RECOMMENDATION:
That
a Public Meeting be held to consider Zoning By-law Amendment (ZA. 02-118835)
and Official Plan Amendment (OP. 02-118830) applications, submitted by the
Toronto Ling Liang Church, to permit the construction of an early retirement
apartment complex having a maximum of 55 units at the southwest corner of
Denison Street and Clayton Drive (288 Clayton Drive);
And
that staff schedule a Public Meeting when the issues outlined in the February
18, 2003 preliminary report have been sufficiently addressed by the applicant.
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this report is to provide
preliminary information regarding applications for zoning by-law and official
plan amendments to permit the construction of an early retirement apartment
complex, and to recommend that a public meeting be scheduled when identified
issues have been sufficiently addressed.
BACKGROUND:
The subject property is located at the southwest corner of Denison
Street and Clayton Drive, municipally known as 288 Clayton Drive, and has a lot
area of 0.8783 hectare (2.17 acre). The
north portion of the property is occupied by an existing 1,133.5 m² (12,200 ft²)
place of worship, which was constructed in 1998 (Figure 1 and 3).
The property is bounded to the south by single detached dwellings, to
the east across Clayton Drive by an existing industrial use, and to the west as
well as to the north across Denison Street by vacant industrial properties (Figure
3).
A rental apartment complex having a maximum of 55 units is proposed
The applicant has submitted applications for official plan and zoning
by-law amendments to permit a 55-unit rental apartment complex for semi-retired
individuals. The applicant has not
applied for site plan approval at this time, but has provided staff with a
conceptual site plan and building elevations (Figure 4 and 5). The concept plan shows a low-rise 55-unit
apartment with a gross floor area of 4,340.28 m² (46,719.98 ft²). The apartment is proposed to be 4 storeys,
with a total height of 12.2 metres. The
applicant is proposing 53 one-bedroom (595 ft²) units and 2 two-bedroom (834
ft²) units.
The basement area of the building is to be dedicated to classes such as
Tai Chi, music, flower arrangement, etc.
Full details as to whether these activities will be available to local
residents in the community, is not confirmed at this time.
Zoning
By-law and Official Plan amendments required
The lands are currently designated Business Park in the Official
Plan. The intent of this designation is
to accommodate
higher order office/industrial uses, but this
designation, under existing policies permits the existing place of
worship. An official plan amendment,
however, is required to permit residential uses.
The subject lands are currently zoned Select Industrial and Limited
Commercial MC (40%) under By-law 108-81, as amended. In 1996, a site specific zoning by-law amendment (By-law 168-96)
added specific permission for a place of worship, private school and day care
on the property (Figure 2). In order
to accommodate the proposed 55-unit apartment complex, the by-law would have to
be further amended to rezone the lands to permit residential use.
Given that the entire site is proposed to be developed with
non-industrial uses, the appropriate land use designation and zoning for this
property will also be reviewed as part of this application.
Applicant will be applying for
a consent to sever for mortgage purposes
The applicant has advised that they will be applying for consent to
sever for mortgage purposes. Even if
this consent application were to be approved, the church and proposed
apartments would be considered separate lots only if the mortgage were to go
into default. As long as the whole
property remains under one ownership, the church and the proposed apartment
complex will continue to be owned and operated by the church and remain
integrated as one site.
Applicant will be applying for
funding through the affordable housing program
In December 2002, the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing
announced details of the first phase of the Community Rental Housing component
of the joint Federal/Provincial Affordable Housing Program. The Community Rental Housing program focuses
on creating new, affordable rental units in multi-residential buildings. Units built under the program must be
similar in size and amenities to other dwelling units in the community, with
rents that remain affordable for a minimum period of 15 years.
The Province has designated the Region of York as the Consolidated
Municipal Service Manager (CMSM) to manage tender calls and select projects
best suited to meet local needs. In
total, 300 units have been allocated to York Region for the first phase of the
Community Rental Housing Program. The
applicant has received funding from CMHC to cover soft costs (i.e. architect
fees, surveyor fees, etc), and they also intend to apply to York Region for
funding under the Community Rental Housing Program. The applicant’s agent has also advised that the project has been
designed so that it would be financially viable with or without Federal
funding. Rents are projected to be
$770-790 for one-bedroom units, and $910-930 for two-bedroom units.
Town’s Place of Worship study remains to be completed but preliminary
findings are available
The Town has retained a consultant to undertake a review of Town
policies relating to places of worship, and in particular large scale
“regional” places of worship. This
study will address issues such as appropriate locations for places of worship
of various sizes and scales, including the appropriateness of such uses within
various land use classifications, development standards, and accessory uses
that should be permitted. Council has
received the background report, and staff are currently working with the
consultant to finalize the recommendations.
Preliminary information indicates that the Place of Worship Study will
be recommending a new parking standard of approximately 1 parking space for
every 4 seats, or 1 parking space for every 10 m² of gross floor area,
whichever is greater. The Study also is
recommending that a traffic and parking study be undertaken for place of
worship facilities requiring 100 parking spaces or more.
