July 8, 1998

To:North York Community Council

From:Bryan Tuckey

Acting Commissioner of Planning

Subject:PRELIMINARY EVALUATION REPORT

OFFICIAL PLAN AND ZONING AMENDMENT APPLICATION

UDOZ -95-21

Dangreen Properties Inc.

Northeast corner of Bayview Avenue and Sheppard Avenue East

Part Lot 16, Concession 2.E.Y.S.

WARD 12 - Seneca Heights

Purpose:

The purpose of this report is a Preliminary Evaluation Report which establishes principles of development for an evaluation of an application filed by Dangreen Properties Inc. and in the context of a comprehensive development concept for the Bayview Village Shopping Centre Block (Schedule "D").

Source of Funds:

Not applicable.

Recommendations:

It is recommended that:

(1)Development of the northeast corner of Bayview Avenue and Sheppard Avenue East and on the Bayview Village Shopping Centre site proceed on the basis of the comprehensive block development concept as described in this report which illustrates the following principles of development:

Land Use Principles

a)Intensification of this block should be a municipal objective.

b )Intensification should be coordinated to achieve the following:

(i)coordinated site circulation which makes use of both Bayview Avenue and Sheppard Avenue East,

(ii)phased development without disruption to the operational requirements of the intersection, local traffic patterns, and

(iii)continued viability of the shopping centre.

c)Priority should be given to directing new development to the corner of Bayview Avenue and the Sheppard Avenue East.

d)There should not be an adverse impact on existing community services and facilities, transportation facilities and municipal servicing capacity as a consequence of new development.

e)Mixed use development should be permitted on both the Dangreen and Orlando sites.

f)All facilities necessary to achieve the subway station design should be accommodated.

g)Visitor parking on the Dangreen site required to meet the parking requirements for the Bayview Mews should be relocated on the Orlando site if possible.

h)A maximum FSI of 3.5 should be permitted on the Dangreen site.

i)There should be no change to the Commercial FSI 1.0 to 1.5 permitted on the Orlando site.

j)A minimum of 1.5 m² of private indoor and outdoor recreational space per residential dwelling unit should be provided by new development.

Urban Design Principles

Massing

k)To minimize the massing impacts of the Dangreen site, the distribution of density on both the Dangreen and Orlando sites should limit the height of any development to no more than 15 storeys, terraced down to the north and east ends of the buildings.

l)The height and mass of development should relate to a pedestrian scale that balances the street width with the scale of the street edge. The buildings fronting onto Sheppard Avenue East should be terraced up from the street and south from Bayview Mews. Terracing, and the opportunities for creative architectural treatment of the subway station main entrance should result in a built form that enhances the Sheppard Avenue East and Bayview Avenue street edge.

m)The massing and design of the Dangreen and Orlando developments should complement each other.

Coordination with Subway Construction

n) The distribution of new density should be consolidated around the Bayview subway station, and should provide appropriate transitions in density, height and massing toward the Bayview Mews development and the residential uses on the west side of Bayview Avenue.

o) Development should take advantage of subway station accessibility.

p)Development on the Dangreen site should be integrated with the design of the Bayview subway station and should be of a suitable built form with a direct pedestrian connection to the station.

q)Massing and location of development should be coordinated with the location of TTC structures.

Pedestrian Environment

r)Recognizing the encroachments into the streetscape for the subway station facility, new development should implement the Sheppard Avenue Streetscape Design Concept, including a five metre yard setback from the Sheppard Avenue street line.

s)A yard setback along Bayview Avenue also should be provided.

t)There should be pedestrian access through the Dangreen development (from the northeast corner of Bayview Avenue and Sheppard Avenue East) to the property line of the Bayview Village Shopping Centre. Orlando Corporation should permit pedestrian access onto their property.

u)The streetscape treatment should address both the Bayview and Sheppard Avenue building frontages.

v)Building height and massing should minimize excessive shadowing, wind or snow drifting effects within the block, along the streets and within open space areas, in keeping with the Pedestrian Comfort Guidelines in the Official Plan. The wind conditions in outdoor areas of these developments should be compatible with outdoor activity. This should be determined by a wind study, which should be required for this development, as outlined in the Pedestrian Comfort Guidelines in the Official Plan.

Transportation and Parking

w)Based on an appropriate parking demand analysis, reduced parking requirements should be supported in recognition of the proximity of the development to the Bayview subway station and in support of transit ridership for the Sheppard Subway.

x)A traffic impact study should be required which considers traffic access requirements from both developments in and around the site and traffic impacts on Bayview Avenue and Sheppard Avenue East (including those of the TTC).

y)There should be coordinated and integrated access and egress to Bayview Avenue (at the Teagarden Court alignment) and to Sheppard Avenue East, and site circulation on both sites even if developed separately.

