August 30, 1999

To:North York Community Council

From:Rob Dolan

Director, Community Planning, North District

Subject:PRELIMINARY EVALUATION REPORT

OFFICIAL PLAN AND ZONING AMENDMENT APPLICATION

Shermount Co-operative Housing Development

650 Lawrence Avenue West

UDOZ-99-18 & UDSP-99-083

WARD 8 - North York Spadina

Purpose:

This report provides a preliminary evaluation of an application for an official plan and zoning by-law amendment for the development of a 6, 8 and 10 storey apartment building with 393 units and 52 -3 storey townhouses at 650 Lawrence Avenue West. The applicant, the Shermount Co-operative Housing Development Corporation, is a not-for-profit corporation proposing to redevelop the site for affordable ownership housing.

Financial Implications:

The applicant has requested the deferral of application fees totalling $45,600.81.

Recommendations:

It is recommended that:

(1)staff, in consultation with the local councillors, schedule a community consultation meeting;

(2)the application fees, totalling $45,600.81, be paid in full prior to the sending of notices for the statutory public meeting. The filing of fees may be staggered installments, with 25% of the fees owed to be paid upfront; and

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

Background:

Proposal

The original proposal submitted by the applicant proposed official plan and zoning by-law amendment applications in order to permit the construction of a 10 and 15 storey 400 unit apartment building and 61, 3 storey townhouses, as shown on Schedule "C".

A revised plan has been submitted which reduces the number of units to 393 apartments and 52 townhouses, and decreases the height of the apartment building to 6, 8 and 10 storeys, as shown on Schedule "C1".

The site is currently occupied by a 3 storey office building previously occupied by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation on lands owned by Canada Lands Company Ltd. To the north of the site is the Lawrence Heights Community Centre, to the south is Lawrence Avenue, east is the Bathurst Heights Secondary School and west is Replin Road and low-rise apartment buildings. Just west of these apartment buildings is the W.R.Allen Road and Lawrence West Subway Station.

The pertinent statistics for both the original and revised plans are as follows:

    Existing Approval for the Site

In March 1992, Council adopted Official Plan Amendment 354 and enacted By-law 31701 which permitted the Antrex Property Corporation to develop the site for: two six storey apartment buildings, one with 96 units and a second with 150 units having a maximum gross floor area of 21, 700 m²; and, a six storey office building having a maximum gross floor area of 9,410 m². In addition to business and professional offices, a day nursery, retail store and personal service shops were also approved. The total maximum gross floor area approved for the site at the time was 31,100 m² with a density of 2.05 fsi.

As part of the approval for the site, the driveway accessing Lawrence Avenue West was aligned with Shermount Avenue, located on the south side of Lawrence Avenue West. Two controlled accesses were also approved for Replin Road: a northerly access for service vehicles only to service the non-profit housing building, and a southerly access for the use of residents only to exit the property.

The approvals for this development on this site never proceeded.

Official Plan

The site is located in the Lawrence Heights Residential Community.

The property is designated Arterial Corridor Area (ACA) (See Schedule "A") and has a Specific Development Policy C.9.49.0. which further zones the property as Commercial and Residential. The site specific policy reflects the approval of the previous application on this site for commercial and residential development that did not proceed.

An Arterial Corridor Area designation permits mixed use development including, but not necessarily limited to, a mix of residential, commercial and institutional uses. Public park, recreational uses, post-secondary and commercial schools are also permitted. The maximum density is 2.0 fsi.

Part C.4 Housing policies permit limited intensification in neighbourhoods. The Official Plan's Potential Reurbanization Map identifies areas where major redevelopment may occur, subject to relevant policies of the Official Plan. This site is within an area identified for reurbanization. The general development criteria for intensification consider compatibility with adjacent residential neighbourhoods, including the restriction or prohibition of non-residential or high density residential and mixed use development from gaining primary access from local streets. Other criteria require adequate transportation facilities, municipal services, community facilities and amenities.

