September 28, 1999

To:North York Community Council

From:Rob Dolan

Director, Community Planning, North District

Jim Bradley,

Director, Parks and Recreation, North District

Roberto Stopnicki

Director, Transportation Services, District 3

Subject:PRELIMINARY EVALUATION REPORT

OFFICIAL PLAN AND ZONING AMENDMENT APPLICATION

Kirkor Architects & Planners and McCarthy Tetrault

for Whitleigh Development Corporation

2-47 Sheppard Square and 17 Barberry Place

Ward 9 - North York Centre South

UDOZ-99-20

Purpose:

This is a preliminary evaluation report of an application to amend the Official Plan and Zoning By-law to permit four apartment buildings and associated townhouses in a development containing a total of 1,213 units on lands in the Sheppard Square area south of Sheppard Avenue, east of Bayview Avenue.

Financial Implications:

The context plan study recommended by this report would be done using existing staff, at no additional cost to the City.

Recommendations:

It is recommended that:

(1)the application be revised to conform with OPA 392 (Sheppard East Subway Corridor Secondary Plan) and become a rezoning amendment application only;

(2)the application be revised to address the other planning issues as outlined in this report;

(3)an interdepartmental staff team undertake a context plan study of the southeast quadrant of the Bayview Node, with regard to the objectives contained in OPA 392, in co-operation with the applicant and other landowners in the area. The study should address alternatives for existing and new roads, alternative built forms within the planned density, and parkland configurations and opportunities. Any Final Report on this application should indicate the way in which this context plan will be protected and secured;

(4)Council support examining the proposed Sheppard Square road closure which would be deemed Schedule B in accordance with the Class Environmental Assessment for Municipal Roads Projects, and staff of Works and Emergency Services report on the road closure at the time of the Statutory Public Meeting on this application;

(5)prior to the preparation of a Final Report on this application, the Director, Community Planning, North District, report back to Community Council with a recommended context plan for the development of the southeast quadrant of the Bayview Node, and that Community Council at that time:

(a)make a determination as to whether it consents to having City-owned land included in the consideration of this development application;

(b)should the potential closure and sale of the Sheppard Square parkette be included, that Council give Notice of a proposed Official Plan amendment to redesignate these lands from Local Open Space (LOS) to Mixed Use (MU), and to redesignate any lands exchanged for the parkette and any parkland dedication as Local Open Space (LOS);

(c)determine any Notice requirements under the Environmental Assessment Act, and any coordination with the requirements of the Administration Committee; and

(d)direct staff to give Notice of the Statutory Public Meeting for this development application;

(6)staff develop a Community Consultation process with the local Councillors, that includes meetings of a Steering Committee consisting of people with interests in the local area, to work with staff on the context plan;

(7)the applicants submit a subdivision application for the laying out of any new public roads, prior to any Statutory Public Meeting;

Background:

History:

The Sheppard Square area has been the subject of two other major development applications, including DPZ-86-85 (Cimmaron Construction/Tridel, succeeded by Arendsnest Corporation), and UDOZ-95-24 (Arendsnest Corporation/Bayview Sheppard Place Developments). Both of these applications proposed apartment developments in a larger area bounded by Sheppard Avenue/Highway 401/Barberry Place/east side of Rean Drive and Rean Park (including the lands subject to the current application, UDOZ-99-20). Neither of the applications progressed beyond a preliminary stage and the files were closed.

Proposal:

The applicants are proposing to replace 25 existing single-family dwellings with two 30-storey apartment buildings and two 35-storey apartment buildings, totalling 1,160 units, integrated into a 2-storey landscaped podium built around a central courtyard. The podium would be ringed by 53 townhouse units. A private 3-storey recreation centre would be provided at the south end of the development adjacent to Highway 401, and a private tennis court and club building at the north end of the site. The proposed density is approximately 4.2 FSI.

