Staff Report. Recommendations: Background:

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1 Staff Report d where yotj want to ìive Report To: Committee of Adjustment Report From: M. Potter Meeting Date: August t6,2016 Report Code: CS Subject: Minor Variance A14/ st Avenue A West Recommendations: That in consideration of Staff Report CS respecting Minor Variance Al4/20t6 by L Ontario Inc. (agent John Desimone) for property known as 1010 lst Avenue "4" West, the Committee of Adjustment approves the minor variance as the Committee concludes that it maintains the general intent and purpose of the City's Official Plan and Zoning By-law, can be considered minor in nature and desirable for use of the lands subject to the following conditions: 1) That site plan approval required under By-law 20tL-034 be obtained and a development agreement be executed (if required) and securities thereunder be posted (if required) prior to the establishment of any use on the property or issuance of any building permit to the satisfaction of the City's Community Services Department (Planning Division) and Public Works and Engineering Department (Engineering Services Division). Background: Official Plan: Waterfront Mixed Use Zoning By-law-2O10-078: Mixed Use Commercial (MC) The subject lands have been underutilized since 2007 when Council approved a request by Phil Primmer to move a house originally constructed in 1894 and place it on the subject lands. Site Plan Approval was granted in 2008 (subject to conditions) for a proposed tourist home containing one dwelling Report: Al4/20t st Avenue "A" West Page 1 of 1O

2 un t and 10 guest suites using the moved structure plus an addition. The proposal was able to meet the site and building regulations in place at the time. Committee of Adjustment approved a consent application in 2008 to permit Bell easements on the property. In 2009 Committee of Adjustment approved minor variance At7/2009 (subject to conditions) on the definition of "converted dwelling", front yard and rear yard setback are requested to provide for a revised proposal of 4 tourist home suites and 7 seniors apartments. One of the conditions of that approval was site plan approval. When the City approved comprehensive Zoning By-law , as amended, it repealed and replaced all previously enacted By-laws passed pursuant to Section 34 of the Planning Act. As such, all variances passed prior to April t2, 2OLO were also repealed. The conditions of the minor variance and site plan approval were not satisfied. The zoning of the subject lands does not permit a single detached dwelling. Since the house was moved to the subject lands, there has not been any use established on the property. Analysis: Proposal: The applicant is proposing to convert an existing single detached dwelling into a 10 unit multiple dwelling and is requesting variances to recognize the existing building and permit the proposed development. The variances are described as follows: Provision Required Proposed Variance Minimum rear yard setback 10m 1.3 m 8.7 m Minimum rear yard setback to deck 7m 1.3 m 5.7 m Minimum side yard setback 4m 2.1m 1.9 m Minimum gross floor area 35 sq m per unit 34 sq m (two units) I sq m (two units) Minimum landscaped open space Minimum number of parking spaces Minimum required planting strip 30o/o 28% 2% m 0.6 m 0.9 m Repoft: AL4/2OL lst Avenue "A" West Page 2 of 1O

3 As the proposal is for more than 2 dwelling units site plan approval is required in accordance with By-law and is recommended as a condition. Site Description: The subject lands are located at the southerly terminus of 1't Avenue'A' West and are visible from the parking lot of Shoppers Drug Mart which abuts the lands to the east. The lands are 1013 m2 and include a house which has been moved on to a permanent foundation. The lands were formerly known to be used for industrial purposes. A Record of Site Condition (RSC) has been acknowledged by the Ministry of the Environment (MOE) with respect to the condition of the lands for a proposed residential use. This RSC is posted online on the MOE Environmental Site Registry. b Repoft: AL4/2OL st Avenue "4" West Page 3 of 1O

4 T ) f I ',*a- Iff t a Surrounding Land Uses: Residential uses are located to the west and north including the recently constructed Corbet Place (24 unit apartment building). Commercial offices and retail type uses are located to the south and east. To the east are Shoppers Drug Mart, Mr. Transmission, commercial uses, and the inner harbour which includes bicycle routes and walking trails. Less than 1 block to the north is the Black Lawson Kennedy lands which are zoned to permit high density residential development among other uses. It also merits note that the subject lands are in close proximity to the services and amenities of the downtown commercial centre of the City and to recreational trails along the west harbour. The City's bus transit route runs along 10th Street West, 1st Avenue West and 2nd Avenue West. The site is well served by transit. Comments: The Public Works and Engineering Department recommends approval subject to site plan approval. Provincial Policv Statement (PPSI: The Provincial Policy Statement (PPS) was reviewed with regard to the proposed application for a Minor Variance. The Provincial Policy Statement (PPS) directs growth to settlement areas and promotes a mix of land uses Report: AI4/20L st Avenue "A" West Page 4 of 1O

