Zoning By-law Amendment Application Z97058

2351 Kennedy Road Incorporated

2351 Kennedy Road

Ward 17 - Scarborough Agincourt

 The Scarborough Community Council, after considering the deputations and based on the finding of fact, conclusions and recommendations contained in the report, dated June 30, 1998, from the Commissioner of Planning and Buildings, Scarborough, recommends that the report of the Commissioner of Planning and Buildings, Scarborough, be adopted, subject to the following amendments to Recommendation (A) Zoning By-law, "Permitted Uses":

 (1)delete (1)(b) "financial institutions" and renumber the remaining Permitted Uses accordingly;

 (2)strike out in (1)(g), the words "educational facilities" and insert in lieu thereof: "tutorial facilities limited to a maximum of five (5) students"; and

 (3)add the following new Recommendations Nos. (10) and (11) under (A) Zoning By-law:

 "(10)the total gross floor area of medical and dental offices combined shall not exceed 186 square metres (2,000 square feet) and shall not occupy more than four (4) Residential/Employment Units;

 (11)the total gross floor area of tutorial facilities shall not exceed 186 square metres (2,000 square feet) and shall not occupy more than four (4) Residential/Employment Units."

  The Scarborough Community Council reports having held a statutory public meeting on July 22, 1998, in accordance with Section 17 and Section 34 of The Planning Act, and that appropriate notice of this meeting was given in accordance with The Planning Act and the regulations thereunder.

 The Scarborough Community Council submits the following report (June 30, 1998) from the Commissioner of Planning and Buildings, Scarborough:

 Purpose:

 This report presents recommendations to amend the Tam O'Shanter Community Zoning By-law for the lands located on the east side of Kennedy Road, north of Sheppard Avenue East from Highway Commercial (HC) to Residential/Employment (RE) to permit a three storey building containing 78 residential dwelling units, 27 of which will contain a commercial component on the ground floor (live/work units). The commercial uses will be limited to offices, financial institutions, retail stores, personal service shops, service shops and agencies, studios, educational uses, and day nurseries.

 Recommendations:

 It is recommended that City Council:

 (A) Zoning By-law:

 amend the Tam O'Shanter Community Zoning By-law Number 12360, as amended, with respect to 2351 Kennedy Road, being Part of Lot 28, Concession 3, by deleting the current Highway Commercial (HC) zoning and introducing a Residential/Employment (RE) Zone in the Tam O'Shanter Community as follows:

 (1)Permitted Uses: Residential dwelling units and Residential/Employment Units:

 Residential/Employment Units means a dwelling unit which may be combined with one or more of the following non-residential uses:

 (a)offices;

(b)financial institutions;

(c)retail stores (excluding food preparation and excluding food consumption on site);

(d)personal service shops;

(e)service shops and agencies (excluding auto-related service shops);

(f)studios;

(g)educational facilities;

(h)day nurseries;

 occupied and operated by one or more persons residing in the dwelling unit;

 (2)maximum 78 residential dwelling units including a maximum of 27 ground floor related Residential/Employment Units;

 (3)maximum of 93 m² (1,000 square feet) gross floor area of non-residential uses, shall be delineated and separated from the dwelling unit by solid partition walls and limited to the ground floor, may be combined within each Residential/Employment Unit;

 (4)maximum total gross floor area of non-residential uses 930 m² (10,000 square feet);

 (5)minimum 1 m² (11 square feet) of indoor recreational floor space per dwelling unit;

 (6)minimum building setback 3 metres (10 feet) from the street line, excluding decorative entrance features which may project into the minimum required setback;

 (7)maximum number of storeys, excluding parking levels, chimneys, skylights, vents, antennae, elevator machine rooms, rooftop mechanical equipment and penthouse, and parapet walls: 3 storeys;

 (8)Clause VI-Provisions for all Zones, Sub-Clause 6, Coverage, shall not apply.