The Site Specific C.9.49.0 (OPA 354), which reflects the Antrex approval, states that for the purposes of maximum density calculations, the lands shall be considered as one lot and the total permitted gross floor area for all uses shall not exceed 2.05 fsi. Provision of small scale neighbourhood retail and service uses and day nursery as part of commercial or residential development is encouraged. Lands designated commercial may be developed for a business and professional office building. Lands designated residential may be developed with a 150 units non-profit apartment house dwelling and with a 96 unit assisted senior citizen housing apartment house dwelling.

The applicant is requesting an amendment to the Official Plan to increase the density on the site.

Zoning

The site has two separate zones: General Commercial Zone (C1) on the southwest corner of the site at the intersection, and Multiple-Family Dwellings Sixth Density Zone (RM6) on the remainder of the site (See Schedule "B"). The site specific by-law (31701) reflects the approval of the previous application on this site.

The applicant is requesting an amendment to the zoning by-law to permit an apartment house dwelling and townhouses.

Discussion:

(1)Planning Considerations

Planning considerations identified at this time include density, building form and height, urban design, traffic and parking standards, soil condition, affordable housing, and municipal infrastructure and community services.

Density

In addition to the Official Plan policies, the site has a number of locational attributes which should be considered in determining the appropriate density. It is well served by public transit, and being located approximately 128 metres from the Lawrence West Subway Station, the site is within walking distance. It fronts onto and has direct access to Lawrence Avenue West, an arterial road and is in close proximity to the direct access onto the W. R. Allen Road.

The applicant is proposing a density of 2.3 fsi for the site. The request for additional density will be evaluated in context of the Official Plan policies and the locational attributes of the site.

Building Form and Height

The applicant is now proposing heights of 6, 8 and 10 storeys for the apartment building in order to be able to accommodate the maximum number of grade related units for families.

Following discussions with the applicant, the proposed building heights have been reduced from the original 10 to 15 storey building to a development of 6 to 8 storeys and a small 10 storey portion in the centre of the site.

The existing approval for the site permits 6 storey residential buildings and a 6 storey commercial building which is equivalent in height to an 8 storey residential building.

While the 10 storey portion of the building exceed the heights approved in the Site Specific Policy C.9.49.0, impacts associated with this proposed height will be evaluated in the context of adjacent development and the City's Official Plan policies.

Urban Design

Urban design objectives which should be considered for this site include: using the street and open space system on the site to connect the new development to the neighbourhood; providing an appropriate overlook condition to the school yard that ensures safer use conditions; minimising the negative impact of parking and servicing on the existing and new public streets and open space; and appropriate space between buildings for light, view, and privacy.

Traffic Impacts and Parking Standards

Proposed new residential development should be adequately served by transportation facilities and be compatible with any approved transportation improvement plans.

Comments received from the Technical Services Division, Works and Emergency Services Department for the original plan submitted advise that the City's Public Roads Policy requires that there be a minimum pavement width of 8.5 metres on private roads (See Schedule "L"). The road width proposed by the applicant on the revised plan is 8.5 metres.

The revised plan shows road access for the apartment building onto Lawrence Avenue West (aligned with the existing traffic light at Shermount Avenue) and for the townhouses onto Replin Road. The Replin Road access is proposed to be used by service vehicles, including those for waste collection, for both the apartment building and townhouses. This proposed traffic arrangement will be discussed and reviewed at the community meeting with the area residents.

Parking standards which are less than the parking standards set out in the Zoning By-law may be considered where it can be demonstrated by a qualified transportation consultant in a report satisfactory to Council that lower parking standards are appropriate for such reasons as the level of public transit available. The site is located approximately 128 metres from the Lawrence West Subway Station.