Community Consultation

z)Upon finalization of the plans for Dangreen and Orlando, massing and design details will be discussed in a public forum.

Background:

1.0Dangreen Proposal

Dangreen Properties filed their original application for Official Plan Amendment and Rezoning of this corner in 1995. Since that time, their proposal has been revised three times. Their latest formal submission (August 1997) was for a mixed use building of 13 to 18 stories massed on top of the Bayview subway station. A revised Official Plan and Zoning Amendment application for the Dangreen site has since been the subject of community consultation meetings in May and June 1998. This revised concept, brought to the community by Dangreen proposed one residential building, maximum 15 storeys in height, terracing down to 3 storeys, with grade related commercial uses fronting onto Sheppard Avenue. No buildings or structures were proposed on the northern portion of the site. A complementary mirror development concept was also brought forward by Orlando for the Sheppard Avenue East frontage (Schedule "C").

A summary of the Dangreen proposal statistics as discussed at the community consultation meetings is attached as Appendix "A". These are subject to verification at the time of submission by the applicant.

2.0Location and Existing Site

The Dangreen site has frontage on Sheppard Avenue of 36.5 m (120 feet) and depth to Bayview Mews Lane of 264.2 m (867 feet). There is a considerable slope down from the west portion of the site to the East, and from the south portion to the north. The site is grassy with some tree cover.

There is an existing 38 space parking lot on the Dangreen site which provides visitor parking for the Bayview Mews residential development, located on the north side of Bayview Mews Lane. The off site visitor parking complies with the zoning by-law, which permits required parking in an RM3 zone and within 155 metres of the development provided that such parking is reserved during the existence of the development for parking purposes by deed restrictions registered on title to the land. A licensing agreement is in place for the property, which stipulates that 38 parking spaces must be made available to ensure that the property complies and continues to comply with the parking requirements of the City.

The Dangreen site directly abuts the Orlando property to the east, occupied by the Bayview Village Shopping Centre. The Orlando property has a frontage on Sheppard Avenue of 387 metres (1,270 feet) and a depth to Bayview Mews Lane of 264 metres (866 feet).

Lower density residential areas are located to the north of both sites (Bayview Mews Lane low-rise rental apartments). To the west of the Dangreen site there are single detached houses on Bayview Avenue and Teagarden Court, and freehold townhouses on Mallingham Court. To the east of the Orlando site are three 18 storey high-rise apartment buildings on Hawksbury Drive and to the south are single detached houses.

The remaining three corners of the Bayview Avenue/Sheppard Avenue East intersection are occupied by an existing 3-storey office building and small Metro-owned parkette on the northwest corner, an Esso service station on the southwest corner, and a Shell service station on the southeast corner. The North York YMCA is located just to the southeast of the site across Sheppard Avenue. The townhouses on Mallingham Court and the single detached dwellings on Teagarden Court and Bayview Avenue south of Spring Garden Avenue do not face onto Bayview Avenue. The exception is the group home which fronts onto Bayview Avenue (which is associated with the All Souls Anglican Church on Clairtrell Road.)

Development on the Dangreen site has a strategic location at the intersection of Bayview and Sheppard Avenues. Opportunities exist for construction of the Dangreen building to be coordinated with the construction of the Bayview subway station.

3.0Planning Controls

3.1Official Plan and Zoning

The block forms part of the Sheppard Subway Corridor and is designated Commercial (COM) in the Official Plan (Schedule "A"). This designation permits office, residential uses, and retail and service commercial uses, other than hotel and motel. The Dangreen lands are zoned RM3. The zoning permits multiple-family dwelling units and institutional uses. The Orlando lands are zoned C2 which permits the existing Shopping Centre (Schedule "B").

3.2Sheppard East Subway Corridor Secondary Plan (OPA 392)

The Sheppard East Subway Corridor Secondary Plan, OPA 392 establishes policies that will guide future development along the Sheppard East Subway Corridor. It was adopted by Council in December of 1996, and identifies key development areas, including one at the Bayview subway station. New development is to be focused in the area of the subway station.

