September 3, 1998

East York Office

Ward 1 (East York)

Purpose:

This report addresses a staff proposal to amend Zoning By-law No. 6752 to change the parking requirement for restaurants in commercial zones on Broadview Avenue.

This report is for consideration by the East York Community Council at the public meeting of September 16, 1998.

Recommendation:

That Council approve amendments to Zoning By-law No. 6752 to change the minimum parking requirement for restaurants on lands zoned Commercial on Broadview Avenue to one parking space per 47 square metres of gross floor area, and request the Chief Planner to bring forward a by-law amendment for enactment.

Background:

This report is one in a series of reports assessing the zoning by-law standards for restaurants in the commercial strip areas in East York.

On June 15, 1992, the Council of the former Borough of East York adopted changes to the restaurant parking standards in the zoning by-laws, and removed the prohibition on restaurants on Donlands Avenue, Coxwell Avenue, O'Connor Drive (between Pape Avenue and Lesmount Avenue), and St. Clair Avenue. At the same time, the Council expressed a concern that commercial parking standards may hinder the establishment of new businesses, and directed staff to undertake a study of parking standards on Pape Avenue.

Since that time, staff have undertaken studies to determine if there is a sufficient parking supply in each commercial strip area on Pape Avenue, Donlands Avenue, Coxwell Avenue, Woodbine Avenue and O’Connor Drive. These studies have resulted in amendments to Zoning By-law No. 6752 to reduce the parking requirement for restaurants from one parking space per 4.8 square metres of public floor area to one parking space per 47 square metres of gross floor area. The new standard is the same as the requirement for retail and office uses. The change permits restaurants, retail and office uses to occupy existing commercial buildings interchangeably in the commercial strips, without requiring additional parking. It recognizes that it is impossible to provide additional parking on most properties in the commercial strip, and eliminates the need for Committee of Adjustment approval for most new restaurants on these streets.

Staff reported on the most recent study on September 8, 1997. The Council of the former Borough of East York approved changes to the parking standard for restaurants on Woodbine Avenue and O’Connor Drive, but decided not to change the requirement for restaurants on Bayview Avenue. On October 7, 1997, the Council passed By-law No. 141-97 to change the requirement to one parking space per 47 square metres of gross floor area on these streets. Gordian Foods Limited, the owner of Whistler’s Grille and Cafe-Bar on Broadview Avenue, appealed the by-law to the Ontario Municipal Board.

Prior to the Ontario Municipal Board hearing, the appellants withdrew their appeal after staff assured them that a similar study would be undertaken on Broadview Avenue. Staff are in the process of reviewing the remaining strip areas and pockets of commercial-zoned land in the East York Community. This process has been time consuming. In the past, staff relied on student employees to do most of the parking counts. This year, a reduced number of student employees has resulted in a smaller work program, however, we expect to be able to report on all the remaining commercial areas by the fourth quarter of 1998 or the first quarter of 1999 using permanent staff. In the meantime, to meet our commitment to Gordian Foods Limited as expeditiously as possible, staff are reporting on the study of Broadview Avenue now.

This report addresses the results of the study.

Comments:

Staff documented the location of all existing parking spaces on Broadview Avenue, including on-site parking; boulevard parking; and curbside parking on each commercial street. The study includes parking within a reasonable walking distance on flankage streets. For flankage streets, staff counted the available parking spaces within a zone around each commercial street at a distance of 50 metres. This distance represents an estimate of the distance that an average adult could walk in one minute. (Staff also counted parking spaces within zones of 150 metres and 250 metres, which represent walking times of three minutes and five minutes respectively, but only the inventories within 50 metres are included in this report.)

Staff then observed the occupancy rates of the parking spaces on the street on Thursday, June 25, 1998 and Saturday, June 27, 1998. The weekday counts were done nine times between noon and 5:00 p.m. The Saturday counts were done five times between noon and 2:00 p.m. Staff assumed the highest parking demand would occur during these times, based on the previous studies.

Study Area:

The study area included all properties zoned commercial with frontage on Broadview Avenue, in the East York Community.

The commercial zoned land is located on both sides of Broadview Avenue, between the former municipal boundary in the south (just north of Chesterhill Road) to just north of Bater Avenue in the north. There is also a pocket of commercial zoned land on the east side of Broadview Avenue, on the north side of Torrens Avenue. The commercial zoned land is interspersed with various residential zoned lands.

Parking Supply and Demand:

There are 570 parking spaces in the study area, including spaces on private property in commercial zones, and spaces on flankage streets within 50 metres of Broadview Avenue.

During the weekday observations, the parking spaces were used between 23.2% and 31.2% of the time. The peak time occurred at noon. During the Saturday observations, parking was utilized between 25.8% and 29.8% of the time. Again, the peak time occurred at noon.

Community Consultations:

Notice of this public meeting was given by publication in the Toronto Star on August 7, 1998.

This report is being circulated to the East York Ward 3 Residents’ Association.

Planning Commentary:

In many cases in the commercial strip areas of East York, property owners cannot establish restaurants without obtaining approval from the Committee of Adjustment for a parking variance, or approval of a cash-in-lieu of parking agreement from Council. This is because the zoning by-laws require more parking for restaurants than for retail uses and offices. Property owners often choose to apply to the Committee of Adjustment for a minor variance, which involves a two month approval process, including a public hearing, and an appeal process.

Another option for owners is to design the restaurant so that the public portion is small enough that no additional parking is required by the by-law. This is possible because the current parking standard is based on the size of the public portion of the restaurant.

In the opinion of staff, the approvals process, time and money required to obtain permission to operate a restaurant in the commercial strip areas is a disincentive to the economic revitalization of the Borough's commercial strip areas. Staff are recommending changing the parking requirement for restaurants on Broadview Avenue to 1 space per 47 m² of gross floor area, which is the same as the general parking requirement in both by-laws. This change would permit uses to interchange in existing commercial units where the parking supply would otherwise not comply with the by-law requirements. It would also eliminate the municipal approvals process, and the inherent time delays, except for building permits and Metro licenses. It is also consistent with Council's approach on Pape Avenue, Donlands Avenue, Coxwell Avenue, Woodbine Avenue and O’Connor Drive.

The survey of parking occupancy rates shows that these areas could support additional parking demand.

CONCLUSION:

In the opinion of staff, the commercial areas on Broadview Avenue can accommodate increased parking demand. Staff are recommending that the zoning by-laws be amended by changing the parking standard for restaurants on these three street to 1 space per 47 m² of gross floor area.

Contact:

David Oikawa, Director of Planning

East York Office

/PG

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