The applicants are proposing to incorporate the existing Sheppard Square parkette, located in the middle of the Sheppard Square street, into the development, and to exchange the parkette for an equal area of land to be added to Rean Park, which abuts the site to the east. It is also proposed that 5% of the lands be dedicated to the City for a further expansion of Rean Park. The land exchange and dedication would double the size of Rean Park to approximately 1.3 ha (3.3 acres).

The proposal is to close the existing Sheppard Square public road and incorporate that land area into the project, with the creation of a new public road. Rean Drive would also be extended south adjacent to the proposed new park area. The proposed road widths do not conform to the North York Public Road Policy, which requires a 20 metre road allowance. In addition, the applicants wish to deduct the area of the new roads from the road area they would be required to purchase from the City, and treat this as a land exchange.

The pertinent site statistics are listed below:

Site Area (excluding Parcel "B" - new road Parcel "D" - parkland dedication, and Parcel "E" - land exchange for parkette)	31,582.7 m² (339,964.4 ft²) = 7.8 acres
Gross Floor Area Residential Recreation/Amenity* Total GFA * private recreational uses accessory to residential uses are exempted from the calculation of density as per Figure 4.3.3, OPA 392	133,531.0 m² 2,601.2 m² 136,132.2 m² (1,465,362.7 ft²)
Density	4.2 FSI
Units Apartments (30 stys - 263 units each, 35 stys - 317 units each) Townhouses Total	1,160 53 1,213
Building Height	2, 3, 30, and 35 storeys
Parking Spaces	1,335 (1.1 spaces per unit)

Official Plan:

The Sheppard East Subway Corridor Secondary Plan, introduced through OPA 392, redesignated the residential lots from Residential Density One (RD-1) to Mixed Use (MU). The Mixed Use district permits the proposed uses. The Sheppard Square Parkette is designated Local Open Space (LOS), which permits parks and recreation uses, community facilities and emergency services.

The site is located within the Bayview node, which is recognized as a residential development node in this Secondary Plan. Policy 4.2.2, which includes lands on Sheppard Avenue, Kenaston Gardens, Barberry Place, Sheppard Square, Rean Drive and Dervock Crescent, identifies this area as a Mixed Use key development area with a maximum density of 3.0 FSI, excluding the Sheppard Square parkette. Policy 4.2.2 also permits mixed use development, multiple family development and parkland, subject to criteria, including comprehensive assemblies and evaluation of the impacts on stable residential areas (refer to Appendices).

Zoning:

The existing residential lots are zoned R4 (One-Family Detached Dwelling Fourth Density Zone) which generally permits single family dwellings. The properties at 2-47 Sheppard Square are subject to site specific By-law 26276, which restricts the uses to a one-family detached dwelling and accessory building per lot.

The O1 zone applying to the Sheppard Square parkette permits recreational uses, schools and day nurseries.

The multiple-family dwellings and relocation of the parkette proposed by the applicant clearly require rezoning.

Discussion:

The following initial planning considerations have been identified:

OPA 392 and Density:

OPA 392 was adopted by North York Council in December 1996, and approved by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing in April 1997. With the exception of the appeals of all of OPA 392 by 438 Sheppard Avenue East Limited and Berkim Holdings Limited concerning the lands at the corners of Sheppard Avenue and Clairtrell Road, northwest of the Bayview/Sheppard intersection, the remaining appeals are site-specific and do not pertain to the subject site. This landowner did not appeal OPA 392, and to date has not participated in the OMB process.

The Secondary Plan allows densities on individual parcels of a Mixed Use development site to be higher than the maximum permitted on Map D.15.2, but the development as a whole cannot exceed the maximum permitted density. The proposed density of 4.2 FSI is well above the maximum density of 3.0 FSI permitted in this area, which is also the general maximum for the Sheppard Corridor.

The City spent several years preparing drafts of OPA 392, and held numerous community meetings and two statutory public meetings before the amendment was adopted. OPA 392 is adopted Council policy, pending a hearing at the OMB. There is no rationale to isolate this portion of the key development area for additional density. Such a site specific policy is premature and not justified at the commencement of the OMB's consideration of OPA 392.

