April 29, 1999
To:East York Community Council
From:Ted Tyndorf, MCIP, RPP
Director of Community Planning - East District
Subject:Applications by Inaugural Source Inc., and by the City of Toronto and Toronto
Hydro for Official Plan and Zoning By-law amendments to permit the development of lands at
the south-east corner of Dawes Road and Goodwood Park Court with 12 multiple-attached
(townhouse) dwellings and 2 pairs of semi-detached dwellings - File No. E.O. ZBA. 2/99 157
Dawes Road
Purpose:
To review applications for Official Plan and Zoning By-law amendments that will permit the
development of the south-east corner of Dawes Road and Goodwood Park Court with 12
multiple-attached (townhouse) dwellings and 2 pairs of semi-detached dwellings (see Figures
1 to 4 inclusive).
Financial Implications:
Costs associated with this development will be assumed by the developer.
Recommendation:
It is recommended that City Council:
a)Subject to recommendation 1. b), approve the applications by Inaugural Source Inc., the
City of Toronto and Toronto Hydro for the lands at the south-east corner of Dawes Road and
Goodwood Park Court to amend East York's Official Plan and East York Zoning By-law No.
6752 by:
i)adopting the attached Official Plan amendment intended to delete Section 3.15.19 - Special
Policy Area 19, which permitted the development of a 4 storey, 36 unit apartment building;
and,
ii)enacting the attached Zoning By-law amendment, which rezones these lands from
Residential Site Specific R3A.23 to Residential - Site Specific R2A.37 zoning and which sets
out specific development standards intended to facilitate the development thereon of 12
freehold multiple attached (townhouse) dwellings, and 2 pairs of semi-detached dwellings,
substantially in the form attached;
b)Authorize the introduction of the bills to amend the Official Plan and the Zoning By-law
No. 6752, after satisfactory proof has been received by the City Solicitor of the conveyence to
Inaugural Source of the City of Toronto and Toronto Hydro lands.
Background:
Proposal:
Inaugural Source Inc., in collaboration with Toronto Hydro and the City of Toronto, has
submitted applications for Council's permission to amend East York's Official Plan and
Zoning By-law 6752. The amendments will permit the development of a currently vacant
parcel of land at the south-east corner of Dawes Road and Goodwood Park Court with 12, 3
storey multiple attached (townhouse) dwellings and 2 pairs of semi-detached dwellings
designed around an internal courtyard and accessed from Goodwood Park Court.
The proposal locates:
1.14 of the newly proposed dwellings on lands which belong to the developer;
2.2 of the proposed dwellings on lands which belong to Toronto Hydro, but which are in the
process of being sold to the developer;
3.a portion of an access driveway and 1 parking space on lands which belong to th City of
Toronto, but which are in the process of being sold to the developer; and,
4.a portion of an access driveway on lands which belong to Ontario Hydro, but, which have
been secured by the developer via a permanent easement.
To permit the development, the developer requires both an Official Plan amendment to delete
the existing Official Plan requirements for an apartment building and, a Zoning By-law
amendment to allow its re-development with the proposed 12 townhouse and 2 semi-detached
dwellings.
When the application was first submitted, Planning Staff indicated that the development
should include the surplus Toronto Hydro and City of Toronto lands located adjacent to the
corner of Dawes Road and Goodwood Park Court. Consolidating all the disparate pieces of
land under 1 ownership will result in a comprehensive and coordinated development.
Shortly thereafter, the developer initiated the acquisition process for these additional lands. On
April 28, 1999, the City of Toronto Council declared the City lands to be surplus and it is
expected to ratify their sale at its June 13, 1999 meeting. The sale of Toronto Hydro lands is
expected to be finalized within that same time frame.
Until the various sale transactions are finalized, and the lands legally transferred, the City and
Toronto Hydro have had to be identified as co-applicants. Recommendation 1.b)
acknowledges this by requiring that all the conveyances be completed before the bills to adopt
the Official Plan and Zoning By-law amendments are introduced to Council.
