January 4, 1999

To:North York Community Council

From:Bryan W. Tuckey

Director, Community Planning, North District

Subject:FINAL REPORT

ZONING AMENDMENT APPLICATION

Liberty Walk Developments Inc.

760 Lawrence Avenue West

Ward 8 - North York Spadina

UDZ-98-06

Purpose:

The purpose of this report is to recommend a zoning by-law amendment for 760 Lawrence Avenue West to permit a condominium development consisting of 245 four storey townhouse units at 760 Lawrence Avenue West. The subject property is vacant and is currently being used for parking by employees of the adjacent office building to the east (Bank of Commerce).

Recommendations:

It is recommended that this application be approved subject to the following conditions:

(1)The M1 zoning of the property be amended to RM1 (28), with the following provisions:

Permitted Uses:

(a)The permitted uses shall be multiple attached dwellings and live\work uses.

Definitions:

(b)For the purpose of this exception, ALive\Work Uses@ are defined as personal service shops, studios, custom workshops making articles or products to be sold at retail on the premises and business and professional offices that:

(i)are located within the multiple attached dwelling units that front onto Lawrence Avenue West and the use is directly accessible from the front exterior;

(ii)occupy not more than 50% of the total gross floor area of the dwelling unit;

(iii)are conducted only by a member or members of the household who reside in the dwelling unit which is their principle residence;

(iv)for the purpose of this exception, ALower Floor@ is defined as being the floor below the first floor which measured at the front yard setback is less than 25 per cent below established grade.

Exception Regulations:

(c)The maximum number of dwelling units shall be 245.

(d)The maximum permitted gross floor area shall be 21,900 square metres for all uses.

(e)The minimum yard setbacks shall generally be as set out in Schedule AC@.

(f)Building Height:

(i)The maximum building height shall be 4 storeys and 12 metres, provided that the height of any part of the building or structure including mechanical structures shall not exceed the horizontal distance between that part of the building and the rear property line.

(ii)The maximum building height may be increased an additional 2.85 metres for stair enclosures to the roof top terraces only.

(g)Parking:

(i)There shall be a minimum of 1.5 parking spaces provided for each dwelling unit, of which 0.25 spaces per dwelling unit shall be for the use of visitors.

(ii)There shall be no additional parking requirement for the home business use.

(h)The provisions of Section 15 and 16 relating to Landscaping, Lot Area, Street Frontage, Lot Coverage and Floor Area shall not apply.

(i)The provisions of this exception shall apply collectively to the lands zoned RM1(28) notwithstanding their future severance, partition or division for any purpose.

(2)Prior to enactment of the zoning by-law, the Director, Community Planning, North District shall have granted site plan approval generally as described in the site plan considerations attached as Appendix AA@ to this report.

(3)The applicant shall submit a Record of Site Condition, acknowledged by the Ministry of Environment prior, to the issuance of any building permits.

(4)The western portion of the private road shall be 7.5 metres and no parking shall be permitted. The remaining portion of the private road shall comply with the North District=s Public Roads Policy which requires a minimum pavement width of 8.5 metres, 6 metres for municipal vehicles and 2.5 metres for visitor parking spaces.

(5)The applicant shall enter into an undertaking to ensure that the project is owned or intended to be operated by a single entity, such as a condominium corporation, in accordance with City policy.

Background:

History:

In 1994 North York Council approved a similar residential rezoning application (UDZ-93-01) to permit a townhouse development with ground floor commercial uses in the building fronting onto Lawrence Avenue West. The application was not finalized (760 Lawrence Avenue West Limited) and the zoning by-law was not enacted. The current application represents a similar built form and density as the previous application.

Proposal:

The applicant proposes the construction of 245 four storey condominium townhouse units as shown on Schedule AC@. The building along the Lawrence Avenue West frontage is proposed to contain live\work uses within the residential units which have separate entrances onto Lawrence Avenue. The pertinent statistics of the current proposal are as follows:

Official Plan:

The site is designated as an Arterial Corridor Area (ACA) which permits a mixture of residential and commercial uses generally up to a Floor Space Index of 2.0. The lands are also subject to Specific Development Policy C.9.8 which permits residential uses to a maximum of 148 units per hectare. The proposal is for residential uses having a maximum of 147 units per hectare. No Official Plan amendment is required.

The industrial study (OPA 443) amends the Official Plan to include the subject property in the Yorkdale Residential Community and the new industrial by-laws amend Schedule AQ@ of the By-law 7625 to include the area in the Mulholland Neighbourhood.

Zoning By-law:

The property is zoned Industrial Zone One (M1) permitting primarily employment uses. A zoning by-law amendment is required to permit the proposed townhouses. The Official Plan designation and zoning of this site and surrounding land uses are shown on Schedules AA@ and AB@.

Comments:

Other Department Comments:

The following section summarizes the comments received from the departments and agencies circulated.

The Transportation Services Division of the Works and Emergency Services Department advise they concur with the findings of the traffic impact study submitted by Entra Consultant=s Inc., which concludes the traffic generated by the proposed development will have minimal impact on the adjacent intersections and can be satisfactorily accommodated by the surrounding road network. They also advise that a parking ratio of 1.5 spaces per dwelling unit, of which 0.25 spaces would be for use by visitors, is acceptable for this development. The Departments comments are attached as Schedule AG@.