5 within settlement areas that efficiently use land and resources, infrastructure and public services. The PPS promotes opportunities for intensification and redevelopment with development standards that facilitate a compact form while avoiding or mitigating risks to public health and safety. The location avoids natural and human made hazards and is an area intended for mixed uses including medium to high density residential. The PPS encourages a sense of placê, by promoting well-designed built form and cultural planning and by conserving features that help define character such as heritage properties. While the existing building is not designated or listed in accordance with the Ontario Heritage Act, the proposed redevelopment would provide reuse of a previously underutilized century old building. The PPS also directs that contaminated sites be remediated such that there will be no adverse effects. A Record of Site Condition has been filed with the Ministry of Environment & Climate Change for the subject lands. The proposal to utilize an existing building to provide for apartments in a built up area of the City with access to existing municipal services and public transit that redevelop a brownfield site is consistent with the direction provided by the PPS. Official Plan: The subject lands are located within the West Harbour Planning Area and designated "Waterfront Mixed Use" by the Official Plan. Lands in this designation are intended to integrate a broad array of uses in a compact urban form. Medium to high density residential uses are appropriate where separated from industrial uses. The apartment use is permitted by the Official Plan. Residential intensification and infill development including conversion of nonresidential buildings to residential use is supported subject to ( ): a) The proposed development meets locational and other criteria of this Plan. The apartment use is permitted as of right by the zoning by-law and therefore deemed appropriate for the lands. b) The type, size and scale of the proposed development is compatible w ith adjacent development. Report: AL4/2O[ st Avenue "4" West Page 5 of 1O

6 The building is existing. Some of the variances are required to address the updated Zoning By-law in order to establísh a use on the lands that conforms with zoning. Some of the variances are directly related to the number of dwelling units proposed (such as parking, setback to parking, and landscaped open space). These will be assessed further in the zoning section below. c) The existing hard infrastructure, including sewer and water services, can support additional development. Development will be permitted in areas that can be adequately serviced and best management practices are to be applied to stormwater management. This will be ensured through the recommended site plan approval process. d) The existing community and recreational facilities, such as schools and parks are adequate to meet the additional demand. Walking/cross country ski and bicycle trails are located along the inner harbour connecting the public parks to the north and south. Both 1st Avenue West and 11th Street West are identified bicycle routes. There is an adequate supply of schools in the City. e) Required parking can be accommodated. The Official Plan indicates all new development and redevelopment, including the reuse of existing buildings, shall be required to provide adequate off street parking. Pedestrians should have a safe, well-lít, clear route to the building and parking areas are to be adequately landscaped. A variance is requested with respect to parking. This will be discussed further in the zoning section below. f) The local road network can accommodate any additional traffic. 1st Avenue A West is an identified local road in the Official Plan. Nearby 1st Avenue West is an Arterial Road and 2nd Avenue West is a County Road, both designed for volumes of traffic. Although access to 1st and 2nd Avenues is not immediate, the intent of the this point is to ensure free flow of traffic from uses anticipated to have a high number of units. The number of dwelling units proposed is similar to what has been approved for the site in the past. WÍth residential dwelling units the traffic could be Report: AL4/2O[ st Avenue "A" West Page 6 of 1O

