March 6, 2000
To: Etobicoke Community Council
From: Director, Community Planning, West District
Subject: Final Report
Application for Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendments
43 Willowridge Road
File No: Z-2311
(Markland-Centennial)
Purpose:
This report recommends refusal of the Official Plan and Zoning By-law amendment applications to permit a four-storey
medical centre building at 43 Willowridge Road.
Financial Implications and Impact Statement:
There are no financial implications resulting from the adoption of this report.
Recommendations:
It is recommended that:
(1) Official Plan Amendment Application No. 80-2000 be refused.
(2) Zoning By-law Amendment Application No. Z-2311 be refused.
(3) Should these applications be appealed to the Ontario Municipal Board, the City Solicitor and City staff be authorized to
appear before the Ontario Municipal Board to defend the refusal.
Background:
Proposal:
The applicant is proposing to demolish a single-family home and replace it with a 4-storey medical centre at 43
Willowridge Road. The site presently contains a two-storey, single-family residence and is located on the east side of
Willowridge Road, north of Richgrove Drive. It is adjacent to a Hydro right-of-way. This application proposes to use the
adjacent Hydro ROW to provide required parking for the medical building which is to contain an optician and pharmacy on
the main floor, and 6 doctors offices (total 18) on each of the other 3 floors. The basement is to be for storage.
Site Statistics:
Lot Area: 759.15 m2
Gross Floor Area:
Office: 515.40 m2
Retail: 143.75 m2
Total: 659.15 m2
FSI: 0.87
No. of parking spaces:
On-site: 4
Off-site: 31
Building Height: 13.41 m
Official Plan:
The site is designated Low Density Residential in the Etobicoke Official Plan which permits health care facilities of a local
nature. The proposed development does not comply with the Plan since the size and scale of the building would result in a
facility that serves more than local needs.
Zoning:
The site is currently zoned Second Density Residential (R2) which permits a doctors office located in the doctor's
single-family residence but does not permit a medical centre. Private home day care; nursery schools; institutional; and,
public uses are also permitted. The maximum building height is not to exceed 11 metres.
Comments:
Reasons For Refusal:
The proposal requires an Official Plan Amendment. That application should be refused since the proposal is not a health
care facility of only a local nature and therefore does not comply with the intent of the Plan. The applicant has not provided
compelling reasons for an Official Plan Amendment. The proposed medical centre use is not compatible with the existing
residential neighbourhood.
The site was originally created to contain a single-family house. The proposed 4-storey medical centre is an
over-development of the site. It is 2.41 metres over the maximum permitted height in the R2 zoning designation and cannot
provide the required parking on-site. A doctors office in a physician's own residence is permitted in this zoning. However
this proposed use is much more intensive than the zoning code permits and is not appropriate for this site in terms of its
use, size and height.
Conclusions:
The proposed development is not appropriate for the site in terms of use, size and height. Therefore staff recommend
refusal of the Official Plan and Zoning Amendment applications. If Council does not wish to refuse this application and
wishes the application to proceed further, a statutory public meeting must be held.
Contact:
Ed Murphy, Senior Planner
Community Planning, West District
Telephone: (416) 394-8234
Fax: (416) 394-6063
E-mail: ebmurphy@toronto.ca
Gary Wright
Director, Community Planning
West District
EM/pb
dev2\Z-2311\staffrep.willow
List of Attachments:
Attachment No. 1 - Location and zoning map
Attachment No. 2 - Site plan
Attachment No. 3 - Elevations
Attachment No. 4 - Floor Plans
