Report To: Development Services Committee Item: Date of Report: From: Subject: DS-07-231 September 5, 2007 Commissioner, Development File: Date of Meeting: Services Department B3200-0033 September 10, 2007 Fencing and Small Accessory Buildings in Front Yards on Corner Lots in Residential Zones 1.0 PURPOSE PUBLIC REPORT Ward(s): All Wards The purpose of this report is to respond to an October 2, 2006 direction from City Council to review the zoning regulations for fencing and accessory buildings in front yards on certain corner lots in Residential Zones. The main issue is to determine whether the zoning by-law should be changed to allow higher fencing and small accessory buildings in the front yards (as defined in Zoning By-law No. 60-94) of single detached dwellings on corner lots that function as side yards because of the design/orientation of the house. 2.0 RECOMMENDATION That the Development Services Committee recommend to City Council: That the report of the Commissioner of Development Services, DS-07-231, dated September 5, 2007, be received for information. 3.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY City Council requested staff to review the zoning regulations for fencing and accessory buildings in front yards on corner lots where the front yard functions more like a side yard given the design/orientation of the house. A number of single detached dwellings in the City are located on corner lots with the front door facing the flanking street and the driveway off the flanking street. In these cases, the front yard (as defined in Zoning By-law No. 60-94) functions more like a side yard. On occasion, residents apply to the Committee of Adjustment (C. of A.) for approval to construct higher fences in these front yards to provide an enclosed private outdoor amenity area and to permit small accessory buildings in the front yard. Zoning By-law No. 60-94 restricts the height of fences and hedges to 0.9 metres (3 ft.) in the front yard and prohibits accessory buildings in front yards. The City receives very few C. of A. applications related to these types of proposals because most lots have sufficient rear yards or interior side yards to provide a reasonable outdoor amenity area. 98011-9901
Report to the Development Item: DS-07-231 Services Committee (Continued) - 2 - Meeting Date: September 10, 2007 There are a number of options that City Council can consider, however, this Department recommends that Zoning By-law No. 60-94 not be changed. This is not a significant issue and any zoning changes could impact adjacent property owners, create streetscape issues, etc. Residents should continue to apply to the C. of A. and provide their site specific justification. The C. of A. will consider each application on its merits, hear from abutting residents as appropriate and, if necessary, approve any application with reasonable conditions. This process allows the neighbours an opportunity to provide comments on the proposal during the public hearing process by the C. of A. There is no overwhelming public need to amend Zoning By-law No. 60-94. If this issue becomes a consistent problem in the future then City Council can revisit the matter. 4.0 INPUT FROM OTHER SOURCES N/A 5.0 ANALYSIS 5.1 Background on 46 Aberdeen Street On July 4, 2006, Christina and William Passfield submitted an application to the C. of A. for their property at 46 Aberdeen Street to maintain a 1.83 metre (6.0 ft.) high fence in part of the front yard whereas Zoning By-law No. 60-94 only permits a maximum fence height of 0.9 metres (3.0 ft.) in the front yard of a R1-C (Residential) Zone. Exhibit No. 1 is a map showing the location of 46 Aberdeen Street and the zoning in the area. Exhibit No. 2 is a copy of the site plan submitted by the applicant with the C. of A. application for 46 Aberdeen Street illustrating the location of the dwelling and the fence. 46 Aberdeen Street is located at the northeast corner of Aberdeen Street and Masson Street. The existing single detached dwelling was constructed in 1915. The front door of the house faces Aberdeen Street which is a flanking street. The driveway to the house is off of Aberdeen Street. According to Zoning By-law No. 60-94, the front yard for this property abuts Masson Street. The front yard (portion between the house and Masson Street) functions more like a side yard since the front door of the house faces Aberdeen Street. The rear yard, according to Zoning By-law No. 60-94, is on the east side of the lot and only has a depth of approximately 3 metres (10 ft.) between the garage and the east property line. Therefore, the only reasonable outdoor amenity area is located in the front yard. On July 26, 2006, the C. of A. approved the subject application and it was not appealed to the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB).
