated January 2004. This document had not been previously presented
to the Town for review.
f) Gross Floor Area Caps
Mr. Zakem discussed the provisions of the Business Corridor Area and
argued that the term “generally” in the current policies would permit an
expansion of the size cap from 6,000 m2 to 13,616 m2 to accommodate the proposed Loblaw structure.
An expansion would also be required in the Community Amenity Area to 8,400 m2
for the proposed retail structure on the easterly portion.
g) Parking
Mr. Zakem advised that 1,700 parking spaces will be provided, which is
the lower end of the parking standard. Committee urged the applicant to
consider structured parking.
The Committee discussed the changes made by the applicant and noted that
the concerns in the staff report are still not adequately addressed. The key
policy issues were identified as the size and location of the Loblaw store and
orientation to the street, urban design issues, and woodlot preservation. It
was suggested that innovative solutions are needed, such as reversing the
sites, and the use of structured parking to free up space for important office
buildings and employment uses.
Committee recognized that there is a clash of values between the Town’s
desire for a sensitive environmental design, and Loblaw’s “template” architectural
requirements, and that the proposed massing and footprint of the store are too
big to fit on this problematic site. Mr. Zakem responded that design details
can be resolved at a later stage. Landscaping, berms and decorative fencing
will be provided to minimize streetscape impacts.
Moved by:
Councillor J. Virgilio
Seconded
by: Councillor G. McKelvey
That the
presentations and discussions regarding the proposal by Loblaw Properties
Limited for Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendments to permit a large format
retail plaza development at 2938 Major Mackenzie Drive East, be received and
referred to staff for a report to the Development Services Committee on April
19, 2005.
CARRIED
ADJOURNMENT
The fourth meeting
of the Commercial Policy Committee adjourned at