June 26, 1998
To:Scarborough Community Council
From:Lorne Ross, MCIP, RPP
Commissioner of Planning and Buildings
Subject:Official Plan Amendment Application P97020
Zoning By-law Amendment Application Z97052
Petro Canada
70 Guildwood Parkway
Lot 15, Concession D
Guildwood Community
Scarborough Bluffs
Purpose:
The applicant proposes to amend the Official Plan - Guildwood Community Secondary
Plan and the Guildwood Community Zoning By-law as it pertains to the vacant Petro
Canada gas station property, at the north-west corner of Guildwood Parkway and Rowatson
Road, by redesignating the site from Highway Commercial Uses to Medium Density
Residential, and by rezoning the site to permit the development of 15 residential
townhouses.
Recommendations:
It is recommended that Council:
(A)Official Plan:
amend the Guildwood Community Secondary Plan with respect to the property located on
the north-west corner of Guildwood Parkway and Rowatson Road, by deleting the Highway
Commercial designation and substituting a Medium Density Residential (RM) designation
and by adding a density of 55 units per hectare (23 units per acre);
(B)Zoning By-law Amendment:
amend the Guildwood Community Zoning By-law Number 9676, as amended, with respect
to 70 Guildwood Parkway, being Lot 15, Concession D, by deleting the current Highway
Commercial (HC) zoning and substituting a Multiple Family Residential Zone as follows:
(1)Permitted Use: Multiple Family Residential;
(2)maximum 15 residential dwelling units;
(3)minimum building setback 4 metres (13 feet) from the street line of Rowatson Road,
except that the door to the garage shall be set back a minimum of 5.7 metres (19 feet) from
the street line. The space in front of the garage may be used for parking;
(4)minimum building setback, 6 metres (20 feet) from the street line of Guildwood
Parkway;
(5)minimum side yard building setback for a row of townhouses, 2 metres (6.5 feet) from
end wall to side lot lines;
(6)maximum height 3 storeys;
(7)an attached garage shall be erected with each dwelling unit;
(8)a refuse storage room shall be provided on the site and be enclosed by at least four walls
and a roof; and
(C)authorize any unsubstantive technical, stylistic or format changes to the Official Plan
and Zoning By-law Amendments as may be required to carry out the intent of this
resolution.
Background:
(1)Site Statistics
Site area:0.27 ha (0.7 acres)
Frontage - Rowatson Road:41.5 m (136 feet)
Guildwood Parkway:50 m (165 feet)
Number of dwelling units proposed:15 townhouses
Proposed residential density:55 units per hectare (23 units per acre)
Proposed intensity of development:0.7 times the site area
Building coverage:33 percent\
(2)The subject site is vacant and it was previously occupied by a Petro Canada service
station which has been demolished and the underground gasoline tanks have been removed.
The site is bounded by one and two-storey single-family dwellings on the north, fourplexes
to the east, low rise apartments and the Guildwood Plaza to the south, and a nursing home to
the west. The land to the west containing the Extendicare Nursing Home is designated High
Density Residential and zoned for apartments at a density of 75 units per hectare (30 units
per acre). There are no trees of any significance on the subject property.
(3)The Petro Canada site is designated Highway Commercial Uses in the Official Plan,
permitting only service stations, automotive service centres, restaurants, hotels and motels.
(4)The land is zoned Highway Commercial and permits Day Nurseries, Automobile Sales,
service and maintenance uses excluding auto body repair and/or auto-wrecking yards,
Funeral Homes, Fraternal Organizations, Hotels and Motels, Places of Worship,
Professional and Business Offices, Recreational Uses, and Specialized Commercial Uses.
The land is under site plan control. An application for site plan approval (S97161) has been
submitted indicating how the applicant proposes to develop the land with 15 townhouses.
(5)On March 4, 1998, Scarborough Community Council considered a Preliminary
Evaluation Report on these applications and directed staff to convene a community
information meeting, with notice to be provided within the area bounded by Kingston Road
to the north, Prince Philip Boulevard to the west, Catalina Drive to the south and Livingston
Road to the east. Notice was also to be given to the Community Association and posted at
the local Library and the neighbourhood grocery store.
Community Council also directed that the applicant be advised to amend the Official Plan
Amendment Application P97020, to replace the request for High Density Residential with
Medium Density Residential. This would best reflect the reduction of the proposed
townhouse units from 17 to 15 that resulted from discussions between City staff and the
applicant. The applicant complied with this request.
The Public Meeting was targeted to take place prior to the summer recess.
(6)The Community Information Meeting was held on April 21, 1998. Approximately 446
notices were sent to property owners and tenants within the expanded area of circulation
directed by Scarborough Community Council. Approximately 20 people were in attendance
including the local Councillors, the applicant and his architect. Comments and concerns
raised can be summarised as follows:
The proposed density is too high. Reduce the number of units to 10 or 12.
Fourplexes would be acceptable;
The proposed development should be of high quality;
The Guildwood Parkway/Rowatson Road intersection/entrance to plaza are of concern
because currently there are traffic and turning problems;
Pavement marking on Guildwood Parkway need to be repainted;
Need to widen Guildwood Parkway;
Car access and on-site parking need to be considered;
Will there be enough parking on site for residents and visitors? Residents in the area are
getting parking tickets in front of their houses (3 hour parking restriction applies);
The proposal would be a positive addition once density and traffic problems have been
addressed;
Information required on other development options for the site and their economic impact;
Proposed development will impact on existing parks facilities;
There may be an environmental problem on the site from the (removed) gasoline tanks. Is
there an environmental report?