Technical Services of the Works and Emergency Services Department have no objections to the proposal subject to the conditions outlined in their comments attached to this report as Schedule AH@. They advise that the equivalent population increase generated by this development will result in an equal decrease in the interim trunk capacity available to other developments on the Don Trunk Sanitary Sewer Area. Issues relating to Solid Waste and Recycling Collection, Service Connections and the condition of the soil will be finalized prior to the applicant receiving Site Plan Approval. Garbage storage areas, mechanical and electrical rooms will be accommodated within the underground parking structure.

They also advise that the applicant must comply with the North District=s Public Works Policy which requires a minimum pavement width of 8.5 metres on private roads.

The Parks and Recreation Division comments are attached as Schedule AI@. They advise the applicant will be subject to a 2% commercial and 5% residential cash-in-lieu of parkland dedication payment payable at the time of building permit application. Given this proposal is for a multi unit residential development, they encourage the applicant to provide a pre-school play area and a multi-purpose sports pad in the outdoor amenity areas. The applicant supports this initiative and will be submitting detailed plans at the site plan stage for the proposed outdoor amenity areas.

The subject lands fall within the South Bathurst Park Planning Area which has a surplus of 1.36 hectares of parkland and are within the Yorkdale Residential Community which has a parkland surplus of 1.58 hectares.

The Toronto District School Board has advised that the schools designated to accommodate students emanating from the proposed development are Flemington Public School, Lawrence Heights Middle School and Bathurst Heights Secondary School. The anticipated number of students emanating from the proposed development can be accommodated at Flemington Public School and Bathurst Heights Secondary School. The Toronto District School Board may be required to make alternative accommodation arrangements for some or all of the students once the schools reach their maximum capacity. They also advise that the anticipated student yield from the proposed development can not be accommodated at Lawrence Heights Middle School and alternative accommodation arrangements will be required for these students. Their comments are attached as Schedule AJ@.

The Toronto Catholic School Board has indicated that children emanating from the proposed development can be accommodated in permanent facilities at St. Charles Catholic School and Marshall McLuhan Catholic Secondary School. Their comments are attached as Schedule AK@.

Community Consultation:

A community meeting was held on January 28, 1998, with the local councillors and a number of land owners from the area in attendance. Issues such as traffic, parking, garbage collection and storage, setbacks, building height and landscaping were discussed at the meeting. Attached as Schedule AF@ is a summary of the comments made at the community meeting. The issues raised by the community have been specifically addressed in the following discussion.

Discussion:

Arterial Corridor Areas:

Lands which fall within the Arterial Corridor Areas (ACA) of the Official Plan are intended as potential areas of reurbanization. For lots with a frontage of greater than 30 metres, the ACA designation permits redevelopment generally to a Floor Space Index of 2.0. In addition, the ACA policies encourage a mix of residential and commercial uses along the major arterial road to establish a vibrant and interesting frontage which contributes to the animation of the street.

The residential proposal, at a density of 1.3 F.S.I. meets the ACA policies. The live\work uses proposed along the Lawrence Avenue frontage are consistent with the intent of providing a mix of uses along the major arterial road to promote a vibrant, interesting and active street-front. The applicant has brought the building fronting onto Lawrence Avenue as far forward as possible and the home business uses are directly accessible from the front exterior to further promote a pedestrian friendly environment and enhance the street relationship.

Redevelopment on lands designated ACA shall also have regard to the housing objectives established in Part C.4 of the Official Plan. The proposed development generally meets the criteria for new housing. Therefore, issues relating to built form and zoning, parking and traffic and urban design considerations become key in our evaluation of this proposal.

Built Form and Zoning:

Building Height

The height of new buildings in ACA areas shall generally be from three to six storeys. In any event, the height of no part of a building shall exceed the horizontal distance separating that part of the building from the nearest residential property line that coincides with the boundary of the Arterial Corridor Area. The proposed 4 storey buildings have a maximum height of 12 metres. There are terraces proposed for the upper units of this development which are accessed by stairs to the roof. The stair enclosures add an additional 2.85 metres to the height of the building. The proposal conforms with the building height and angular plan policies of the Official Plan. Elevation drawings for this proposal are shown on Schedules AD1@ and AD2@.

Some of the live\work units have stairs leading to the lower floor level with separate street entrances directly from Lawrence Avenue. In order to ensure the entrances remain visible from the Lawrence Avenue frontage, it is recommended that the lower floor be no more than 25 per cent below established grade.

The height of the proposed buildings, especially along the northern portion of the site, adjacent to the single family dwellings was an issue raised by the residents. At the north end of the subject property there is a substantial increase in the grade elevation between the subject lands and the houses on Dane Street. The grade difference between the two properties results in the townhouses having a comparable height with the existing homes to the north which minimizes the impacts of overview and shadowing from the new development.

