Agenda Item 3.3 Staff Report for Council Public Meeting Date of Meeting: September 27, 2017 Report Number: SRPRS.17.134 Department: Division: Subject: Planning and Regulatory Services Development Planning Request for Comments Zoning By-law Amendment and Draft Plan of Subdivision - Metropole Developments Inc. Town Files D02-17014 and D03-17004 (SRPRS.17.134) Owner: Metropole Developments Inc. 17 Old English Lane Markham, Ontario L3T 2V1 Agent: JKO Planning Services Inc. 27 Fieldflower Crescent Richmond Hill, Ontario L4E 5E9 Location: Legal Description: Lots L and N, Part of Lots H, J and K, Plan 1916 Municipal Addresses: 25, 45 and 61 Harris Avenue Purpose: A request for comments concerning proposed Zoning By-law Amendment and Draft Plan of Subdivision applications to facilitate the construction of a townhouse development comprised of 44 townhouse units. Recommendation: That Staff Report SRPRS.17.134 with respect to the Zoning By-law Amendment and Draft Plan of Subdivision applications submitted by Metropole Developments Inc. for lands known as Lots L and N, Part of Lots H, J and K, Plan 1916 (Municipal Addresses: 25, 45 and 61 Harris Avenue), Town File Numbers D02-17014 and D03-17004, be received for information purposes only and that all comments be referred back to staff. 39
Town of Richmond Hill Council Public Meeting Date of Meeting: September 27, 2017 Report Number: SRPRS.17.134 Page 2 Contact Person: Shelly Cham, Senior Planner, phone number 905-747-6470 and/or Denis Beaulieu, Manager of Development, Subdivisions, phone number 905-771-2540 Submitted by: "Signed version on file in the Office of the Clerk" Kelvin Kwan Acting Commissioner of Planning and Regulatory Services Approved by: "Signed version on file in the Office of the Clerk" Neil Garbe Chief Administrative Officer Location Map Below is a map displaying the property location. Should you require an alternative format call person listed under Contact above. 40
Town of Richmond Hill Council Public Meeting Date of Meeting: September 27, 2017 Report Number: SRPRS.17.134 Page 3 Background Information: Zoning By-law Amendment, Draft Plan of Subdivision, Draft Plan of Condominium (Common Element) and Site Plan applications, Town File Numbers D02-17014, D03-17004, D05-17002 and D06-17039 were received by the Town on May 26, 2017, and subsequently deemed complete on June 1, 2017, following the further submission of plans and materials. The applications have been circulated to various Town departments and external agencies for review and comment. The purpose of this report is to seek comments from Council and the public with respect to the applicant s development proposal. Summary Analysis Further information in regard to site location is below. Site Location and Adjacent Uses The subject lands are located on the south side of Harris Avenue, west of Yonge Street, and have a total lot area of approximately 0.98 hectare or 2.43 acres. The lands presently support three single detached dwellings and accessory structures which are proposed to be demolished. To the east and west are residential uses, to the south is a stormwater management pond and an existing townhouse development, and to the north is Harris Avenue (refer to Maps 1 and 2). Development Proposal The applicant is seeking Council s approval to construct a residential development comprised of 44 townhouse dwelling units on its land holdings (refer to Map 6). The following is a summary table outlining the pertinent statistics of the applicant s development proposal based on the plans and drawings submitted to the Town: Total Lot Area, 0.98 hectare, 2.43 acres Proposed Blocks 1 to 8, 0.675 hectare, 1.67 acres Proposed Block 9, 0.307 hectare, 0.76 acre Number of Buildings, 8 Number of Units, 44 Proposed Building Height, 3 storeys, 12 metres Proposed Gross Floor Area, 9962.50 square metres, 107235.46 square feet Proposed Parking, 88 spaces and 4 visitor parking spaces Proposed Lot Coverage, 33.86% Proposed Landscaped Area, 10.95% Proposed Paved Area, 20.8% Supporting Documentation/Reports The applicant has submitted the following documents/information to the Town in support of the proposed development: 41
Town of Richmond Hill Council Public Meeting Date of Meeting: September 27, 2017 Report Number: SRPRS.17.134 Page 4 Planning Report Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan Conformity Statement Area Context Plan Context Plan Site Plan Draft Plan of Subdivision Draft Plan of Condominium Urban Design Brief Coloured Renderings Elevations Floor Plans Building Section Tree Removal and Preservation Plan Tree Inventory Report and Plan Landscape Plan Restoration Plan Environmental Impact Study Erosion and Sediment Control Plan Servicing Plan Grading Plan Harris Avenue Construction Plans Construction Notes and Details Functional Servicing and Stormwater Management Report Phase One Environmental Site Assessment Noise Feasibility Study Preliminary Hydrogeological Investigation Transportation Study Sustainability Metrics Zoning By-Law Amendment Application The subject lands are zoned Urban (UR) Zone under By-law Number 128-04, as amended (refer to Map 4) and the UR zone acknowledges existing buildings and permits a single detached dwelling, bed and breakfast establishments, public transportation, infrastructure and utilities. The proposed townhouse development is not permitted under the UR Zone. The Zoning By-law Amendment application seeks to rezone the subject lands to Multiple Residential One (RM1) Zone under By-law No. 235-97, as amended, and to establish appropriate site specific development standards. Planning Analysis Other information, plans, studies and or comments are reported below: Town of Richmond Hill Official Plan The subject lands are designated Regional Mixed Use Corridor, Neighbourhood and Natural Core in accordance with Schedule A2 (Land Use) of the Town s Official Plan 42