There may be water pressure problems on abutting residences on Rowatson. The
15 proposed units will impact on the existing water pressure.
Comments:
This revised proposal would implement the City's objectives to encourage the
redevelopment of older Highway Commercial properties (typically vacant gas station sites
and used car lots) to a more appropriate land use and built form. This proposal would
introduce new housing stock at an appropriate scale to provide a transition from the
predominantly single-family residential neighbourhood to the north, to the more intensively
built forms as one approaches Guildwood Parkway. The proposed townhouses would
complement the existing built form of the fourplexes on the east side of Rowatson Road and
the low rise apartments on the south side of Guildwood Parkway. Furthermore, the proposal
would provide for the gradation of densities from the High Density Residential designated
lands along the east and north side of Guildwood Parkway (the Extendicare property), to the
fourplexes on the east side of Rowatson Road.
The Medium Density Residential designation of the Official Plan provides for a variety of
dwelling unit types including townhouses, low-rise apartments and other such projects, to a
maximum height of four-storeys and a maximum net density of 100 units per hectare (40
units per acre). In addition, the Official Plan provides for single and semi-detached dwelling
unit forms within this designation.
Because the site is located near the business centre of the Guildwood Community and is
surrounded by High Density and Medium Density designated lands on three sides, the
proposed density of 55 units per hectare (23 units per acre) is considered appropriate for the
development of this site and would provide for an appropriate form of housing, while at the
same time it would remove the Highway Commercial designation.
The applicant proposes to market the development with seven street townhouses on
Rowatson Road and eight condominium townhouses with an access lane off Guildwood
Parkway, as shown on the Figure to the right.
Also, the revised plans provide a 6 metre (20 feet) setback from the Guildwood Parkway
street line, to accommodate extensive landscaping and to ensure a "front yard" treatment
along this important facade. The private open space between the two rows of townhouses is
also proposed to be landscaped. These pleasant landscaping features would significantly
enhance the development and provide a pleasant streescape on Guildwood Parkway.
Because of the tight configuration of the site and to ensure that the high quality landscaping
features proposed to best achieve the objectives of the City and the applicant, planning staff
are of the opinion that the proposed 15 townhouse development can be best accommodated
as a condominium, rather than the proposed mix of condominium and freehold options. The
condominium form of tenure would best ensure the continuous viability and maintenance of
the landscaping and design features proposed for this development.
City staff and the applicant have reviewed a number of development options for this site,
including options for underground parking and various other development configurations.
The current proposal represents a feasible and economically viable development for the site.
The proposed 15 townhouse units would have the potential to contribute a positive design
image to the community. Staff will continue to work with the applicant and the community
through the site plan process to ensure a high quality housing proposal will be provided on
the site, in keeping with the "executive style" of development in the Guildwood Community.
The applicant proposes to provide an attached garage with each dwelling unit and also has
provided a parking space in-front of each garage. This parking arrangement is considered
adequate for this development, as it provides for two parking spaces for each dwelling.
The application was circulated to technical agencies and departments for their comments.
There were no comments or objections raised to the proposed Official Plan and Zoning
By-law amendments by the reporting agencies.
Planning staff have investigated the concerns raised at the Community Information Meeting
regarding traffic problems at the plaza exit across from this site and also the water pressure
concern in the vicinity of this application. According to our transportation staff, the
proposed 15 townhouses can be expected to generate seven vehicle trips in the morning peak
and eight in the evening peak, in total. According to Works Department traffic counts for
1991 and 1995, traffic volumes generated on Guildwood Parkway west of Livingston Road,
have reduced over the four year period and the most recent volumes are considered to be
very light for a 4-lane roadway. The projected traffic volumes to be generated by the
proposed development would not have a significant impact on traffic in this area. Morning
and evening peak hour trips generated from this development, would not impact on
shopping trips to the plaza, which are generally spread throughout the day.
Works Department staff report that the pavement marking program is well under way, and
this area should be completed in the near future.
With respect to the water pressure concerns, City staff have investigated the pressure on the
water main in this area and report that the average static pressure was 62 to 64 psi, which is
the normal water pressure in the system. It is very unlikely that there will be any noticeable
difference to the residual water pressure in the area as a result of the addition of 15 new
residential water services.
Petro Canada has undertaken to carry out the environmental decommissioning of the site, to
meet the MOEE residential guidelines, only upon successful rezoning of the property. The
work will be undertaken under the supervision of an environmental consultant. Upon
completion of decommissioning, the applicant's environmental consultants will scrutinize
the engineering reports and will issue a statement of clean up of the site.
The applicant has also submitted detailed environmental reports for the removal of the
gasoline tanks that took place in 1993-1994.
Conclusions:
The proposed Official Plan Amendment and rezoning of this land for the development of 15
town houses, will provide for the redevelopment of a vacant gas station site near the
business centre of the Guildwood Community. The proposed development will provide for
intensification and will introduce new housing stock at an appropriate scale, consistent with
the former City of Scarborough Council's direction to provide for the redevelopment of the
site with townhouses. The proposal will also provide for the removal of the Highway
Commercial zoning. I therefore recommend that Scarborough Community Council support
the request to amend the Official Plan and the Zoning By-law for this development.
Contact Name:
Aristotle Christou, Senior Planner
(416) 396-5228
(416) 396-4265 Fax No.
christou@city.scarborough.on.ca
Respectfully submitted,
Lorne Ross, MCIP, RPP
Commissioner of Planning and Buildings