Report
to/Rapport au :
Planning and Environment Committee
Comité de l'urbanisme et de
l'environnement
and Council / et au Conseil
Submitted by/Soumis par : John L. Moser, Acting Deputy City Manager/
Directeur municipal adjoint par intérim,
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
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SUBJECT: |
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OBJET : |
REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS
1. That the Planning and Environment Committee recommend Council
approve an amendment to the former City of Ottawa Zoning By-law, to change the
zoning of 251 Northwestern Avenue from Minor Institutional (I1) to a Minor
Institutional exception Zone (I1-x) to permit non-accessory parking as shown in
Document 1 and detailed in Document 2.
2. That the implementing Zoning By-law amendment not proceed to City Council until such time as revised Site Plan Control approval has been obtained for the entire lands at 249 and 251 Northwestern Avenue.
RECOMMANDATIONS DU
RAPPORT
1. Que le Comité de l’urbanisme et
de l’environnement recommande au Conseil d’approuver une modification au
Règlement de zonage de l’ancienne Ville d’Ottawa en vue de changer la
désignation de zonage du 251, avenue Northwestern de zone de petites
institutions (I1) à zone de petites institutions assortie d’une exception
(I1-x) afin de permettre un stationnement non accessoire, tel qu’il est indiqué
dans le Document 1 et expliqué en détail dans le Document 2.
2. Que la modification de mise en
œuvre du Règlement de zonage ne soit pas présentée au Conseil tant que
l’approbation révisée du plan d’implantation pour l’ensemble des terrains
situés au 249 et 251, avenue Northwestern n’a pas été obtenue.
BACKGROUND
The subject property is located on the east side of Northwestern Avenue, north of the Transit Way and south and west of the Federal Government lands known as Tunney's Pasture. The lands that are the subject of this rezoning application form part of the entire lands owned by the Ottawa Muslim Association (OMA). They are 2 950 square metres in size, have frontage on Northwestern Avenue, contain a place of worship (869 square metres) and are the lands originally owned by the Ottawa Muslim Association.
The Ottawa Muslim Association has recently purchased approximately 6 300 square metres of additional property from the City. These lands are located to the rear of the subject property and the OMA uses these lands for parking, to help meet the needs of their patrons. On the lands they recently purchased from the City, the OMA had been renting up to 300 parking spaces to workers at Tunney's Pasture. However, since commercial parking is prohibited by the zoning and the purchase and sale agreement, the OMA has ceased renting these spaces on
March 1, 2006.
In order to help pay for the operations of the newly acquired lands and the maintenance of the place of worship, the OMA wishes to rent 60 parking spaces on the original OMA lands, except on days of worship (typically Fridays). There are 35 spaces shown on the approved Site Plan for that property. Thirty-four of these are associated with the Mosque and one with the adjacent house (249 Northwestern Avenue) owned by the OMA and occupied by the Imam. The spaces the OMA wishes to rent, which are beyond those provided, would not conform with Zoning By‑law performance standards and consequently are not considered in this report. It is the legal parking spaces on the original lands that will be considered for commercial parking. As well, a Zoning By-law amendment cannot be written so that it is effective only on certain days of the week. Therefore, the applicant's proposal is being considered in relation to whether it's an appropriate use for the property.
Under the Zoning By-law for the former City of Ottawa, the Mosque requires 87 parking spaces. However, the Mosque was constructed prior to the most recent Zoning By-law for the former City of Ottawa and at that time only required 34 parking spaces. Thirty-four of the required 87 parking spaces are located on the original Mosque lands with the remaining 53 now being located on the newly acquired lands.
DISCUSSION
Recommendation 1
In evaluating the applicant's request, the Department considered the impact on the surrounding community as well as conformity with applicable policies from all governing Official Plans. The reasons for approval, as well as for limiting the amount of parking not related to the place of worship to 22 spaces, instead of the 34 provided, are presented below.
City Council Approved Official Plan
The City Council Approved Official Plan designates the subject property as "General Urban Area". Lands having this designation may include non-residential uses, however, policies in section 3.6.1. and section 4.11, indicate that these uses must be compatible with surrounding residential uses and the possibility of conflict must be minimized. To help achieve these goals, non-residential uses should be isolated from residential areas or located on the periphery of existing residential areas and/or along major roads. The Department notes that the subject property is located at the southern end of the residential community, with access to the property being provided via Scott Street. The location of the property on the edge of the community can help minimize potential conflict between the residential community and commercial parking. Although it is recognized that vehicles could access the site from the north and thus travel through the community, it is also recognized that this is a secondary and less direct route to the site. Furthermore, since the overall amount of commercial parking is being limited, this impact is considered to be minimal.
