May 11, 1999

To:North York Community Council

From:Rob Dolan

Acting Director, Community Planning, North District

Subject:PRELIMINARY EVALUATION REPORT

ZONING BY-LAW AMENDMENT AND

PLAN OF SUBDIVISION

HERITAGE - WILLOW ESTATES LIMITED

94, 96, 98, 100, 138 140, 142 & 144 Cummer Avenue

Ward 10 - North York Centre

UDZ-98-32 and UDSB-98-1241

Purpose:

This report provides a preliminary evaluation of applications for a plan of subdivision and zoning by-law amendment for the development of 13 single dwelling lots on an extension of Doverwood Court.

Recommendations:

It is recommended that:

(1)the applicant revise the draft plan of subdivision:

(a) to reflect a 20 metre road allowance width, incorporating Blocks 14, 15, 16, 18, 19 and 20,

(b)to comply with the R4 zoning regulations,

(c)to delete Lot 13 and Block 17, and

(d) to provide a 0.3 m reserve along the north boundary of the road;

(2)upon receipt of revised plans and development statistics, staff, in consultation with the local Councillors, schedule appropriate community consultation; and

(3)staff prepare a final report evaluating the subdivision proposal and zoning amendment, and provide notice of a statutory public meeting at the appropriate time.

Background:

Proposal:

The application proposes a zoning by-law amendment and draft plan of subdivision approval in order to permit the construction of 13 single detached dwellings, as shown on Schedule "D". The subject lands consist of the rear yards of the existing single dwelling residences located at 94,96, 98, 100, 138 140, 142 & 144 Cummer Avenue.

The pertinent statistics are as follows:

Official Plan:

The property is designated Residential Density One (RD1) which permits single detached dwellings (Schedule "A").

Part C.4 of the official plan establishes the housing policies for limited residential intensification within stable residential areas. Under the policies of the plan, development of single detached dwellings on lands designated Residential Density One (RD-1) shall not exceed a density of 20 dwelling units per net residential hectare (8 units per net residential acre).

The official plan also acknowledges that in many areas, the Residential Density One (RD-1) designation has been applied to lands developed in the City resulting in a lower density of development in these areas. It is the intent of the official plan that the existing low density of such areas shall be maintained and that new lots not be created which are substantially smaller than the general lot size in the surrounding area. It is intended that when permitting development in, or adjacent to, areas designated RD-1, particular regard shall be given to the character of the existing and approved development in the surrounding area. This ensures compatibility with the existing development, and compatible built form. The intent of the official plan is to reinforce the stability of residential neighbourhoods and to allow such neighbourhoods to regenerate.

Zoning:

One-Family Detached Dwelling Fourth Density Zone (R4) (Schedule "B").

The existing R4 zone requires single detached dwelling lots to have a minimum area of 550 mē, a lot frontage of 15 m, and a maximum lot coverage of 30%. Yard setbacks are a minimum 7.5 m for the front, a minimum 9.5 m for the rear and a minimum 1.8 m for the sides with reductions for lot frontage under 15 m. The applicant is requesting amendments to the R4 zone, however, the site statistics for the application fit more closely within the R6 (One-Family Detached Dwelling Fourth Density Zone) zone. Appendix "A" shows the R4 and R6 zone requirements, and those requested by the zoning amendment with the proposed subdivision.

Discussion:

(1)Planning Considerations

Planning considerations identified at this time include development pressures on Wedgewood Avenue, access, neighbourhood zoning and compatibility, the proposed road allowance and the appropriateness of development only on one side of the road, and are discussed as follows.

Development Pressures on the Wedgewood Avenue Properties

The extension of Doverwood Court at this location creates development pressures on the rear lots of existing properties fronting on Wedgewood Avenue. None of these are subject to the current rezoning and subdivision applications by Heritage-Willow Estates Limited. The applicant, however, is requesting that Blocks 14 to 16 inclusive and 18 to 20 inclusive be retained by them and if, at a later date there are further proposals to create additional lots, these surplus blocks will be conveyed at the discretion of the owner to recoup costs for the construction of the Doverwood Court extension and to improve upon the configuration of new useable building lots.

Access

Control of access to a public road is a public responsibility. There is an existing 0.3 metre municipal reserve which restricts access to these lands from Doverwood Court. If draft approved, Blocks 14 to 16 and 18 to 20 should be incorporated as part of the public road allowance and a 0.3 metre municipal reserve(s) be provided at this location to control future public access to the rear yards of Wedgewood Drive.

