Report to: Development Services Committee Report Date:
SUBJECT: PRELIMINARY REPORT
Don
Valley North Automotive Inc.
Applications
to amend the Official Plan and Zoning By-law to permit a new Don Valley North
Hyundai automobile dealership at 7200 Victoria Park Avenue (North of Steeles
Avenue, west side of Victoria Park Avenue)
File Nos. OP 09 116231 & ZA 09 116232
PREPARED BY: Stacia Muradali, ext. 2008
Planner, Central District
RECOMMENDATION:
1) That the report titled, “PRELIMINARY REPORT, Don Valley North Automotive Inc. Applications to amend the Official Plan and Zoning By-law to permit a new Don Valley North Hyundai automobile dealership at 7200 Victoria Park Avenue (North of Steeles Avenue, west side of Victoria Park Avenue), OP 09 116231 & ZA 09 116232”, be received;
2) That a Public Meeting be held to consider the Official Plan Amendment (OP 09 116231) and Zoning By-law Amendment (ZA 09 116232) applications submitted by Don Valley North Automotive Inc;
3) And that Staff be authorized and directed to do all things necessary to give effect to this resolution.
Not applicable.
PURPOSE:
Don Valley North Automotive Inc.
has submitted applications for Official Plan and Zoning By-law amendments to
permit a new Don Valley North Hyundai automobile dealership at
BACKGROUND:
Subject property and area context
Proposal is for a new Hyundai automobile dealership
Don Valley North Automotive Inc.
has submitted applications to amend the Official Plan and Zoning By-law, as
well as a site plan application, to permit a new Hyundai automobile dealership
which is anticipated to be constructed in two phases. The first phase will have a gross floor area
of approximately 2,105.7 m2 (22,665 ft2) and the second phase will have a gross
floor area of approximately 1,507.4 m2 (16,226 ft2). Phase 1 will consist of the main body of the
automobile dealership with a showroom highlighting the corner of Victoria Park
Avenue and
Phase 2 will consist of an extension of the showroom fronting onto Victoria Park Avenue and an expanded service area located towards the rear (Figure 4). Market conditions will drive the viability and construction of Phase 2.
A total of 216 surface parking spaces, including 2 handicapped spaces, resulting in a surplus of 152 parking spaces, will be provided as part of the Phase 1 development. Approximately 150 parking spaces in total will be provided when Phase 2 is completed, ultimately resulting in a surplus of 14 parking spaces. Accesses are proposed on both Victoria Park Avenue and Torbay Road. The proposed building will be one-storey and approximately half of the elevation will be clad in glass (Figure 5). It is anticipated that Phase 1 of the proposed automobile dealership will employ approximately 68 individuals, and an additional 30 individuals will be employed as part of Phase 2.
Official Plan and Zoning By-law amendments are required to permit the
dealership
The Official Plan designates the
subject property “Industrial- Business Park Area”. The intent of this designation is to
accommodate a mix of high quality business activities including corporate head
offices and research facilities. Retail
and service commercial activities are strictly controlled within this
designation. Car washes, automobile
repair uses and retail uses involving outdoor storage and/or display of
merchandise are prohibited. The
proponent is requesting that the subject property be re-designated to
“Commercial Corridor Area”. The property
to the immediate south (
The subject property is zoned “Select Industrial and Limited Commercial [MC (80%)] under Zoning By-law 108-81, as amended. The current zoning permits a variety of industrial, office and limited commercial uses, but does not include permission for automobile sales and service uses. The proponent is requesting that the subject property be rezoned to “Commercial Corridor Area” similar to the site-specific zoning amendment which was implemented on the Don Valley North Toyota dealership site to the south.
OPTIONS/ DISCUSSION:
The following is a brief and preliminary 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 proposed Official Plan amendment represents a conversion of
employment lands to retail use
The proposed Official Plan amendment to re-designate the lands from “Industrial-Business Park Lands” to “Commercial Corridor Area” represents a conversion of employment lands and is therefore subject to specific criteria on both the provincial and municipal levels, in this regard.
The Town’s Official Plan requires that specific regard be given when considering a deletion, change or extension of an assigned industrial land use category. Such criteria include locational attributes, compatibility and complementarity of uses, development impact on adjacent uses, availability of other designated lands to accommodate the use proposed, and the effect of a change in designation on the supply of land in the categories affected, and consistency with the goals and objectives for industrial and commercial development and related policies in the Official Plan.
The Town’s Employment Lands Strategy (Phase 1) indicates that the Town could have a shortfall of employment land as early as 2016. The subject property is considered part of the vacant land inventory which is part of the Employment Lands Strategy, and may be required to help accommodate projected Employment Land Employment and Major Office Employment, employment growth to 2031.
Under the Provincial Policy Statement and Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, municipalities may permit conversion of lands within employment areas, to non-employment uses, only through a municipal comprehensive review where it has been demonstrated that, among other things, there is a need for conversion, the municipality will meet the employment forecasts, the conversion will not adversely affect the overall liability of the employment area, there is existing or planned infrastructure to accommodate the conversion and that the lands are not required over the long term for the employment purposes for which they were designated. The Town has initiated employment lands studies which will inform the future municipal comprehensive review as defined by the Provincial Policy Statement and Growth Plan.
Staff are considering the above criteria and related policies as part of our review, and the final recommendation report will include a more detailed discussion and analysis of the potential policy and Town-wide implications of any re-designation of the lands.
A site plan application is under review
Site plan evaluation will include, but is not limited to the following matters:
- Tree preservation and on-site landscaping;
- Mitigation of the large surface parking areas;
- Implementation of sustainability measures;
- Outdoor storage and display of vehicles;
- Required road-widening along a portion of the Victoria Park Avenue frontage;
- Bird-friendly design and elevation details;
- Assessment, and any necessary remediation, of existing soil conditions; and
- Site servicing constraints such as limited downstream sanitary sewer capacity.
FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS AND TEMPLATE: (external link)
Not applicable.
HUMAN
RESOURCES CONSIDERATIONS
Not applicable.
ALIGNMENT WITH STRATEGIC PRIORITIES:
Consideration of whether the proposed employment land conversion conforms to the Growth Management Strategy is being undertaken as part of staff’s review and will be discussed in the final recommendation report.
BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:
These applications were
circulated to all Town departments and external agencies, and their
recommendations/comments will be incorporated in the final recommendation
report.
RECOMMENDED BY:
_______________________________ ________________________________
Biju Karumanchery, M.C.I.P.,
R.P.P James Baird, M.C.I.P., R.P.P
Senior Development
Manager
Commissioner of Development Services
ATTACHMENTS:
Figure 1- Location Map
Figure 2- Air Photo 2007
Figure 3- Area Context/Zoning
Figure 4- Site Plan
Figure 5- Elevations
AGENT
Mr. Mike Everard
Augusta National Inc.
Tel: 905-944-9709
Fax: 905-944-9710
File path: Amanda\File 09 116231\Documents\Preliminary Report