January 25, 2000

To: North York Community Council

From: Rob Dolan

Director of Community Planning, North District

Subject: FINAL REPORT

ZONING AMENDMENT APPLICATION

Brown, Dryer, Karol

62 and 64 - 68 Finch Avenue West

8 Kensington Avenue

UDZ - 98 - 28 / UDSP 98 - 169

Ward 10 - North York Centre

Purpose:

The purpose of this report is to make final recommendations for the zoning by-law application to permit 25 condominium townhouse units at 64 - 68 Finch Avenue West; and a 4 storey building combining institutional use with a group home at 62 Finch Avenue West and 8 Kensington Avenue.

Financial Implications and Impact Statement:

None.

Recommendations:

It is recommended that:

1. The R4 designation be amended to RM 1(32) for 64 - 68 Finch Avenue West and C4 (4) for 62 Finch Avenue West and 8 Kensington Avenue subject to the following provisions:

RM1 Exception Regulations:

(a) The minimum yard setbacks requirements shall be set out on Exhibit "N".

(b) The maximum height of buildings or structures shall be shown on Exhibit "N".

C4 Exception Regulations

(a) Permitted Use: The only Permitted Use is limited to a provincially funded social agency providing office, program, and Group Home.

(b) Group Home: The Group Home is to be limited to 4 bedrooms and 4 persons in total.

(c) The minimum number of parking spaces shall be 27, of which 15 spaces shall be provided at 72 Finch Avenue West. Of the 12 on site spaces 4 spaces shall be designated for visitors and 8 spaces shall be designated for employees.

(d) The minimum yard setbacks requirements shall be set out on Exhibit "N".

(e) The maximum height of buildings and structures shall be shown on Exhibit "N".

2. Prior to enactment of the zoning by-law:

(a) The Director, Community Planning, North District shall have granted site plan approval.

(b) The conditions of the Technical Services Division, Works and Emergency Services, attached as Exhibit F, shall be fulfilled.

(c) The conditions of the Transportation Services Division, Works and Emergency Services, attached as Exhibit G, shall be fulfilled.

(d) That the applicant provide an undertaking satisfactory to the City Solicitor that the townhouse site (64 - 68 Finch Avenue West) be developed as a condominium.

(e) Be subject to the applicant obtaining a variance to permit 15 off-site parking at 72 Finch Avenue West ( Danish Lutheran Church)

Background:

Site Context:

The site is located at the north-west corner of Finch Avenue West and Kensington Avenue, four blocks west of Yonge Street. Single family homes on Kensington Avenue are immediately adjacent to the north and east of 8 Kensington Avenue, 62 and 64 - 68 Finch Avenue West. The Danish Lutheran Church is immediately to the west and north of 64 - 68 Finch Avenue West. On the south side of Finch Avenue are single family homes containing a mix of residential and office uses.

Proposal:

The proposal consists of two components a 4 storey, 1827 m² special needs facility at the corner of Finch and Kensington and a 25 condominium townhouse project to the west. The 4-storey component fronts onto Finch Avenue with a unified facade with the townhouses. The overall density across the site is 1.2 FSI of which 0.9 FSI is residential use and 0.3 FSI is institutional use.

Initially, the proposal for 62 Finch Avenue West was for 23 seniors apartment units. It is now proposed for use by the Community Head Injury Resource Services of Toronto (which receives funding from the Ministry of Health), to provide services for persons with acquired brain injuries. It is intended that 35 - 40 clients will receive therapy and life skills training from 8 to 10 caregivers. The applicant has advised that clients for this facility will be driven to the site by caregivers or use Wheel Trans. As well, a 4-bedroom group home component is proposed with one over-night staff person and administrative office staff. A landscaped roof garden is proposed. Access to parking lot serving this site will be from Kensington Avenue.

In addition, the applicant proposes to build 25 condominium townhouse units at 64 - 68 Finch Avenue West. Eleven townhouses front onto Finch Avenue West and the remaining 14 units front onto the private condominium road entered from Finch Avenue. Access to all parking is provided by the private driveway. The units fronting Finch Avenue West have one parking space in a rear garage and one parking space in a common area at the rear. These spaces will be clearly marked and assigned to a specific townhouse unit. The units in the interior of the site have one parking space in a garage and one in a driveway to form a tandem parking arrangement.

The pertinent statistics are as follows:

OFFICIAL PLAN:

The site is subject to the Central Finch Area Secondary Plan and is split into two designations as shown on Exhibit A.

The southern part of the site, along Finch Avenue, is designated CFMU-1 (Central Finch Mixed Use - One) which permits:

- single, detached and multiple-unit residential uses, offices, retail and service commercial uses, places of worship, public parks and recreational facilities, and institutional uses; and

- a maximum height of 4 storeys or 13 metres, whichever is the lesser, provided that:

- building setbacks of minimum 9.5 metres are provided along all lot lines that abut the stable residential areas outside the Secondary Plan Area; and,

- the height of any part of a building cannot exceed 70% of the horizontal distance separating that part of the building from the nearest residential property line that coincides with the boundaries of the Secondary Plan area (separation distance);

- for sites with a 30 metre frontage or more on Finch Avenue, which applies to this site, a maximum FSI of 1.0 for solely commercial, 2.0 for solely residential, and 1.5 where the use is residential and commercial.

The northern part of the site is designated CFR-2 (Central Finch Residential - Two) which permits:

- single detached and multiple unit residential uses, public parks and recreational facilities and places of worship;

- a maximum density of 1.0 FSI; and

- a maximum height limit of 3 storeys or 10 metres, whichever is the lesser, provided that:

- building setbacks of minimum 9.5 metres are provided along all lot lines that abut the stable residential areas outside the Secondary Plan Area; and

- the height of any part of a building cannot exceed 70% of the "separation distance".

ZONING:

The site is zoned R4 and R6, which generally permits single family homes (See Exhibit B). The applicants are requesting an amendment to the zoning by-law to permit multiple attached dwellings at 64 - 68 Finch Avenue West and a mixed institutional / residential building at 62 Finch Avenue West and 8 Kensington Avenue. The general provisions for a Group Home are complied with, except for the limiting the number of group homes in the same neighbourhood.

SITE PLAN:

Site plan approval is required for this development. Prior to enactment of the zoning by-law, the Director, of Community Planning, North District shall have granted site plan approval.

COMMUNITY CONSULTATION:

The proposal for 26 townhouses at 64 - 68 Finch Avenue West was presented to the community at a meeting held on September 22, 1999 in the Edithvale Community Centre. Councillors Gardner and Filion and their staff were in attendance in addition to the applicant and planning staff. Some 14 members of the community also attended. Concerns raised related to shortage of on-site parking, need for more landscape buffering between the rear yards of the townhouses and existing residences, and inadequate circulation for garbage pick-up.

On November 1, 1999 a further meeting was held with the community to indicate revisions to 64 - 68 Finch Avenue West, which included a reduction of one unit, and outlined the proposal, at that time, for 23 seniors apartments for 62 Finch Avenue West. Councillor Filion and staff from both Councillors' offices, planning staff and 15 members of the community attended the meeting. Concerns related to increased traffic and on-street parking. As well, it was suggested that the private driveway on the townhouse site be narrowed from 8.5 to 6.0 metres to accommodate more landscaping. These issues are discussed below.

Discussion:

Planning Considerations:

1. Official Plan

The Central Finch Secondary Plan sets out requirements for mixed commercial residential buildings with frontages in excess of 30 metres. These include a 4 storey / 13 metre height limit and a maximum density of 1.5 FSI, for a mix commercial and residential uses. In addition, the commercial uses cannot exceed 0.75 FSI. The Secondary Plan does not set out specific requirements for mixed use development that incorporates residential and institutional uses, however, this proposal meets the requirements for mixed use development with frontage exceeding 30 metres.

The Official Plan also permits reduction or elimination of front yard setbacks and coverage requirements to promote building orientation to a main street.

2. Addressing the Parking Deficiency

In accordance with Zoning By-law No. 7625, each townhouse unit is required to have two parking spaces. The applicant is complying with this provision.

For the institutional building, 2 parking spaces are assigned to the Group Home and a further 35 are required per the requirements for a Professional Office. The applicant has agreed to provide the necessary parking spaces as determined by a parking study. A parking study undertaken by Grant A. Bacchus Limited on behalf of the applicant has determined that 23 spaces are required for the employees of this building. As 12 spaces can be provided on site, the applicant will be required to provided 15 spaces off site at 72 Finch Avenue West (the Danish Lutheran Church) and secured by an 10 year lease agreement to be registered on title. Of the 12 on-site spaces four are to be designated for visitors and the remaining eight for employees. The Off-site parking should be used by the employees. Prior to the enactment of the by-law all necessary planning approval for the off-site parking spaces must be granted.

3. Setbacks

The proposed townhouses backing onto the existing houses on Kensington Avenue are setback more than the minimum 9.5 metres as required both by the proposed RM1 zoning designation and by the Central Finch Secondary Plan. The minimum front yard setback is proposed to be 0.0 metres, in part due to the 2.7 metre road widening conveyance. The north flanking wall of the most northerly townhouse unit has a yard setback of 1.0 metre from the property line separating the development from the abutting Church property. The minimum side yard requirement is proposed to be 0.0 metre where the townhouse development flanks the institutional/residential building at 62 Finch Avenue West.

The proposed Mixed Use Commercial Zone, (C4) for 62 Finch Avenue West requires a minimum front yard setback of 18 metres from centreline of street while 17.78 metres is proposed.

The reduced front yard setbacks along Finch and Kensington Avenues are acceptable as they are consistent with the intent of the Official Plan and Central Finch Area Secondary Plan objectives related to built form and streetscape. Specifically, that the development shall define the street edge as well as serving as an extension of the pedestrian environment. The reduced rear yard of the northerly townhouse is acceptable, as the abutting use is the Church property

4. Servicing

There is no space on-site for garbage pick-up at 62 Finch Avenue West. The garbage pick-up for 64 - 68 Finch Avenue West is acceptable only if the vehicular movements are minimized. A detailed site plan indicating the garbage and recycling collection areas must be submitted for review prior to site plan approval.

It was suggested at the community meeting that the private driveway for the condominiums should be narrowed from 8.5 metres to 6.0 metres to accommodate more landscaping. Works and Emergency Services advises that the pavement width must be a minimum 8.5 metres.

Both applicants must contribute to the relocation of the existing sidewalk on Finch Avenue to the standard location of 1.0 metres from streetline and therefore, all proposed landscaping must be cleared off the road allowance at this location. A new sidewalk on Kensington Avenue at the standard location of 1.0 metres from streetline is also required.

A conveyance of approximately 2.7 metres is required across the Finch Avenue West frontage to provide for a 36 metre right-of-way. The applicants are required to obtain building location, access and streetscape permits prior to the construction of the project.

5. Landscaping

To address community concerns, landscape buffer strips will be provided, including 1.8 metre high wood fences and shade trees located between the parking lots of 62 and 64 - 68 Finch Avenue properties, and separating the parking lot of 62 Finch Avenue with residences to the north. The applicants landscape plans appears satisfactory. It should be noted that a recommendation by Parks Department to provide for a play area for 64 - 68 Finch Avenue West is not accommodated due to limited space.

6. Wheel Trans:

Both the Toronto Transit Commission and the Transportation Services Division of Works and Emergency Services advise that the preferred location for Wheel Trans drop-off / pick-up is on the Finch Avenue westbound lane in front of 62 Finch Avenue West. Modifications will be required to accommodate a ramp from the roadway to sidewalk. A final design drawing must be approved by the Toronto Transit Commission.

7. Urban Design:

This proposal meets all the urban design principles set out in the Central Finch Secondary Plan, particularly as it contributes to the definition of the street edge and buffering between it and the adjacent residential area.

8. Site Plan

There is no vehicular traffic allowed between the two sites in order to address community concerns regarding traffic generation from the townhouses onto Kensington Avenue. Issues to be resolved through the site plan process relate to landscaping, location of garbage and re-cycling areas, design of the Wheel Trans lay-by, and providing information to the Fire Department.

Conclusions:

The proposal conforms to the density limits, permitted uses, and height requirements set out in the Central Finch Area Secondary Plan. Exceptions relating to setbacks and parking as they relate to the mixed use building are proposed but they are considered consistent with the principles of the Central Finch Area plan. Approval of the rezoning application is therefore recommended.

Contact:

Naomi Faulkner, Community Planner

North York Civic Centre

Telephone: (416) 395-7137 / Fax: (416) 395-7155

Email: nfaulkn@toronto.ca

__________________________________

Rob Dolan

Director, Community Planning, North District

List of Attachments:

Exhibits

Exhibit "A" Official Plan Map

Exhibit "B" Zoning Map

Exhibit "C" Applicants' Proposed Site Plans

Exhibit "D" Applicants's Proposed Elevations

Exhibit "E" Draft Zoning By-law Schedules

Exhibits "F to M" Comments from City Departments, Boards and Agencies

Exhibit "N" Building Heights and Setbacks