STAFF REPORT

December 22, 1999

To: Scarborough Community Council

From: Ted Tyndorf

Director of Community Planning, East District

Subject: PRELIMINARY EVALUATION REPORT

Milliken Employment District

Scarborough Agincourt

Purpose:

This report provides a preliminary evaluation of applications to amend the Official Plan and Zoning By-law for the subject lands on the south side of Steeles Avenue, east of Kennedy Road. Canadian Tire Real Estate Limited (CTREL) has recently signed an agreement to purchase the rear portion of the lands known as 3477 to 3497 Kennedy Road, immediately south of its existing store at 4675 Steeles Avenue. CTREL is proposing to construct a new 10,100 square metre (108,800 square foot) store on the lands being purchased. The new store would include retail, warehouse, auto service centre, garden centre and administrative office space.

The applicant proposes an amendment to the Official Plan to realign the future Redlea Avenue extension onto the subject lands. The rezoning application proposes to amend the current Industrial (M) and Vehicle Service (VS) zoning on the lands being purchased to allow the new store, and to amend the current Community Commercial (CC) zoning on the existing store which limits permitted uses to the existing CTREL store by Exception, in order to allow its reuse for a broader range of commercial purposes.

Financial Implications and Impact Statement:

None.

Recommendations:

It is recommended Scarborough Community Council:

(1) convene a Public Meeting to consider the applications targeted for the second quarter of 2000, subject to staff hosting a community information meeting and inviting all assessed persons within 120 metres (400 feet) of the subject site as well as any other owners of property on the existing portion of Redlea Avenue;

(2) direct the applicant to submit a Site Plan Control application for the proposed site redevelopment;

(3) direct the applicant to submit a traffic impact and parking demand study satisfactory to the Commissioner of Works and Emergency Services that fully addresses, among other matters, the relocation of a Redlea Avenue link to Steeles Avenue over the subject lands, requirements for intersection signalization on Steeles, all work to date by the City pertaining to the Steeles grade separation, and any findings of the traffic impact study being conducted for the Pacific Mall; and

(4) deem the proposed realignment of a new road running southerly from Steeles Avenue to comply with the general intent of the Milliken Employment Secondary Plan, without the necessity of further amendment.

Background:

The overall site comprises 4.9 hectares (12.2 acres). CTREL's proposed new 10,100 square metre (108,800 square foot) store on the southern portion of the site is known as a "prototype A" store similar to the one recently constructed on Eglinton Avenue in the Golden Mile, and represents the company's largest store format. The existing store is proposed to be marketed to other commercial businesses. The existing gas bar adjacent to Steeles would be relocated as a result of the proposed new Redlea alignment. A Site Plan Control application for the proposed site redevelopment is expected to be submitted subsequent to consideration of this report.

A key feature of the applications is the proposed realignment of the future Redlea Avenue extension between Passmore Avenue to Steeles Avenue, onto the CTREL lands. A connection from this new link would be maintained to the south end of the existing Redlea Avenue to the west of the site. Out of an abundance of caution, CTREL has applied for an amendment to the Official Plan for the realignment of the Redlea extension, due to the distinct westerly jog of Redlea presently indicated in the Plan. The proposal otherwise complies with the "Special District Commercial" designation of the lands that was applied to this section of Milliken Employment District north of Passmore Avenue in 1997 as a result of the City's Milliken Employment District Commercial Review.

The existing store site at 4675 Steeles Avenue was originally zoned Commercial Uses (C) permitting retail activities limited to general hardware, sporting and recreational products, as well as public garages, in 1988. The current Community Commercial (CC) zoning and permission for auto-related uses were further rationalized during the City's vehicle service and repair and Employment District Zoning By-law consolidation initiatives of 1996 and 1997. The existing Canadian Tire store was opened in June 1990.

Comments:

In support of the Milliken Commercial Review, the City in 1996 commissioned Marshall Macklin Monaghan (MMM) to conduct a comprehensive transportation and servicing review to determine the potential impacts from existing, planned and additional commercial development in both the City and Markham on servicing and road requirements in this area. The study tested an overall development scenario of 208 700 square metres (2.2 million square feet) of existing and future development in the Milliken Employment District north of Passmore Avenue, consisting of 50 percent retail, 20 percent industrial and office, 15 percent recreation and entertainment uses, and 5 percent each of restaurants, places of worship and educational uses. The study also factored in the 61 939 square metres (666,700 square feet) of commercial development immediately to the north in Markham, including Market Square, the Kennedy/Steeles development and the 25 648 square metre (276,000 square foot) Pacific Mall.

The study determined that there is adequate servicing capacity to accommodate such a development scenario. Various road improvements such as additional turning lanes and signal phasing adjustments were determined to be necessary, however the key required road improvements identified were the completion of the north/south Redlea Avenue and Silver Star Boulevard extensions between Passmore and Steeles.