Section 4.11 also states that adequate on-site parking for a use should be provided to minimize the amount of spill over onto adjacent residential streets. Site checks undertaken by staff at the peak time of usage for the place of worship, which is Friday, have indicated that even with the newly acquired lands for parking purposes, there is still a substantial amount of parking occurring on Northwestern Avenue, Premiere Avenue and Western Avenue, south of Scott Street. Staff also noted that the lands recently acquired for parking are not being used to their full potential, probably by as much as the number of vehicles being recommended in this submission. Given the volume of on-street parking, it is the Department's position that the amount of commercial parking on the original OMA lands should be minimized. This will satisfy the policies in Section 4.11 which indicate that adequate parking for a use should be provided on site. It is the Department's position that increasing the amount of parking for commercial purposes would only increase the possibility of conflict with the surrounding neighbourhood and further stress the on-street parking situation.
Former Regional Official Plan
The former Regional Plan designates the subject property as General Urban Area. Policies indicate that the characteristics of established communities should be respected during the rezoning process and that the impact of a proposal on adjacent residential development should be minimized. Given the limited amount of parking that is proposed and the location of the subject property on the edge of the community, it is the Department's position that the rezoning proposal satisfies the policies in the Regional Plan related to non-residential development.
Former City of Ottawa Official Plan
The former City of Ottawa Official Plan designates the subject property as Residential Area. This plan also allows neighbourhood serving and non-residential uses on lands with this designation, provided they satisfy certain policies.
Policy 3.6.2. d) iv) indicates that non-residential uses with the potential to generate significant amounts of traffic and parking, originating from points external to the affected residential area, be located on either a major collector or arterial roadway so that a minimum of disturbance is created on local streets. As noted, the Mosque is situated at the southern edge of a residential community with access to Scott Street, an arterial roadway. It is anticipated that traffic using the original Mosque site for commercial parking purposes would primarily use this road as a means to arrive at the site. As well, given the limited number of vehicles not associated with the Mosque that would be travelling to the site, the impact on the residential community should be minimized. This will also increases the Mosque's compatibility with the adjacent neighbourhood.
Zoning By-Law - Parking at Places of Worship
The Zoning By-law of the former City of Ottawa permits an exception to be created to the zoning of a place of worship, to allow vehicles associated with other uses to occcupy parking spaces. Other uses that may make use of the parking include a school, a university and an office. The Zoning By-law also states that a minimum of 35% of the required spaces must be kept available at all times for the place of worship.
In forming their request, the OMA has indicated that they wish to rent all the parking spaces on their original lands. They indicate that they can satisfy the zoning intent of having spaces available for Mosque business, by using spaces nearby on the recently acquired lands. In fact, approximately 61 percent of the parking spaces required by the Zoning By-law would be located on the newly acquired lands. These spaces, however, are not subject to this application and because of the restrictive covenant applying to the lands, cannot be considered for non-accessory parking.
While the Department understands the argument of the OMA, after careful consideration, it is recommended that the non-accessory parking on the original OMA lands be restricted to 65% of that total, which is 22 parking spaces. The OMA recently purchased land from the City, in order to address the parking needs of their congregation. As indicated, even with the recently acquired lands, the amount of on-street parking is extremely high. Therefore, in forming a recommendation, it is a question of balancing the loss of on-site parking and the additional vehicles using on-street parking, against the under utilized capacity available on the newly acquired Mosque lands, to limit conflict with the surrounding community. It is the Department's position that the proposed recommendation to permit 22 parking spaces to be used for commercial spaces, is a fair representation of the underutilized capacity that could be accommodated on the newly acquired lands. As well, given the additional capacity that could be accommodated on the new OMA lands, to compensate for the loss of parking, the recommendation is expected to have a minimal impact on the on-street parking. In turn, this should also minimize the potential for conflicts with the surrounding community on Fridays.