 (9)minimum parking requirements:

 (a)1.2 parking spaces per dwelling unit, of which 0.2 spaces per dwelling unit shall be reserved for visitors; and

 (b)the greater of :

 (i)2.4 parking spaces per Residential/Employment Unit, of which 1.4 spaces per Residential/Employment Unit shall be reserved for visitors, or

 (ii)1 parking space per Residential/Employment Unit plus 4 spaces per 100 m² (1076 square feet) gross floor area of non-residential uses within each Residential/Employment Unit.

 (B)enact a By-law under the provisions of Section 42(3) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, to require that parkland or cash in lieu be conveyed at the of rate of 1 hectare for every 300 dwelling units; and

 (C)authorize such unsubstantive technical, stylistic or format changes to the Zoning By-law amendment as may be required to properly carry out the intent of this resolution.

 Background:

 (1)Site Statistics

 Site Area:0.53 hectares (1.3 acres)

Frontage : 56.4 metres (185 feet)

Number of dwelling units proposed:78 (including 27 live/work units)

Total gross floor area of commercial component:930 m² (10,000 square feet)

Total floor area of recreation room: 83 m² (887 square feet)

Total gross floor area of project:6315 m² (68, 000 square feet)

Proposed Residential density:150 units per hectare (60 units per acre)

Proposed intensity of development:1.2 times the site area

Proposed parking:126 spaces including 48 visitor spaces

Dwelling unit sizes: 48 m² (511 square feet) to 112 m² (1200 square feet)*

Commercial component sizes:26 m² (276 square feet) to 45 m² (482 square feet)

* Includes commercial component

 (2)The subject lands contain a one-storey vacant restaurant building to be demolished. Vehicular access to Kennedy Road is provided from one mutual driveway shared with the adjacent commercial development to the south. There are several mature trees along the north and east property lines. Surrounding uses include a 20 storey residential apartment building to the north, a 5 storey office/commercial development to the south, Agincourt Mall on the west side of Kennedy Road, and multiple family residential uses to the east beyond the channelized west branch of the Highland Creek which backs onto the subject lands.

Kennedy Road Elevation

 (3)The subject lands are designated Commercial Mixed Use providing for a variety of residential, office, commercial, hotel and community facility uses. These uses may be developed in separate buildings or in multi-use buildings or projects. The designation on the subject lands provides for a pre-subway density of 1.2 times the site area for all the uses combined. This includes High Density Residential providing for a density of up to 150 units per hectare (60 units per acre). The current Highway Commercial (HC) zoning permits only a restaurant (exclusive of drive-in and take-out service) with a maximum gross floor area of 930 m² (10,000 square feet). The lands are subject to Site Plan Control for which an application has been submitted in support of the Zoning By-law amendment.

 (4)A Preliminary Evaluation Report was before Scarborough Community Council on January 21, 1998 at which time it endorsed the processing of the application in the normal manner, subject to the applicant submitting a Traffic Impact Study and Planning staff convening a Community Information Meeting.

 Comments:

 (1)The live/work concept has many variations across the City of Toronto and generally consists of a dwelling unit in which a small component of floor area is devoted to business use by the occupant(s) of the dwelling unit. There are no recently built examples of live/work developments in the former municipality of Scarborough however two planned developments will contain live/work units. The Mondeo development at Birchmount Road and Ellesmere Avenue will contain live/work units along Birchmount Road. The Port Union Village is another location where live/work dwelling units will be built in the Village Common area along Port Union Road south of Lawrence Avenue.

              View of Inside Courtyard

 (2)The application was circulated to various technical review agencies, none of which expressed objections to the proposal. The Toronto District School Board advises that the student yield from the proposed development and other developments in the area will create accommodation pressures at the junior elementary level, and have indicated that alternative accommodation arrangements will be required for these students. It is Planning staff's understanding that alternative accommodation arrangements may include busing students emanating from this development to a school which as capacity available such as Pauline Johnson Public School. The Toronto Catholic School Board advises that students could be accommodated in permanent facilities at St. Bartholomew and Mary Ward Catholic Schools.

 (3)A Community Information Meeting was held the evening of June 1, 1998 at Tam O'Shanter Public School. Notice for this meeting was provided to all properties within 120 metres (400 feet) of the subject property and to the Central Agincourt Community Association. A letter was received by the City in response to the notice from Henry Tam of H. Tam and Associates at 2347 Kennedy Road, Suite 500, objecting to the proposal for reasons of crime, traffic, and lack of parking and poor management at 2347 Kennedy Road.