Prior to the submission of the subject applications, CTREL recognized that transportation concerns were going to be a key issue generally, given the substantial traffic volumes on Steeles and Kennedy already generated largely by the Markham commercial complexes, and for the servicing of this site particularly. MMM was retained to investigate these questions, having particular regard for the potential impact of the proposed Steeles/CN Rail grade separation and feasible locations for traffic signalization on Steeles.

The study and consultations in this regard are continuing, however where the earlier MMM study for the City assumed the location of a new road was fixed on the existing Redlea Avenue because of the alignment suggested by the Secondary Plan, the current review has already identified that the proposed realignment onto the CTREL lands is preferred for proper traffic operations on Steeles including intersection signalization, overall safety and compatibility with the grade separation.

Council recently approved redevelopment of the Nelson Aggregates site to the east with 7 268 square metres (78,236 square feet) of retail and restaurant development. That rezoning has now been appealed by York Region Condominium 890, operator of the Pacific Mall. The appeal clearly states concern that the existing road system is at capacity and cannot support additional commercial development. It is reasonable to assume that such concerns will only be heightened by the subject applications.

Substantial transportation study of this area has been undertaken or is continuing. Beyond the City's Milliken review, the applicant's own study and studies done in support of the Nelson, Lafarge and Markham commercial developments, the City is continuing its Environmental Assessment of the Steeles grade separation. Concerned about local congestion and on-site circulation problems, Pacific Mall has retained Cole Sherman to assess options to improve the situation there. Silver Star Boulevard will be opened to through traffic shortly, when its influence on traffic movement can be more accurately measured. The current applications are well timed to build on this growing base of technical information, to better inform Council and others as to the merits of both the expanded commercial permission now sought and the proposed realignment of Redlea Avenue. They should also provide a very useful perspective for assessment in Cole Sherman's work for Pacific Mall.

On the question of the requested Official Plan amendment to realign Redlea Avenue, Planning staff feel the application is not required. When the Redlea extension tying into Milliken Boulevard further to the south was added to the Plan, is was jogged on the map Schedule to tie into the existing portion of Redlea simply for illustrative reasons. Plan Schedules are also intentionally schematic and are subject to Council's interpretation as well. The real intent of the Plan in this case is to indicate new north/south streets flanking the CN Rail line and connecting to Steeles Avenue, to better serve to the interior properties of this employment district.

The City's primary objective must be that whatever connection is selected, be it via Redlea or CTREL's lands, the location must have the highest operational and safety characteristics. Staff note that while it is shown as a straight connection in the Secondary Plan, the recently completed Silver Star extension actually jogs easterly to achieve the best connection to Steeles Avenue, and in this regard an Official plan amendment was not required for the new road. Since operational and safety considerations for any intersection location will be fully addressed through further technical review of the CTREL proposals, Planning staff believe the general intent of the Official Plan will be maintained. It is therefore recommended that Council deem the Official Plan Amendment application to be unnecessary.

The City does currently own the necessary road allowance to complete an extension southerly to Passmore Avenue, however it does have servicing easements along this alignment south of the CTREL lands. If the applications are approved, CTREL is proposing to construct the new roadway over its lands to the City's standards for dedication as a public road. As this would mean Redlea Avenue would no longer provide a direct through link to Passmore, it is essential that all affected property owners along the existing portion of Redlea Avenue be fully advised of the current proposals and given the opportunity to become involved in this process.

Lastly in regard to this issue, should a realignment onto the CTREL lands be accepted, thereby avoiding Redlea Avenue, it may be advisable to consider another name for the new road extension. Planning staff suggest a more appropriate reference would then be "an extension to Milliken Boulevard", which already exists to the south, to reflect a similar planned function for the new roadway as Silver Star Boulevard. Works and Emergency Services comments in this regard will be provided for consideration at the Public Meeting.

The applications have been circulated to the usual commenting departments and agencies as well as to the Town Clerk of Markham.

Conclusions:

The subject lands are strategically located close to the Steeles Avenue and Kennedy Road intersection, a major "gateway" location into both the City of Toronto and the Town of Markham characterized by a number of major retail developments including the Pacific Mall and Market Village in Markham. More recently, substantial commercial developments have been approved on the Toronto side, on the former sites of Lafarge Canada and Nelson Aggregates to the east of the subject lands. The current proposal is consistent with and will maintain the intent of the Official Plan, and will provide for development similar to and compatible with these other commercial complexes in the vicinity.

Contact:

Rod Hines, Principal Planner

Scarborough Civic Centre

Telephone: (416) 396-7020

Fax: (416) 396-4265

E-mail: hines@city.scarborough.on.ca

Ted Tyndorf, MCIP, RPP

Director of Community Planning, East District

List of Attachments:

Figure 1: Location Map

Figure 3: Context Plan and Proposed Site Plan

Figure 4.43 Milliken Employment District Secondary Plan .