Report to: Development Services Committee Date of Meeting: December 12, 2006
SUBJECT: RECOMMENDATION
REPORT
1617834
Ontario Limited, Application for Zoning By-law Amendment to permit a restaurant
use at 156 Bullock Drive
File No. ZA 05 026995
PREPARED BY: Nilesh
Surti, Planner, ext. 4190
East District Team
RECOMMENDATION:
That Zoning
By-law Amendment application (ZA 05 026995) to amend By-law 1229, as amended,
submitted by 1617834 Ontario Limited to permit a restaurant use at 156 Bullock
Drive, be approved and the draft Zoning By-law Amendment attached as Appendix
‘A’, be finalized and enacted.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
Not applicable
FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:
Not applicable.
Property and Area Context
The 0.87
hectare (2.15 acre) site is located on the north side of Bullock
Drive east of Laidlaw
Boulevard.
The site contains a recently constructed multi-tenant condominium
industrial building of approximately 3,960 m2 (42,627 ft2)
(See Figure 1).
Abutting the
subject property to the east and west are existing industrial buildings. To the south, across Bullock
Drive, is an existing residential subdivision with
lots back lotted onto Bullock Drive. To the north, the subject property is bounded
by the CN Railway tracks and across the railway tracks are existing residential
dwellings (See Figures 2 & 3).
Proposal is to permit a restaurant use
The applicant
is proposing to rezone the subject property to convert a vacant industrial unit
for restaurant use at the front of the multi-tenant industrial building. The proposed restaurant use will have a total
gross floor area of 98.7 m2 (1,062.4 ft2), representing
approximately 2.5% of the total gross floor area of the entire industrial
building. The majority of the existing
units are occupied by automobile repair garages. The intent of the proposed restaurant use is
to open a coffee shop for patrons who are waiting for their vehicles to be
repaired.
Official Plan and Zoning
The Official
Plan designates the subject property “Business Corridor Area”. This designation provides for restaurants,
where integrated with other uses as a component of a larger building.
The property is
currently zoned Industrial (M) under By-law 1229, as amended, which permits
such uses as manufacturing, automobile repair, warehousing and car washing
establishments. A draft zoning by-law amendment,
to permit one self-service restaurant use with a maximum floor area of 100 m2
(1076.4 ft2), is attached as Appendix ‘A’.
A public meeting was held on June 20,
2006
On June 20, 2006, a public meeting was
held to obtain public input on the subject application. The following are the key issues raised by
residents at the Public Meeting. These
matters have been addressed through the review process.
The
applicant is agreeable to limiting hours of operation
One concern
raised by a resident who lives to the south, across Bullock
Drive, related to late night hours of operation by
a number of individual condominium unit owners.
The resident is concerned that the proposed coffee shop use would also
remain open during late night hours to accommodate unit owners who continue to operate
their businesses after normal business hours.
The Town has no jurisdiction, through rezoning or site plan approval, to
limit hours of operation. However, to
address this concern, the applicant has voluntarily indicated his willingness
to limit hours of operation for the proposed coffee shop from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Prior to staff bringing the By-law forward to
Council for approval the applicant will be required to submit a letter of
undertaking from the condominium corporation agreeing to enforce hours of
operation for the coffee shop from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00
p.m.
Noise
disturbances can be addressed through enforcement of the Noise By-law
Another concern
raised by the resident involved increased noise levels from the servicing of
vehicles, as well as racing and testing of motor vehicles on residential
streets (Bullock Drive) and on the parking lot.
The By-law Enforcement Department has received similar complaints from
other residents living in the vicinity of the subject property.
The noise concerns
can be addressed through enforcement of the Noise By-law (By-law 2003-137) and
the Site Plan Agreement. The Noise
By-law prohibits the racing of any motorized conveyance other than in a racing
event regulated by law; the operation of a motor vehicle in such a way that the
tires squeal; and the operation of any combustion engine without an effective
exhaust muffling device in good working order and in constant operation. The Noise By-law also regulates sound level
limits from stationary sources during late night hours and early morning hours
in order to ensure surrounding neighbours are not adversely impacted by
unwanted sound. Furthermore, the Site
Plan Agreement for the existing building also includes a clause [Clause 17(pp)]
obligating the condominium corporation to advise body shops, detailing operations
and audio installers of the presence of residents nearby and to conduct their
operations in a manner that will not impact the neighbourhood.
On October 2, 2006, the By-law
Enforcement Department issued a letter to the condominium corporation and the
individual unit owners listing the contraventions of the Noise By-law and Site
Plan Agreement. To address the
above-noted noise concerns, the condominium corporation has notified the unit
owners of the complaints received from area residents regarding the
contravention of the municipal noise by-law.
In addition, the condominium corporation has installed speed bumps
within the parking area to deter racing or testing of vehicles on the property. Furthermore, the condominium corporation is
working with the unit owners to ensure that garage doors are closed during
business hours to help reduce noise levels.
The By-law Enforcement Department will continue to monitor this
situation and if the condominium corporation or the unit owners fail to comply
with the Town’s Noise By-law this may result in charges against the condominium
corporation or the unit owners.
Off-site
parking along Bullock Drive
is a matter of enforcement
Another concern
expressed by the resident involved vehicles parking on Bullock
Drive. The
Parking Control By-law (By-law 2005-188) prohibits on-street parking along both
sides of Bullock Drive. This is a matter of By-law Enforcement. The By-law should be enforced so that motor
vehicles parked, stopped or standing along Bullock
Drive in contravention of the Parking Control
By-law are appropriately ticketed or served with a parking infraction
notice.
Issues identified in the Preliminary report
have been addressed
Two issues
identified by staff in the May 21,
2006, Preliminary Report have been resolved as follows:
Sufficient
Parking is available on-site
Industrial parking
is required at a rate of 1 parking space per 40 m2 of Net Floor Area
(NFA) for each premises. The unit that is
intended to be used for a coffee shop must provide parking at a rate of 1
parking space per 9 m2 of NFA.
Based on the information provided by the applicant, the site would
require a total of 102 parking spaces. The
approved site plan showed a total of only 101 parking spaces on-site. However, during construction, PowerStream
required a hydro transformer box, which was sited in a parking space along the
west property line, to be relocated near the easterly driving entrance, thus freeing
up an additional parking space. Sufficient
parking is now available on-site to accommodate the proposed restaurant use.
Cooking
odour and traffic are not of significant concern.
Typically, in a
local commercial plaza setting, staff require restaurants to have a minimum
separation distance of 15 metres from abutting residential properties. The closest residential property to the
proposed coffee shop is approximately 30 metres. Given the nature of the proposed use and the
separation distance from the residential properties, cooking odour is not considered
to be of significant concern. Furthermore,
discussions with the
transportation department indicate that given the size of the proposed coffee
shop, traffic is also not of particular concern.
Conclusion
Staff are satisfied that the
concerns raised in the preliminary report and at the statutory public meeting have
been addressed or can be addressed through the enforcement of the Town’s
By-laws, and recommend that the draft Zoning By-law Amendment attached as
Appendix ‘A’, be finalized and enacted.
Not applicable
ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS:
There is no significant vegetation
or natural features on-site.
ACCESSIBILITY CONSIDERATIONS:
Accessibility considerations have
been reviewed as part of the site plan approval process.
ENGAGE 21ST CONSIDERATIONS:
Not applicable
BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:
The
application was circulated to all Town departments and external agencies, and
their recommendations/concerns have been incorporated into this report.
RECOMMENDED BY:
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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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