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REPORT TO DEVELOPMENT SERVICES COMMITTEE |
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TO: |
Mayor and Members of Council |
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FROM: |
Jim Baird, Commissioner of
Development Services Valerie Shuttleworth, Director of
Planning & Urban Design |
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PREPARED BY: |
Sabrina Bordone, West District
Planner |
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DATE OF MEETING: |
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SUBJECT: |
Application for Temporary Use
Zoning By-law Amendment to Permit an Existing Landscaping and Snow Removal
Business with Related Outdoor Storage Peter Gomez & Frank Altuna ZA.05-021769 |
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RECOMME
THAT the staff report entitled “Application
for Temporary Use Zoning By-law Amendment to Permit an Existing Landscaping and
Snow Removal Business with Related Outdoor Storage, 21 Essex Ave, Thornhill, ZA
05 021769”, be received.
A
A
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
The application is for a Temporary Use Zoning By-law Amendment to permit
the existing operation of a landscaping and snow removal business that includes
offices, outdoor storage of building materials, equipment, vehicles and
trailers in a Rural Industrial zone with a holding provision [(H)R.IND.]. It is recommended
that this application be refused for the following reasons:
1) The proposed zoning amendment to permit the existing landscaping and
snow removal business as a temporary use does not comply with the temporary use
criteria set out in the Official Plan and Thornhill Secondary Plan as follows:
i. The operation of the existing
landscape and snow removal business is disruptive to the adjacent residential
property to the north. Adequate protection
is not afforded to abutting properties either in terms of screening the visual
impacts from the trucks and equipment or noise impacts from the inevitable
activity of vehicles arriving and leaving the site both in the summer
(landscaping operations) and in the winter (snow removal operations).
ii. The development has entailed significant investment and
alterations to the subject property, both of which are not permitted for
temporary uses by the
iii. The unlawful
development has contributed to a general proliferation of illegal outdoor
storage uses in the area. The proposal
is not consistent with the Town’s objectives for improvement and redevelopment
of the area, and is contrary to the Official Plan and Secondary Plan.
2) Applications that do not confirm to current Official
Plan or Secondary Plan Policies are considered premature until the Langstaff
Use Study is completed and recommendations are adopted by Council.
BACKGROU
Property and Area Context
The subject property is
situated on the east side of
The subject property has a
lot frontage of 30.49 metres (100.04 ft) and has a lot area of approximately 0.41
hectares (1.00 ac). The site currently
supports a one-storey converted dwelling and six frame sheds that all are
located in the rear yard of the subject property (Figure 2). The site is currently being used for the
operation of a landscaping and snow removal business, with the existing one-storey
dwelling being used for office purposes.
The rear yard is being used for the outdoor storage of trucks and
trailers, which support the existing snow removal and landscaping business, as
well as building materials, equipment, skids, and scrap metal.
The application is for a Temporary Use Zoning By-law Amendment to legally
permit the operation of the existing landscaping and snow removal business. The applicants have advised that they purchased
the subject property in September of 1986 and have been using it since that
time to operate their business.
Adjoining the subject lands are:
- To the north, a single detached dwelling that is currently being
used for residential purposes;
- To the south, a single detached dwelling that is currently vacant;
- To the west, a single detached dwelling that is currently being
used as the office of a mechanical contractor;
- To the east, a single detached residential dwelling that currently supports
the illegal outdoor storage of new vehicles.
By-law Enforcement Program
The Town’s By-law
Enforcement Department is currently implementing a program to review the uses
operating in the Langstaff Redevelopment Area.
The implementation of this program has resulted in orders to comply
being issued on the subject property, as well as properties situated within
close proximity, including 3 & 5 Essex Ave, 196, 197, 198, 199, 201, 203,
205 and 206 Langstaff Rd East. The
intent of this program is to bring properties into conformity with the zoning
by-law. In many cases, properties situated
in the Langstaff Redevelopment Area that are currently zoned Rural Industrial
(R.IND) and Residential (R1) are being used for either the outdoor storage of
vehicles or as contractor’s yards. While
a number of property owners have recently brought forward temporary rezoning applications
to permit non-conforming uses, Council has been consistent in refusing
these. The most recent application, submitted
by the owner of 206 Langstaff, was seeking temporary use zoning to permit a
landscaping and snow removal business on lands currently zoned Residential
(R1). This application was refused by
the Development Services Committee at their
Proposal is for Temporary Use Permission to
Allow for a Snow Removal Business and Landscaping Business
The applicants are proposing
to amend the Zoning By-law to temporarily permit the operation of an existing landscaping
and snow removal business, which includes permitting the existing one-storey
dwelling to be used for offices purposes and the rear yard to be used for the open
storage of building materials, equipment, scrap metal, skids, debris, vehicles
and trailers. The existing one-storey
dwelling situated on the subject property was constructed in 1938 for the
purposes of a residential dwelling and is currently being used to carry out the
office functions associated with the existing business.
