PLANNING RATIONALE REPORT 351 CROYDON - SITE PLAN APPLICATION CITY OF OTTAWA PREPARED BY: P H ROBINSON CONSULTING JULY 2017
This report has been prepared on behalf of Urban Structure Properties Ltd in support of a Site Plan Control Application for their lands at 351 Croydon Avenue in Ottawa. The legal description of the property is Lot 47, Registered Plan 348, City of Ottawa (see survey plan in Appendix). The property is located on the east side of Croydon Avenue between Carling Avenue and Richmond Road (see Location Plan in Appendix) in close proximity to Lincoln Fields Shopping Centre. The surrounding land uses are primarily commercial and multi unit residential. The subject lands have approximately 15 metres of frontage (50 ) on the east side of Croydon Avenue and a depth of approximately 30 metres (100 ). Full sized copies of the survey plan are being filed as part of the site plan application. The property has been the location of some food trucks and has also been used for parking at the Lincoln Fields Shopping Centre. Prior to 2008, the lands were owned by the Regional Municipality of Ottawa Carleton and the City of Ottawa and had been in their ownership since the mid 1970 s due to the Richmond Road reconstruction project. The intent of the site plan application is to build a 3 storey plus basement 8 unit rental residential with a ground floor area of 107 m2 and a total floor area of 682 m2 (see Appendix for site plan and architectural elevation drawings). The maximum building height of the project is 11 m. The project calls for 5 parking spaces in total and they will all be located to the rear of the proposed building. The parking requirement for a development of this scale would be 4 parking spaces based on a calculated rate of 0.5 spaces/unit Landscaped areas will be provided in the front yard between the front lot line along Croydon and the front wall of the new building and also along the side lot lines between the driveway and north lot line and the south wall of the building and the south lot line. The landscaped areas equal approximately 93 m2 which is approximately equal to 20% of the total property. Currently, the site does not have any natural vegetation or formal landscaping and is almost completely occupied by asphalt. The proposed 3 storey residential building will accommodate 8 dwelling units consisting of 4-1 bedroom and 4-2 bedroom rental units. One unit located on the main level will offer full barrier free accessibility. The proposed well-defined access to the building entrance is offered from both the front and the rear of the building complete with an integrated accessible ramp. The site has 5 surface
parking stalls located at the rear of the property that are accessible via a driving aisle alongside the north of the property. The garbage generated by the tenants will be handled and stored in a dedicated room located at the lower level. Balconies equipped with glass guardrails are proposed for the upper front and rear units. The proposed architectural massing is defined by integrated extruded boxes enhanced by upper floor volumes that offset and overhang above the building lower level footprint. The proposed exterior finishes will consist of stone veneer at the lower levels with portions extending up along the upper floors. The upper fields of cladding will consist of horizontally applied planks and uniform panels, in both cases, the field cladding application will be interrupted with fine and coarse metal accent trims. Traffic The property will have 5 parking spaces for the 8 unit building. The property is well served by OC Transpo due to its proximity to Carling Avenue, Richmond Road and Lincoln Heights Shopping Centre. Bus routes #11, 16, 97 and 153 all provide service on nearby streets with some routes serving the existing bus stop along the frontage of the property. As a result, it is expected that the overall expected traffic on site will be adequately accommodated by the 5 parking spaces on site and the addition of 8 rental units on Croydon will have no noticeable impact on traffic patterns on the street and surrounding areas. Zoning Under Zoning By-law 2008-250 the subject lands are zoned AM (Arterial Main Street Zone). This is a zone which permits low rise apartment units, townhouses, stacked dwellings, commercial, industrial, industrial/commercial, office and warehouse uses. The subject property is in the same zoning category as the nearby Lincoln Fields shopping centre. The following are the key AM zone provisions and how the proposed development meets these requirements.
REQUIREMENT PROVIDED Minimum front yard setback 3 m 3 m Minimum interior side yard no minimum 3 m Minimum rear yard 7.5 m 24.9 m Maximum Building Height 30 m 11 m Parking 4 spaces 5 spaces The design of the building respects the current zoning regulations in effect. Official Plan Designation City of Ottawa Official Plan The site is designated General Urban Area in the Urban Policy Plan of the City of Ottawa Official Plan. Lands in the General Urban Area designation permit all types and densities of housing As per Section 4.11.2 of the Official Plan development applications are evaluated on a series of compatibility criteria. These include criteria related to traffic, vehicular access, parking, outdoor amenity areas, loading areas/outdoor storage, lighting, noise/air quality and sunlight/shadowing Traffic - Surrounding roads have the appropriate capacity for this relatively small scale project. Vehicular Access - The vehicular access is along the north edge of the property in one driveway and provides safe access to all parking spaces which are to the rear of the property and are screened from the street. Parking - The proposed number of parking spaces exceeds the zoning requirements. Outdoor amenity areas - The units will have their own balcony and there are some ground level amenity areas at the edge of the parking area and at the rear of the building. Lighting - exterior lighting will be directed to avoid spillover onto adjacent properties
Noise/Air Quality - the development is not expected to create any undue impacts on adjacent properties. A noise study has been prepared and is part of the Site Plan submission and this noise study makes recommendations to mitigate existing noise levels due to the proximity to nearby arterial roads. Sunlight/Shadowing. Due to the relatively low height of the property and the fact that there are no nearby windows on other buildings in close proximity on adjacent properties there won t be any shadowing impacts as a result of this development The proposed use of the property as a rental residential development complies with the Official Plan designation for the property. Conclusions The proposed development of a new 3 storey plus basement rental low rise apartment building at 351 Croydon is consistent with the current zoning and Official Plan policies for the lands. The site represents a development that will allow for: a well designed contemporary rental building that will be located along an established road that will enhance the area parking that serves the proposed uses a new development that meets current zoning regulations buffering through setbacks to adjacent properties. a development of the property that will contribute to the overall intensification of this section of Croydon through a sensitive development. Through the site plan process there are a number of key engineering studies and drawings required in support of the development. These studies show that the site can be serviced through existing service connections along Croydon. The overall site drainage and grading has been designed based on current City guidelines. Landscaping will be provided along the front and side lot lines to provide screening and buffering to adjacent properties. The proposed entrance along the north edge of the frontage will be used by residents with vehicles. It is our opinion that the proposed development is consistent with the City of
Ottawa Official Plan and Zoning By-law policies and regulations. It is being proposed at an appropriate scale of development and will enhance this section of Croydon Avenue. Should you have any questions or require anything further, please do not hesitate to contact the undersigned at (613) 599 9216 or via email at probinson@probinsonconsulting.com P H Robinson Consulting Paul Robinson RPP
APPENDIX SITE LOCATION, SITE SURVEY, SITE PLAN ARCHITECTURAL DRAWINGS AND LANDSCAPING PLAN
P. H. Robinson Consulting Location Plan