OPA 392 contains a specific area policy addressing the Bayview Village Shopping Centre Block which consists of the Bayview Village Shopping Centre and the Dangreen lands (Section 4.2.1). This policy encourages additional development on the overall block, with efforts to relate any new development to the Bayview Avenue/Sheppard Avenue East intersection. It also encourages integration of the block with the Bayview subway station through attention to building orientation, scale, height and yard setbacks. Continuous weather protected pedestrian connections should be provided between the subway station and new development. Council's policies encourage design solutions which protect for coordinated vehicular access for development of the lands abutting Bayview Avenue and the shopping centre lands. Proposed expansions of the existing shopping centre are to be massed primarily to the south of the existing commercial buildings. Expansions to the north of the existing commercial buildings are generally to be low rise additions approximately two to three storeys in height. The GFA of a transit terminal owned or operated by the TTC is exempted from the calculation of GFA.

Staff reports dated October 31 and November 28, 1996 for the Sheppard Corridor Plan OPA 392, considered the Dangreen lands, as follows:

"Located at the northeast corner of Sheppard and Bayview is a 0.94 ha (2.3 ac) parcel of land that is the subject of a current Official Plan and Zoning Amendment Application submitted by Dangreen Properties Inc. The secondary plan provides for a Mixed Use designation consistent with its location relative to the proposed Bayview subway station at a density of 2.0 FSI. Section 4.2.1 of the secondary plan provides that a density of 3.5 may be possible if there is co-ordination of access between the Dangreen lands and the adjoining Bayview Village Shopping Centre, integration of the subway station, and a suitable built form is proposed."

At its meeting of December 11, 1996, Council deferred consideration of the policies affecting the Dangreen site, resolving that it be dealt with separately following further consultation with the applicant, the local community and representatives of the Toronto Transit Commission.

Discussion:

4.0Introduction

There are a number of interests on the Dangreen site which must be balanced in any new development of the lands. On the northern portion of the site, these include the requirements for off-site visitor parking for the Bayview Mews, a TTC bus loop and landscaping opportunities. On the entire Dangreen site, the objective is to achieve an appropriate distribution and massing of density while integrating the development with the new TTC subway station.

There are also several interests on the Orlando site which must find the appropriate balance in a development concept, including: the shopping centre, proposed residential uses, separation of uses and overflow parking. The objective is to maintain the viability of the Bayview Village Shopping Centre while maintaining the potential to add residential uses on the site.

4.1Massing/Urban Design

Official Plan Amendment 392 encourages innovative, high quality development within the Corridor, and provides several policies related to the height and massing of buildings. It is intended that the greatest density, height and massing of buildings be at major intersections and at locations with the greatest accessibility to public transit. Along the Sheppard Avenue frontage, the plan discusses the desire to relate the height and mass of development to a pedestrian scale as well as frame the street edge at a scale that balances with the street width. Along Sheppard Avenue, a maximum height of 6 storeys with 2 storey podiums is encouraged, however, exceptions to this standard may be considered where it can be demonstrated that the treatment of and mass of buildings through creative architectural features including terracing and detailed elevation articulation results in a built form that enhances the Sheppard Avenue street edge. As well, development should generally conform to the Sheppard Avenue Streetscape concept.

Any proposed building should be located in a manner which provides a strong streetscape presence along the Sheppard and Bayview frontage as well as a strong corner treatment at the Bayview/Sheppard intersection. The building should have defined terraces which step upward, from the Sheppard/Bayview intersection and provide for lower building heights at the northerly and easterly portions of any building. A stepped building treatment is appropriate as it defines and reinforces adjoining streets and intersection, and within the context of the overall development block, promotes the highest densities and building heights closest to the subway station.

To ensure that the development provides an appropriate relationship to adjacent streets a concept massing plan should be developed in detail to satisfy the following objectives:

• definition of the Sheppard and Bayview frontages with a continuous podium to related the height and mass of the development to a pedestrian scale;
• refinements to the building mass and/or detailed elevation articulation to define the 1:1 building height to street width ratio wherever possible; and
• extension of the building podium or comparable building mass treatments to create a pedestrian scaled environment at the north periphery of the Dangreen building.

A well articulated pedestrian link from the southwest corner of the site to the existing plaza should be established. Consideration should be given to uses within a 3 storey corner podium building, (such as restaurants) to support such a pedestrian link.

Landscaping opportunities should be optimized to achieve a high quality public urban open space, preferably through a design competition, on the northern portion of the Dangreen site. Given the limited at grade landscaped open space, roof top terraces and landscaping should be provided. Free standing public art work should be provided at the northeast corner of the intersection for an approximate value of $150,000 as noted in the Sheppard Streetscape Study.

4.2Coordinated Access For the Dangreen and Orlando Sites

On its own, the Dangreen site relies on a single access to Bayview Avenue which does not permit left or southbound turning movements onto Bayview Avenue. Without coordinated access with the Orlando site, southbound traffic is required to circle the Bayview Village Shopping Centre to turn left onto southbound Bayview Avenue.

