August 27, 1998

To:North York Community Council

From:Bryan Tuckey

Director, Community Planning, North District

Subject:PRINCIPLE OF LAND USE REPORT

ZONING AND OFFICIAL PLAN AMENDMENT APPLICATION

Tridel Builders Inc.

1857 Leslie Street

WARD 11 - Don Parkway

UDOZ-97-44

Purpose:

The purpose of this report is to evaluate the appropriateness of the change in land use from industrial to residential and retail as directed by the North York Community Council on January 21, 1998.

Recommendations:

It is recommended that the application be refused.

Background:

1.0 Proposal:

An Official Plan and zoning amendment application was received in December 1997 to permit 2 high rise residential buildings, a one-storey recreational amenity facility and a one-storey retail commercial building, all at a density of 2.7 FSI (Schedule C). In response to concerns raised by residents at the community meeting, the applicant revised their plan recently to reduce the height of the residential buildings and reduce the amount of commercial gross floor area proposed. Pertinent site statistics are set out below.

In April 1998, the applicant also submitted, in support of the proposal, an 'Economic Implications Study' prepared by Clayton Research and a 'Planning Report' prepared by Peter Cheatley. The former concludes that the proposed residential uses will ensure the viability of the surrounding employment area; and that the employment lost from the Imperial Tobacco use would be offset by employment projected for the proposed retail component of the project.

2.0Location and Existing Site:

The site is located on the north side of York Mills Road, just east of Leslie Street (Schedule B). It has narrow frontage on Leslie Street where the main access is presently located. More than half the York Mills Road frontage is taken up by the York Mills Road bridge which passes over the CN tracks immediately east of the site. As such, that portion of the frontage is situated below the level of the road. The remaining frontage (approximately 50 m) is at road level. The site also has access to Scarsdale Road, located on the south side of York Mills Road, via a private road running from the south end of the property under the York Mills Road bridge.

3.0 Planning Controls:

3.1 Official Plan:

The site is designated Industrial, permitting primarily employment uses. Amendment 443 - Industrial Policy, adopted by Council in October 1997, maintains the subject property's Industrial land use designation which would allow a broader range of industrial and commercial uses.

3.2 Zoning:

The site was formerly zoned Industrial - Inside Storage and Industrial Office Holding Zones (M2, MOF(H)), permitting limited industrial and commercial uses. By-law 33091 recently rezoned the site to Industrial-Commercial Zone (MC(H)), permitting an expanded range of employment uses.

4.0 Community Consultation:

At the Community Consultation session held on March 23, 1998 (Schedule D), and attended by approximately 100 persons, issues were raised about the following:

1) the precedent setting nature of the proposal. Would there be pressure on the remaining employment area to redevelop in a similar manner?;

2) the 32 storey proposed building height is too high and is not in keeping with the area;

3) whether the surrounding road network would be able to accommodate the traffic generated by the proposal;

4) should retail uses be included in the development given its potential impacts on the traffic network?

With respect to traffic, it is noted that the applicant has submitted a Traffic Impact Study prepared by D.S. Lea Associates, which concludes that traffic generated by the proposed development can be accommodated by the existing road network.

Discussion:

In order to determine principles of land use to guide development of this property, it is appropriate to review the following:

1) the geographic context of the site; and 2) the Official Plan policy context for the conversion of industrial lands to residential.

5.1 Geographic Context:

As shown below, the site is located within a large 'employment area', generally permitting a mix of industrial, office, retail and service commercial and institutional uses. This large area extends both north and south of York Mills Road and can be divided into two groups: lands within the Wrentham Estates Business Park (located east of the CNR tracks), and lands within adjacent industrial areas.

The Wrentham Estates Business Park is a concentrated, industrially-designated employment area which promotes and contains a variety of more prestige-type commercial and industrial uses, as well as retail and institutional uses.

The adjacent industrial areas, located predominantly west of the CNR tracks (and within which the subject property is located), are also designated Industrial, and also comprise a mix of industrial, office, service commercial and institutional uses. This cluster of employment uses extends both north and south of York Mills Road.

