DEVELOPMENT SERVICES COMMITTEE

 

 

 

 

 

TO:

Mayor and Members of Council

 

 

 

 

FROM:

Jim Baird, Commissioner of Development Services

Valerie Shuttleworth, Director of Planning & Urban Design

 

 

 

 

PREPARED BY:

West District

Stephen Kitagawa, Senior Planner

 

 

 

 

DATE OF MEETING:

August 30, 2005     

 

 

 

 

SUBJECT:

Al Hussain Foundation

10992 Kennedy Road

Application for Site Plan Approval to permit the construction of a 183.5 m2 addition to the existing place of worship.

File No. SC.04-018281

 

 

 

 

RECOMMENDATION:

 

That the application for site plan approval submitted by the Al Hussain Foundation to permit the construction of a 183.5 m2 addition to the proposed place of worship, on the west side of Kennedy Road, north of Elgin Mills Road, municipally known as 10992 Kennedy Road, be approved, subject to the following conditions:

 

  1. That prior to final approval of the site plan and elevations, the Owner satisfy the requirements of all Town Departments and external agencies and submit revised site plans and elevations (as required to address outstanding issues) and a tree preservation plan to the satisfaction of the Commissioner of Development Services;

 

  1. That the Owner enter into an amending site plan agreement with the Town;

 

  1. That the amendment to the site  plan agreement include provisions for the payment by the Owner of all applicable fees, recoveries, development charges and cash in lieu of parkland;

 

  1. That the site plan approval shall lapse after a period of three years commencing August 30, 2005, in the event that the Owner does not enter into a site plan agreement with the Town during that period; 

 

  1. That the Owner provide an internal refuse storage area to the satisfaction of the Waste Management Department;

 

  1. And that the Owner obtain approval from the Building Department for the proposed private sewage and water services, confirm that they are adequate for the proposed place of worship use and that it will not have any significant negative impact on surrounding land uses.

 

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this report is to evaluate and recommend site plan approval to permit the construction of a 183.5 m2 (1,975 ft2) addition to the proposed place of worship.

 

BACKGROUND:

Property located on the west side of Kennedy Rd., north of Elgin Mills

The 1.9 hectare (4.74 ac.) property is located on the west side of Kennedy Road, North of Elgin Mills Road, with 66 metres (216 ft) of frontage on Kennedy Road.  The site currently contains a cemetery and an accessory 600 m2 (6,458 ft2) funeral prayer chapel.  There is an additional 12 ha (30 ac) of land to the north and west of the site within the same ownership, which is intended to remain in agricultural use.

 

In 1997 Council approved a cemetery and accessory funeral prayer chapel on the subject lands.  The application for a 2500 m2 place of worship was deferred at that time

In 1996, the Al Hussain Foundation submitted applications to amend the Official Plan (Revised 1987) and Zoning By-law 304-87, as amended, to permit a 2500 sq. m. place of worship and a cemetery on 4 hectares of land at 10992 Kennedy Road.  Council partially approved those applications (excluding the 2,500 m2 place of worship) as follows:

 

a.       Official Plan Amendment No. 53, approved May 26, 1999, re-designated 1.9 ha of land at the southeast corner of the property municipally known as 10992 Kennedy Road from “Agriculture- A1” to “Institutional – Cemetery” to permit a cemetery;

b.      Zoning By-law 238-98 was passed by Council to permit a cemetery and an accessory funeral prayer chapel and storage building not exceeding 600 sq. m. on the subject property. The building was restricted to a maximum height of one storey not exceeding 300 sq. m. ground floor area, with the remainder of the floor area below grade; 

c.       That portion of the Al Hussain Foundation applications for Official Plan Amendment and rezoning seeking approval to permit a place of worship on the subject property was deferred by Council in 1997 pending a review of the Town’s place of worship policies; and,

d.   A site plan control agreement for a cemetery and funeral prayer chapel was registered in June 2000.

 

Other necessary approvals for the cemetery and accessory funeral prayer chapel were obtained

A Regional Official Plan Amendment, required to permit the cemetery, was approved in April 1999.  It added a site-specific exception to permit a cemetery and accessory building on 1.9 ha (4.6 ac) of land in the “Agriculture Policy Area” designation in the Regional Official Plan.

 

A Minister’s Zoning Order (Airport) Amendment was approved in March 1999, permitting a cemetery together with an accessory prayer chapel and storage shed, subject to a maximum height of one storey, a maximum gross floor area of 600 m2 (6,458 ft2), a maximum ground floor area of 300 m2 (3,229 ft2) and minimum front and side yard requirements.  Occupancy was granted for the prayer chapel/storage shed in September 2002.

 

Official Plan and zoning by-law amendment to permit the conversion of the existing funeral prayer chapel to place of worship and to construct a 183.5 m2 addition approved

In June 2004, the applicant submitted revised Official Plan Amendment, Zoning By-law Amendment and Minister’s Zoning Order (Airport) applications to permit the conversion of the existing funeral prayer chapel to a place of worship, in addition to the permitted existing cemetery.  The applicant also submitted a site plan application to permit the construction of a 183.5 m2 (1,975 ft2) addition to the existing 600 m2 (6,485ft 2) prayer chapel.