Insufficient parking on site
to accommodate the proposed apartment
The
existing church has a gross floor area of 1,133.5 m² (12,200 ft²). The site-specific by-law amendment (By-law
168-96) requires that parking be assessed at a rate of 1 parking space for
every 17.5 m² of gross floor area, or 1 parking space for every 6 seats. Based on this standard, the church would
require a total of 65 parking spaces (1,133.5 m² GFA /17.5 m²). The church currently has 83 parking spaces
for a total surplus of 18 parking spaces.
Theses surplus parking spaces are proposed to be used towards the
parking requirement for the proposed apartment complex.
Based on the new proposed place or worship parking standard of 1 parking
space for every 4 seats, or 1 parking space for every 10 m² of gross floor
area, whichever is greater, the church would require a total of 113 parking
spaces (1,133.5 m² GFA/10 m²).
The parking by-law requires that parking for apartment dwellings be
assessed at a rate of 1.25 parking spaces per dwelling unit plus 0.25 parking
spaces per dwelling unit for visitors.
Based on this parking standard, the proposed 55-unit apartment would
require 83 parking spaces.
The existing church and the proposed apartment are integrated on the
site (Figure 4). As noted earlier, the
applicant is proposing to apply for consent to sever the lot for mortgage
purposes, and the property would continue to be regarded as one lot unless the
owner defaulted on the mortgage.
Parking is assessed on a per lot basis.
Therefore, the entire site (church + proposed apartment) would require
148 parking spaces, while only 136 parking spaces are being proposed for a
shortall of 12 parking spaces. It
should be noted that the existing site-specific parking requirements would
likely continue to apply. However,
based on the proposed new place of worship standards, this site (church +
proposed apartment) would require 196 parking spaces, whereas only 136 parking
spaces would be available, resulting in a shortfall of 60 parking spaces.
The applicant has discussed with staff the opportunity of providing
shared parking between the church and the proposed apartment, should the
property become two separate lots in the future. The exact location of the proposed severance lot line remains to
be finalized, and the option of providing shared parking arrangements would
require further review. The impact of
any community uses in the basement on parking would also have to be reviewed.
It should be noted that the applicant has advised that the church
currently has a membership of approximately 85-120 people with a seating
capacity of up to 250 people, and offers one Sunday service between 11:00 am to
12:30 pm. Youth group activities and
bible study groups are also offered at this church once a week, with an average
of 20-30 people attending each of these activities. In addition, the applicant has advised that the future residents
of the proposed apartment complex will range in ages of 50 –75, and they
anticipate that the majority of seniors will not own a car.
Given the parking shortage and the uncertainties noted above, it would
be appropriate to require a parking demand analysis as part of the review of
these applications.
Water allocation has not yet been granted for proposed
development
The Engineering Department has advised that water allocation has not yet
been granted for the proposed development.
This matter remains to be reviewed.
POTENTIAL BENEFITS OF APPROVAL OF THE
PROPOSAL:
Some of the anticipated benefits include:
·
Proposal is in keeping with Town
initiatives regarding compact urban development form;
·
Opportunity to provide affordable
rental housing units for semi-retired individuals; and
·
Proposal is transit supportive.
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.
- Site plan application remains to be
submitted;
- Compatibility of the
proposed built form with adjacent residential neighbourhood requires
further review;
- Possible impact on the
industrial land base in the area must be considered;
- Site layout, landscaping and buffer/screening
issues remain to be addressed;
- Further parking demand analysis is
required;
- Proposed shared parking arrangement as
well as the impact on parking of any community uses in the basement
require further review;
- Clarification of the type of activities
proposed for the basement of the apartment, and who will use these
facilities is required; and
- Appropriate land use
designation and zoning to reflect the existing church and proposed
development remains to be determined; and
- Water allocation for the
proposed development remains to be reviewed.
FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:
There are no
financial implications for the Town in this report.
BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:
The
applications were circulated to internal departments (Fire, Building,
Engineering, Design, Waste Management), and external agencies for comments.
Public
Meeting should be held once issues have been sufficiently addressed
It is recommended that staff be authorized to call a Public Meeting when
issues noted in this report have been sufficiently addressed.
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Valerie
Shuttleworth, M.C.I.P., R.P.P.
Director
of Planning and Urban Design
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Jim
Baird, M.C.I.P., R.P.P.
Commissioner
of Development Services
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FIGURE
1
Q:/Development/Planning/App/Zoning/ZA02118835/DSC_Feb18
ATTACHMENTS:
Figure
1: Location Map
Figure
2: Aerial Map
Figure
3: Zoning/Context Map
Figure
4: Proposed Site Plan
Figure 5: Elevations
APPLICANT/AGENT: Simon H.K. Ng Tel: (416) 250-8488
178
Willowdale Avenue Fax: (416) 250-8148
Toronto,
ON
M2N
4Y8