Report to the Development Item: DS-07-231 Services Committee (Continued) - 3 - Meeting Date: September 10, 2007 By letter dated September 18, 2006 the Passfields requested a refund of the C. of A. application fee they paid. They felt that the front yard fencing regulations in Zoning Bylaw No. 60-94 should not apply to their property given the size of the lot, the age of the house and the orientation of the house. On October 2, 2006, City Council approved a refund of the application fee and directed staff to review the zoning regulations for fencing and accessory buildings in front yards (as defined in Zoning By-law No. 60-94) that function as side yards given the design/orientation of the house on a corner lot. 5.2 Zoning By-law No. 60-94 According to Zoning By-law No. 60-94, a fence or hedge cannot exceed a height of 0.9 metres (3 ft.) in a front yard. A fence or hedge cannot exceed a height of 2.2 metres (7.2 ft.) in the exterior side yard and a portion of the rear yard abutting a flanking street. Additional restrictions relate to fencing and hedges in driveway and corner sight triangles. Exhibit No. 3 provides an illustration of the maximum fence and hedge heights permitted on a corner lot according to Zoning By-law No. 60-94. Accessory buildings are not permitted in front yards. Small accessory buildings not exceeding 10 square metres (107 sq. ft.) of ground floor area and 2.0 metres (6.5 ft.) in height may be located in the required minimum exterior side yard and a portion of the rear yard close to the street line. 5.3 Options 5.3.1 General There are a number of options that City Council can consider concerning this matter. The following Options relate only to single detached dwellings on corner lots in all Residential Zones. The single detached dwelling must have a front door that faces the flanking street and a driveway off the flanking street in the rear yard or exterior side yard. Under all Options the existing provisions for driveway and corner sight triangles would remain unchanged for safety reasons. 5.3.2 Option 1: Do Nothing Under this option, Zoning By-law No. 60-94 would not be amended. Property owners would continue to apply to the C. of A. for an increased fence height or to permit an accessory building in the front yard. The City receives very few applications for increased fence heights in front yards on corner lots that function more like side yards (4 applications in the last 5 years).
Report to the Development Item: DS-07-231 Services Committee (Continued) - 4 - Meeting Date: September 10, 2007 The City received only 1 application for an accessory building in part of a front yard on a corner lot in the last 5 years. Any C. of A. application would be reviewed on its merits and neighbours would have the opportunity to provide comments on the proposal at a public hearing. Neighbours have provided comments both in support and against previous C. of A. applications for increased fence height in front yards. The C. of A. can also apply reasonable conditions for any approval. Any person can appeal the C. of A. decision to the OMB. The applicant would need to justify to the C. of A. the need for the additional fence height or an accessory building in the front yard. One legitimate reason for additional fence height would be insufficient rear yard to provide a reasonable private outdoor amenity area. The C. of A. can deal with unique cases, such as 46 Aberdeen Street, where the front yard is clearly part of the usable private outdoor amenity area given the small rear yard area. This is the recommended Option. If the issue becomes a problem in the future on a regular and consistent basis then City Council can revisit the matter. 5.3.3 Option 2: Permit Higher Fencing/Hedging and Small Accessory Buildings in a Portion of the Front Yard Under this Option, Zoning By-law No. 60-94 would be amended to permit a 2.2 metre (7.2 ft.) high fence/hedge and a small accessory building (not exceeding 10 square metres of ground floor area or 2 metres in height) only in that portion of the front yard located generally between the house and the front lot line. Under this Option, the permitted fence height in the exterior side yard would be reduced from 2.2 metres (7.2 ft.) to 0.9 metres (3 ft.) and accessory buildings would not be permitted in the exterior side yard. Exhibit No. 4 provides an illustration of the proposed regulations for fences and hedges under this Option. Permitting this type of fencing/hedging in the front yard is really unnecessary if the home has a large enough rear yard. The additional as-of-right fencing would not promote a high quality streetscape. If City Council wants to amend Zoning By-law No. 60-94 then this option is recommended since it will maintain a view of the front of the house from the street corner while providing an opportunity for an enclosed outdoor amenity area.