 

The applicant is also proposing to construct two mimanarets and a dome on the existing building (Figures 6 and 7).  The mimanarets are 20 metres (65 ft.) from the average grade to the peak and dome is 9 metres (29.5 ft.) from the base to the peak.  They are architectural elements that are merely symbolic and non-functional.

 

The current proposal is in keeping with the June 2003 Council direction to support the conversion of the existing funeral prayer chapel to a place of worship, plus an addition to improve the functionality of the structure.

 

The Official Plan and zoning by-law amendment was passed by Council in April 2005.  The Region of York is the approval authority for this local Official Plan Amendment.  The Region issued a Notice of Decision in June 2005.  There were no appeals to the amendments and they are now final and binding.

 

At the time of approval of the Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendments, Council requested that staff prepare a further report to Development Services regarding the site plan application to permit the addition.

 

OPTIONS/DISCUSSION:

 

Current Proposal is for Place of worship use confined to existing building, plus any necessary minor additions

The applicant proposes to construct a 183.5 m2 (1,975 ft2) addition to the prayer chapel, which will be converted to a place of worship.  120.8 m2 (1,300 ft2) of this floor area will be above grade, the basement will be 62.7 m2 (674.9 ft2).  The uses of the proposed addition to the ground floor plan are limited to men’s and women’s coat/shoe rooms, lobby, stairs and elevator shaft.  The basement addition consists of a lobby, stairs and elevator shaft (Figure 8).  The addition does not increase the person capacity of the worship area.  The worship area is contained within the existing building.

 

 

 

Sufficient on site parking is to be provided, in accordance with the new parking standards

Based on the higher of 1 space per 4 person capacity of the worship area or 1 space per 9 m2 net floor area of the building, 116 parking spaces are required.  The applicant’s original site plan submission indicated only 109 parking spaces.  The applicant revised the plan to provide the additional 7 spaces, including 5 handicapped spaces to comply with the parking standards recommended in the Places of Worship Study which is now in force by the Town’s Parking By-law.

 

Traffic study submitted by the applicant is satisfactory

The applicant submitted a traffic study to the Town and the Region of York in December 2003.  The Region of York have advised that they concur with the conclusions of the Traffic Impact Study submitted by the proponent and that a southbound right turn lane and a northbound centre left turn lane are required.  The new turn lanes are required as a condition of site plan approval and will be incorporated into the site plan agreement.  The study indicates that the total future traffic volumes revealed good levels of service at the Kennedy Road entrance and the expansion is not expected to generate additional site traffic, as the capacity of the mosque (prayer hall area) will not being increased.

 

Clarification of the person capacity from architect

The Places of Worship Study recommends the person capacity of the worship area should be determined as the greater of:

                          

  • One fixed seat person or,
  • 0.5 m bench space per person or,
  • 0.75 m2 net floor area per person in non-fixed seating areas.

 

The applicant has indicated that the worship area does not contain any fixed seats or benches.  Therefore, the capacity, as defined by the Places of Worship Study is 464 persons, based on the net floor area of the worship area.  However, the applicant has indicated that the congregation will not exceed 150 people per day.

 

Confirmation that the proposed private sewage and water services are adequate and will not have a negative impact on the surrounding uses.

The applicant’s environmental engineer indicates that the existing sewage system has a one week storage of effluent.  The proposed mosque is typically utilized once per week and although the daily discharge is for 250 people per day, the weekly sewage loading rate is 1,750 people/week.  Any peak load that may occur in one day would be held in the balancing tank and discharged to the system over the next six days.  The proposed mosque’s person capacity is set at 464 persons.  Should this many people attend on a given day, the effluent would be discharged over the next two days and there would be no generated flow other than for cleaning staff.  The applicant’s engineer recommends that a permanent sign indicating that the occupant load should be posted for a maximum weekly occupancy of 1,750 people, thus meeting the requirements of the Ontario Building Code.

 

The Owner is required, as a condition of site plan approval, to obtain approval from the Building Department for the proposed private sewage and water services, confirm that they are adequate for the place of worship and ensure that it will not have any significant negative impact on the surrounding land uses.

 

FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:

There are no financial matters to be considered

 

BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:

The application has been circulated to Town Departments for review and comments.  All conditions and requirements received have been addressed and will be incorporated in the site plan agreement.

 

ACCESSIBILITY CONSIDERATIONS:

The site plan shows a total of 5 handicap parking spaces all located close to the main entrance of the building and in compliance with the Town’s parking by-law.

 

CONCLUSION:

Staff are satisfied with the proposal and recommend that it be approved, subject to the conditions outlined in this report.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

DOCUMENT:                       Q:\Development\Planning\APPL\SITEPLAN\04 018281 Al Hussain Foundation\site plan report.doc

 

ATTACHMENTS:                Figure 1 – Applicant/Agent and Location Map

                                                Figure 2 – Area Context and Zoning

                                                Figure 3 – Air Photo

                                                Figure 4 – Proposed Site Plan

                                                Figure 5 – Proposed Site Plan

                                                Figure 6 – Elevations

                                                Figure 7 – Elevations

                                                Figure 8 – Floor Plan

                                               

APPLICANT/AGENT:          Khalil U. Syed

                                                100 Mclevin Avenue

                                                Suite 211

                                                Scarborough, ON

                                                M1B 2V5

                                                Tel:  (416) 298-4001

                                                Fax:  (416) 298-4341