Official Plan
The
subject lands are designated “Urban Residential” in the Official Plan and are further refined by the
Thornhill Secondary Plan to “Medium Density Housing”. The subject property is situated within the
Langstaff Redevelopment Area, as identified in Section 14.1 of the Thornhill
Secondary Plan, which details the policies for lands within this area. The general intent of the “Medium Density
Housing” designation is to provide for new residential communities comprised
primarily of multiple forms of residential uses and associated commercial
uses. This designation applies to the
majority of lands located to the east of the CN railway to
Industrial
or commercial uses and open storage are not provided for in the Urban Residential
or Medium Density Housing designations.
However, both the Official Plan and Thornhill Secondary Plan include
policies to provide for uses that do not conform, on a temporary basis,
provided the proposed use meets the conditions identified in the section 7.3 e)
of the Official Plan and section 14.3 of the Thornhill Secondary Plan.
Zoning
The current zoning is Rural Industrial with
a holding provision [(H)R.IND.]. This category permits industrial
uses, including manufacturing, processing, packaging, bottling, printing, repairing
or warehousing which are conducted wholly within enclosed buildings and which are
not dangerous, obnoxious, or require municipal water supply or municipal
sanitary sewers. Show rooms and offices
are also permitted under the R.IND zone category. Retail sales, providing that they are
accessory to permitted wholesale outlets and industrial uses conducted on the
same premises, are allowed. Open
storage, of only new goods and materials is permitted in the rear yard,
providing that goods and materials are being used in conjunction with a permitted
rural industrial uses. An amendment to
the zoning by-law is being requested to allow for the operation of a
landscaping and snow removal business with open storage in the rear yard on a
temporary basis (Figure 4).
Staff are undertaking a review of
Secondary Plan policies in the Langstaff Area
The Langstaff Land Use Study is
underway and is anticipated to be completed by the end of this year. The purpose of the study is to review the
appropriateness of the current Retail Warehouse (west of the C
DISCUSSION :
Official Plan
As set out in both the Town
of
Town of
Section 7.3 (e) of the Town
of
- Council may pass by-laws to authorize the temporary use of land,
buildings or structures for an appropriate purpose that is not permitted
under the land use designation as shown on Schedule “A” – LA
The
proposal is not an appropriate use for the land, buildings or structures on the
property. The area is designated Urban
Residential under the Official Plan. The
establishment of this use conflicts with policies outlined for the Urban
Residential designation, which provides for residential uses on these lands.
- Council, when enacting a Zoning By-law permitting a temporary use,
shall require that the proposed use is of a temporary nature and shall not
entail any major construction or investment on the part of the owner so
that the owner will not experience undue hardship in reverting to the
original use upon the termination of the temporary use provisions. Requirements may be made in the By-law
for provisions to restore buildings, sites, structures or uses to those in
effect before enactment of the By-law.
The
subject business, which has been in continuous operation at this site since
1986, does not meet this test. There are
currently six frame sheds located in the rear yard of the subject site, which
have been erected for the purposes of executing the functions associated with
the existing landscaping and snow removal business. An extensive portion of the rear yard has been
surfaced with gravel to allow for the storage and movement of vehicles,
equipment and materials associated with the business. Staff are also concerned that a significant
amount of vegetation has been removed from the subject property over the years
to allow for the open storage of materials, equipment, vehicles, and trailers
in the rear yard of the subject property.
Together with the long-term operation of the business on the subject
site, these actions represent a significant investment, which does not comply
with the intent of a “temporary” use as set out in the Official Plan and
Thornhill Secondary Plan.
iii.
Council may extend a Zoning By-law
permitting a temporary use for further periods of up to three (3) years each,
in accordance with the provisions of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P. 13,
provided such extension does not jeopardize the long term development
intentions for the subject lands/area as specified in this Plan.
This is
the first time that a by-law would be passed on the subject land and as such
this provision does not apply. However,
permission, even for a first 3 year period will legally establish the use and
could jeopardize the long term possibilities for the site.
Secondary Plan
The Thornhill Secondary
Plan expands on the Official Plan polices (Section 14.3 c)). This section identifies certain tests against
which an application for temporary use should be evaluated:
i)
“Not disruptive to neighbouring property
owners and the general area...”