Comments:
Site Description and Ownership:
This 2,498 m2 currently vacant parcel of land is located at the south-east corner of Dawes
Road and Goodwood Park Court. It is comprised of a 1, 982 m2 parcel of land which belongs
to the developer, a 192 m2 parcel of land which belongs to Toronto Hydro and lands which
amount to 234 m2, which belong to the City. (see - Location/Current Land Ownership map on
page 1) .
The site is relatively flat. However, since it lies at the base of a hill it is shored up at several
locations by retaining walls, which, because of their age require extensive reconstruction.
Surrounding uses include: 1 and 2 storey ground related residences to the south and west, high
rise apartments to the north, and north west, and Ontario Hydro corridor directly to the east.
Official Plan and Zoning:
The property is designated Low Density Residential and Special Policy Area 19 (see Map 2 -
"Predominant Land Use", and, Map 7 - "Special Policy Areas". The primary residential
designation provides for ground oriented housing forms, which would include the proposed
townhouse units. The secondary designation implements a previous site specific development
application and requires that the land be developed with a 36 unit, 4 storey senior's apartment
building.
The site is zoned "Residential R3A - Site Specific" permitting a 36 unit seniors' apartment
building. If approved the application would require the adoption by Council of a new zoning
by-law amendment that reflects the current development proposal.
Agency Circulation:
The application was circulated for input to all appropriate agencies and City departments.
Responses received from the circulation have been used to modify the project's design and to
formulate appropriate by-law standards.
Public Input:
Notice of the application was sent to all residents within 120 meters (400 ft.) of the site and a
community information meeting to obtain public input was held on April 26, 1999. The notice
and the meeting produced: a request for consideration of an increased setback between unit 7
and the adjoining property line; questions regarding erosion control measures and the location
of and the effectiveness of the retaining wall(s) required to facilitate the construction of unit 8;
and the visual impact of a blank wall of units 7 and 8 on the 2 adjoining residences to the
south-east.
Other comments consisted of inquiries about the project's tenure and management, and,
expressions of support on the basis that the proposed development would result in the site's
clean-up and the upgrading of the area's appearance.
Building Height and Design:
The proposed development is located in a largely residential area characterized by a mix of
built forms ranging from 1 and 2 storey detached residences immediately to the south and
south-east, high rise apartment buildings to the north, north-east and north-west, and newly
developing townhouses across Dawes Road to the west. Within this context, this 3 storey
residential project provides a suitable transition between the high rise buildings to the north
and the ground -oriented residences to the south.
The proposed height of the buildings at 9.75 meters (32 ft.), represents the generally accepted
height for townhouses throughout East York. In addition, in this case, building height has less
of an impact because this site is located at the base of a hill. Shadow diagrams submitted with
this application show a limited impact on the adjoining residences.
The proposed site design orients all the newly proposed dwellings around an internal
courtyard which incorporates vehicular (driveway and parking) and pedestrian (sidewalk)
facilities and which is flanked on all sides by treed and landscaped front yards. This building
siting has the advantage of removing individual vehicular accesses to Dawes Road and
Goodwood Park Court. Although the houses adjoining Dawes Road are oriented towards the
courtyard, the rear (street fronting) facades have been designed to incorporate various features
like canopied entrances, 3rd floor decks, and fencing that includes gates to the yard from the
sidewalk. These features were introduced to improve the pedestrian street environment.
Excluding windows from most walls that directly abut the existing residences to the
south-west has minimized the problem of overlook in that direction. The previously approved
4 storey apartment building would have had a similar impact.
With regards to the issue of the setback between unit 7 and the adjoining property to the south,
the drawings submitted with the application, which were based on the applicant's survey, site
this unit 0.76 m (2.5 ft.) away from the adjoining property. The standard side yard setbacks for
single density residential zones range from 0.6 m to 0.9 m (2 to 3 ft.). In addition, unit 7 is
separated from the actual wall of the adjoining building by a 2.6 m (8.5 ft.) driveway and a
0.24 m (8 in.) setback from its south wall to the edge of the existing fence line.
