REPORT TO 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:

Nick Pileggi, ext. 4480

Senior Planner – Central  Development Team

 

 

 

 

DATE OF MEETING:

April 18, 2006

 

 

 

 

SUBJECT:

PRELIMINARY REPORT
Flato Development Inc.

272 Old Kennedy Rd.

Applications for Zoning By-law Amendment and Draft Plan of Subdivision to permit 62 residential units and commercial, park and school blocks

File Numbers: ZA-06-106303, SU-06-106298

 

 

RECOMMENDATION:

 

That a Public Meeting be held to consider the applications for Zoning By-law Amendment and Draft Plan of Subdivision (ZA-06-106303, SU-06-106298), submitted by Flato Development Inc., to permit 62 residential units and commercial, park and school blocks at 272 Old Kennedy Road.

 

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this report is to provide preliminary information regarding the applications for Zoning By-law Amendment and Draft Plan of  Subdivision by Flato Development Inc. to permit 62 residential units and commercial, park and school blocks at 272 Old Kennedy Road, and to recommend that a Public Meeting be held to consider the applications.

 

BACKGROUND:

The subject property is located north of Steeles Avenue on the west side of Old Kennedy Road (Figure 1) and consists of an area of approximately 1.15 hectares (2.84 acres).  The property extends westerly beyond Kennedy Road to the GO Transit line.  The site has an approximate frontage of 30.5 metres (100 feet) and currently contains a detached dwelling and an accessory building.  The property also has similar frontage on each side of Kennedy Road.

 

Residential uses are the predominant land use surrounding the subject lands.  To the north and south, the lands are largely vacant and there is an active GO rail line to the west (Figures 2 and 3). 

Proposal is for 2 townhouse blocks, one high density residential block, school, park and commercial blocks

The proposal, as shown on the proposed Draft Plan of Subdivision (Figure 4), consists of the following:

 

Block(s)

Use

Number/Unit Type, if applicable

1

High Density Residential

50 Apartment Units

2 and 3

Medium Density Residential

12 Townhouse Units

4

Commercial

 

5

Park

 

6

School

 

           

The proposed blocks would form part of larger blocks as shown on the proposed Draft Plan of Subdivision (Figure 4).  The blocks have potential access from Old Kennedy Road and a proposed new street (Street ‘A’), extending south from the future Gorvette Drive extension.  A concept plan or building elevations have not been provided. 

 

Subject lands are within the Milliken Main Street Secondary Plan Area
The majority of the subject lands (east of Kennedy Road) are within the Milliken Main Street Secondary Plan Area.  The Secondary Plan was approved by Town of Markham Council on June 29, 2005 and received approval from the Region of York on October 27, 2005.  However, the Secondary Plan has been appealed by the City of Toronto and is therefore not yet in effect. 
 
The corresponding zoning by-law, enacted on June 29, 2005, has also been appealed by the City of Toronto and another landowner.  This by-law (2005-250) cannot take effect until the appeals are dealt with and the Secondary Plan is approved.

 

The Milliken Main Street Secondary Plan designates the subject lands as Urban Residential High Denisty, Urban Residential Medium Density and Neighbourhood Park.  By-law 2005-250 zones the subject lands Residential Four with exceptions (R4*269(H)), Open Space One with exceptions (OS1*271(H)) and Residential Three with exceptions(R3*270(H)*271(H)).

 

Prior to the Milliken Main Street Secondary Plan and Zoning By-law coming into affect, the lands remain designated Urban Residential by the Town of Markham Official Plan (Revised 1987), as amended, and zoned Residential Development (RD) by By-law 90-81, as amended (Figure 2).

 

The remainder of the subject lands (west side of Kennedy Road) are designated Major Commercial within the Official Plan and zoned Special Commercial One Hold ((H) SC1) by by-law 90-81, as amended.

 

POTENTIAL BENEFITS OF APPROVAL OF THE PROPOSAL:

Some of the anticipated benefits include:

  • The proposed development could provide a portion of a school block, park block and north south street as per the policies of the Milliken Main Street Secondary Plan
  • The density of the proposed development is transit supportive and in keeping with the goals and objectives of the Town, the Region and the Province
  • When combined with future development blocks to the north and south, will provide adequate parcel sizes for the proposed high density developments   

 

CONCERNS/ISSUES TO BE RESOLVED:

The following is a brief summary of concerns/issues raised to date. These matters, and any others identified through the circulation and detailed review of the proposal, will be addressed in a final staff report to be presented to Committee at a later date:

 

The proposal includes a revised road concept

The Milliken Main Street Secondary Plan outlines a conceptual local road network to achieve an appropriate and efficient traffic pattern within the Secondary Plan Area.  Due to the nature of the proposed park and school blocks, along with the location of a woodlot in the area, it is appropriate that the road network north of Victory Avenue be modified slightly.  It will be necessary to work with landowners to the north and south of the subject lands to finalize the revised road concept and ensure that an appropriate design is implemented.

 

Proposed development requires servicing allocation

Water and sewer allocation have not yet been assigned to this property.  In addition, servicing studies are required to determine whether the additional infrastructure identified in the Servicing Study prepared for the entire Milliken Main Street Secondary Plan area is required to service the proposed development.

 

Financial contributions with respect to Milliken Main Street study area

An area-specific development charge by-law, reflecting proposed infrastructure and streetscape improvements for the entire Milliken Main Street study area, has not yet been adopted.  Until such a by-law is enacted, all development within the area will be subject to a local service improvement contribution to be specified in the subdivision agreement.

 

Provision of appropriate setback from the GO rail line

Staff have received comments from GO Transit in regard to this proposal, they include the following items to be addressed:

·        Appropriate building setbacks and safety measures for development adjacent to the rail corridor

·        Analysis of potential noise and vibration impacts and warning clauses

·        Potential for disruption of present drainage patterns affecting the GO lands

 

Size of park/school blocks and overall site layout to be determined

An in depth review of the size of the park and school blocks has not been completed by staff.  If additional lands are required, it may affect the layout of the townhouse blocks within the proposed draft plan.  The school board has not confirmed that the size of the school block is adequate for their purposes.  As well, it remains to be determined how the townhouse block on the west side of Street ‘A’ will integrate with the high density block further west.

 

FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:

None at this time.

 

ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS:

The applications are located outside of the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority Screening Zone.  If any environmental concerns are identified by Town staff, they will be

considered in the final report and any required conditions will be incorporated into the conditions of draft approval.  Staff have requested a Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessment for all lands within the Milliken Main Street Secondary Plan, which is to be submitted prior to staff bringing forward a recommendation report.

 

BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:

All relevant Town Departments and external agencies have been circulated this application and all comments will be considered in the final 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

 

 

 

ATTACHMENTS:                               Figure 1: Location Map

                                                            Figure 2: Area Context/Zoning

                                                            Figure 3: Air Photo

                                                            Figure 4: Proposed Draft Plan of Subdivision

 

 

Applicant Contact Information:  Flato Design and Management Inc.

Shakir Rehmatullah

5 McIntosh Dr

Markham ON L3R 8C7

Telephone number: 905-479-9292

Facsimile Number: 905-479-9165

 

 

 

 

Document filepath: AMANDA/File ZA-06-106303 /Documents tab/DSC Preliminary Report

Attachment filepath : Q:\Geomatics\New Operation\2006 Agenda\SU\SU06106303