This broad, industrially-designated area is a relatively isolated and distinct part of the city, in both a physical sense, as noted above, and a functional one. It represents a concentration of a variety of employment uses, from industrial to retail, office, service commercial and institutional, among others. There are no existing residential uses within this boundary. Within the 'western triangle' portion of the employment area (lands on the north side of York Mills Rd, between Leslie Street and the CNR) alone, there are approximately 75 business establishments containing 1,561 employees, including 4 printing firms, a Measurements Canada facility, 14 warehousing or wholesale trade-related firms, 10 stores, 3 restaurants, 2 travel agencies, 4 real estate offices, 2 gas stations, a medical lab, optician, a bank, other office uses including consulting firms, lawyers and accountants.

Exclusively residential uses are found on the west side of Leslie Street, both north and south of York Mills Road. With the exception of the northwest and southwest corners of Leslie and York Mills, which are developed with a total of five, 18 storey apartment buildings and a number of 2-storey townhouses immediately adjacent, the surrounding area west of Leslie Street is developed with single-family dwellings, parks and schools (Schedule B).

5.2 Industrial Land Use Strategy:

5.2.1 Official Plan Policy and Zoning

Over the past four years, a review of Industrial policy was undertaken in light of growing industrial vacancy rates, and the loss of business, employment and assessment in the City's industrial areas. This review led to the establishment of four basic principles for development of a revised Industrial

Policy:

- The Official Plan should promote existing industrial areas as employment areas;

- A clear and simple land use strategy should be created that removes impediments to desired land uses, encourages the growth and diversification of industrial activity, and safeguards the existing concentrations of viable manufacturing activity and employment.

- The Official Plan should provide for the orderly transition of surplus employment lands to other uses; and

- The Zoning By-law should be the primary tool to regulate the nature and standards of employment activities, and should do so through clear and simple requirements and standards.

A revised Industrial Policy, known as Amendment 443, replaces the various Industrial designations lying outside residential communities with one Industrial designation. This industrial designation encourages a wider range of employment uses, including industrial, warehousing, office, retail and service commercial.

In keeping with the intent of the new industrial land use strategy, the zoning of all industrial lands has been amended to broaden the range of permitted employment uses, and to minimize land use conflicts between industrial and non-industrial uses by restricting the location of certain industrial uses adjacent to residential zones.

The new zoning strategy affects the subject property, as well as all lands within the 'western triangle' and the arterial fronting property on Scarsdale Road, by amending their former zoning from M2, MOF(H) to MC(H). The amended zoning enhances the opportunity for employment uses by significantly increasing the office floor area and greatly expanding the range and amount of permitted commercial uses. These zoning changes have the potential to significantly enhance the usability of the site and its viability for continued employment use.

5.2.2 Residential Uses on Industrial Lands

Residential uses are prohibited within the Official Plan Industrial designation. The policies state that Industrial areas should generally be preserved for employment purposes, however it is recognized that the City may have more land designated for this purpose than will be required in the long term. Accordingly, the Plan establishes criteria to review conversions to residential use which allow for an orderly transition to alternative uses. Evaluated against these criteria, it is concluded that the conversion of these lands to residential would not represent an orderly transition from industrial uses for the following reasons:

- the site is not located on the periphery of an industrial area, and the boundaries of change are not logical or appropriate, given that this site is located in the middle of an expansive and successfully functioning employment area extending both north and south of York Mills Road.

- a residential approval would jeopardize the planned role and function of the remaining viable employment area by establishing a precedent for further requests to similarly amend the Plan, especially within the 'western triangle'. It is also premature in light of recent changes to Official Plan and zoning policies whose intent is to promote the area for employment uses.

- residential uses at this location would limit the redevelopment options of the adjacent industrially zoned lands in terms of range of uses, setbacks, building heights and landscaping requirements. Any new residential uses abutting existing, industrially-zoned lands have the potential to give rise to incompatibilities where none currently exist.

