January 21, 1998
To: East York Community Council
From: Richard Z. Tomaszewicz
Commissioner of Development Services
East York Office
Subject: PRELIMINARY EVALUATION REPORT
Ernesto and Leonora Palma and Celia Lim
458 Dawes Road
East York By-law No. 6752
Purpose:
An application was submitted by E. and L. Palma and C. Lim on November 4, 1997, to request Council to amend East York Zoning By-law #6752 by rezoning the premises at 458 Dawes Road from Industrial SI to Commercial C zoning. The applicants wish to use these premises as a specialty food store.
Recommendation:
That the East York Community Council convene a public meeting for this application in the second quarter of 1998 and instruct the Clerk to provide public notice by circulation.
Background:
Mr. and Mrs. Palma and Ms. Lim currently operate their specialty food retailing business out of 460 Dawes Road which adjoins 458 Dawes Road on the north. Their lease with the owner of that property expires at the end of August 1998 and it is uncertain if it can be renewed. Thus when the premises at 458 Dawes Road came on the market they chose to buy it with the intent of relocating their business to that new location.
Although the building at 458 Dawes Road, had previously been used for commercial purposes, this use was discontinued for more than 6 months, resulting in a loss of its 'legal non- conforming` status. That status would have made it possible to continue the proposed commercial use provided the Committee of Adjustment had sanctioned its extension. The loss of that status now makes it necessary to rezone the site for its intended commercial function.
Comments:
Proposed Uses
As previously indicated, the proposed use of the premises is not new to this general location. It already operates out of 460 Dawes Road to the immediate north of these premises. In fact, although zoned SI Industrial, the entire grouping of buildings along this stretch of Dawes Road is currently used for commercial enterprises, ranging from take-out restaurants to specialty retail stores.
Site and Building Statistics
Site Area 156.4 m2 (1,683.4 sq. ft.) -
Lot Frontage 6.4 m (21 ft.)
Lot Depth 25.9 m (85 ft.)
Building`s Gross Floor Area 105.1 m2 (1,131.7 sq. ft.)
-Proportion of the
Building to be
Devoted to Retail 58.1 m2 (625.4 sq. ft.)
-Proportion of the
Building to be
Devoted to Storage 47.0 m2 (505.9 sq. ft.)
No. of Parking Spaces none
No. of Loading Spaces none
Property Upkeep
Planning staff have discussed the upkeep and appearance of these premises with the applicant`s representative. He indicates that the owners are prepared to make some general improvements to the building's facade and that they also plan to make substantial improvements to the interior of the building. These will be described in a future staff report.
Parking/Loading
Based on the requirements of Section 8.5.2 and 8.5.3 of Zoning By-law No. 6752, the proposed use requires 2 parking spaces and 1 loading space. The applicant`s drawings show a parking area at the rear of the property. It is accessed via a very narrow laneway adjoining the rear of the commercial strip at this location. This access is not wide enough to allow cars to access and exit this parking area in a forward direction. Consequently these parking spaces cannot be considered to meet the minimum by-law requirements. This being the case, no on site parking area is available to service the proposed store. Planning staff are currently reviewing this situation with the transportation engineer to determine its acceptibility and/or to ascertain possible solutions.
Delivery of products currently takes place from the street. This is the established method of servicing for all the commercial establishment along this strip.
Our future recommendation report will examine these matters in greater detail.
Conclusion:
This rezoning request would confirm a long established use of these premises. As previously noted, this application was submitted in November of 1997, and the sign advising the neighbourhood of the proposed change has been in place since mid December. To date it has not produced any telephone inquiries/comments or negative feedback. Thus, we do not intend hold a preview meeting on this application.
Staff recommend that the East York Community Council hold a public meeting on this application in the second quarter of 1998, and that the Clerk provide public notice via circulation.
Contact Name:
Jean Besz,
Senior Planner East York Community Office
(416) 778-2045
(416) 466-9877
planning@borough.eastyork.on.ca
Richard Z. Tomaszewicz
Commissioner of Development Services
East York Office
JB/jb