The design of the site and the built form will be reviewed in a separate Site Plan report, which
will be considered by the Director of Community Planning for the East District. The Site Plan
review will ensure that all functional elements such as lighting, landscaping, retaining wall
design etc., are addressed.
Access and Parking:
Entrance to the site is obtained from Goodwood Park Court via a 2 way, 6 meter (20.0 ft.)
wide private driveway leading to an internal courtyard. The resident parking is located in the
central courtyard adjacent to the dwelling. The visitor parking is located in the northeasterly
portion of the site, near the project's entrance (see Figure 1 Parking Spaces P17 and P18). The
development provides16 resident and 2 visitor parking spaces. This exceeds the East York
By-law requirement for residential dwellings by 2 parking spaces. The proposed parking
spaces are undersized according to the normal requirements of the by-law. However, the
City's Transportation Division comments indicate that they found both the proposed access
and parking provisions to be acceptable.
Shared Elements:
The design of this project requires shared use of facilities including the driveway leading to
the internal court yard, the 2 visitor parking spaces, the garbage enclosure, the storm drain
sewer required to drain excess storm water from the rear yards of dwellings 10 to16 inclusive,
as well as the sidewalk encircling the courtyard and the secondary pedestrian access route
from the courtyard to Dawes Road. The presence of these shared facilities generally connotes
a condominium form of ownership. The applicant, however, prefers to market the project as
freehold housing. From his perspective, freehold ownership is supported by current market
preferences and will save considerable time and costs associated with a condominium
approval.
Since the common elements have to be appropriately managed the future owners of the project
will have to enter into private agreement(s) to secure the continuing maintenance of the
various elements which have to be held in common.
The City's policy generally discourages freehold housing involving shared elements and
suggests that developments, which contain such elements, particularly if they involve a large
number of ownerships, should proceed by way of a condominium. Condominium ownership is
preferable because it tends to provide greater certainty regarding the legal and financial ability
of homeowners to resolve future problems. However, the policy also recognizes that in
instances where the risks are minimized by the size of the project or the type and number of
shared elements, freehold ownership may be an option.
Staff believes that due to the relatively small number of ownerships, and the type and number
of the shared elements, freehold ownership can be supported on this site.
Parkland Dedication:
As per East York By-law 85-92, the applicant will be required to make a 5 percent cash-in-lieu
of parkland dedication payment.
Site Servicing and Grading:
Works and Emergency Services Staff have commented that servicing of this site can be
accommodated by the existing municipal services in the adjacent right of way, and that any
servicing within the site would have to be privately held and jointly shared and maintained by
all the projects future owners. The comments also indicate that all site drainage will have to be
contained on the site, that the project will have to employ infiltration techniques for roof
leaders and pump foundation drains to surface areas. Storm sewer connections to the sewer
system will only be permitted if there are no other suitable alternatives.
In regards to grading, the developer will have to provide details of the structural design of all
the required retaining walls, and obtain the adjacent land owners co-operation should the
construction of these walls involve their properties.
The servicing issues and requirements will be reviewed and secured as part of the forthcoming
Site Plan approval process.
Solid Waste Collection:
The City will collect garbage and recyclable material. As none of the proposed houses face
onto a city street, a single collection point has been provided near the entrance to Goodwood
Park Court (see Figure 1). Details concerning this item will be worked out at the time of Site
Plan approval.
Conclusion:
The proposed development is suitable for this location because it conforms to, and advances
EastYork's Official Plan's policies, is compatible with surrounding developments, represents
a good use of this currently vacant and underutilized site, offers the prospect of reasonably
priced homes for a mix of households, and features an attractive building design and
landscaping treatment.
Jean Besz
Senior Planner East York District Office
(416) 387-4647 -tel. no.
(416) 397-4582 -fax no.
Planning@borough.eastyork.on.ca
Ted Tyndorf
Director of Community Planning East District
JB/jb
