STAFF REPORT
October 19, 1999
To: Scarborough Community Council
From: Ted Tyndorf
Director of Community Planning, East District
Subject: PRELIMINARY EVALUATION REPORT
Official Plan Amendment Application SC-P19990019
Zoning By-law Amendment Application SC-Z19990037
Imperial Oil Limited
1149 Morningside Avenue, at Sheppard Avenue
Part of Lots 3 and 4, Registered Plan 10303
Rouge Employment District
Scarborough Malvern
Purpose:
This report provides a preliminary evaluation of the applications to amend the Official Plan and Zoning By-law for the
property at the south-east corner of Sheppard and Morningside Avenues. Imperial Oil Limited has recently acquired a
vacant site immediately to the east of the present Esso service station and plans to redevelop the enlarged ownership with a
service station consisting of eight fuelling pumps with a canopy, a 316 square metre (3,400 square feet) convenience store
and a stationary mechanical car wash. The proposed Official Plan and zoning amendments are required to permit retail uses
on the original Esso site, while a zoning change is required to permit a car wash on the easterly portion of the ownership.
Financial Implications and Impact Statement:
None.
Recommendations:
That Scarborough Community Council convene a Public Meeting to consider the applications, targeted for the first quarter
of 2000, subject to:
(1) staff hosting a community information meeting and inviting all assessed persons within the 120 metres (400 feet) of the
subject site, as well as the residents on the south and east sides of Bradworthy Court, and
(2) the applicant submitting the revised site/landscape and building elevation drawings to achieve a visual and architectural
co-ordination between all the elements on the site and addressing the site's location at the intersection of two major arterial
roads.
Background:
This 0.45 hectare (1.1 acres) site abuts two major arterial roads and is close to Highway 401. The vacant property
immediately to the east is proposed to be developed with a Wendy/Tim Hortons restaurant. The lands further to the east
and south east accommodate a Home Depot and Business Depot outlets, with a large commercial centre being developed at
Morningside and Milner Avenues. Lands along the north side of Sheppard Avenue, across the subject site, support a
variety of industrial and commercial enterprises. A shopping plaza is located at the south-west corner of Sheppard and
Morningside Avenues, with a City owned woodlot occupying the north-west quadrant of this intersection.
The Esso service station is designated Industrial District Commercial permitting variety of commercial facilities designed
to serve up to 30,000 people within an industrial area.. Offices and service stations are also permitted. However, site
specific policy permits service station uses and day nurseries only. This site is zoned "Industrial District Commercial
(MDC)" which by exception restricts the uses permitted on the property to vehicle service garages, vehicle service stations,
marketplace signs and places of worship.
The easterly vacant portion of the ownership is designated Special District Commercial, with a numbered policy providing
also for General Industrial Uses with High Performance Standards. It is zoned "Mixed Employment Zone (ME)" permitting
industrial uses, educational and training facility uses, day nurseries, financial institutions, offices, personal service shops,
places of worship, recreational uses, restaurants and retail stores.
The site is under Site Plan Control and an application to implement the proposed development has been submitted.
Comments:
The site is within the westerly section of the Rouge Employment District that has undergone significant land use changes
in recent years. The vacant industrial parcels along Sheppard Avenue, between Morningside Avenue and Grand Marshall
Boulevard, have been rezoned to permit a variety of employment opportunities. With new residential housing further east
and destination stores such as Home Depot and Business Depot in the vicinity, the subject site at the intersection of two
major arterial roads, in close proximity to the Highway 401, is highly exposed to the travelling public.
Imperial Oil Limited wishes to renovate and enlarge their service station which has been operating at this location for many
years. To accommodate a car wash, the company acquired a portion of the abutting vacant land. Also, pursuant to the
current trends in the petroleum industry, the owner plans to construct a convenience store to offer a wider variety of
convenience and food products than are available in the existing kiosk. The redevelopment of this site has the potential of
contributing to and improving the streetscape in the area. Any development scheme at this location should provide for
convenient and safe access by vehicular traffic and should link the proposed convenience store to the public sidewalk and
the bus stop for the benefit of pedestrians. All the elements on the site should be visually co-ordinated through the design,
the use of complementing exterior finishes and landscaping.
The proposed scheme does not address these criteria as the corner building displays blank walls to the streets, with no
convenient pedestrian links to the corner and a lack of architectural co-ordination between the site elements. There are
three entranceways into the site at the present time. They will be maintained in the new scheme, as well, the applicant plans
to use a new driveway at the easterly site limit that will be shared with the proposed Wendy/Tim Hortons restaurant to be
built soon on the adjacent land. The site plan control submission provides an opportunity to review the issue of vehicular
access to the site, and assess if one of the accesses onto Sheppard Avenue could be closed while ensuring a convenient and
safe traffic circulation onto and within these two properties.
The proposed car wash which is one of the amenities associated with a service station would be permitted on the original
Esso site, however, due to the space constraints and the requirements of the on-site traffic flow, the applicant proposes to
locate the car wash on the recently acquired easterly parcel. Although this area is zoned to permit a variety of commercial
uses, car washes are not allowed. Sales of sundry and other small convenience products in a kiosk on the service station
site are considered ancillary to the gas dispensing function and thus are permitted on the properties zoned for service
stations. The proposed retail space is too large to fall into this category, and as a independent retail use is not allowed. By
contrast, this store would be permitted on the easterly portion of the site which permits retail. The proposed amendments
offer an opportunity to apply planning policies and zoning restrictions in a consistent manner over the entire site.
An enlarged and modernized service station may provide an additional service to the travelling public along both streets, as
well as the neighbouring residential community to the west and the industrial and commercial businesses to the east.
Contact:
Anna Czajkowski, MCIP, RPP
Senior Planner
Scarborough Civic Centre
Telephone: (416) 396-7022
Fax: (416) 396-4265
E-mail: czajkows@city.scarborough.on.ca
Ted Tyndorf, MCIP, RPP
Director of Community Planning, East District
List of Attachments:
- Existing Official Plan Consolidation Map
- Zoning Map
- Proposed Site Plan, Figure 1