7 expected to be slightly less than the comings and goings of tourists that would have visited a tourist home. The volume of traffic is anticipated to be minimal, especially as lands are within walking distance from many amenities. g) Intensification of a heritage building or a building in a Heritage Conservation District shall be subject to the protection and preservation of the heritage character of the building or area in accordance with Heritage Conservation policies. Although the existing house is not listed on the City's Register of Properties of Heritage Value or Interest the proposal does represent the adaptive reuse of a century old building. The policies for this planning area refer to the Owen Sound Harbour and Downtown Master Plan as well. The Harbour and Downtown Urban Design/Master Plan encourages the strengthening of residential neighbourhoods and extended downtown commercial activity. Its urban design direction wíll be considered through the site plan approval process. The requested minor variance subject to conditions recommended maintains the general intent and purpose of the Official Plan. Zonino Bv-law, (2O1O-O78, as amendedì: The existing structure was moved to the house with a different use intended at the time and that use was not established on site. The proposed apartment must be considered in accordance with Zoning By-law , as amended. The subject lands are zoned "Mixed Use Commercial" (MC) which permits among other uses, "dwelling, apartment" subject to certain site and building regulations. The following variances are required: Provision Required Proposed Variance Minimum rear yard setback Minimum rear yard setback to deck Minimum side yard setback 10m 1.3 m 8.7 m 7m 1.3 m 5.7 m 4m 2.1 m 1.9 m Report: AL4/2OL st Avenue "4" West Page 7 of LO

8 Minimum gross floor area 35 sq m per unit 34 sq m (two units) 1 sq m (two units) Minimum landscaped open space Minimum number of parking spaces Minimum required planting strip 3Oo/o 28o/o 2o/o m 0.6 m 0.9 m The variances highlighted in blue above being the setbacks are required for the existing structure to be used for an apartment building. The setbacks shown as "proposed" are actually reflective of the existing building location on the lot. As noted above, the apartment use is different than the purpose for which the structure was originally moved to this location and the zoning regulations have changed s nce that time as well. The variances highlighted in orange above are specific to the most recent proposal. There are 2 dwelling units out of 10 that are proposed to be one square metre smaller than the minimum allowed. The minimum required landscaped open space is just under the minimum 30o/o established by the zoning by-law. The difficulty in providing landscaped open space is related to the requirement for parking. With respect to the planting strip, this is required only where the parking lot abuts residential. Most of the parking area is at least t.2m from adjacent residential except for a small section that has only a 0.67m planting area in order to accommodate the location of an existing catchbasin. If it was not for this catchbasín, the variance would only be 0.3m. The intent of the landscaped open space, and setback to parking is to ensure there is adequate amenity space for tenants and a buffer between parking areas and neighbouring residential uses. The building has a large wrap around concrete deck which provides outdoor amenity space for the tenants. The property is also in close proximity to the Report: AL4/2OL st Avenue "A" West Page 8 of 1O

9 inner harbour trails connected to parks which offer more active outdoor amenity opportu n ities. An existing board fence is indicated on the plans separating the parking from adjacent residential. As shown on the photo above and evident upon visiting the site, the existing board fence is in poor condition. A condition of site plan approval will consider replacement of this fence. With the fence, the impact of the landscaped open space and planting strip setback variances on neighbouring properties will be mitigated. The zoning by-law requires 1.25 parking stalls for every dwelling unit in this location. All of the 10 dwelling units proposed are l bedroom. The proximity to the downtown makes the units ideal for tenants without cars or single car occupants. If the subject lands were located just one block to the south in the C1 zone, the parking requirement would be only 1 space for each dwelling unit. The proposal provides the minimum required number of barrier free parking stalls. The application maintains the intent and purpose of the Zoning By-law subject to recommended conditions. of the lands The requested variance will have minimal impact on adjacent properties and can be considered desirable for the appropriate development and use of the lands. The following factors are noted:. The subject lands are located within an existing built up area of the City with frontage on a maintained public street with access to full municipal services.. The site is located in an area envisioned for a mix of uses including high density residential.. The proposal will use an existing century old building which has been underutilized since being moved to this location.. The 3 storey building proposed to accommodate the 10 dwelling units is existing. The setback variances recognize the existing location of the building.. The site is in close proximity to recreational opportunities, commercial and social services.. The site is well served by City transit. Repoft: AL4/2O[ st Avenue "A" West Page 9 of 1O

10 o Site Plan Approval is recommended and will ensure the site is developed in accordance with City policy. Fi na ncial I Budget Impl ications: None. Communication Strategy: Notice has been given in accordance with the requirements of the Planning Act and was provided by the Secretary-Treasurer at least 10 days prior to the hearing. Consultation: The application was circulated to various City Departments and other agencies for comment as part of the normal process. Prepared By: Reviewed By: M. Potter P. Coulter rh Repoft: AL4/2O[ st Avenue "A" West Page 1O of 1O