September 2, 1998

To:North York Community Council

From:Bryan W. Tuckey

Director, Community Planning, North District

Subject:PRELIMINARY EVALUATION REPORT

Official Plan and Zoning Amendment Application

Bearpoint Group Inc.

50 and 60 Oak Street

Part of Lots 28 & 29, Plan M-458, being Part of Lot 9, Conc. 5 W.Y.S.

Ward 6 - North York Humber

UDOZ-98-14

Purpose:

The purpose of this report is to provide a preliminary evaluation of an application to amend the Official Plan and Zoning to permit a mixed residential and light industrial development on the north side of Oak Street, east of Weston Road (Schedule A).

Financial Implications:

Not applicable.

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 as set out in this report and provide notice of the Statutory Public Meeting at the appropriate time.

Background:

Proposal:

The application proposes Official Plan and zoning by-law amendments to permit a mixed residential and light industrial development on the lands on the north side of Oak Street east of Weston Road between the Canadian Pacific Railway line and Galewood Drive. The site is located in the Pellatt Avenue Business Park and is the current location of the MacMillian Bloedel forestry products manufacturing operation. The proposal consists of single family dwellings, freehold townhouse units, light industrial uses within an existing building fronting on Oak Street and a public park. The pertinent statistics are as follows:

Community Consultation:

The applicant held a community meeting on June 25, 1998 with a number of land owners from the area in attendance. The local ratepayer association, Pelmo Community Park Community Association, has stated in a letter to the applicant that they would prefer a site design which does not extend the proposed street through to Pellatt Avenue. This option is shown on Schedule C3(Version 3).

Official Plan and Zoning:

The lands are designated Mixed Industrial (MX-IND) and are zoned M3, MOF(H) permitting primarily industrial uses (Schedules A and B). A recent city-wide industrial review redesignates the site's official plan designation to Industrial (IND) through Official Plan Amendment 443 and the zoning as M2(56)(Industrial Zone Two, Exception 56) by By-law 33092. Official Plan Amendment 443 and By-law 33092 are awaiting approval by the Ontario Municipal Board. An amendment to both the Official Plan and Zoning By-law is required to permit the residential uses.

Discussion:

The following preliminary issues have been identified:

Change in Land Use from Industrial to Residential

In principle, the proposed change in land use from industrial to residential to permit the residential component of the development is consistent with the recent Official Plan policies regarding such proposals. The lands are located on the periphery of a small industrial area to the west and south of the site, and the residential development would not be expected to unduly impact the continued viability of the remaining industrial uses in the area especially since the portion of the site fronting onto Oak Street will continued to be used for light industrial uses. The proposed light industrial uses will provide an interface with the existing industrial uses on the south side of Oak Street and west of the railway line while providing a buffer between the existing and proposed residential uses to the north and the heavier industrial uses to the south. The boundaries for change are logical, form an extension of an existing residential community to the east and can create a well defined edge between residential and non-residential uses. Given the scale of the project and the proposed expansion of Pellatt Park, it is anticipated that the community service needs of the new residents can be met with existing resources, but this will need to be confirmed during the review of the application.

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

Road Design

The applicant has submitted three versions of the concept plan which sets out how the site may be subdivided (Schedule's C1, C2 and C3). The main difference between the three versions of the concept plan is the road configuration. Version 1 (Schedule C1) extends Pellatt Avenue to Oak Street while versions 2 and 3 do not extend Pellatt Avenue but have the new street leading north from Oak Street and ending in a culdesac. The salient difference between versions 2 and 3 of the concept plan is that version 3 has an additional access point onto Oak Street from the development. The applicant has indicated that their preference is version 2 with the exception that the existing industrial building fronting on Oak Street will remain instead of constructing two new buildings (Schedule C2).

The applicant has indicated that they will be submitting their draft plan of subdivision shortly which will confirm the proposed road configuration. Staff in the Works and Emergency Services Department have indicated that they prefer the extension of Pellatt Avenue to Oak Street as depicted in Version 1 (Schedule C1).

Urban Design

The relationship of the dwelling units to streets, existing and proposed buildings will be reviewed in order to ensure that the resulting zoning performance standards achieve a high quality of urban design. The proposed light industrial uses should create employment opportunity while being compatible with the proposed and existing residential uses and the existing industrial uses on the south side of Oak Street.

Community Facilities

The proposed density will be reviewed in context of the existing supply of community facilities in the area. The location of the proposed park will be reviewed to ensure it is an appropriate consolidation of all the park space provided by the applicant and that it is a logical extension of the existing park.

(e)Site Conditions

Environmental site assessments reviewing the site's soil conditions have been submitted and will be subject to a peer review. The suitability of the site's soil conditions to accommodate the proposed residential land use should be verified by the submission of a record of site condition. The applicant has been requested to submit a noise and vibration study as the site is located adjacent to the CP railway line which should ensure that appropriate buffering techniques are used.

(2)City Wide Issues:

None.

Conclusions:

The proposal to permit the mixed residential and light industrial development of the lands is appropriate and raises some urban design issues which will be evaluated as part of the planning review. The applicant has indicated that they will be submitting their subdivision application shortly. Once the application has been received the subdivision issues raised, such as road configuration, will be evaluated.

Contact Name:

Randy Jones, Planner

Phone: 395-7137Fax: 395-7155

______________________________

Bryan W. Tuckey

DIRECTOR, COMMUNITY PLANNING

NORTH DISTRICT