To ensure that the temporary use is
compatible with the surrounding neighbourhood, the Secondary Plan requires that
the use should not be disruptive to the neighbouring property owners. Visual impacts, noise, dust, parking and
traffic, amongst other nuisance factors, are of particular concern.
In August 2005, Town staff received
a complaint from the property owner to the north (
Staff are of the opinion that the mitigative
measures provided to screen the subject property from adjacent properties do not
adequately address the negative impacts of the truck traffic and outdoor
storage. These mitigative measures
include a board and chain link fence along the northern property line, a post
and wire fence along the eastern property line, and minimal landscaping along
the southern property line. Visual
impacts from the open storage of building
materials, equipment, scrap metal, skids, debris, vehicles and trailers are
poorly screened and noise impacts from the inevitable activity of vehicles arriving and
leaving the site both in the summer (landscaping operations) and in the winter
(snow removal operations) are not adequately abated. The properties to the east of the subject
site are zoned R1 (Residential) and there are a number of occupied dwellings in
the general area. Therefore, staff
conclude that the operation of a landscaping and snow removal business is not
compatible with the adjacent residential use, nor can it be made compatible
through mitigative measures.
ii)
“Any new buildings and site improvements
should be temporary and minimal in nature”.
The property currently supports a one-storey converted dwelling, as
well as six frame sheds situated in the rear yard, which are associated with
the business. Although the owner
proposes no further buildings on the site, at this time, the six storage
buildings represent a significant investment on the site to accommodate the
business.
iii)
“Existing, significant vegetation should
not be removed to accommodate temporary uses”.
This policy is included in the
Thornhill Secondary Plan in order to protect the natural environment. It is evident by examining aerial photos from
1995 and 1999 (Figures 5 and 6), that a significant number of mature trees
located on the subject property have been removed to provide additional storage
area in the rear yard. The only remaining vegetation on site are two
small grass and shrub areas that are situated in the rear yard. The majority of the rear yard has been
surfaced with gravel to accommodate
the parking of trucks and trailers, as well as the storage of equipment.
iv)
“Uses that require upgrading of existing
municipal services should not be considered in the context of temporary uses”.
There are no municipal services to be constructed or improved.
v)
“Generally, extensive paving of parking
facilities should not be essential or necessary to accommodate a temporary use”.
The majority of the site has been surfaced with gravel
in order to accommodate truck traffic to the rear of the site, as well as the
storage of vehicles, equipment, skids, debris, scrap metal and building
material. Small grass and shrub areas
have been maintained in the rear yard. This
type of use would normally require some treatment such as asphalt or similar
construction in order to reduce dust and dirt from travelling off site. This conflicts with the above policy of the
Secondary plan.
FI
ENVIRONMENTAL CO
The site currently
consists of two small landscaped areas situated in the rear yard.
BUSI
The applications have been circulated to various Town departments and
external agencies and are currently under review.
CO
Based on this analysis, staff are of the opinion that
this application should be refused, as it does not meet the criteria for a
temporary use set out by the
1) The proposed zoning amendment to permit the existing landscaping and
snow removal business as a temporary use does not comply with the temporary use
criteria set out in the Official Plan and Thornhill Secondary Plan as follows:
i) The operation of the existing
landscape and snow removal business is disruptive to the adjacent residential
property to the north. Adequate
protection is not afforded to abutting properties either in terms of screening
the visual impacts from the trucks and equipment or noise impacts from the
inevitable activity of vehicles arriving and leaving the site both in the
summer (landscaping operations) and in the winter (snow removal operations).
ii) The development has entailed significant investment and
alterations to the subject property, both of which are not permitted for
temporary uses by the
iii) The unlawful
development has contributed to a general proliferation of illegal outdoor
storage uses in the area. The proposal is
not consistent with the Town’s objectives for improvement and redevelopment of
the area, and is contrary to the Official Plan and Secondary Plan.
2) Applications that do not confirm to current Official
Plan or Secondary Plan Policies are considered premature until the Langstaff
Use Study is completed and recommendations are adopted by Council.
|
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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 |
DOCUMENT: \\MARKHAM.CA\APPS\AMANDADOCS\PLANNING\SAVEPATH\31588650068.DOC
ATTACHMENTS: Figure 1 – Location Map
Figure
2 – Site Plan
Figure
3 – Air Photo – 2002
Figure
4 – Area Context and Zoning
Figure
5 – Air Photo – 1995
Figure
6 – Air Photo – 1999
APPLICANT/AGENT: Charles Ticker
Atria
III,
M2J
5C2
Phone
# (416) 773-0007
Fax
# (416) 493-1855
Figure
1