Town of Richmond Hill Council Public Meeting Date of Meeting: September 27, 2017 Report Number: SRPRS.17.134 Page 5 (refer to Map 3). In consideration of the policies of this Plan which are relevant to the consideration of the proposed development, staff provides the following preliminary comments: medium density residential uses such as low rise townhouses are permitted in the Regional Mixed Use Corridor and Neighbourhood designations subject to the policies of Sections 4.6.1 and 4.9.1.2, respectively; the maximum permitted site densities under the Regional Mixed Use Corridor and the Neighbourhood designations are 2.0 Floor Space Index (FSI) and 50 units per hectare, respectively; for the portion of the lands designated Neighbourhood, Policy 4.9.1.2.2 directs that medium density residential uses may be permitted on lands that have frontage on Harris Avenue, a local street, in proximity to existing medium density residential development as identified as part of a priority infill area under Policy 4.9.1.1(1); the subject lands are located within the Harris Beech priority infill area pursuant to Policy 4.9.1.1(1)(j) and the Council approved Harris Beech Infill Study, November 2013 (the Study) would apply and is discussed in a subsequent section of this report; and, the lands are designated Settlement Area under the OP and the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan (ORMCP) and are subject to the policies in Section 3.2.1.1. Amongst the policies, the proposal constitutes major development and the lands are further designated Landform Conservation Area Category 2. The proposal must demonstrate how it meets the applicable policies for same. Where it is determined that the lands contain a landform character, the limits of same would constitute lands designated Natural Core. In this regard, development and site alteration is prohibited in the Natural Core designation and is not included in the calculation of site density. Harris Beech Infill Study, November 2013 The subject lands are located within the Harris Beech Infill Study, November 2013 (the Study) which was approved by Council in December 2013. The guiding principles in the Study are to provide for compatible development, leadership in urban design and create walkable streets and people places. It sets out four development scenarios to illustrate how the area could be redeveloped over time. The following are staff s preliminary comments: In Scenarios A to D (refer to Map 5 for Scenario A), the subject lands are depicted as mixed-use, medium density and natural feature; within the mixed-use area, townhouse built form is an appropriate form of transition between low density residential uses and denser forms of development on Yonge Street; 43
Town of Richmond Hill Council Public Meeting Date of Meeting: September 27, 2017 Report Number: SRPRS.17.134 Page 6 within the medium density area, medium density housing forms include street townhouse, lane accessed townhouse and back-to-back townhouse dwelling types. The proposal provides for lane accessed townhouses and more traditional form of townhouse units with access from a private driveway system and Harris Avenue, and would be in keeping with the findings of the Study; the study directs for a minimum unit width of 6 metres and a maximum building height of three storeys. The proposal would meet these findings; and, the applicant has submitted an ORMCP conformity statement and Environmental Impact Statement, which among other matters serves to address the natural feature area identified in the Infill Study. Staff is presently reviewing these supporting documents. Department and External Agency Comments The subject applications and the associated background studies and reports submitted in support of same have been circulated to various Town departments and external agencies for their review and comment. With the exception of the Development Planning comments contained herein, the comments have been forwarded to the applicant for consideration and have not been appended to this report. The following is a summary of the comments received as of the time of writing of this report. Development Planning Division Further to planning comments in the preceding section of this report, staff provides the following preliminary comments on the plans and reports submitted in support of the proposal: the applicant has submitted a draft Zoning By-law Amendment in support of the proposed development. The amendment proposes to rezone the lands to the RM1 Zone under By-law No. 235-97, as amended. This is an appropriate zone category and parent Zoning By-law as other similar developments in the area has been rezoned to same. Further, the draft amendment proposes a number of site specific development standards to implement the proposal. Staff will continue to work with the applicant to finalize a final form of the by-law in accordance with the Town s standards including among other matters the following: a defined term for the proposed rear lane townhouse; a maximum unit count; appropriate parking requirements including visitor parking and bicycle parking, where applicable; and, development standards related to matters such as minimum lot area to facilitate the future parcels of tied lands. as noted previously, if it is determined that a landform character exists on the subject lands, development and site alteration will need to be directed away from same. In this regard, the proposed development would be subject to a redesign; 44