A reduction in the number of parking spaces has been requested by the applicant as they anticipate that 30% of the potential purchasers will not own cars and do not require parking (Schedule "G"). Based on the parking standards of Zoning By-law 7625, 692 spaces are required for this development. The applicant is proposing 442 spaces, a reduction of 250 spaces.

As requested by the Transportation Services Division of the Works and Emergency Services Department (Schedule "E"), a Traffic and Parking Study should be provided by the applicant which addresses traffic impacts and their request for a reduction in the number of parking spaces.

  Soil Condition

Phase I and II Environmental Site Assessments, which address soil suitability for residential use, have been prepared for the site and submitted by the applicant. As requested by the Public Health Department, these assessments must be peer reviewed by an independent environmental consultant ( Schedule "H").

Affordable Housing

It is Council's's intent to promote opportunities for a range of housing that is affordable and appropriate to the full range of households in the North District and the broader housing market. For the purposes of the Official Plan, affordable housing means accommodation which is affordable to households with incomes in the 1 to 60 percentiles of the income distribution for the GTA Housing Market Area. The Official Plan provides criteria when considering affordable housing proposals: a minimum 25% affordability requirement for each development; the expediting of the processing of applications; and encouraging the housing provider to explore innovative means for reducing the cost of housing.

While the applicant has requested that the project be subject to any zoning standards that may be applied to affordable housing; the development will not be subject to controls that prohibit units from being sold as market units.

Municipal Infrastructure and Community Services

The extent, timing and density of development on the lands shall be governed by the capacity of existing and proposed municipal infrastructure and community services. Municipal infrastructure and community services will be examined to ensure that there is capacity to serve the proposed residential development.

Comments received from the Toronto District School Board advise that the anticipated students from the proposed development can be accommodated at schools designated to accommodate students in the area (See Schedule "J"). Alternative accommodation arrangement may be required once these schools reach capacity.

Comments have also been received from the Policy and Development Division, Economic Development, Culture and Tourism Department regarding the parkland dedication requirement (See Schedule "K"). The development will be subject to a 5% cash-in-lieu of parkland dedication requirement. Landscaping, and indoor and outdoor amenity space, is also encouraged and have been included in the proposed development.

(2)Deferral of Application Fees

Through correspondence to the Director of Community Planning, North District (See Schedule "F"), the applicant has requested deferral of application fees, totalling $45,600.81.

Correspondence has been received from the applicant which indicates that the application fees will be paid to the City prior to notices being sent out for the statutory public meeting (See Schedule "I"). When the date of the statutory public meeting has been determined, the date for final payment of fees will be confirmed.

Conclusions:

The application fees for this proposal will be paid in full prior to the mailing of notices of the statutory public meeting, the date of which has yet to be determined.

The proposed development for this site for affordable ownership housing raises issues concerning density, building form and height, urban design, traffic impacts and parking requirements which will be addressed in the review of the application.

Contact Name:

Gwen Manderson, Senior Planner

North York Civic Centre

Telephone: (416) 395-7117

Fax: (416) 395-7155

E-mail: gmanders@city.north-york.on.ca

    ______________________________

Rob Dolan

Director, Community Planning, North

GM/

Schedules

Schedule "A"Official Plan Designation

Schedule "B"Zoning

Schedule "C"Original Site Plan

Schedule "C1"Revised Site Plan

Schedule "D1"North and South Elevations

Schedule "D2"East and West Elevations

Schedule "D3"Revised Elevations

Schedule "E"Comments - Transportation Services Division, Works and Emergency Services Department

Schedule "F"Correspondence from M. Labbe to R. Dolan

Schedule "G"Correspondence from M. Labbe to M. Stuart

Schedule "H"Comments - Public Health Department

Schedule "I"Correspondence from M. Labbe to R. Dolan

Schedule "J"Comments - Toronto District School Board

Schedule "K"Comments - Policy and Development Division, Economic Development Culture & Tourism Department

Schedule "L"Comments - Technical Services Division, Works and Emergency Services Department