July 9, 1998
To:East York Community Council
From:Richard Tomaszewicz
Commissioner of Development Services, East York Office
Subject:Application to Amend Zoning By-law No. 6752
1150 Woodbine Avenue - Ward 1, East York
Purpose:
The purpose of this report is to provide the East York Community Council with a staff
opinion and recommendations on an application to amend Zoning By-law No. 6752 to
permit five dwelling units in a semi-detached dwelling at 1150 Woodbine Avenue.
The report is for the East York Community Council's consideration at the public meeting on
July 22, 1998.
Recommendations:
It is recommended that City Council:
(1)Refuse the application by Mr. Paul Jeffery to amend Zoning By-law No. 6752 to permit
five dwelling units in a semi-detached dwelling at 1150 Woodbine Avenue; and
(2)Pass an amendment to Zoning By-law No. 6752 to permit four dwelling units in a
semi-detached dwelling at 1150 Woodbine Avenue, and that the Zoning By-law amendment
require a minimum of four on-site parking spaces with a minimum width of 2.3 metres.
Background:
Mr. Paul Jeffery submitted an application on behalf of the owner, Tina Soulis, to amend
Zoning By-law No. 6752 to permit five residential units in an existing semi-detached
dwelling at 1150 Woodbine Avenue. The applicant submitted the application in response to
by-law enforcement action by the City.
Site Description:
The site is a 205 m2 (2,200 sq. ft.) property located at the northwest corner of Woodbine
Avenue and Queensdale Avenue. The site location is shown on the attached Location Map.
The property was originally developed with a two-storey detached building that was used
for commercial and residential uses. In 1994, the owner converted it into a semi-detached
dwelling by constructing another dwelling on the north side of the original house. The lot
was subsequently severed to create two properties. The two lots are now known municipally
as 1150 and 1152 Woodbine Avenue. This application deals with 1150 Woodbine Avenue
only.
The semi-detached dwelling at 1150 Woodbine Avenue has a floor area of approximately
163 m2 (1,760 sq. ft.), plus a 90 m2 (960 sq. ft.) basement.
Proposal:
There are five dwelling units in the house. Two of the units were established legally. The
applicant is seeking approval to maintain three units that were established without zoning
approval. The five units are shown on the attached floor plans.
One of the legal units (Unit 1) is on the second floor, and is approximately 74 m2 (800 sq.
ft.) in area. The other one (Unit 2) is located on the ground floor, at the rear of the house,
and is approximately 40 m2 (440 sq. ft. in area). Staff from the Building and By-law
Enforcement Division investigated the history of the uses on the site as part of their by-law
enforcement action, and are satisfied that these two units were established before the Zoning
By-law was passed in 1960.
The applicant is seeking to legalize the other three units. Unit 3 is located on the ground
floor at the front of the dwelling, and is approximately 48 m2 (520 sq. ft.) in area. This unit
was previously used for commercial uses, including a tailor and dry cleaning depot, and a
business office.
The applicant is also seeking permission to maintain two basement apartment units (Units 4
and 5), each of which is approximately 40 m2 (430 sq. ft.) in area.
The applicant is proposing to provide four parking spaces, including two on-site spaces and
two boulevard spaces. The proposed parking spaces are shown on the applicant's Site Plan
(attached).
Official Plan:
The property is located in the vicinity of the boundary between a Low Density Residential
designation and a Main Streets Commercial/Residential designation in the Official Plan for
the Borough of East York. The Interpretation policies in Section 4.1 indicate that the
boundaries between designations are approximate and are not intended to define exact
locations except where they coincide with clearly recognizable features on the map, such as
roads. There is no clearly recognizable feature defining the boundary between the Low
Density Residential and Main Streets Commercial/Residential designations in this case.
Since the site and the surrounding area are predominantly residential, staff are of the opinion
that the Low Density Residential policies should apply in this case.
The Low Density Residential policies are in Section 3.3 of the Official Plan.
