August 12, 1999

 To:North York Community Council

From:Rob Dolan

Director

Community Planning, North District

Subject:PRELIMINARY EVALUATION REPORT

OFFICIAL PLAN & ZONING BY-LAW AMENDMENT APPLICATION

Jerrett Funeral Chapels Limited

Southeast of Yonge Street/Otonabee Avenue, east of laneway

Lot 48 and Part of Lot 47, Registered Plan 2324

UDOZ-99-23

WARD 10 - NORTH YORK CENTRE

 Purpose:

This is a preliminary evaluation of an application to amend the Official Plan and zoning by-law to convert an existing temporary parking lot located at Yonge Street and Otonabee Avenue on the east side of the City lane, to a permanent parking lot for the funeral home located at 6191 Yonge Street.

Recommendations:

It is recommended that:

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

(2)staff prepare a Final Report evaluating the proposal and provide Notice of the statutory public meeting at the appropriate time.

Background:

Proposal:

The applicant proposes to amend the Official Plan and zoning by-law to convert the existing 18 space temporary parking lot to a permanent parking lot to serve the adjacent funeral home. The parking lot would be maintained as presently developed, in accordance with the existing site plan approval (see Schedule "C"). The pertinent site statistics are shown below.

The funeral home also leases 50 parking spaces from Centrepoint Mall for use when they are needed.

Official Plan:

The site is designated Residential Density One (RD1) which permits single detached and semi-detached residential uses (see Schedule "A"). Non residential uses, such as public facilities, community institutions and minor commercial uses which are ancillary to the residential use or which serve the local residential population, may also be permitted. The site is also subject to site specific policy C9.185 which states that the lands may also be used for parking in conjunction with the funeral home at 6191 Yonge Street, in accordance with a temporary use by-law for the site (see Appendix "A"). This site specific policy was enacted under Official Plan Amendment No. 426 on June 12, 1996. An Official Plan amendment is required in order to permit the parking facility as a permanent use.

The Jerrett Funeral Home at 6191 Yonge Street (located west of the lane) is designated Arterial Corridor Area (ACA) which permits residential, commercial and institutional uses.

Zoning:

The site is zoned R6(5) (One Family Detached Dwelling Sixth Density Zone) under by-law 32784 which was enacted on June 12, 1996 (see Schedule "B"). This zoning permits the lands to be used as a parking area accessory to the funeral home at 6191 Yonge Street for a period of 3 years, in addition to the uses permitted by the R6 zone (which permits detached homes as well as some institutional uses). The by-law also specifies that there is to be no vehicular access onto Otonabee Avenue for the parking lot (see Appendix "B").

The funeral home on the adjacent lands is zoned C1(76) (General Commercial Exception Zone) which permits a range of commercial uses. The site specific exception regulation exempts this site from the regulation for funeral homes dealing with minimum distance from residential zones.

Discussion:

The following initial planning considerations have been identified.

(1)Conversion of Temporary Use to Permanent Use

In 1995, Jerrett Funeral Homes submitted an application to use the subject lands as additional parking to serve the funeral home located at 6191 Yonge Street. The applicant recognized there was a parking shortage and in addition to leasing 50 parking spaces from Centrepoint Mall, sought approval for additional parking to serve the funeral home. In 1996, Council approved the proposal through a temporary use by-law. In adopting the Planning Department's report on this application, Council also recognized that "if, at the end of three years, the use appears to be working well and without significant negative impacts on the surrounding community, Council should, upon further application by the applicant to amend the zoning, consider amending the temporary use by-law to permit the parking lot use permanently".

The three year period has now expired and the applicant is requesting that the parking lot be recognized as a permanent use. Staff will review the appropriateness of converting the temporary parking lot to a permanent facility. This will include community consultation and obtaining comments from Transportation staff on any traffic related issues.

(2)Site Plan/Development Agreement

The existing site plan and development agreement for the site (dated June 5, 1996) includes the following obligations:

-In the event that the temporary use is not extended beyond the three year period, the owner is to restore the site with appropriate landscaping. The owner has deposited funds with the City to cover the cost of restoration of the site.

-The owner agrees to demonstrate that every effort has been made to provide adequate parking on the nearby commercial designated property during the three year period and provide a statutory declaration to that effect prior to the conclusion of the three year period. The applicant has indicated that they are preparing this declaration and will be filing it with the City.

(3)Closed Lane License Agreement

The existing temporary parking lot is separated from the main funeral home site by a closed City laneway. Due to an existing sanitary sewer located under the laneway, the City has not sold the lane, but rather has entered into a license agreement with the funeral home allowing it to be used for landscaping purposes. In June 1996, the agreement was amended to allow for a period of three years, a driveway for vehicular and pedestrian access across the lane connecting the temporary parking lot to the main parking lot. If this application is approved, than the license agreement should be renewed.

(4)Access

The existing temporary use by-law does not permit vehicular access to or from Otonabee Avenue for the parking lot. At the time of the initial parking lot application in 1995, there were concerns that permitting access onto Otonabee Avenue would create more traffic problems in terms of parking, funeral processions and infiltration in the area. The applicant proposes to maintain the existing access arrangements with all vehicular access limited to Madawaska Avenue.

Conclusions

 In 1996 Council approved a temporary parking lot on this site to provide additional parking for the adjacent funeral home at 6191 Yonge Street. The temporary use by-law has now expired and the applicant is now requesting to amend the Official Plan and zoning by-law to convert the temporary parking lot to a permanent use. Staff, in consultation with the local Councillors, will schedule a community consultation meeting. A final report will be prepared which examines all pertinent issues, subsequent to community consultation.

 Contact Name:

Nimrod Salamon, Senior Planner

North York Civic Centre

Telephone: (416) 395-7134

Fax: (416) 395-7155

Rob Dolan

Director

Community Planning, North District

 Appendices:

A.C.9.185 Site Specific Official Plan Policy

B.Temporary Use By-law 32784

Schedules:

A.Official Plan map

B.Zoning Map

C.Site Plan

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