 Six residents attended the meeting as well as local Councillors Doug Mahood and Sherene Shaw. A number of concerns were raised including traffic operations in the vicinity of the subject lands, parking, impact on existing trees along the north lot line, and loading facilities.

 Traffic and Parking

 (1)A Traffic Impact and Parking Study prepared by R.V. Anderson Associates Limited concludes that the proposal will actually reduce the number of vehicle trips generated by the site when compared to the existing restaurant zoning. The estimated total trips generated during the weekday p.m. peak hour by the existing zoning is 163 trips compared to a total of 110 trips for the proposal. The proposed parking supply of 126 spaces was also reviewed and found to be sufficient to meet the parking demands of the project.

 (2)Planning staff concur with the Traffic Impact and Parking Study. The proposal will maintain the mutual driveway to Kennedy Road currently shared with the office/commercial development to the south. Although it is difficult to make a left turn onto Kennedy Road from the site, the frequency of left turns will be reduced when compared with the current restaurant zoning. Concern was raised at the Community Meeting regarding the lack of gaps available at the Sheppard access for the commercial development to the south. The concern is that with continued shared access between the two properties, more vehicles will use the congested Sheppard access. The applicant's traffic consultant is currently reviewing this matter to determine if the on-site vehicle circulation pattern of the adjacent commercial property can be improved.

 (3)The proposed mixed use nature of the proposal has a number of benefits which help to reduce traffic and parking demands. The 27 live/work dwelling units will provide an opportunity for a business and residence to be combined at the same location. This means the occupant of the dwelling will not have to drive to work. The owner of the live/work unit will have one reserved underground residential parking space as will every dwelling unit. This frees up one space for customer parking which would ordinarily be used by the business operator if he/she lived elsewhere.

 There will be a common pool of 32 surface parking spaces available for customers of the live/work units. The 16 residential visitor spaces in the underground parking garage will also be available to customers. These spaces are not frequently used by visitors to the residential dwelling units during the business day making shared parking desirable in this instance.

 The mixed use nature of the project will result in residents of the project, as well as residents and employees of adjacent properties, being customers to the live/work units, thereby further reducing traffic and parking demands. The subject lands are also well located on a major arterial road well served by TTC transit and a nearby GO Station is available for commuters.

 (4)The recommended parking standard has been drafted to accommodate both the residential dwelling units and the live/work units, as follows:

 (a)a total of 1.2 parking spaces will be required for each residential dwelling unit, of which 0.2 spaces per dwelling unit shall be reserved for visitors; and

 (b)the greater of 2.4 parking spaces per live/work unit (of which 1.4 spaces per dwelling unit shall be reserved for visitors), or 1 space per live/work unit plus 4 spaces per 100 m² (1076 square feet) of commercial gross floor area will be required.

 The parking standard for the live/work units has been drafted to ensure sufficient parking is provided for the larger commercial component sizes. Based on the recommended parking standard, a total of 126 spaces are required.

 Siting and Landscaping

 (1)The proposal successfully implements the objectives of the Agincourt Centre Secondary Plan which promotes an overall compact built form that maximizes building at grade and provides a continuous built street edge. The proposed siting of the building close to the street line will encourage a pedestrian oriented streetscape along this portion of Kennedy Road. The decorative entrance feature will identify the walkway between Kennedy Road and the internal courtyard of the project as well as provide a visual interest in the building design. Deliveries to the commercial component will be undertaken in the courtyard which faces south toward the existing commercial development. Garbage will be stored indoors in two garbage storage rooms located in the underground garage and picked up from a loading space at the south east corner of the proposed building.

(2)Several trees along the north and east property line will have to be removed due to construction of the building because the low-rise nature of the proposal results in a larger property coverage. The existing trees along the north property line provide a privacy screen for the residential apartment to the north. Residents at the Community Meeting expressed concern that this privacy screen will be lost with the removal of the trees. The owner has retained a landscape architect who has prepared a landscape plan to address this concern. New trees will be planted along the north lot line and a solid wood fence will be constructed to provide a visual screen. The details of the landscape plan can be worked out with interested residents prior to final Site Plan Control approval.

