July 8, 1998

To:North York Community Council

From:Bryan Tuckey

Acting Commissioner of Planning

 Subject:PRELIMINARY EVALUATION REPORT

ZONING AMENDMENT & DRAFT PLAN OF SUBDIVISION APPLICATION

Glenarda Properties Ltd.

20 Bond Street

Lot 5, Plan M-525

Ward 11 - Don Parkway

UDZ-98-13, UDSB-1238

Purpose:

This is a preliminary evaluation of the application for zoning by-law amendment and subdivision approval in order to permit a mixed use development consisting of detached houses, townhouses, office and park land uses. Each of the residential units will be designed to include a dedicated work space, such as an office, as an accessory use to the main residential living area. The commercial building on the Scarsdale Road frontage will contain office uses as well as provide support service for the home-based office space. Schedule C shows the proposed plan.

Recommendations:

It is recommended that:

(1)staff, in consultation with the local Councillors, schedule a community consultation meeting; and,

(2)staff prepare a final report evaluating the proposal and provide notice of the statutory public meeting at the appropriate time.

Background:

Proposal:

The application proposes a zoning by-law amendment and the subdivision of the site in order to permit a mixed use development consisting of detached houses, townhouses, office and park land uses, as shown on Schedule C. The detached houses would be located adjacent to the west and south property lines which are nearest existing residential properties (see Schedule B). The townhouses would front onto a new internal road network and loop around the proposed office building which would front onto Scarsdale Road. The office building would contain office and meeting room space which could be used by existing and future residents and businesses in the area.

Each of the residential units will be designed to include a dedicated work space such as an office. The work space would be a separate area in the residential unit and function as an accessory use to the main living area. The entire proposal creates a live-work environment where residential and employment uses could co-exist with one another and adjacent land uses.

Official Plan:

Industrial which permits employment and live-work uses (Schedule A). Live-work accommodation consists of houses which combine work space with living space. It is a concept that can provide a land use buffer between residential lands and industrial lands as well as meet the needs of some employment uses for combined residential/employment occupancy. Live-work uses are permitted as part of the Council-adopted official plan amendment 443 which has been appealed to the Ontario Municipal Board.

Zoning:

Industrial Zone One (M1) which permits employment uses (Schedule A). The M1 zoning forms part of the zoning by-law that was enacted by Council to implement official plan amendment 443.

Discussion:

(1)Issues:

The following sections describe the issues that will be considered as part of the planning review:

(a)Land Use and Urban Design:

The proposal seeks to introduce an innovative land use mix on a site that is located on the edge of an industrial area and bordered by detached houses to the west and south. Combining work space with living space in the residential unit achieves a live-work relationship within the same unit. This relationship would be enhanced by the commercial building proposed along the Scarsdale frontage of the site. The commercial building is intended to be used primarily for office and meeting purposes by residents and employees in the area.

The proposed live-work concept and associated office building would maintain an employment presence on site within a low scale predominantly residential design, creating a unique mixed land use development. This live-work development concept provides the opportunity to achieve a mutually-supportive relationship between the offices that would be located within the residential units and the commercial building that forms part of the development site. Persons residing and working in the residential units will also be able to use space within the commercial building that fronts onto Scarsdale Road.

Blending the live-work and commercial buildings together as part of one development site is a mutually supportive relationship that will establish a positive tone for similar innovative design techniques to be used elsewhere in the City. The proposed live-work accommodation can provide a land use buffer between residential lands and industrial lands, as well as meet the needs of some employment uses for combined residential/employment occupancy.

The live-work concept is well suited to the site which is located at the edge of an industrial area. The proposed urban design elements and building form are a good fit with the live-work concept. Details regarding the suitability of the building form will be reviewed in the context of the compatibility criteria contained in the Official Plan regarding live-work accommodation. Amongst other matters, the criteria are intended to ensure that the proposed development: blends with the character of the surrounding area; fits within the context of the neighbouring development in scale, height and building form; and, is integrated and linked, as appropriate, to the neighbouring residential community.    (b)Parkland:

The proposal includes a public parkland dedication of 0.042 hectares (0.1 acres) at the northwest corner of the site. The new park addition would form a desirable extension to the existing land locked Southwell Park by increasing its size and street frontage. The proposed parkland dedication represents less than 2% of the site area whereas 5% parkland dedication is typically provided for residential proposals. The appropriateness of the parkland contribution, either as a public dedication of land and/or cash-in-lieu of providing parkland will be investigated as part of the planning review.

(c)Road Network:

The appropriateness of the proposed road layout, reduced 18.5m wide road allowances and the ability of the surrounding road network to accommodate the proposal will form part of the traffic analysis.

(d)Soil Condition:

Given the industrial history of the site, a review of the suitability of the soil conditions to accommodate the change in land use is necessary. An environmental site assessment and record of site condition must be submitted by the applicant and reviewed to ensure that the soil condition is suitable for the proposed land uses.

Conclusions:

The application to permit a mixed use development at 20 Bond Street raises some land use, urban design, parkland, road network and soil condition issues which will be addressed as part of the planning review.

Contact Name:

 Franco Romano, Senior Planner

Phone: 395-7119Fax: 395-7155

(Copies of Schedules A, B and C, mentioned in the foregoing report, are on file in the office of the City Clerk.)