Report to the Development Item: DS-07-231 Services Committee (Continued) - 5 - Meeting Date: September 10, 2007 5.3.4 Option 3: Permit Higher Fencing/Hedging and Small Accessory Buildings in all of the Front Yard This Option is similar to Option 2 except the higher fencing/hedging and small accessory buildings would be permitted in the entire front yard, excluding the corner sight triangle. Exhibit No. 5 provides an illustration of the proposed regulations for fences and hedges under this Option. This Option is not recommended since the additional fencing would block the view of the front of the house from the street corner and the additional as-of-right fencing would not promote a high quality streetscape. 6.0 FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS Any amendments to Zoning By-law No. 60-94 should be processed during the next round of technical amendments to reduce any costs. There will be certain staff and advertising costs if City Council decides to amend Zoning By-law No. 60-94. 7.0 RESPONSE TO THE COMMUNITY STRATEGIC PLAN The Recommendation advances Goal C (Caring and Responsive Community) by increasing public input and engagement on site specific C. of A. applications. Thomas B. Hodgins, B.E.S., M.A., RPP, Commissioner Development Services Department RB/c Attachments
R CONNAUGH R1-C R1-C(2) MARY ST N SUTHERLAND R1-C ABERDEEN R1-C ST K:\Exhibits\07Aug\exhibits\46AberdeenSt_Ex1.mxd\02-08-07 DR SO-A(5) "h-36" AL CT SIMCOE ST N R6-C MASSON ST R6-B/ CIN R6-B R5-A ST N R2 AVE KINGSDALE R2 ROS Exhibit No. 1 DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT SIMCOE ST N HILLCROFT ST PARK RD N ADELAIDE AVE E Subject Site BOND ST W CENTRE ST N RITSON RD N
K:\Exhibits\07Aug\exhibits\46AberdeenSt.ai\07-08-07 Existing 1.83 Metres (6 ft) high fence Front Door Driveway Exhibit No. 2 N Subject Site City of Oshawa DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT
Driveway 3.0 m Driveway Sight Triangle K:\exhibits\07Aug\exhibits\46AberdeenSt_Ex3.ai\28-08-07 Fence or hedge: maximum height 0.9 m No fence or hedge height limit Fence or hedge maximum height 2.2 m Dwelling Unit Minimum Required Exterior Side Yard Depth Fence, or plant 0.9 m maximum height above grade of centre line of streets Actual Exterior Side Yard Lot Line Corner Sight Triangle 6.0 m FLANKING STREET 6.0 m Defining Angle IMPROVED STREET Option 1 Exhibit No. 3 N City of Oshawa DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT
2.2 m high fence/hedge and small accessory buildings K:\exhibits\07Aug\exhibits\46AberdeenSt_Ex4.ai\28-08-07 Fence or hedge: maximum height 0.9 m Driveway No fence or hedge height limit Fence or hedge maximum height 2.2 m Dwelling Unit Front Door 0.9 m high fence/hedge and no accessory buildings Fence, or plant 0.9 m maximum height above grade of centre line of streets Lot Line 2.2 m high fence/hedge and small accessory buildings Corner Sight Triangle FLANKING STREET IMPROVED STREET Option 2 Exhibit No. 4 N City of Oshawa DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT
2.2 m high fence/hedge and small accessory buildings K:\exhibits\07Aug\exhibits\46AberdeenSt_Ex5.ai\28-08-07 Fence or hedge: maximum height 0.9 m Driveway No fence or hedge height limit Fence or hedge maximum height 2.2 m Dwelling Unit Front Door 0.9 m high fence/hedge and no accessory buildings Fence, or plant 0.9 m maximum height above grade of centre line of streets Lot Line Corner Sight Triangle FLANKING STREET 2.2 m high fence/hedge and small accessory buildings IMPROVED STREET Option 3 Exhibit No. 5 N City of Oshawa DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT