North York Civic Centre

5100 Yonge Street

North York, Ontario

Canada M2N 5V7

www.city.toronto.on.ca

Tel: 416-395-7100

Fax: 416-395-7155

Urban Planning and Development Services

September 19, 1998

To:North York Community Council

From:Bryan Tuckey

Director of Community Planning (North District)

Subject:FINAL REPORT

Official Plan and Zoning Amendment Applications

Part Lot Control Exemption By-law Application

111 Barber Greene Road

Ward 11 - Don Parkway

UDOZ-98-01

UD 54 98 11 REL

Purpose:

The purpose of this report is to recommend approval of the Official Plan, Zoning Bylaw and Part Lot Control Exemption applications to permit 29 townhouses at the corner of Barber Greene Road and Overland Drive, as shown on Schedule C.

Recommendations:

It is recommended that the applications be approved subject to the following:

OFFICIAL PLAN AMENDMENT

1)The North York Official Plan be amended to:

a)redesignate the site from Industrial to Residential Density Two (RD2)

b)include the site within the Don Mills Residential Community

ZONING BY-LAW AMENDMENT

2)The Zoning By-law be amended to zone the site RM1(24) to permit only multiple attached dwellings units and accessory uses, subject to the following exceptions:

a)maximum of 29 multiple attached dwelling units shall be permitted;

b)maximum lot coverage for all buildings shall be 30%;

c)the minimum yard setbacks and minimum distance between buildings shall be as shown on Schedule C;

d)maximum building heights shall be 8.8 metres and 9.2 metres for 2 and 3 storey units respectively in the locations, as shown on Schedule C;

e)a minimum of two parking spaces shall be provided per dwelling unit;

f)the minimum lot area, lot frontage and landscaping provisions shall not apply;

g)the front wall of the multiple-attached dwelling units facing Barber Greene Road and the Private Lane may project a maximum of 1.5 metres into the required front yard, provided that the projection has a maximum width of 4 metres; and,

h)the Neighbourhood Map (Schedule Q) shall be amended to include the site within the Overland neighbourhood.

PART LOT CONTROL APPLICATION

3)A by-law for the release of part lot control shall be enacted when the following conditions have been met:

a)the applicant has deposited a reference plan reflecting this proposal with the Registry Office; and,

b)the applicant has agreed to advise the City upon the sale or transfer of the lands so that the exempting by-law can be repealed.

GENERAL CONDITIONS

4)During the site plan review, the applicants shall ensure that the conditions listed on Schedule P to this staff report are resolved.

Background:

Proposal

The applicant has proposed 29 townhouse units as shown on Schedule C. The development would consist of a combination of 2 and 3 storey units. Along the Barber Greene frontage, 12 units with driveway access are proposed to access directly onto the street, 5 units would front onto Overland Drive and the remaining 12 units would front onto a private lane. The applicant has indicated that they will be proceeding with a condominium application for the 12 units which front onto the private lane. The remaining units which are proposed to front onto existing public streets are to be freehold with the lots being created by a release of part lot control. Site statistics are as follows:

The applicant has referred both the Official Plan and Zoning Bylaw amendments to the Ontario Municipal Board for a hearing on the basis that Council did not make a decision on the applications within 90 days. The application was originally submitted on January 20, 1998.

Official Plan and Zoning:

The site is designated Industrial by the North York Official Plan and is zoned M2, MOF(H) by By-law 7625. A recent City-wide industrial review applies new industrial policies and rezones the lands to M1. The recent Official Plan Amendment and zoning by-law amendment are awaiting approval by the Ontario Municipal Board. The proposal requires an amendment to both the Official Plan and the Zoning Bylaw to permit residential uses.

The lands also lie adjacent to the Central Don Mills Secondary Plan which includes the residential community of Don Mills and divides the area into four discrete low density residential neighbourhoods.

Comments For Other Departments and Agencies:

The following is a summary of relevant comments received from City departments and outside agencies received for the Official Plan and Zoning By-law applications:

Works and Emergency Services (Works) advise they have no objection to the proposal provided that their condition attached as Schedule F are complied with.

Parks and Recreation Division advise that a 5% cash-in-lieu payment will be required at the time of building permit application. The applicant will be required to execute a Tree Preservation agreement prior to by-law enactment (Schedule G).

