September 28, 1999

To:North York Community Council

From:Rob Dolan

Director, Community Planning, North District

Subject:PRELIMINARY EVALUATION REPORT

ZONING AMENDMENT and SITE PLAN APPLICATION

Del Real Estate Consultants

12 McKee Avenue, 33 Doris Avenue and 21 Church Avenue

Ward 10 - North York Centre

File #:UDZ-99-19 and UDSP-99-085

Purpose:

This is a preliminary evaluation of an application to amend the Zoning By-law and for site plan approval to permit the construction of a 17 storey seniors' apartment building at the north-west corner of McKee and Doris Avenues. The application was submitted on June 24, 1999.

Recommendations:

It is recommended that:

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

(3) staff prepare a Final Report evaluating the proposal and provide Notice of the Statutory Public Meeting at the appropriate time.

Background:

Proposal:

The proposed development is located at the north-west corner of McKee and Doris Avenues, just east of Yonge Street and five blocks south of Finch Avenue. The former Cummer house, a listed heritage property, currently occupies the site. A north-south City lane separates the site from neighbouring properties that front on Yonge Street. Single family detached houses are on the property to the north, fronting Church Street.

Following are some key statistics for the proposal. A more detailed data sheet is included as an appendix to this report.

The project is intended to serve seniors, and the applicant is still exploring whether the building will be condominium ownership or rental. The applicant also advises that the project will include seniors' facilities and programs, some of which will be open to use by the surrounding community. A communal dining room and social/recreational rooms are to be located on the ground floor, along with vehicular and service access. The proposal includes a vehicular drop-off area on the west side of the building, accessed from McKee Avenue. Service vehicles would also enter on McKee, and exit onto Doris Avenue.

The applicant has also submitted a concurrent application for Site Plan Approval.

Official Plan:

The site is subject to Official Plan Amendment No. 447, the North York Centre Secondary Plan, and is located in the "Uptown" area described in the Plan. The site's designation is "Uptown Residential - One" (UR-1), which permits:

• commercial uses, limited to 20% of GFA; institutional uses, provided they are not predominantly office uses); public parks; recreational uses; and residential uses;

• a maximum Floor Space Index (FSI) of 3.75; and

• a maximum height of 70% of the horizontal distance from the nearest relevant residential property line (resulting in a height limit of 52.5 m on the eastern edge of the development site).

With a proposed FSI of 3.7, a proposed height of 48.8 metres, and a solely residential use, the proposal complies with these aspects of the Secondary Plan.

Zoning:

The entire site is currently zoned R4 (One-Family Detached Dwelling Fourth Density Zone) which generally permits single family detached dwellings. This application seeks to rezone the entire site to RM-6 (Multiple-Family Dwellings Sixth Density Zone), with exceptions.

Discussion:

Following are the outstanding planning issues respecting this application:

1. Heritage considerations

The land assembly for this application includes a property at 20 McKee Avenue, known as the Joshua Cummer House (circa 1830), which is listed on the City of Toronto's Inventory of Heritage Properties (North York). The proposed development and realignment of Doris Avenue would require the demolition of the house.

Staff of the Heritage Preservation Section, Culture Division, North York note that the Joshua Cummer House carries significant historical associations for the local community, but its architectural significance has been greatly diminished by the number of changes and alterations that it has experienced. Accordingly, in August, 1999, the North York Heritage Committee/Local Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee (LACAC) determined, that, given the extent to which the Joshua Cummer house has been radically altered, its demolition be allowed to proceed. LACAC further determined that:

- the developer provide the City with comprehensive as-built measured drawings and photographs for corporate memory and archival purposes;

- an archaelogical investigation be carried out on the site;

- the developer be required to provide an historical plaque on a green space on this site commemorating the Cummer family and this house; and

- the development and remnant green space on Doris Avenue be named in honour of the Cummer family, and that the developer be requested to furnish public art on the site to commemorate the Cummer house and family.

2.Fulfilment of Parks Levy requirement (pursuant to Section 42 of the Planning Act)

Economic Development, Culture and Tourism (EDCT) has indicated an interest in obtaining a small strip of land fronting Doris Avenue at the north-east corner of the site for parks purposes. However, the proposed development utilizes the density from the open space, while the Secondary Plan requires that the density attributable to the land dedication be conveyed to the City along with the land. Consequently, the parks contribution for this application would need to consist of cash or land, in addition to the small strip of land that EDCT is interested in securing.

3. Uptown service road

Part of the site is located in the Uptown Service Road. The applicant will be required to dedicate to the City the necessary lands for achieving the Service Road in this area.

The total site area upon which the project density is based is 4,115 m². The applicant has proposed to convey to the City, for nominal payment, 1,509 m² of land on the eastern portion of the site so that the City can realize its plans to realign Doris Avenue as part of the Uptown Service Road network. Density from these lands will be consolidated on the remaining 2,606 m² development site.

4. Parking

The application proposes 186 parking spaces below grade. In the North York City Centre, the parking requirement for seniors' residences ranges from 1.0 to 1.2 parking spaces per dwelling unit. I will be reporting further on the number of spaces that will be required in conjunction with this development, but, in any event, the number of parking spaces in this application will need to be reduced.

5. Traffic certification

The applicant has submitted the required transportation impact study for this project, which is now being reviewed by staff. Conclusions on the study's findings and any other further requirements for this project will be addressed in the Final Report.

6. Submission of landscape plans

To date, the applicant has worked to consolidate the elements of site circulation such as curb cuts, drop offs, servicing routes and parking entry points, to achieve more open space on the site and a continuous streetscape along McKee Avenue. Detailed refinement of the site circulation is still required.

Once the site circulation issues have been fully resolved, the applicant should submit detailed landscape plans for the development, to the City standard required for Site Plan Applications. Given the uncertain timing of the realignment of Doris Avenue, plans will be required showing the layout and landscape treatment of the total site prior to realignment.

7. Certification of microclimatic impacts

The North York Centre Secondary Plan stipulates that Council shall not approve a development 20 metres in height or greater unless a qualified professional attests that the microclimatic effects of the proposal, including wind, snow drifting and sun/shadow conditions, are acceptable.

Prior to the final report, the applicant must provide this certification.

Conclusions:

This application conforms with the density limits and permitted uses set out in the Official Plan. The heritage, parks dedication, Uptown Service Road, parking, microclimatic certification and landscaping matters described above will need to be resolved prior to a Final Report.

Contact Name:

Anne Milchberg

Senior Planner

North York Civic Centre

Telephone: (416) 395-7129

Fax: (416) 395-7155

E-mail: amilchbe@toronto.ca

ROB DOLAN

Director, Community Planning

North District

Appendix

Data Sheet