The applicants are proposing land exchanges involving parkland and public roads. OPA 392 does not assign attributable density to existing parks and open road allowances. Where it is necessary to close a road allowance or a park with the intent of incorporating the land into a development site, density equal to that of the abutting lands may be assigned. The issues of specific density assignments for the various parcels of land, and any density transfers, will be reviewed as part of the processing of the application.

Therefore, the application should conform with the density permitted by the Official Plan, and be revised to become a rezoning amendment request only.

Urban Design:

OPA 392 sets out general urban design principles, and the 4.2.2 Kenaston Gardens/Sheppard Square specific area policy also addresses design issues. The key urban design objectives for this site include:

• a distribution of density to provide for a more intense built form toward the Bayview station, but building heights increasing toward Highway 401.
• design criteria which ensure compatibility with, and the stability of the adjacent designated stable residential area, by providing for appropriate transitions in density, height and massing toward the east.
• the retention of the existing road pattern, to the extent possible.
• improved pedestrian connections to the Bayview subway station.
• the establishment of a central park or the expansion of Rean Park.

The differences in height and scale between the proposed project and stable residential area east of Rean Park is too great. Development of this site must also be more sensitive to the surrounding houses within the Mixed Use area. These properties are currently in a transitional period and will remain as single detached houses awaiting future phases of redevelopment in the area. The northern point towers in particular would excessively shadow nearby properties, public streets and parkland. The development should be reduced in height and redesigned in a mid-rise form spread over the site as encouraged by the Official Plan housing policies, and within the permitted density of 3.0 FSI.

The building setbacks above and below grade should be increased and trees preserved along the south, east and west and planted to address the issues of privacy and views for the neighbouring properties. In particular, the west side yard setback should be increased to provide greater distance between the front doors of the townhouses and the backyards of the houses on Kenaston Gardens. The Ministry of Transportation has indicated that the proposed 4.8 metre setback to the southwest corner of the podium and underground parking is unacceptable. All above and below ground structures are required to be set back a minimum of 13.7 metres from the Highway 401 right-of-way. Trees in this area should be preserved and additional trees planted for environmental mitigation of noise and dust.

The project is currently designed around a gated private central courtyard. The application should be modified so that all the buildings take their access and address from a public street.

The proposal includes above grade parking in the podium that is not counted as gross floor area. The massing impact of this use in light of general concerns about massing and scale and its potential role to buffer the development from the noise and dirt of the highway needs to be studied.

Future Road Network:

The proposal retains little of the existing roads, closing all of Sheppard Square. One of the urban design principles for the Sheppard Corridor is that the existing road network be used to serve development wherever possible, and the specific policy for this area speaks to retaining the existing road pattern, to the extent possible. If the existing Sheppard Square road cannot be retained and the objectives of the Secondary Plan achieved at the same time, a new road and block pattern should be designed, with a fine grain of public streets and walkways to improve pedestrian connections throughout the district.

Another possible option to the closure of all of Sheppard Square, which would retain more of the existing road pattern, would be for the City to retain the northern portion of Sheppard Square as a public road, close the balance of the road for incorporation into the development site, and require the developer to construct a portion of new public road to connect Sheppard Square and Barberry Place. This option could provide for a more direct connection west to Bayview Avenue. Under any option, any new road areas should be created through a plan of subdivision, which the applicants have not yet submitted.

While OPA 392 specifically excludes the building of a major east-west service road linking Bayview Avenue and Leslie Street, south of Sheppard Avenue, to serve development in the Corridor, it also provides for feasibility studies on transportation solutions to the capacity constraints at the Bayview/Sheppard and Leslie/Sheppard intersections. In the case of Bayview/Sheppard, the potential road linkage options, including a connection to the east side of Bayview Avenue south of Sheppard Avenue will be explored through the context plan. The road linkage options clearly have implications for the existing public roads in the southeast quadrant of Bayview and Sheppard, including Kenaston Gardens, Barberry Place, Sheppard Square and Rean Drive.

The City, in parallel with the processing of a plan of subdivision for this application, will explore options for road connections in the southeast quadrant of Bayview Avenue and Sheppard Avenue East within the scope of the context plan and the OPA 392 transportation policy on Class Environmental Assessments (EA's) for Municipal Road Projects.

Parkland:

The Secondary Plan seeks the establishment of a central park in this area, or the expansion of Rean Park. It must be determined if the proposed parkland is in the most appropriate location. An expansion of Rean Park would clearly improve visual and pedestrian connections to this park, which currently has a very narrow street frontage. It may also be appropriate to have parkland in a more central location. An inventory of the existing trees on the Sheppard Square parkette should be submitted by the applicant to assist in determining whether the City should consider a land exchange involving the parkette.

When North York Council adopted OPA 392 in December 1996, it adopted a Conceptual Parks Plan for the Sheppard Corridor (refer to Appendix 4), and a motion that "the Commissioner of Planning and the Commissioner of Parks and Recreation report back to Council with a clearly defined Parks Plan, and a framework for its implementation, including consideration of an alternative parkland dedication requirement, prior to consideration of any development application in the Sheppard Corridor". It is recommended that this report be prepared as part of the context plan review.

Parallel Processing of Applications and Real Estate Transactions:

Historically, the former City of North York made a practice of accepting real estate deals with applicants, subject to rezoning. Recently, with the Premium Properties application (Z-97-40), Community Council has indicated that it wishes the planning issues to be resolved before the real estate deal is approved. In this case, the planning application and the proposed real estate deals involving the City-owned roads and parkland should be processed concurrently through the North York Community Council and the Administration Committee.

It is recommended that North York Community Council consider staff reports on the closure of Sheppard Square parkette and associated roads in order to make a determination as to whether it consents to have City-owned property as part of this development application. It should make this determination in principle prior to the giving of Notice for a Statutory Public Meeting for the rezoning.

Comprehensive Development:

The application involves twenty-five residential properties, plus the Sheppard Square parkette. The site is surrounded by other Mixed Use lands which are not currently assembled for development, and are occupied, with the exception of the townhouses at 7 Dervock Crescent, with single-detached dwellings.

The 4.2.2 area policy requires the coordination of development applications and the evaluation of impacts on neighbouring stable residential uses, and encourages comprehensive assemblies in order to achieve the maximum permitted density and prevent piecemeal development.

While the Secondary Plan does not require all of the properties in the area to be consolidated into a single development site, it must be determined if this particular land assembly is comprehensive enough to meet the objectives of the City. This site cannot be considered in isolation, and the City must consider how development of these lands would fit into the future redevelopment of the entire southeast quadrant of the Bayview Node. In this regard, the applicants have submitted for review an "Urban Context Concept Development Plan", attached as Schedule "D", indicating one possible development pattern for the lands west of Rean Drive.

Context Plan:

This application, as presented, does not conform to the Official Plan. However, even if the proposed density were 3.0 FSI, with no official plan amendment required, the application triggers the need to address the issues of:

• the comprehensiveness of development
• the transportation policy related to Class EA's for Municipal Roads Projects
• fulfilling Council's direction for a Sheppard Corridor parks plan.

These issues are clearly linked and apply beyond this individual development site to the whole southeast quadrant of the Bayview Node. Section 10 of OPA 392 allows the City to require context plans for key development areas as part of rezoning applications. The purpose of a context plan is provide for coordinated incremental development, and ensure conformity with the policies of the Secondary Plan, including the conceptual parks plan. Context plans may illustrate matters including the massing, heights, setbacks, and densities of buildings, and the phasing of development.

A team of staff from the relevant departments will be organized to do a context plan study of the southeast quadrant of the Bayview Node. The recommended boundary of the study area is shown on Appendix 5. The context plan will establish appropriate road and block patterns, potential development sites, relationships of buildings to streets, height limits and setbacks, pedestrian connections, and location of parkland.

Community Consultation:

A community consultation meeting was held on August 11, 1999, with notices to all Ward 9 residents north of Highway 401 between Bayview Avenue and Leslie Street sent by Councillor Flint. A number of issues were raised by the residents:

• there is a concern that there will be increased traffic in the neighbourhood and on Sheppard Avenue which cannot be accommodated because there is no traffic light between Bayview Avenue and Rean Drive and the roads in the area are not linked.
• the adequacy of the amount of parkland proposed is questioned.
• the proposed buildings are felt to be too tall and too close to the single family homes which would remain, and would shadow nearby properties.
• there is support for the whole Mixed Use area between the YMCA and the east side of Rean Drive to be redeveloped comprehensively.

Councillor Flint has proposed that a Steering Committee be established to work with staff and the applicant, and held a meeting with staff and the volunteers for the Committee on September 27, 1999, to further discuss the issues raised by the proposal. The additional points raised at the meeting included:

• a need for more comprehensive redevelopment.
• the desire for a fair distribution of density throughout the quadrant.
• a feeling that the development is insular and lacks connections to other streets.
• there will be dust, disruption and truck traffic from construction, and a need for sidewalks.
• the need for shopping facilities and other amenities such as a children's playground.
• the proposed tennis courts are too close to existing homes.
• parks issues including: whether Sheppard Square parkette should be closed and moved; a concern that the proposed parkland will not benefit residents on Kenaston Gardens; and concerns about drainage in Rean Park.
• the adequacy of the local schools.

Several residents volunteered to work with staff specifically on transportation and parks issues. The Steering Committee would be an ideal vehicle for the staff technical team to liaise with the local community as the context plan is developed.

Conclusion:

The application is the first major redevelopment proposed in the key development area in the southeast quadrant of the Bayview Node. This is a significant site in the Sheppard Corridor and a project which could require complex real estate transactions involving City-owned parkland and public roads.

It is important for development on this site to be sensitive to, and compatible with, both the stable residential community to the east, and the existing and future uses in this Mixed Use redevelopment area. The current application should be revised to comply with the policies of OPA 392 for a maximum density of 3.0 FSI. The proposed building heights and massing should be reduced, and setbacks to the neighbouring houses increased. The buildings should be reorganized to take their addresses from a public street.

It is also important for the City to examine how this individual proposal should fit into the larger pattern of development of the southeast quadrant of the Bayview Node. A context plan should be done which will guide Council's decisions concerning this application and future development proposals. The context plan should address how a network of roads, distribution of density and consolidation of parkland can be achieved in the area in conformity with the objectives of OPA 392.

The applicants must submit a subdivision application to be processed concurrently with the application to amend the Zoning By-law, and should also submit a site plan application for master site plan approval prior to a Statutory Public Meeting.

Contact Name:

Ruth Lambe, Senior Planner

Telephone: (416) 395-7110

Fax: (416) 395-7155

E-mail: rlambe@toronto.ca

Rob Dolan

Director, Community Planning, North District

Jim Bradley

Director, Parks and Recreation, North District

Roberto Stopnicki

Director, Transportation Services, District 3

Appendices:

1Map D.15.2 (Sheppard East Subway Corridor, Key Development Areas)

2Map D.15.3 (Sheppard East Subway Corridor, Specific Development Policies)

3Section 4.2.2 (Kenaston Gardens/Sheppard Square Areas Specific Policy)

4Conceptual Parks Plan (Appendix 1 to OPA 392)

5Southeast Quadrant of Bayview Node - Context Plan Study Area

Schedules:

AOfficial Plan Map

BZoning Map

CSite Plan

DContext Plan

EConcept Plan

F1Elevation - South

F2Elevation - Internal North

F3Elevation - Internal South

F4Elevation - North

F5Elevation - West (East similar)

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