July 7, 1998

To:North York Community Council

From:Bryan Tuckey, Acting Commissioner of Planning

Subject:RECOMMENDATIONS REPORT

ZONING AMENDMENT and SITE PLAN APPLICATION

SHAFTESBURY DEVELOPMENT LTD.

4935-4937 Yonge Street

Ward 10 - North York Centre

UD52-97-04 and UDSP-98-13

Purpose:

The purpose of this report is to recommend refusal of this application to amend the zoning by-law and receive site plan approval. The applicant is requesting approval of a temporary use by-law in order to permit the existing parking lot to remain until they are ready to proceed with their approved development.

Recommendations:

It is recommended that:

(1)The application be refused.

Background:

1.0Proposal:

The application proposes an amendment to the zoning by-law and requests site plan approval for a 3-year temporary use by-law to permit the existing parking lot to remain on the site, as shown on attached Schedule C. The applicant advises that they are not ready to proceed with the approved office tower development at this time, and as such in the interim, wish to make use of the property in this way.

Pertinent site statistics are set out below:

2.0Location and Existing Site:

The site is located on the east side of Yonge Street, between Hollywood Avenue and Spring Garden Avenue (Schedule B). The northwest and southwest corners of the block are developed with one-storey retail establishments, including a Hertz car rental, 2 restaurants, a clothing store, and a branch of the Royal Canadian Legion, which abut the site. Immediately east of the property is a site owned by the North York Board of Education, containing the Claude Watson School for the Arts and its associated portables and playing field.

The site is operating as an unpaved, public parking lot. Approximately 30 parking spaces at the northwest corner of the lot are leased by Hertz Car Rental. An additional number of spaces at the southwest corner of the lot are used by the adjacent Royal Canadian Legion building.

3.0Planning Controls:

3.1Official Plan:

Amendment 447 - North York Centre Secondary Plan, designates the Yonge Street-fronting portion of the site as Downtown Mixed Use - One (DMU-1), and the remainder of the site as Downtown Mixed Use - Three (DMU-3). Both of these designations permit a mix of uses on the property, including commercial, institutional, park and recreational uses, to a maximum density of 4.5 FSI (exclusive of transfers and incentives). The DMU-3 designation also permits residential uses. Commercial parking lots are not permitted by Amendment 447.

It is noted that at the time of submission of this application, the Downtown Secondary Plan contained a provision permitting parking lots as a temporary use on sites where development is approved but not yet constructed. Amendment 447 was approved by Council approximately 3 months later, specifically prohibiting such uses. As such, no Official Plan amendment application was required upon submission.

3.2Zoning:

The site, subject of previous Official Plan and zoning amendment applications (OZ-86-84 and UDZ-94-15), is currently zoned C1(42) which permits a 28-storey office building containing ground floor retail uses, a 2-storey community centre (Legion Hall), and a 3-storey live theatre. A public parking lot is not permitted.

Comments and Discussion:

4.0Other Department Comments:

The Transportation division of the Works and Emergency Services Department advises that they cannot support the temporary private parking lot given that several policy objectives in the Official Plan related to transit modal split and reduced auto use are compromised. Further, Section 4.6.3 of Amendment 447 clearly prohibits commercial parking lots within the North York Centre and encourages transit supportive development. They also note that the surface of the lot must be finished with asphalt, concrete or interlocking stone. The applicant proposes to maintain the existing crushed stone finish (Schedule D).

The Public Works division of the Works and Emergency Services Department advises, among other things, that they will require a grading and drainage plan to be submitted (Schedule E).

The By-law Enforcement section of the Municipal Standards division recommends that should the request be approved, that the property be graded and drained to prevent excessive ponding of water, and that the lot be paved and marked. Past enforcement actions are noted in Section 5.1 below.

5.0Planning Issues:

5.1History of Use

Based on a review of By-law Enforcement section records for this site and earlier air photos, it appears that the site has operated as a parking lot for a number of years. In 1988, the buildings on site were demolished, and parking was operating on the former C1 portion of the site (Yonge Street fronting lands). After 1992, when the applicant received approval for a high density mixed use development, it appears that this parking lot expanded to incorporate the entire site, notwithstanding that the new commercial zoning prohibited public parking lots. Only the parking on the former C1 portion of the site, ie. the Yonge-fronting lands (approximately 75 spaces), may have been a permitted use at some time.

A complaint was received by the City in 1995. The applicant, as well as Hertz and the parking lot operator, were charged and convicted in September 1997 of permitting and operating an illegal public parking lot. Around the time of the conviction, the applicant agreed to submit the subject application in order to attempt to have the use legalized temporarily.

5.2Urban Design

The applicant has submitted a site plan indicating a total of 368 parking spaces on a surface finish of crushed stone. As some of these parking spaces are shown in the place of existing trees, the applicant has indicated that the supply could be reduced to preserve the trees on site, thus reducing the parking spaces to a maximum of 364.

On the Yonge Street frontage, a 9.14 m (30 ft.) landscaped strip consisting of sodding and benches is proposed. This strip exists presently. A 1.2 m (4 ft.) high wood fence is proposed along the Hollywood and Spring Garden Avenue frontages. An existing chain link fence is located along the east property line. The only access to the parking lot would be from Hollywood Avenue where it is presently taken.

5.3Land Use

A commercial parking lot is not permitted under the existing C1(42) zoning or the Downtown Mixed Use designations of the property. The C1(42) zone was approved by Council to specifically permit a mixed use development on the site. There are numerous policies in the Official Plan which provide support for increased transit usage and discourage excess parking in inappropriate locations. For example, the North York Centre Secondary Plan (Amendment 447) contains a number of policies which focus specifically on the issue of parking supply. As a general objective, Section 1.13 - Transit Modal Split and Capacity of Infrastructure, notes that: "It is an objective of this Secondary Plan to work towards reducing the reliance on the use of the automobile and attaining a high transit modal split, and to ensure that development levels do not exceed the capacity of the infrastructure serving the North York Centre."

Under Section 4 - Transportation, Subsection 4.6.1 - Provisions for Parking Supply (a) and (b) note

that: "Council shall strictly regulate the supply of parking in the North York Centre so as to attain an overall average auto driver modal split of no more than 33% (in the p.m. peak hour) for all new development in the Centre... To achieve its goal, Council has established a parking policy for the North York Centre which is included in Appendix 6 of the Official Plan...". Appendix 6 sets out minimum and maximum parking standards for residential, commercial and mixed use projects. The parking provisions in By-law C1(42) pertaining to this site, conform to these standards.

In addition, Subsection 4.6.3 Other Parking Operators, makes clear the intent of the Plan: "Council shall not permit private commercial parking lots for non-accessory parking, either interim or temporary, within the North York Centre as such use is contrary to the objectives of the plan to attain a high transit modal split associated with the development of the Centre."

In summary, the short and long-term objectives of the Official Plan are to promote a high transit modal split and discourage stand-alone parking within the North York Centre. These objectives lend themselves to development levels which are supportable by existing infrastructure capacity, to more efficient use of transit systems in place, and to environmentally advantageous means of commuting generally.

Conclusions:

The proposal to zone the existing parking lot by approving a temporary use by-law on the site is not appropriate. A parking lot use is contrary to the land use principles and objectives established in the Official Plan and specifically the North York Centre Secondary Plan, which promote and encourage increased use of rapid transit and discourage excess parking within this area.

Contact Name:

Malini Rawal, Planner

Phone: 395-7100Fax: 395-7155

(Copies of Schedules AOfficial Plan Map, BZoning Map, CSite Plan, DTransportation Division comments and EPublic Works Division comments, are on file in the office of the City Clerk.)