Recommendation 2
On May 25th 2005, City
Council approved a rezoning of the lands recently acquired by the Ottawa Muslim
Association from Employment Centre (CE5 F(1.5)) to Minor Institutional
(I1). This new zoning reflected the new
ownership by the Ottawa Muslim Association and the use of the property as
parking for a place of worship. In
addition to this rezoning application, the Ottawa Muslim Association was
required to file a revised Site plan Control Application showing these new
lands, along with their original lands.
To date, this has not occurred.
In order to help facilitate the fulfilment of this City requirement,
which is also a condition of their Purchase and Sale Agreement, the Department
is recommending that the amending Zoning By-law that would permit the OMA to
rent the 22 parking spaces, not proceed to City Council for approval until this
Site Plan is approved by the City.
CONSULTATION
Notice of this application was carried out in accordance with the City’s Public Notification and Consultation Policy. The Ward Councillor is aware of this application and the staff recommendation.
Detailed responses to the notification/circulation are provided in Document 3.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
APPLICATION PROCESS
TIMELINE STATUS
The application
was not processed by the "On-Time Decision Date" established for the
processing of Zoning By-Law amendments to provide the local Community
Association with more time to write a formal response as well as determining a
Planning and Environment Committee meeting date that was acceptable to the
stakeholders. After these issues were
addressed, a submission was prepared and sent to the next available Planning
and Environment Committee.
SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION
Document 1 Location Map
Document 2 Details of Recommended Zoning
Document 3 Consultation Details
DISPOSITION
Corporate Services
Department, City Clerk's Branch to notify the owner (The Council of Trustees of
the Ottawa Muslim Association, 251 Northwestern Avenue, Ottawa, K1Y 0M1),
applicant (Dr. G. Sarwar Gilani, 251 Northwestern Avenue, Ottawa K1Y 0M1),
Signs.ca, 866 Campbell Avenue, Ottawa, ON
K2A 2C5, and Ghislain Lamarche, Program Manager, Assessment, Financial
Services Branch (Mail Code: 26-76) of City Council's decision.
Planning and Growth Management Department to prepare
the implementing by-law, forward to Legal Services Branch and undertake the
statutory notification.
Corporate Services Department, Legal Services Branch, to prepare the implementing by-law and wait for instructions from Planning and Infrastructure Approvals concerning the timing for forwarding the By-law to City Council.
DOCUMENT 1
LOCATION MAP
DOCUMENT 2
DETAILS OF RECOMMENDED ZONING
A new I1 exception zone be added to the by-law with the following provision:
- Twenty-two required parking spaces may be used as parking spaces for any of the uses listed in Section 37d.(a), provided those uses are located on a lot other than the lot on which the place of worship is located
DOCUMENT 3
CONSULTATION DETAILS
NOTIFICATION AND CONSULTATION PROCESS
Notification and public consultation was undertaken
in accordance with the Public Notification and Public Consultation Policy
approved by City Council for Zoning By-law Amendments.
PUBLIC COMMENTS
Three comments were received from the posting of the on-site sign and one comment was received from the Champlain Park Community Association. One respondent did not have a concern with the amount of rented parking spaces being restricted to 65% of the required parking spaces on site. One respondent was in favour of the proposal while the other was opposed. A summary and response to concerns, as well as the comment from the Champlain Community Association, are presented below.
SUMMARY OF PUBLIC INPUT
1. If this application is approved, it should be at the rate mentioned in the Zoning By-law. That being 65% of the spaces provided on site.
Response
The Department is recommending that a total of 22 required parking spaces located on the original OMA lands be allowed to be used for commercial purposes. This represents 65 percent of the parking on the original OMA land and what was required when the Mosque was built.
2. Whatever the parking cap is, it will need to be enforced. In the past, the Ottawa Muslim Association has taken a cavalier attitude to parking regulations.
Response
The City has a Zoning enforcement process. Any infractions reported to the City would follow the established process, with a view of the property owner complying with City regulations.
3. I am opposed to commercial parking at the mosque and that which was granted to the place of worship just to the north, it brings commercial traffic into our neighbourhood.
Response
It is the Department's position that the recommendation to allow 22 parking spaces to be used for commercial purposes will have a minimal effect on the surrounding local streets and the community.
4. Why grant parking when our Official Plan emphasises transit and walking, especially when Tunney’s Pasture next door is served by transit and there are lots of parking spots?
Response
While the City's Official Plan encourages the use of public transit, it also understands the popularity of the private automobile. The policies of the Official Plan represent a balance that also allows for parking to meet the needs of people, while minimizing the negative impacts on a surrounding community. It is the Department's opinion that permitting a limited number of parking spaces to be used for commercial purposes is in compliance with the policies of the City's new Official Plan.
5. This proposal doesn't satisfy policies in the new Official Plan which are designed to protect neighbourhoods from such nuisance uses.
Response
It is the Department's opinion that the location of the place of worship at the edge of the community, with access to an arterial roadway and the limited number of parking spaces that are proposed for commercial spaces, will have a minimal impact on the community to the north.
COUNCILLOR’S COMMENTS
Councillor Shawn Little is aware of the application.
COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION COMMENTS
Champlain Park Community Association (CPCA)
The Proposal: To allow commercial parking on the originally owned parking lot, which contains 35 spaces and to be exempted from the 65% allowable commercial use that is the by-law standard.
Introduction:
From a strictly planning perspective, we feel that there should be no commercial parking on the site, as commercial cars displace worshipper cars during Friday worship services.
The streets are already filled to capacity for blocks around the Mosque on Fridays and some other Muslim holy days, even when the enlarged parking lot is also full of worshipper cars. There is really nowhere for these displaced cars to go except to make further incursions into the already taxed residential neighbourhoods.
However, there is an additional consideration in this case, which is the fact that the protestant church next door has a small amount of commercial parking. The Ottawa Muslim Association (OMA) has expressed a desire for equality with this church regarding commercial parking. This application provides an opportunity to offer them this equality, by offering them an equivalent number of commercial spaces.
However, we wish to be very clear about what “equality” means in the eyes of the CPCA. Equality is not allowing a 300+ space commercial lot beside a 35-space lot, as per previous applications by the OMA.
The current application presents a fortunate congruency in that the NW United Church has a 35-space lot, and the sub-section of the OMA lot which is the subject of this application has an equal number of spaces. The church has been allowed by the zoning by-law to have 65% of the 35 spaces utilized for commercial parking (which is 23 spaces). If the mosque were allowed a similar number of cars, by granting them the 65% designated as the by-law “standard”, the two religious institutions would have equal numbers of legally allowed commercial spaces.
However, we oppose the granting of commercial parking on 100% of the available spaces on the original Mosque lands for the following reasons:
The restrictive covenant prohibiting commercial parking is only in effect for another 18 years and also there has been much pressure by the OMA to conduct commercial parking on this land, even in the shorter term. We cannot guarantee the long-term commercial-free status of the larger lot, nor its full availability for worshipper parking. Therefore, it cannot be relied upon to replace the 65% requirement.
If both institutions complied with the zoning by-law, and/or the City was able to consistently enforce the by-law, such that there were only 46 cars parking commercially in the neighbourhood (23 on each site), this would probably be an acceptable compromise solution in the eyes of many residents. However, the question is how achievable is this?
Will the institutions comply with the by-law requirements? The church has been using 100% of it 35 spaces for commercial parking for a number of years, rather than the designated 65%. To be fair to the church in this regard, they have been beside the much larger mosque commercial parking operation for many years, so complaints have not been made. However, this is an illustration of how compliance cannot be relied upon to control the parking; enforcement of the by-law is required.
Until recently, the OMA has been using 100% of its 300+ spaces (in the recently acquired larger lot) for commercial parking for over one and a half years since the land purchase, in contravention of the agreement of purchase and sale and of the zoning by-law. They only stopped March 1, 2006, after the City demonstrated its intention to enforce (the legal department had obtained a court date to prosecute for these violations).
So, there is a history of non-compliance on both sites. The Mosque site has a vastly larger lot, (300 additional spaces) whereas the church has only an additional 12 spaces, so there is a larger potential for “spill-over”. However, we would insist on equal enforcement on both sites.
Our question to the OMA is what is their commitment to adhering to the by-law requirements if this application were granted? We do not wish to support this application, only to have the granting of 23 spaces used as an excuse to resume use of the larger lot for commercial parking. We are pointing this out as a risk, due to observed past blatant non-compliance with the prohibition against commercial parking on the larger lot (despite clear contractual and by-law requirements).
Our question to the City is what is their ability and commitment to do the required enforcement if this application were granted? We think that in order to facilitate compliance, a specific area of the parking lot should be designated for commercial parking and that this area should be clearly marked. Of course, this presumably requires a site plan change. (Note that to our knowledge, a site plan has not yet been submitted for the larger lot). With the physical boundaries in place, the City must also continuously monitor compliance and follow up on non-compliance, culminating in prosecution for violations.
PRIMARY CONCERNS OF THE CPCA REGARDING THIS APPLICATION
Impact of the Mosque on Champlain Park Neighbourhood
· Wherever a mosque is located, it presents specific planning issues due to the very large volume of traffic generated.
· This is a tribute to the ability of the Muslim faith to draw its worshippers to prayer, but it also presents huge traffic and parking problems for the host neighbourhood.
· The Muslim worship day is Friday and thus there is a real possibility for conflict between the primary intended use of the lot (accessory to the Mosque) and permission for additional commercial parking.
· It is our understanding that the by-law cannot address this as it provides for commercial parking on all days of the week or none.
· The volume of parishioner cars associated with the mosque is not contained even by a lot that holds over 300 cars and spill-over parking covers numerous additional city blocks during worship services; displacement of worshipper cars by commercial parkers is therefore not desirable.
High Parishioner Parking Demand Associated with Mosque:
· On Fridays and other Muslim holy days, even the enlarged lot does not have the capacity to contain all of the parishioner cars.
· In fact, the streets of Champlain Park and also of the neighbourhood across Scott Street from the mosque are filled for many blocks surrounding the mosque, even when Friday commercial parking is minimal.
· Days of worship and Muslim holidays overlap with days required by commercial parkers, potentially displacing parishioner parking onto neighbourhood streets.
· This cannot be controlled via the by-law, as commercial parking is granted for all days of the week; restrictions by day of the week cannot be imposed.
· Even commercial parking of 35 cars will displace parishioner cars another few blocks onto our residential streets. (Enforcement of the allowable 23 would improve this situation somewhat).
· The current OMA executive has controlled Friday commercial parking, allowing only about 20 cars, but some past executives have not.
· Each time the OMA executive changes, so do their policies, so we unfortunately do not believe we can rely on self-regulation by the OMA over the long-term.
Risk of Spill-Over into Sections of the Lot Where Commercial Parking is Prohibited:
· It must be very tempting for places of worship to have commercial parking expand to fill the spaces available, although the by-law specifies 65% to be used commercially.
· For example, the NW church, while allowed commercial parking on only 65% of its 35 spaces (23), in fact uses all 35.
· The City has not enforced the 65% requirement.
· Given the history of commercial parking associated with the larger Mosque parking lot and the physical connection of the two lots, there is a risk of “spill-over” into this part of the lot, and that commercial parking will not be confined to the allowable number of cars.
· This “theoretical risk” can be further supported based on observation of past non-compliance with the by-law and agreement of purchase and sale associated with the larger parking lot.
· In fact, as we are writing this submission, the City has just cancelled a scheduled court date to prosecute the OMA for illegal parking on the larger lot, as the OMA has promised to (finally) halt the illegal parking as of March 1, 2006.
· The agreement of purchase and sale with restrictive covenants was signed on July 28, 2004 and the by-law was passed on May 25, 2005.
· The illegal parking occurred for a period of 1 year and 7 months.
· It took the City a long time to gather evidence and obtain a court date for the illegal parking, even in this “black and white” situation, with illegal parking occurring on the entire lot where it is prohibited.
· Enforcement may be even more difficult if only sub-sections of the Mosque parking lot are allowed commercial parking but commercial parking spills over into areas where it is prohibited.
Request by Mosque to Forego the 65% By-Law Requirement:
· We oppose this request.
· We are assuming that the argument for this request is that there will be plenty of room for parishioners to park in the larger lot, as there are plans to obey the by-law prohibiting commercial parking on this lot.
· We would like to remind the City that the restrictive covenant prohibiting commercial parking is only in effect for 20 years, which means that in about 18 years, it will expire.
· We cannot predict whether commercial parking will be allowed on the site at that time.
· We also know that the OMA is continuing to petition the federal Department of Public Works regarding allowing a Ross entrance to the mosque parking lot.
· The intention of this petition in the past has been to lobby the City to allow commercial parking on the larger lot (which has restrictive covenants and a zoning designation prohibiting such parking).