 (3)The rear portion of the subject lands falls within the Highland Creek West Branch preliminary flood line. The Agincourt Centre Secondary Plan stipulates that development may be permitted within the area of the preliminary flood line, subject to approval by the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) and the City. The applicant has held discussions with City and Authority staff in order to design the building consistent with the requirements of the TRCA for developments partially within a flood plain. The proposal has the following features and in this regard is acceptable to TRCA and City staff:

 (a)there is an opportunity to undertake restoration of the stream corridor because the existing retaining wall along the east lot line will be removed and rebuilt further back from the watercourse;

 (b)flood storage can be maintained on the property and the proposed structure can be adequately flood proofed; and

 (c)the flood depths and velocities on the property at the site of the proposed structure are small.

Prior to final Site Plan Control approval and issuance of a Building Permit, the owner will fulfil a number of conditions of the TRCA including submission of a detailed landscape plan indicating how the corridor is to be renaturalized with native woody plants, and providing assurances that the structure will be flood proofed to the level of the Regional Storm Flood Plain elevation.

 Residential/Employment (RE) Zone

 (1)A Residential/Employment (RE) Zone is proposed to be introduced into the Tam O'Shanter Community to accommodate the proposal. The zoning stipulates that the 'work' component of the live/work unit must be occupied and operated by one or more persons residing in the dwelling unit. Planning staff recognize that it may be difficult to enforce such a provision because it is possible that someone may only choose to reside in the live/work unit and lease out the 'work' component of the unit. There is a demand for live/work units. This project will be marketed to individuals looking for space to live and work in. The introduction of such projects will reduce the pressures on established residential communities where there is constantly a demand to convert residential dwellings into live/work units. It is anticipated that the owner will be applying for draft plan of condominium approval for this project. Each live/work unit will be sold as one entire unit which will have a connection between the live and work components.

 (2)The largest commercial component of the live/work units is approximately 45 m² (482 square feet). The owner has requested flexible zoning to enable larger commercial components of up to 93 m² (1,000 square feet) associated with one live/work unit. This will enable the owner to market the live/work units to business persons looking for more commercial space. For example someone may choose to purchase a live /work unit which has a commercial component of 90 m² (964 square feet) gross floor area on the ground floor and living space above half that commercial space. This means the second half of living space above the commercial space would be constructed as a separate dwelling unit unassociated with the live/work unit. If this flexibility is utilized, it may result in less live/work units but it may diminish the possibility of working space spilling over into the living space of the live/work units.

 Planning staff recognize it may be difficult to delineate between the live and work space in each unit. The layout of the units will be designed to accommodate the work space on the ground floor. In most instances, this space will be accessible to the public and therefore our inspectors can determine if there is spillover after reviewing the floor plan layout. In those instances where the public do not have regular access to a live/work unit such as one used for a private art studio, the inspector will not be able to enter the private residence to determine if the work component spills over into the living space of the unit. However, in such cases there may not be an enforcement issue because if the public is not regularly using this business, there will be little traffic or parking demands generated by the unit.

 (3)The Agincourt Centre Secondary Plan contains a Policy which requires the alternative parkland contribution of 1 hectare per 300 units which can be satisfied via cash-in-lieu of land. To utilize this Official Plan policy, I am recommending Council enact a By-law under the provisions of Section 42(3) of the Planning Act.

 Conclusions:

 The proposed 3 storey, 78 unit residential development containing 27 live/work units is a unique opportunity for a quality project that will merge with surrounding developments in a compatible manner. The proposal implements the vision established by the Agincourt Centre Secondary Plan to create a vibrant pedestrian environment and urban fabric for this area.

 Contact Name:

 Joe Nanos, Acting Senior Planner

Phone: (416) 396-7037

Fax: (416) 396-4265

E-Mail: nanos@city.scarborough.on.ca

  Mr. Henry Chiu, Architect for the project, appeared before the Community Council and expressed support for the staff recommendations, and also indicated his agreement to the proposed amendments.