Neighbourhood Zoning and Compatibility

The development will be reviewed in the context of the character of the neighbourhood block between Wedgewood Drive, Willowdale Avenue and Cummer Avenue. This includes considerations of the overall density and zoning provisions for both the proposed development and the remnant lots.

Almost all of the lot areas in the neighbourhood are larger than the lots being proposed. There are three lots at the east end of Doverwood Court at the entrance to the subdivision which are similar in area and which provide a transition with the larger lots.

The site is in the Dumont residential neighbourhood where the maximum lot coverage for R4 zoning is 30 %.

The site statistics for the proposal are comparable to the provisions of the R6 (One-Family Detached Dwelling Sixth Density Zone) zone. The proposed lots exceed the minimum lot area and frontage requirements of the R6 zone. The proposed lots comply with the front, rear and side yard setbacks, except for 2 lots (Lots 8 and 9) which do not comply with the rear yard setback. The coverage proposed by the applicant, between 35.5% and 52.6%, (See Schedule "C") exceeds the 30% coverage permitted in the R6 zone. Appendix "A" shows the R6 zone requirements, and those requested by the zoning amendment with the proposed subdivision.

Built Form

The relationship of the dwellings (see Schedule "C") to the proposed road, adjacent existing dwellings and the other dwellings in the proposed subdivision will be reviewed in order to ensure that the resulting development achieves a high quality of urban design and meets the policy requirements of Section 4.2 of the Official Plan. The latter requires new development within stable residential neighbourhoods to maintain appropriate land use performance standards, to maintain compatible built form relationships, and to ensure that the scale, built form and massing is sensitive to the physical character of the surrounding neighbourhood.

Staff will build on the Council adopted Infill Housing Guidelines, which will form the basis for an evaluation of the context of how the built form of this proposed subdivision will fit. Urban design guidelines will be prepared which address the siting and design for the proposed single detached dwellings. These guidelines, to be prepared by the applicant and approved by the City, shall address matters such as appropriate extent of garage projection, control the repetition of building facades, and, identify minimum building design performance standards relating to minimum roof pitches. These urban design guidelines should form part of any subdivision agreement approved for the property.

As a condition of subdivision approval, the City will require that the applicant engage the services of a qualified architect, acceptable to the City, who shall review all building plans and certify their compatibility with the siting and design review guidelines prior to the issuance of building permits.

The proponent will be required to submit a written and drawn concept of the public and private open spaces of the site in order to show how these open spaces and buildings relate to the adjacent lands.

Proposed Road Allowance

The road allowance width proposed by the applicant is 18.5 metres while the current road allowance on Doverwood Court is 20.0 metres. The Works and Emergency Services Department requires 8.5 metre residential asphalt pavement roadways with curbs on 20 metre road allowances (See Schedules "F" and "G"). The blocks located on the north side of the road should be incorporated to address the deficiency of the size of the road.

Community and Park Facilities

The Economic Development, Culture & Tourism Department (Parks and Recreation) advises that the proposal will be subject to a 5% cash-in-lieu of parkland dedication payment (See Schedule "H").

Pedestrian Walkway

The provision of a 3 m pedestrian walkway between the extension of Doverwood Court and Cummer Avenue in order to provide access for pedestrians to the school and park system to the south of Cummer Avenue should be examined. The lands for this walkway would come from one or more properties on Cummer Avenue from which the subdivision site is being severed.

Conclusions:

The application to permit a residential infilling plan of subdivision raises some urban design and coverage issues which will be evaluated in the context of the official plan policies for limited intensification in stable residential areas. This will include an examination to ensure that the subdivision development maintains appropriate land use performance standards, maintains compatible built form relationships, and provides a scale, built form and massing sensitive to the physical character of the surrounding neighbourhood. The application should be revised to meet the performance standards of the R4 zone and the size and alignment of the road reconfigured to fit with the existing Doverwood Court alignment.

Contact Name:

Karen Whitney, Senior Planner

Telephone: (416) 395-7109

Fax (416) 395-7155

Rob Dolan

Acting Director, Community Planning, North District

Appendices and Schedules:

Appendix "A"Proposed Zoning Provisions

Schedule "A"Official Plan Map

Schedule "B"Zoning By-law Map

Schedule "C"Site Plan

Schedule "D"Subdivision Plan

Schedule "E"Comments - Works and Emergency Services Department (Development Services)

Schedule "F"Comments - Works and Emergency Services Department (Transportation Services)

Schedule "G" Comments -Economic Development, Culture & Tourism Department (Parks and Recreation

Appendix "A"