Town of Richmond Hill Council Public Meeting Date of Meeting: September 27, 2017 Report Number: SRPRS.17.134 Page 7 the submitted Site Plan depicts a walkway connection to the lands to the south. The applicant is to clarify the nature of the proposed connection and the feasibility of this connection given the grade differences in the area. If approved, an access easement would be required over the proposed walkway in favour of the abutting lands; the submitted Site Plan is to be revised as follows: depict the limit of the Regional Mixed Use Corridor and Neighbourhood designations on the subject lands; denote the FSI for the portion of the development within the Regional Mixed Use Corridor designation; denote the units per hectare (UPH) for the portion of the development within the Neighbourhood designation; depict the required number of disabled parking spaces pursuant to the Town s requirements; denote the Ontario Building Code classification; denote proposed setbacks from Blocks 7 and 8 to the southerly lot lines; depict any curbs, sidewalks and trees (if any) in the Harris Avenue right-of-way (ROW); depict location of all adjacent (existing and proposed) access points and intersections on both sides of the ROW; the notation street centerline for the proposed driveway is to be revised to denote driveway centerline ; and, depict locations of all easements including the required servicing easement identified by Development Engineering staff. the proposal is subject to a Private Street Naming application to facilitate the addressing of the townhouse units. The approved street name is to be depicted on the Site Plan accordingly; the building elevations are to be revised as follows: depict the front, rear and side elevations for each of the blocks and denote the direction of view (north, south, east and west); the building heights dimensioned on the building elevations are to be in accordance with the definition of height under By-law No. 235-97, as amended; the applicant is to clarify the locations of the privacy fencing proposed for Blocks 2 and 6 as it is unclear on the landscape plan; the applicant is to note that the Town s standard parking space dimensions are 2.75 metres by 5.8 metres. The submitted floor plans denote the parking space width as 2.6 metres. In this regard, the proposal is to be revised to comply with the minimum required width in order to achieve two parking spaces per unit; and, 45
Town of Richmond Hill Council Public Meeting Date of Meeting: September 27, 2017 Report Number: SRPRS.17.134 Page 8 the proposed draft Plan of Subdivision, Town File Number D03-17004 (refer to Map 9), proposes to create blocks one to eight intended for the townhouse blocks which would become parcels of tied lands to a future common element condominium. Proposed block nine is intended for the lands in a future common element condominium and would include the private road, walkways and landscaped areas as proposed in the draft Plan of Condominium, Town File Number D05-17005 (refer to Map 10). Where Council approves the proposed draft plan of subdivision, blocks four to eight would be separately conveyable parcels without frontage onto a municipal street and would be landlocked until such time as the common element condominium is registered. Staff notes that restrictions must be placed on title to restrict the separate conveyance of these blocks as a condition of approval of the draft Plan of Subdivision. Further, the applicant must ensure that the proposed block limits are consistent with the proposed limits of the common element condominium and the parcels of tied lands as depicted on the draft Plan of Condominium. A separate staff report pertaining to the draft Plan of Condominium will be presented at a future Committee of the Whole meeting for Council s consideration. Development Engineering Division Development Engineering staff has reviewed the proposed draft Plan of Subdivision and have provided conditions of approval for same. In addition to technical comments pertaining to matters related to hydrogeology, grading, servicing, stormwater management and erosion and sediment control, staff noted the following: a subdivision agreement will not be required; the owner will be required to enter into a servicing agreement as a condition of site plan approval for the proposed road and servicing improvements on Harris Avenue and the construction of a municipal storm sewer within the subject lands; and, the owner is to establish an easement in favour of the Town for the proposed storm sewer to be located within the subject lands. Parks and Natural Heritage Planning Section Parks staff has reviewed the proposal and has provided comments pertaining to the retention of the natural area depicted in the Study, replacement tree planting, tree preservation, snow storage, planting species, adequate soil volume, and discrepancies found amongst the plans that are to be addressed in the next submission of revised plans and reports. Urban Design Section Staff has reviewed the proposal and has provided comments regarding the proposed site layout and building design. Region of York, Community Planning and Development Services Regional staff has reviewed the proposal and requested clarification regarding details depicted on the submitted servicing plan. As of the writing of this report, conditions of draft approval pertaining to the draft Plans of Subdivision and Condominium have yet to be received from the Region. 46