Setbacks

The proposed setbacks are generally shown on Schedule AC@. The building along Lawrence Avenue has a front yard setback of 4.5 metres to create a street oriented development at this site. The most northerly building is setback 18 metres from the rear property line. Under the previous application a rear yard setback of 7.5 metres was proposed. The additional rear yard setback proposed under the current application provides for a greater buffer between the townhomes and adjacent homes that front onto Dane Street, which further mitigates the impacts of new development on surrounding land uses. The side yard setbacks and the distance between buildings (16 metres for the most part) reflect the nature of redevelopment opportunities along this portion of Lawrence Avenue and are generally consistent with the RM1 provisions of the zoning by-law. The RM1 exception zone will specifically address the performance standards for this site.

Parking, Traffic and Private Roads:

Parking

The zoning by-law requires parking for townhouse developments to be provided at a rate of 1.75 spaces per dwelling unit, of which 0.25 spaces are to be for the use of visitors. Under the by-law, a total of 428 parking spaces are required for this development. A parking assessment was submitted by the applicant=s consultant suggesting that this location is served by a high level of surface transit and is in close proximity to the Lawrence Avenue West subway station which will result in a higher transit modal split for the owners of the townhouse units. The study concludes that a lower parking rate should apply to this development.

The Transportation Services Division of the Works and Emergency Department have reviewed the consultant=s reports and determined that a reduced parking ratio of 1.5 spaces per dwelling unit would be appropriate for this development, of which 0.25 spaces per dwelling unit must be allocated for visitors. A total of 367 spaces are proposed, 61 visitor parking spaces (31 at grade and 30 below grade) and 306 below grade resident spaces which satisfies the requirements of the Transportation Division. A gate with card access will separate the below grade resident parking from the below grade visitor parking areas. Refer to Schedule AE@ for the underground parking layout.

Additional parking will not be required for the home business uses fronting onto Lawrence Avenue given that the visitor parking demand associated with the home business uses will occur primarily during the day time when most of the visitor parking spaces for the townhouse units will be available.

Dufferin Street and Lawrence Avenue Intersection

The subject site is one of five properties located on the north side of Lawrence Avenue West, between Dufferin Street and Blossomfield Road, which have high density residential use permission in the Official Plan. It is anticipated that the Bank of Commerce office complex, located to the east of the subject property, will remain for some time. The remaining properties to the west of the subject site have potential for redevelopment. The previous planning report had suggested possible road improvements, if determined to be necessary, to accommodate the future redevelopment of these lands.

As part of the comprehensive transportation review of this application, a Traffic Impact study was submitted and reviewed by the Transportation Division. It concluded that the traffic generated by the proposed development will have minimal impact on the adjacent intersections and can be satisfactorily accommodated by the existing surrounding road network. The Transportation Division concurs with these findings.

Public Roads Policy

The Public Roads Policy for the north district requires a minimum pavement width of 8.5 metres on private roads to ensure sufficient traffic flow for emergency vehicles and municipal garbage pick-up trucks while allowing for tenant and visitor parking along the same road (6 metres for municipal vehicles and 2.5 metres for visitor parking). The applicant is proposing a private road of 8.5 metres around the east and north perimeter of the site and 7.5 metres along the west side of the property.

The applicant contends that given no parking will be provided along the western portion of the road, the intent of the policy to ensure adequate traffic flow for emergency vehicles and garbage collection/recycling vehicles will be maintained. The east and north portions of the road contain 31 parking spaces and there is no parking proposed on the west side. To ensure the pavement width remains sufficiently wide enough for service vehicles, the west side should be posted as a no parking area.

Urban Design:

The proposal generally conforms to the urban design policies of the Official Plan. The townhouses provide a positive streetscape and built form treatment while establishing a good transition to the stable residential areas to the north.

Soil Condition:

The environmental site assessment reports that have been submitted in support of the application have been evaluated by a peer review consultant retained by the City. The peer review report concurs that the site is suitable for the proposed mix of uses. The suitability of the soil conditions to accommodate the proposed residential and home business uses should be verified by a record of site condition, and acknowledged by the Ministry of Environment prior to the issuance of any building permits. Copies of the Consultants reports are available within the Planning Department.

Conclusions:

The proposal creates a street oriented development and enhances the pedestrian relationship along the Lawrence Avenue frontage while ensuring the adjacent stable residential areas to the north are protected. The development is consistent with the policies of the Official Plan and represents an opportunity to bring added reinvestment and affordable housing to the area through reuse of the vacant land. Staff recommend approval of this application subject to the conditions outlined in this report.

Contact Name:

Anthony Rossi

Telephone: (416) 395-7114Fax: 395-7114

Bryan W. Tuckey

Director, Community Planning, North District

Schedules:

Appendix AA@ - Site Plan Considerations.

A - Official Plan designations.

B - Zoning By-law categories.

C - Site Plan.

D1 and D2 - Elevation Drawings.

E - Underground Parking Layout.

F - Notes from Community Consultation Meeting.

G - Transportation Comments.

H - Public Works Comments.

I - Parks and Recreation Comments.

J - Toronto District School Board.

K - Toronto Catholic School Board.