Report to/Rapport au :

Planning and Environment Committee

Comité de l'urbanisme et de l'environnement

and Council / et au Conseil

13 October 2005 / le 13 octobre 2005

Submitted by/Soumis par : Ned Lathrop, Deputy City Manager/

Directeur municipal adjoint,

Planning and Growth Management / Urbanisme et Gestion de la croissance

Contact Person/Personne ressource : Grant Lindsay, Manager / Gestionnaire

Development Approvals / Approbation des demandes d'aménagement

(613) 580-2424 x13242, Grant.Lindsay@ottawa.ca

Knoxdale-Merivale (9)

Ref N°: ACS2005-PGM-APR-0241

SUBJECT:

OFFICIAL PLAN and zoning -

519 West Hunt Club Road and 1800 Merivale Road

File Nos. D01-01-03-0012 & D02-02-03-0083

OBJET :

PLAN OFFICIEL et zonage -

519, chemin hunt club ouest et 1800, chemin merivale

Dossiers n^os. d01-01-03-0012 et d02-02-03-0083

REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS

That the Planning and Environment Committee recommend Council approve:

1. An amendment to the former City of Nepean Official Plan to amend the policies within the Special Commercial Policy Area designation for the lands located on the northwest corner of West Hunt Club Road and Merivale Road, as detailed in Document 2.

2. An amendment to the former City of Nepean Zoning By-law to change the zoning provisions for the MS Block 4, MS Block 5, MS Block 6 and MS Block 10 zones and to rezone 519 West Hunt Club Road and 1800 Merivale Road from MS to MS Block XX Exception zone as shown in Document 1 and detailed in Document 3.

RECOMMANDATIONS DU RAPPORT

Que le Comité de l’urbanisme et de l’environnement recommande au Conseil d’approuver :

1. une modification au Plan officiel de l’ancienne Ville de Nepean ayant pour objet de changer les politiques régissant les zones commerciales spéciales pour ce qui concerne les terrains situés à l’angle nord-ouest du chemin Hunt Club Ouest et du chemin Merivale, comme le précise le document 2.

2. une modification au Règlement de zonage de l’ancienne Ville de Nepean visant à modifier les dispositions de zonage relatives aux zones MS Pièce 4, MS Pièce 5, MS Pièce 6 et MS Pièce 10 et à faire passer le zonage des propriétés situées aux 519, chemin Hunt Club Ouest et 1800, chemin Merivale, de MS à MS Pièce XX (zone d’exception), comme l’illustre le document 1 et le précise le document 3.

BACKGROUND

The subject property is located on the northwest corner of Merivale and West Hunt Club Roads and is approximately 11.8 hectares in size. Historically, the subject property was part of a low‑intensity industrial area with poor vehicular access. However, with the construction of the Hunt Club Extension, it became a property on the corner of two arterial roadways. With this new visibility and access, it is now the location of a "Big Box" shopping centre known as the Crossroads Centre. While this development is divided by a number of property ownerships, it has been constructed to function as one "Big Box" shopping centre and as such, the Department's recommendations apply to the entire site. Access to the property is provided from both West Hunt Club and Merivale Roads.

The former City of Nepean Official Plan was amended in 1993 (Official Plan Amendment 26) to designate the subject and surrounding properties as Special Commercial Policy Area. This was done in response to commercial development pressures resulting from the Hunt Club Road Extension. This designation contains specific policies designed to govern the development of these lands. These regulations prohibit certain types of uses while permitting retail warehouse uses subject to specific performance standards, such as minimum size restrictions. For example, food retailing, department stores and stores that sell pharmaceuticals are not permitted. Retail warehouse uses must have a minimum gross floor area of 465 square metres and one retail warehouse must have a minimum gross floor area of 7,432 square metres.

These uses and size restrictions were specifically included as policies in the Official Plan and regulations in the Zoning By-law so that this area would develop as a "Big Box" shopping centre and would not compete with the traditional retail development located to the north of the subject property, along Merivale Road. Department Stores, food and pharmaceutical retailing and small retail warehouses were excluded to help ensure the intersection played a Regional role and not merely that of serving the surrounding neighbourhood. The cumulative total of the commercial development on the lands located on the northwest quadrant of the Merivale-West Hunt Club Road intersection and having this designation, is not to exceed 35 000 square metres of retail gross leasable area. Any Amendment to the Zoning By-law to include additional uses is to require a traffic and market analysis. The applicant is requesting an amendment to the former City of Nepean Official Plan and Zoning By-law to permit uses having a floor area smaller than 465 square metres as well as to permit uses such as a department store, a retail store and the sale of groceries and pharmaceuticals.

DISCUSSION

Rationale

Council Approved Official Plan

The City's new Official Plan designates the majority of the subject property as General Urban Area with the lands along Merivale Road having an Arterial Mainstreet designation. Properties having the General Urban Area Designation are to be developed with either residential uses or non-residential uses that meet the everyday needs of the residents, including shopping, schools, recreation and services. These policies indicate that shopping centres under 50,000 square metres but over 10,000 square metres should be located on an arterial or major collector roadway capable of handling the anticipated traffic generated and where frequent all-day transit service is provided. Existing or proposed building orientation, massing and design and the presence of mitigating circumstances such as distance, changes in topography, or the presence of natural features may be taken into account. Proposed commercial uses are to have a minimal effect on surrounding residential lands.

As indicated, the subject property is located at the corner of two arterial roads. A traffic study prepared for the proposed Official Plan and Zoning By-law amendments indicates that approval of these applications would not result in additional development that will create a traffic concern. It should be indicated that while additional permitted uses are being proposed, the overall commercial development potential of the lands with this designation is not being increased beyond the present cap of 35,000 square metres. As well, the traffic typically generated from commercial uses presently permitted and those proposed are not significantly different. This traffic study has been reviewed by staff, who agree with its conclusions. Consequently, the proposed Official Plan and Zoning modifications are not expected to represent a significant increase in traffic, as compared to the traffic that could be generated under present circumstances.

As the proposed uses are to be located within the present boundaries of the Crossroads Centre and this proposal will not result in expansion of this area, the proposed uses are not expected to be invasive to the residential neighbourhood located to the north and therefore should have a minimal impact on this neighbourhood, as indicated by the policies.

In addition to the General Urban Area designation, along Merivale Road, the subject property is designated as Arterial Mainstreet. The type of development anticipated on lands with this designation is a compact form of development that is pedestrian oriented, with buildings being located close to the street. Development along Arterial Mainstreets is to occur in a way that facilitates the gradual transition to a more intensive urban pattern of land use. The proposal to allow additional uses and not restricting their minimum size will provide the opportunity for filling in the Merivale Road frontage of the property. While there are buildings located along this street frontage, infilling of the empty areas with buildings having an orientation towards Merivale Road can only be accomplished by smaller structures. Consequently, approval of these applications will allow development that conforms with the intent of the Arterial Mainstreet designation.

In addition to the policies mentioned above, development must also conform to the compatibility policies contained within the City Council Approved Official Plan. These are located in sections 2.5.1 and 4.11. Section 2.5.1 relates to the built form and design of buildings as well as open spaces. While these issues are more appropriately dealt with through the Site Plan Control Process, Section 4.11 contains a list of policies to evaluate the appropriateness of development proposals. As with Section 2.5.1, some of these policies are best addressed through the Site Plan Control Process, however, there are others that are applicable to the proposed Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendments.

In this regard, surrounding roads should have sufficient capacity to accommodate the anticipated traffic generated. Uses that generate a large quantity of traffic should be located along an arterial or a major collector roadway and minimize the amount of traffic that would arrive at the development by infiltrating local roads. As the subject Official Plan and Zoning By-law amendment will permit uses that will be located on lands having access to two arterial roadways, it is anticipated that traffic travelling to the site will use these roads, as opposed to the surrounding local streets. There is no direct access to the subject property via surrounding local streets. As well, since the "Big Box" shopping centre exists and there are approximately 660 vehicle trips to the site at the peak time and this has not been a significant problem in the past, it is not expected to become a problem in the future.

As the proposal does not represent an increase in the development potential of the property or an expansion beyond the present boundary of the site, the proposal conforms with existing performance standards as it satisfies policies related to the provision of adequate parking, building height and massing and shadowing. It is important to note that there are no size restrictions for specific uses in the General Urban Area or Arterial Mainstreet designations in the City's New Official Plan, nor are there policies that prohibit specific types of commercial retail uses, while permitting others.

Former City of Nepean Official Plan

The former City of Nepean Official Plan designates the subject property and the lands on the opposite side of Merivale Road as Special Commercial Policy Area. For the subject property, this designation has certain restrictions, which are echoed in the various zonings applying to the property. These restrictions include prohibiting department stores, the sale of groceries and pharmaceutical products as well as establishing specific gross floor area requirements. As mentioned in the background of this report, these uses and size restrictions were specifically included in the Official Plan and Zoning so that this area would develop as a "Big Box" development and would not compete with the traditional retail development located to the north of the subject property, along Merivale Road. Department Stores, stores that sell groceries and pharmaceutical products as well as small retailers were excluded to help ensure the intersection played a Regional role and not a neighbourhood-oriented role. Amendments to the present zoning would only be contemplated if an applicant prepared a traffic study and market analysis to accompany their proposal. As part of this Official Plan and Zoning, the applicant has prepared these documents. As mentioned in this submission, the traffic anticipated to be generated is not expected to be a concern, as the overall development potential of the lands in the Special Commercial Policy Area is not increased.

The market analysis, prepared for this proposal indicates that the Merivale Corridor is presently a healthy commercial shopping strip having a vacancy rate of less than three per cent. Furthermore, the proposal will result in a very small addition to the space inventory along Merivale Road and should not result in the deterioration of the economic viability of the Merivale corridor. The study also indicates that in other "Big Box" developments across the City, the size of most of the uses is less than 465 square metres and that these are typically populated with all types of retail commercial uses, including grocery stores, department stores and pharmaceutical stores.

Allowing uses that are below a certain size restriction can still provide for uses that serve a wider area than just the local community. Buildings of a smaller size can contain specialized uses that draw clientele from across the region and given the positive Locational characteristics of being on two arterial roadways, the site is easily accessible from across the region. As well, smaller buildings can be occupied by uses (e.g. a café) that would supply a service to workers and people who have travelled to the shopping centre for other reasons.

Consequently, while the former City of Nepean Official Plan and Zoning By-law established policies and zoning to protect the Merivale Road commercial strip to the north, the studies prepared have indicated that the applicant's proposal will have only a negligible impact on this commercial area.

Lands to the South

It should be mentioned that on November 24, 2004, City Council approved an amendment to the Official Plan of the former City of Nepean, as well as a complementary rezoning, to allow identical uses on the lands located on the southwest corner of Merivale and West Hunt Club Roads. The reasons mentioned in that staff report for approval of that Official Plan and Zoning amendment are identical to those presented in this report. The new designation of these lands is Special Commercial Policy Area and that Official Plan and Zoning are now in effect.

CONSULTATION

Notice of this application was carried out in accordance with the City’s Public Notification and Consultation Policy. A circulation was undertaken to technical agencies and concerned Community Groups and an information sign was posted on-site indicating the nature of the application.

Councillor Hunter is aware of the application.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

N/A

APPLICATION PROCESS TIMELINE STATUS

The application was not processed by the "On Time Decision Date" established for the processing of Official Plan Amendments as the applicant requested that these applications be placed on hold, pending the decisions taken by City Council regarding the City's new Official Plan.

SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION

Document 1 Location Plan

Document 2 Proposed Amendment to the former City of Nepean Official Plan

Document 3 Details of Recommended Zoning

DISPOSITION

Corporate Services Department, Secretariat Services to notify the applicant, 1204325 Ontario Limited c/o Melron Property Enterprises Inc. 203-111 Colonnade Road Nepean, ON, K2E 7M3, the Agent, Lloyd Philips and Associates ltd. 14 Woodlawn Avenue Ottawa, ON, K1S 2S9. All Signs, 8692 Russell Road, Navan, ON, K4B 1J1, and the Program Manager, Assessment, Corporate Services Department of City Council's decision.

Planning and Growth Management Department to prepare the implementing by-law and forward to Legal Services Branch, and undertake the statutory notification amendment to the Zoning By‑law of the former City of Nepean.

Corporate Services Department, Legal Services to forward the implementing by-law to City Council.

Document 1

LOCATION MAP

Document 2

PROPOSED OFFICIAL PLAN AMENDMENT

Official Plan Amendment XX/Modifications du Plan

directeur XX

To the Official Plan of the former City of Nepean

Land use/

Utilisation du sol

INDEX

________________________________________________________________________

The Statement of Components.........................................................…...........................….i

PART A - THE PREAMBLE

Purpose..................................…....................................................................................…..1

Location....................................…..................................................................................….1

Basis..............................................….............................................................................…..1

PART B- THE AMENDMENT

Introductory Statement.….…..................................................…........................................2

Details of the Amendment.............................................................…..............................…3

Location Plan.............................................................…..............................…....................4

THE STATEMENT OF COMPONENTS

PART A - THE PREAMBLE, introduces the actual Amendment but does not constitute part of Amendment No. XX to the former City of Nepean Official Plan.

PART B - THE AMENDMENT, consisting of the following text and maps constitutes the actual Amendment No. XX to the former City of Nepean Official Plan.

PART A - THE PREAMBLE

1.0 Purpose

The purpose of Amendment No. XX is to amend the Special Commercial Policy Area Designation in the former City of Nepean Official Plan, as it applies to lands located on the northwest corner of Merivale and West Hunt Club Roads and known as the Crossroads Centre, to permit additional uses such as a department store, a retail store and the sale of groceries and pharmaceutical products. This amendment will also eliminate of minimum gross floor area requirements for retail warehouse uses.

2.0 Location

The lands affected by this amendment are generally located on the northwest corner of Merivale and West Hunt Club Roads.

3.0 Basis

3.1 Background

The former City of Nepean Official Plan was amended in 1993 (Official Plan Amendment 26) to designate the subject and surrounding properties as Special Commercial Policy Area. This was done in response to commercial development pressures resulting from the Hunt Club Road Extension. This designation contains specific policies designed to govern the development of these lands and protect the retail uses further to the north along Merivale Road. These policies are also established to help ensure that the development of these lands has a regional "Big Box" focus, as compared to uses that serve primarily the surrounding community.

The Official Plan policies permit retail warehouse uses subject to specific performance standards, such as minimum and maximum size restrictions and the types of uses permitted. For example, food retailing, department stores and stores that sell pharmaceuticals are not permitted. All retail warehouse uses must have a minimum floor area of 465 square metres while one retail warehouse use is permitted having a minimum floor area of 7,432 square metres. Consequently, this also acts as a cap as all other retail warehouse uses must be smaller. The gross leasable area of commercial development in the Crossroads Centre is not to exceed a total of 35,000 square metres. Any amendment to the zoning is to be evaluated in accordance with a traffic and a marketing analysis so the impact on roads and the Merivale commercial area can be established.

As a result of this Official Plan Amendment and the established complementary zoning, the Crossroads "Big Box" commercial shopping centre was constructed. The applicant now wishes to allow the uses originally prohibited through the 1993 Official Plan and Zoning and to lift the minimum size restrictions for retail warehouse uses.

3.2 Rationale

The subject property is located at the corner of two arterial roads. A traffic study prepared for the proposed Official Plan and complementary rezoning amendment indicates that approval of these applications should not result in additional development that would create a traffic concern. It should be indicated that while additional permitted uses are being proposed, the overall commercial development potential of the subject lands is not being increased. It will still be capped at 3,500 square metres. As well, the traffic typically generated from commercial uses presently permitted and those proposed are not significantly different. Consequently, the proposed Official Plan and Zoning modifications are not expected to have a significant increase in the traffic as compared to the traffic that could be generated under present circumstances, nor are they expected to have a significant impact on the capacity of the adjacent roads and their ability to carry traffic to and from the site.

The market analysis prepared for this proposal indicates that the Merivale Corridor is presently a healthy commercial shopping strip having a vacancy rate of less than three per cent. Furthermore, the proposal will result in a very small addition to the space inventory along Merivale Road and not result in the deterioration of the economic viability along the Merivale corridor. The study also indicates that in other "Big Box" developments across the City, the size of most of the uses is less than 465 square metres and that these are typically populated with all types of retail commercial uses, including department stores and the sale of groceries and pharmaceutical products.

With respect to the physical compatibility with surrounding residential uses, as the proposed uses are to be located within the present boundaries of the Crossroads Centre and not result in expansion of this area, the proposed uses should not have a detrimental effect on the residential neighbourhood located to the north.

3.3 Context of Amendment

The Department is recommending that the former City of Nepean Official Plan be amended to permit uses presently restricted by that document and the complementary zoning. The Department is also recommending that minimum size restrictions for retail warehouse uses be eliminated.

Rezoning

An amendment to the former City of Nepean's Comprehensive Zoning By-law is also being reviewed at this time. The recommended zoning complements the proposed Official Plan Modifications.

PART B - THE AMENDMENT

1.0 The Introductory Statement

All of this part of the document entitled Part B - The Amendment, consisting of the following text constitutes Amendment No. XX to the former City of Nepean Official Plan.

2.0 Details of Amendment

The former City of Nepean Official Plan is hereby amended as follows:

2.1

The following text shall be added following policy 4.7 (b) (ii):

(iii) notwithstanding the aforementioned, policy 4.7 (b)(ii) shall not apply to the portion of the Special Commercial Policy Area located on Parts of Lots 28 and 29, Concession 1 Rideau Front.

Document 3

DETAILS OF RECOMMENDED ZONING

By-law 100-2000 is amended as follows:

1. The MS Block 4 zone in clause 8:3:3 is amended by replacing the text after the second dash with the following:

- a retail warehouse that is a type of retail store wherein products are displayed and stored for sale from the premises and the maximum gross floor area for each individual retail warehouse is 7,431 square metres

- department store

- retail store

2. The MS Block 5 zone in clause 8:3:3 is amended by replacing the text after the second dash with the following:

- department store

- retail store

3. The MS Block 6 zone in clause 8:3:3 is amended by replacing the text after the second dash with the following:

- department store

- retail store

4. The MS Block 10 zone in clause 8:3:3 is amended by replacing the text after the second dash with the following:

- department store

- retail store

5a) The properties known municipally as 519 West Hunt Club Road and 1800 Merivale Road are rezoned from MS to MS Block X exception.

5b) The MS Block X exception zone is added to clause 8:3:3 and permits the following additional uses:

- department store

- retail store