Town of Richmond Hill Council Public Meeting Date of Meeting: September 27, 2017 Report Number: SRPRS.17.134 Page 9 Other Town Departments and External Agency Comments Comments have also been received from the Town s Financial Services Division Development Section, Community Services Department, Bell Canada, York Region District School Board, York Catholic District School Board, Powerstream, Enbridge and Rogers Communications. Outstanding Town Department and External Agency Comments As of the writing of this report, comments remain outstanding from Fire and Emergency Services Division, Building Services Division, and the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority. Interim Growth Management Strategy: Council has approved a comprehensive strategy comprised of eight growth management eligibility criteria and the process for bringing forward development applications once they are supportable from a planning standpoint. The criteria focus on the means of assessing and prioritizing development applications for receipt of servicing allocation. On February 24, 2014, Council adopted the recommendations of Staff Report SRPRS.14.004 with respect to threshold scores for the implementation of the Town's Sustainability Metrics. Council directed that staff use the threshold scores to ensure that a consistent performance level is met as part of the review of IGMS Criteria Number 5 (Sustainable and Innovative Community and Building Design). Staff has reviewed the Sustainability Metrics submitted in support of the proposed development and notes the following: the proposal achieves a score of 13 points out of 98 points for the application. A score ranging from 32-45 points represents a good score being the minimum threshold for the consideration of servicing allocation. The applicant is to consider implementation of other metrics to meet a good score in order to be considered for servicing allocation; the applicant must submit a map denoting the requisite radii and amenities, in order to demonstrate how metrics 1.B.2, 1.I.2, 2.B.1 and 2.D.1 have been met; the applicant is to note that metrics 1.A.2, 1.C.1 and 4.A.2 (Part 3) are not applicable to the proposed development; the applicant is to address metric 1.J.1 which is applicable as the subject lands are adjacent to a natural heritage feature, and, the applicant must update the requisite plans and/or reports to depict the required details to satisfy metrics 1.C.2, 1.C.4, 2.A.1, 2.E.1, 3.C.1, 4.A.2 (Part 1), 4.C.2, 4.C.3, 4.E.2 and 4.E.3. The applicant is to refer to the accompanying glossary to the metrics for instructions regarding the type of information to depict in the plans and/or reports. A response letter directing staff to the information is to be submitted in support of the revised plans and reports. Further, please ensure that the plans forming the future Site Plan agreement depict the information as required in the glossary for the agreed upon metrics. 47
Town of Richmond Hill Council Public Meeting Date of Meeting: September 27, 2017 Report Number: SRPRS.17.134 Page 10 Financial/Staffing/Other Implications: The recommendation does not have any financial, staffing or other implications. Relationship to the Strategic Plan: An evaluation of how the subject development proposal aligns with the goals of the Town s Strategic Plan will be provided following a comprehensive review of the application by staff. Conclusion: The purpose of this report is to provide Council and the public with an overview of the applicant s development proposal and to discuss the regulatory regime governing the evaluation of these planning applications. This report has been structured for information purposes only, with a recommendation that all comments be referred back to staff for consideration. 48
Town of Richmond Hill Council Public Meeting Date of Meeting: September 27, 2017 Report Number: SRPRS.17.134 Page 11 Appendix Contents and Maps: The following attached documents may include scanned images of appendixes, maps and photographs. If you require an alternative format please call contact person listed in this document. Appendix A, Notice of Public Meeting Appendix B, Applicant s Draft Zoning By-law Map 1 Aerial Photograph Map 2 Neighbourhood Context Map 3 Official Plan Schedule A2 Land Use Map 4 Existing Zoning Map 5 Harris Beech Infill Study Development Scenario A Map 6 Proposed Site Plan Map 7 Proposed Elevations Rear Lane (Typical) Map 8 Proposed Elevations Traditional (Typical) Map 9 Proposed Draft Plan of Subdivision Map 10 Proposed Draft Plan of Condominium 49
Town of Richmond Hill Council Public Meeting Date of Meeting: September 27, 2017 Report Number: SRPRS.17.134 Page 12 Appendix A - Notice of Public Meeting 50
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