Works and Emergency Services (Transportation) advise that the traffic generated by the townhouse proposal would have a minimal impact on the existing roadway network, and that the change from industrial to residential would eliminate industrial truck traffic (Schedule H).

Public Health have no objections to the proposal provided their conditions as set out in Schedule I are met.

Canadian National Railway has indicated that they require a minimum 15 metre setback from the railway in conjunction with a safety berm (Schedule J).

GO Transit commented that if a connection between its Richmond Hill line and the CP North Toronto Subdivision line is developed, then the adjoining track could be used. However, this is only an alternative route and North York has already identified lands in the for this purpose at 39 and 45 Greenbelt Drive.

The School Boards have indicated that students from the proposed development can be accommodated (Schedule K).

Community Consultation:

A Community Consultation Meeting was held on May 4, 1998, which approximately 50 persons attended. Following the Open House, two Working Group meetings were held in which specific issues and revisions to the plans were discussed. In general, the issues expressed by the group were as follows:

Density the proposed density of development was too high and the setbacks were not reflective of the existing community.

Building Heightshould be restricted to 2 storeys, reflecting the surrounding development.

Traffic and Parkingthe proposal would result in increased traffic congestion and on-street parking problems.

Streetscapetoo many driveways on Barber Greene Road.

Parklandparkland should be provided within the community to serve the increase in units.

Soil Restorationcould the soil be cleaned to an appropriate level for residential development?

A summary of comments from that meeting is appended to this report (Schedule L) as are written comment forms and letters received from the residents (Schedule M and N).

As a result of the open house and working group sessions, the applicant revised the proposal as follows:

• reduced the number of townhouse units from 31 to 29;
• redesigned the building layout so 5 units now face Overland Boulevard so that the number of units fronting onto Barber Greene is reduced from 15 to 12;
• reduced the height of the buildings to 9.2 metres in accordance with the applicable RM1 zone standards;
• reduced the number of 3 storey buildings from 17 to 12 with the 3 storey units mainly located along the private lane;
• twinned the driveways to reduce the number of connections to Barber Greene Road and increase green space;
• reduced of Floor Space Index (Gross Floor Area/Lot Area) from .6 to .55, resulting in a unit density of 37.4 units per hectare (15.1 units per acre); and,
• narrowed the entrances of the private laneway and the added decorative brick on that laneway to signify it is for private, not for public use and to allow for more landscaping area.

Discussion

Land use

Based upon a review of the relevant Official Plan policies, a change from Industrial to Residential is appropriate for this site for the following reasons:

• a logical and defined edge separating the proposed development from the existing office use to the south will be created by the private lane, fencing and buffer strip;

• the viability of the remaining employment lands will not be impacted given the location of the site on the periphery of the industrial area and the creation of a new boundary at the south edge of the site; and,

• parkland and hard services, such as transportation and sewer capacity are available to serve this proposal.

Density, Coverage, and Setbacks

With respect to density, coverage and setbacks, the proposal complies with the standards of the applicable official plan policies and is generally consistent with the zoning standards of the RM1 zone as described below:

• the density of the proposed townhouses (.55 FSI/15.1 units per acre) complies with the official plan designation (RD2) on the adjacent lands, which permits up to 18 upa. This is also similar to the density of development existing in the area (.35 to .45 FSI);

• the proposed development has similar coverage per unit (34.7%) to the RM1 Zone requirements which permit 25% lot coverage per unit, excluding garages. The total lot coverage of the proposed development is 28.3% which is less than the existing warehouse which has a total lot coverage of approximately 35%;

• the RM1 setbacks have been maintained, or, reduced so as to be sensitive to the surrounding neighbourhood, as follows:

-7.5 metre frontyard setbacks as required in the RM1 zone have been preserved for the units which directly face the existing residential located on the north side of Overland Drive;

-reduced 6.0 metre frontyard setbacks are proposed on the Barber Greene frontage where existing residential is separated by a wider roadway. This represents a 1.5 metre reduction from the by-law requirement. As well, some minor building wall encroachments are proposed to accommodate variation in the building facades along Barber Greene Road;

-other setback reductions are within the interior of the proposal, or face the private lane (reduced rearyards, sideyards and frontyards) should not impact surrounding residential. They include the following exceptions:

i)Front yard (for units facing the Private Lane) - reduced from 7.5 metres to 5.5 metres with some minor building wall encroachments to accommodate variation in the building facades

ii)Rear Yards - reduced from 7.5 metres to 6.5 and 6.0 metres

iii)Side Yards - changed from 8m to 2.7, 2.4, 1.5 and over 10 metres (exterior sideyard on Barber Greene Road)

iv)Distance between Buildings - reduced from 9.2 metres to 7.5 and 6.0 metres.