The Low Density Residential policies permit the land to be zoned for ground-oriented
housing forms, such as detached, semi-detached and row house dwellings. Other housing
forms such as plexes may also be permitted.
Section 3.3.8 states, "The zoning by-law shall establish the density and nature of
development in Low Density Residential areas based on the prevailing and desired physical
characteristics of the area."
Section 2.5 of the Official Plan contains general housing policies that encourage
intensification of the existing housing stock. Section 2.5.22 permits apartments in detached
and semi-detached dwellings and rowhouses in residential areas provided they maintain a
minimum of one parking space per residential unit.
Zoning By-law:
The property is zoned R2A in Zoning By-law No. 6752. The zoning by-law permits
one-family detached and semi-detached dwellings, and institutional uses, but not a five-unit
dwelling. The Council of the former Borough of East York passed By-law No. 148-97 on
October 7, 1997 to permit an accessory apartment unit in a detached or semi-detached
dwelling. The by-law does not permit more than one extra dwelling unit, however, so a
Zoning By-law amendment is necessary to permit five units in the building.
Comments:
Circulation:
The application was circulated to the usual commenting departments and agencies. The
following agencies replied with no concerns.
- Engineering and Transportation Services Division;
- The Building and By-law Enforcement Division noted that the applicant will be required
to comply with certain provisions of the Ontario Building Code;
- Fire Department;
- Toronto Hydro;
- Consumers Gas;
- Bell Canada;
- Parks, Recreation and Operations Department;
The application was also circulated to the Health Department, the Toronto Board of
Education, the Separate School Board, the Police Department, and Rogers Cable. No
comments were received.
Notice of the Public Meeting:
Notice of the Public Meeting was circulated to every owner of land within 400 feet of the
site.
Planning Comments:
Planning staff can only support four residential units in the house for the following reasons:
- Policy 2.5.22 of the Official Plan permits accessory apartments in semi-detached
dwellings, provided they maintain at least one parking space per residential unit. The
applicant is proposing four parking spaces, however, two of the proposed spaces would
be located on the Queensdale Avenue boulevard. There is enough room in the rear yard
for four parking spaces if the spaces are re-oriented so that they face north (towards the
adjacent rear yard). Each space would be approximately 2.36 metres (7' 9") wide instead
of 2.40 metres (7' 11") wide, as required by the Zoning By-law. This deficiency is minor,
in the opinion of Planning staff and Engineering and Transportation Services staff, and
could be recognized in the Zoning By-law amendment. By providing four parking spaces
on-site, the applicant could comply with this Official Plan policy, but only for four
dwelling units. Therefore, staff can support four dwelling units, provided four on-site
parking spaces are provided. A Site Plan showing this alternative parking layout is
attached.
- The other policies in Section 2.5 of the Official Plan encourage intensification of the
housing stock; promote the conservation and maintenance of the existing housing stock;
and promote the provision of private rental accommodation. These policies generally
support apartments in the house.
- The property has been used for various commercial uses in conjunction with accessory
dwelling units for several years. In the opinion of staff, there will not be any adverse
changes to the neighbourhood if the use of the property is changed to four apartment
units.
Conclusion:
The Official Plan housing policies and the Low Density Residential policies generally
support intensification of the property with accessory apartments. Staff cannot support the
proposal for five units, however, because the proposal does not comply with the Official
Plan policy requiring one parking space per unit.
Staff are satisfied that the Official Plan policies would support a zoning amendment to
permit four dwelling units on the property, if the applicant provides four on-site parking
spaces. If Council is satisfied that four dwelling units are appropriate for the property, staff
should be requested to prepare an amendment to the zoning by-law to permit four units and
to require four on-site parking spaces with a minimum width of 2.3 metres.
City Wide Issues:
None.
Contact Name:
Paul Galvin, Planner
Phone: (416) 778-2043
Fax: (416) 466-9877
pgalvin@borough.eastyork.on.ca
Respectfully submitted,
Richard Tomaszewicz
Commissioner of Development Services
East York Office
/PG
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