- the boundaries of change are not desirable, and will not create a defined edge which will be stable over the long term, given the likelihood of requests for similar change elsewhere in the employment area were this to be approved. To redesignate the site for residential use would set the stage for future residential redesignation in this area, thus creating further land use instability and unnecessary eroding of the employment land use base in this area.

5.3 Economic Context:

Within Part C.4 - Housing policies of the Official Plan, specific policies are set out to guide the redesignation of non-residential lands to residential use. It notes that Council may consider such applications when one of the following conditions apply:

"1) there is a demonstrated need to improve or rejuvenate areas due to obsolescence or physical or economic decline; or

2)the introduction of residential land use will not jeopardize the continued viability of commercial, industrial, institutional and open space land uses."

In this case neither of these conditions would apply. Condition 2) does not apply given that there is a real concern, as noted above, regarding the continued viability of existing employment uses in the area with the introduction of residential at this location. Similarly, condition 1) does not apply given that the area is not in a state of economic decline. In fact, recent trends are contributing to the stability and success of this employment area.

Over the last decade or so, while employment in the traditional industrial activities of manufacturing and warehousing has decreased within the City, employment in office and service activities has increased. This change in employment structure was based on a number of factors, including inequitable tax structures making it more economically viable for industry to locate outside of Metro, and restrictive zoning regulations. However, as noted in the comments of the Economic Development Centre (Schedule E), there have been significant changes in the recent past which should enhance the attractiveness of the City for industrial and employment uses generally. One is the 8 year phasing of the City of Toronto (416) business education tax to the provincial average, which over time will level the playing field economically for business and industry both within Toronto and throughout the province. The second is that within the local community of North York, more flexible zoning regulations are now in place which broaden the range of permitted uses within traditional industrial zones. It is anticipated that these changes will help to slow the exodus of industry from the City, while also promoting opportunities for a wider range of employment uses to locate in these industrial areas.

At a micro level, the Economic Development Centre (EDC) advises that employment levels generally have been quite stable within the industrial area surrounding the subject lands, and that reinvestment is occurring. They anticipate that the above-noted changes will cause employment levels within this area to remain stable over the short to medium term. They also note that the size of the subject site, 3.1 hectares (7.7 ac), makes it attractive for certain types of employment uses, as there are a limited supply of this size of industrially-zoned lots available within the City. It is even rarer to find a building of Imperial Tobacco's size (7,535 m²) and interior design specifications (21 ft. ceiling heights). It is also in a visible location which is good for retail or other employment uses, given that it has York Mills Road frontage, Leslie Street access, and is located near the intersection of two arterial roads, Highway 401 and a GO Station further north.

Conclusions:

The subject property is situated in the middle of a large and successful employment area, which has gradually gone from traditional industrial land uses, in keeping with its original zoning, to an area which now supports a variety of employment uses. The long term strategy of the newly-adopted Industrial Policy is to recognize the importance of these kinds of lands for employment purposes, by expanding the usability of traditionally industrial districts. The new industrial zoning will implement the intent of the industrial policies by enhancing the range of permitted uses within these areas. In combination with recent economic trends and changes, it is expected that these zones will become even more attractive for employment uses.

Based on all of the above, the applicant's proposal for a predominantly residential redevelopment of the lands is not appropriate. The proposal does not meet the Official Plan compatibility criteria for redesignation to non-residential uses as it pertains to this location. The redesignation will jeopardize the planned role and function of adjoining land uses, and will have negative impacts on and set a precedent for future non-employment development. The boundaries for change are not appropriate and will not create a defined edge which can remain stable over the long term. And, the site is not in an area experiencing economic decline. Given the thriving employment nature of the industrial area in which the subject property is located, and its effectiveness as a location for employment uses, this is not a location which should be removed from the City's employment base.

Contact Name:

Malini Rawal, Planner

Phone: 395-7100Fax: 395-7155

Bryan Tuckey

Director, Community Planning, North District

Schedules:

AOfficial Plan Map

BZoning Map

CSite Plan

DCommunity Consultation notes

EEconomic Development Centre comments

Submissions