The above proposed yard reductions are also generally consistent with recently approved townhouse projects in the District.

Building Heights

The building heights will comply to the applicable official plan policies. Seventeen of the proposed townhouses are 2 storeys which is the same as development existing in the area. The three storey units have been limited to the centre of the development and along the private lane, away from existing residential. The three storey height at 9.2 metres is consistent with the RM1 zone.

Parking

Adequate parking can be provided for this proposal which meets the zoning bylaw requirements. Four parking spaces are proposed for the 3 storey units and two parking spaces for all other units. Additional visitor parking will be available on the private lane for the condominium units.

Urban Design

The private lane, open space areas and Barber Greene street frontage have been redesigned to fit within the surrounding neighbourhood as follows:

• to address neighbourhood concerns, the applicant proposes to narrow the driveway widths for the private lane at Overland Drive and Barber Greene Road from 8.5 metres to 6.0 metres. Landscaping and decorative paving would then be provided at the entrances to the development to signify it is a private roadway and to screen the roadway from view. Details of the landscaping and paving treatment will be finalized at the time of site plan approval.

• The applicant reduced the number of units from 31 to 29 to provide more open space. The development proposal now has less total lot coverage (28.3%) than the existing warehouse (approximately 35%) so more open space may be maintained within the new development. To emphasize the open space on the corner of Barber Greene and Overland Drive, substantial plantings are to be provided. The landscaping treatment of this corner will be specifically addressed as part of the site plan application.

• To create a streetscape which reflects the open space nature of the area, the applicant reduced the number of units facing onto Barber Greene by orienting some of the units onto Overland Drive. Also, a number of driveways that access onto Barber Greene Road have been twinned to create more green space and reduce the amount of hard surfacing.

Soil Contamination

The applicant has submitted a soil's investigation report prepared by a consultant. A peer review of the report and a Record of Site Condition acknowledged by the Ministry of the Environment and verifying that the property is suitable for the proposed residential will be required at part of the site plan approval process.

Conclusions

The redesignation of the subject site from industrial to residential is therefore appropriate and the site design will fit within the context of the area.

Contact Name:

Mavis Urquhart, Planner (North York District)

Phone: 395-7106Fax: 395-7155

Bryan W. Tuckey,

Director of Community Planning

North District

Schedules:

AOfficial Plan

BZoning Bylaw

CRevised Site Plan

DRevised Cross Section

EElevations

E1Elevations

FNorth York Works and Emergency Services (Works) comments

GNorth York Parks and Recreation comments

HNorth York Works and Emergency Services (Transportation) comments

INorth York Public Health comments

JCNR comments

KSchool Board comments

LMeeting Summary from Community Open House

MResidents' Comments from Community Open House

NResidents' Letters

OZoning Table

PGeneral Conditions of Approval

SCHEDULE O

Schedule P

During the Site Plan Approval stage, the following shall be achieved:

a)address the technical comments of the following departments:

• Works and Emergency Services Department (Transportation) as set out in Schedule F;

• Parks and Recreation Department as set out in Schedule G;

• Works and Emergency Services Department (Works) as set out in Schedule H;

• Public Health as set out in Schedule I;

• Canadian National Railway as set out Schedule J;

b)the applicant shall be required to complete all work specified in the AGRA Earth & Environmental PEER REVIEW Ref. No. E 1952, dated September 10, 1998 and to submit a Record of Site Condition that is acknowledged by the Ministry of Environment

c)the applicant will provide a narrowing of the 8.5 metres private lane to 6.0 metres at the entrances to Overland Drive and Barber Greene Road and provide decorative paving and landscaping in these locations to give the impression of a private rather than public road;

d)substantial landscaping and berming shall be provided adjacent to the Canadian National Rail line to improve the view from the condominium units which face that direction;

e)substantial landscaping and opaque fencing shall be provided adjacent to the southerly lot line where the office building is located;

f)substantial landscaping shall be provided on the corner lot of Overland Drive and Barber Greene Road (Lot 1- Schedule C) which creates an attractive focus and highlights this corner.