(Report dated May 29, 1998, addressed to Toronto Community Council, from Commissioner of Urban Planning and Development Services.)

Subject:Preliminary Report on Zoning By-law Amendment Application No. 198009 for 2543, 2545 and 2549 Dundas Street West and 22 R Jerome Street (Ward 21 - Davenport)

Purpose:

To consider a proposal (which has been refused by the Committee of Adjustment and appealed to the Ontario Municipal Board) for 2543, 2545 and 2549 Dundas Street West and 22 R Jerome Street to construct an infill mews development comprising five pairs of semi-detached dwellings and two detached dwellings, and to seek authority to hold a public meeting.

Funding Sources, Financial Implications and Impact Statement:

Not applicable.

Recommendations:

It is recommended that:

The Commissioner of Urban Planning and Development Services be requested to hold a public meeting in the community to discuss the application and to notify owners and tenants within 120 metres of the site, the Dundas West Residents Association, the West Toronto Junction Historical Society and the Ward Councillors.

Council Reference/Background/History:

1.Project Description

To demolish the existing dwelling house at 2549 Dundas Street West and an adjacent mixed use building and construct four semi-detached dwellings fronting onto Dundas Street West and a mews development to the rear consisting of an additional six semi-detached dwelling units and two detached dwellings.

Access to parking would be from a private drive with mutual rights-of-way running west from Dundas Street along the north edge of the site. The semi-detached dwellings that front onto Dundas Street West would have rear integral garages. The units that front onto the laneway would have front integral garages. There is one parking space per unit for all dwelling houses except for one detached dwelling that has two parking spaces.

The westerly four dwelling units are two and a half stories high, while the remaining eight units are three and a half stories high. The heights of the dwellings vary from 8.5 m and 10.36 m.

2.Site and Area Description

The site consists of three properties on Dundas Street West that are used for mixed commercial-residential and purely residential uses, and, to the rear, a landlocked vacant lot at 22R Jerome Street. The majority of the properties along Dundas Street West were designed with storefronts, but many of these are now used for residential purposes. Immediately south on Dundas Street West is a licensed restaurant with a summer patio.

Because of the exceptional depth of the development site, it abuts the rear yards of the detached and semi-detached residences at 11 to 19 Kenneth Avenue and 4 to 26 Jerome Street.

3.Current Official Plan and Zoning

The majority of the lands, comprising the properties at 2543 to 2549 Dundas Street West, is designated in the Official Plan as Low Density Mixed Commercial-Residential Area, permitting a mix of commercial and residential uses up to a maximum density of 3 times the lot area. The zoning for these properties is MCR T2 C1 R2 with a height limit of 14 metres. Purely residential uses of up to 2 times the lot area are permitted. The proposed units that lie within the AMCR@ zone district have a combined density of 1.5 times and are all below 10.5 m. in height, well within the 14 metre height limit.

The lands at 22R Jerome Street are designated Low Density Residence Area in the Official Plan, which permits residential uses up to a maximum of 1 times the lot area. These lands are zoned R2 Z 0.6, permitting residential development of 0.6 x density. There is a 10 metre height limit. Units 1 to 3 and a small portion of unit 4 are located within the AR2" zone district. All of these units are below the 10 metre height limit, and the residential use is permitted as-of-right in the Official Plan and Zoning By-law. Units 1 and 3 would have built densities of 0.63 and 0.61 respectively, slightly more than the 0.6 maximum by-law density, but all units are below the maximum Official Plan density of 1 times the lot area.

Because this is an infill mews development, the development will not meet some of the aspects of the zoning by-law that are based on the more regular lots that front onto public streets. As in most mews developments, there will be relief required for frontages, depth of building from the street, setbacks, integral garages, and the provision of landscaped open space.  4.History of the Application

In February 1998, the applicants submitted plans for a mews development on this site to the Committee of Adjustment. After discussion with civic staff, the number of units was decreased and the height of the dwellings in the westerly portion of the lands was cut down by one storey, and revised plans were resubmitted to the Committee of Adjustment. Two public meetings were held in the community in February and March 1998 to discuss this proposal, and a majority of residents in attendance appeared to support the development, but wished to discuss matters such as landscaping, the historic aspects of the dwelling at 2549 Dundas Street West, drainage, noise impact, and the distancing of the dwellings from the lot lines of the Kenneth Avenue and Jerome Street lots.

On March 25, 1998 the Committee of Adjustment considered the application. The Commissioner of Urban Planning and Development Services requested that a number of matters be included as a condition of consents to sever. These related to a noise impact statement, a landscape plan, minimum driveway width, a stormwater management plan, environmental reviews, and direction of illumination, among others. Several residents appeared both in support and in opposition to the proposal. The Committee refused the applications on the grounds that the division of the site into 12 lots was excessive and would result in lots that would not be in conformity with the predominant pattern of lot sizes in the area. The applicant has now appealed the refusal of the Committee of Adjustment and has applied for a Zoning By-law amendment.

Comments and/or Discussion and/or Justification:

5.Preservation of 2549 Dundas Street West

The West Toronto Junction Historical Society has requested that the dwelling house at 2549 Dundas Street West be designated by Heritage Toronto and be preserved. A nearby building at 20 Jerome Street is listed because of the numerous terracotta panels. The applicant has offered to maintain the existing terracotta panels on 2549 Dundas Street West and reintegrate them into the new development in a visible manner. Heritage Toronto will be considering the request to designate this building in the near future.

6.Form and Density of Development

The Committee of Adjustment found that 12 new dwellings on the lands was excessive and would not be in conformity with the previous pattern of lot sizes in the area. Because of the irregular parcel and the restriction of street frontage to Dundas Street West it would not be possible to replicate the pattern and configuration of lots on Kenneth Avenue and Jerome Street. The question posed by the Committee decision is whether infill mews residential which does not follow the local lot configuration is an appropriate form of development in this instance.

7.Landscaping

Appropriate fencing and landscaping is essential to ensure privacy to both the residents of abutting properties on Jerome Street and Kenneth Avenue and the potential residents of any new mews development.

8.Drainage

The water table on the lands is high and existing dwellings in the neighbourhood have basement flooding problems. Stormwater management plans need to ensure that the drainage problems of neighbouring residents will not be worsened by a new development on the site.

Contact Name:Paul Bain

Telephone: (416) 392-7622

Fax: (416) 392-1330

E-Mail: pbain@city.toronto.on.ca

(Copies of Maps attached are on file, in the office of the City Clerk.)

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