A coordinated driveway access between abutting properties owners should address access, circulation and road operation concerns. A Bayview Avenue access point and a Sheppard Avenue East egress point should allow for the best operational solution for the site.

4.3TTC Design Plans

The facilities required for the subway station are: a main entrance from Bayview Avenue; an electrical substation; and, an off street bus loop. The bus loop location, if possible should be located to align with Teagarden Court and have a shared egress point with the Dangreen development. Traffic signals allowing buses to make a left turn onto Bayview Avenue should be required for the bus loop to be operational at this location.

4.4Density

Increased density, beyond the 1.5 FSI currently permitted subject to certain criteria, is requested on the Dangreen site. The policies for this site originally proposed as part of OPA 392 but deferred by Council recommended a designation of Mixed Use with policies which would permit an increase in density of up to 3.5 FSI, subject to the following criteria:

• opportunities for coordinated vehicular access with the Bayview Village Shopping Centre lands in order to maximize the development potential close to the Bayview subway station;

• a distribution of density toward the Bayview subway station; and

• appropriate transitions in density, height and massing toward the Bayview Mews development and the residential uses on the west side of Bayview Avenue.

As discussed in Section 4.1 and 4.2, these objectives can be met on this site, and a density of 3.5 FSI is supportable and should be confirmed as a development principle for the lands.

4.5Traffic Access, Capacity, Circulation and Parking

A traffic impact study is required which considers:

• the requirements of coordinated access to the property in the context of the arterial road intersection, the requirements of the subway station and coordination of new development opportunities on the Bayview Shopping Centre site;

• the access requirements for emergency vehicles and the extension of municipal services to the property;

• the impacts on the intersection of Bayview Avenue and Sheppard Avenue East with regard to traffic capacity;

• TTC plans approved for the site, including an off-street bus turning loop; and

• relocation of visitor parking, currently reserved for the Bayview Mews residential townhouses and alternative access arrangements to the site.

4.6Community Facilities

The development proposal should be assessed to determine its impact on both existing and proposed community facilities, including parkland, schools, libraries, emergency services, childcare and private recreational amenity space. Private indoor recreational space should be provided at the standard of a minimum of 1.5 m² per dwelling unit. Public or private outdoor recreational space should be coordinated with TTC operations. Staff should review the possibility of providing public and/or private open space on site.

4.7Community Consultation

Several general information meetings have been convened by the local Councillors for Wards 9, 10 and 12 with those residents living in the vicinity of the proposed development. At these meetings, a master concept for the block was presented by the landowners. Details such as massing and design will be refined once revised plans have been submitted and the application reviewed through the normal planning process.

The community is looking for long term improvements to the traffic operations at Kenaston Gardens and Sheppard Avenue East as part of the overall block development improvements.

4.8Ontario Municipal Board

Dangreen has appealed the Minister's approval of OPA 392 to the OMB on the grounds that it fails to reflect the property as an appropriate site for more intensive development and because the OPA contains specific policies which are incompatible with the application with respect to use, height and density. Orlando has also appealed OPA 392 because, in their opinion, the amendment fails to adequately address land use impacts of the proposed subway on their property.

Staff are meeting with both Dangreen and Orlando to focus their appeals and seek solutions through this official plan and zoning by-law amendment process. Principles of Development are necessary to guide these negotiations. The Ontario Municipal Board has not yet set a date of hearing.

Conclusions:

Development on this block should take advantage of the direct access to the Bayview subway station. Development should be sensitive to the nearby low density residential uses by having an appropriate transition in density, height and massing toward the Bayview Mews. It is recommended that development on the Dangreen site proceed to a maximum density of 3.5 FSI, with a Mixed Use designation. The Orlando site should retain its Commercial designation with additional site specific policies to guide integrated development with the Dangreen Mixed Use site.

The principles of development for this portion of the block should be agreed upon now to set the stage for a more detailed development application recommendation report for the Dangreen site. These principles will also be used to evaluate a development application on the Orlando site when one is submitted. The applicant should revise their proposal so that it is consistent with the principles and analysis set out in this report.

Staff will continue their efforts to settle the outstanding appeals by these parties with respect to OPA 392 based on the principles discussed in this report.

Contact Name:

Gwen Manderson, Senior Planner

Telephone No.395-7117

Fax No.:395-7155

APPENDIX 'A'Dangreen Revised Proposal Statistics

The following is a summary of the revised proposal discussed at the community information meetings:

(Copies of Schedules "A" Official Plan Map, "B" Zoning Map, "C" Illustration of Massing Concept and "D" Area Context, are on file in the office of the City Clerk.)