· Certainly, if such an application was ever approved, it would result in commercial parking on the entire mosque parking lot, potentially leaving little or no room for parishioners to park (as would a resumption of the recent patterns of non-compliance with the zoning by-law).
· Although we do not support commercial parking on the larger lot, we feel there is no long-term guarantee that it will be available to provide the required parking spaces for parishioners to replace the 65% requirement.
BACKGROUND THAT WE CONSIDER HELPFUL IN EVALUATING THIS APPLICATION
Historical Background Regarding Commercial Parking at NW United Church:
· At the time the church applied for commercial parking, the mosque was parking about 180 commercial cars, and there was no way to stop that because at the time (and until very recently) they were leasing the land from the federal government and thus commercial parking was an allowable use due to the government zoning.
· This fact was used by the church as an argument that we would be discriminating against them if we opposed commercial parking on their much smaller lot (35 spaces).
· Due to a lack of consensus within the community on this issue at that time, we neither supported nor opposed the church’s application, letting individual community members express their own opinions. However, the City supported their application.
Historical Background Regarding Commercial Parking at the Mosque:
· For many years, the mosque had leased land from the federal Department of Public Works, which they used for both parishioner and commercial parking.
· The land was zoned for government use, and so commercial parking was an allowed use.
· In 2000, a resolution was approved by City Council to help the mosque obtain this land plus an additional parcel, in order to expand the capacity for parishioner parking on the site.
· Restrictive covenants associated with this land transaction prohibit commercial parking and building on the site for 20 years.
· The entire “deal” had been the result of extensive negotiations between the City, the OMA and the CPCA.
· The purchase did not occur until 2004, due to objections by the OMA regarding inclusion of the restrictive covenants in the agreement of purchase and sale (despite having agreed to them prior to the passing of the resolution).
Regarding the Issue of “Equality with NW Church”:
· This is an issue that has been raised by the OMA.
· It could be said that allowing the OMA to have an equivalent number of parking spots to the church (65% of 35 = 23 spaces on both sites) would achieve this equality.
· We do not feel, however, that the equality argument applies in any way to commercial parking on the larger lot (which was purchased with restrictive covenants and subsequently zoned to prohibit commercial parking) due to the following factors:
1. This new lot holds approximately ten times the number of cars that the church parking lot holds.
2. The special planning issues associated with Mosque parking and traffic that have been outlined above.
3. The fact that public negotiations and decisions/resolutions by the City led to the restrictive covenants and zoning prohibiting commercial parking on the newly purchased land.
Over-all Planning for Parking on the Site:
· Although the current application pertains to the original Mosque lands, not subject to the restrictive covenants, the two parcels are physically connected.
· We think that it would be optimum to confirm the planning for this site in its entirety once and for all.
· This should include a site plan for the entire lot, and a confirmation of zoning restrictions and allowances for the entire site.
· It makes planning difficult when there are multiple attempts by the applicant to re-open the issue of commercial parking on the larger lot where it is currently prohibited (a decision which has already been confirmed a number of times, as a result of extensive negotiations, a legal agreement, a formal re-zoning hearing and an informal hearing during which planning committee re-confirmed their support for this re-zoning).
Response to Champlain Park Community Association
It is the Department's recommendation that the amount of commercial parking allowed be restricted to 65% of the required parking spaces found on the original Mosque lands, which is 22 parking spaces. The remaining 12 would be used solely for Mosque purposes. It is the Department's opinion that this proposal will allow commercial parking on the property while controlling the negative parking impact on the community.
The Department is well aware of the commercial parking history that has been occurring on the OMA's lands. While the Champlain Park Community Association is concerned that the OMA will violate the zoning by having extra commercial parking, this is not something that can be considered in recommending whether or not this proposal should be granted. Recommendations are made solely on planning merit. Nevertheless, the City has an enforcement process whereby zoning violations are investigated based on a complaint basis. If there is a belief that a property owner is not in compliance with the zoning regulations applying to their property, upon complaint, City enforcement staff will investigate. If there is a violation, action will be taken by City staff that leads to compliance with City regulations. This process, however, does not involve the proactive investigation by staff to seek out zoning violations. It is a reactive process initiated by the public.
The applicant has recently had their newly acquired lands rezoned to Minor Institutional, to reflect their use by the OMA and as part of the planning process, are required to file a revised Site Plan Control Application showing these new lands. To date, the applicant has not filed this application. Nevertheless, as part of this submission, the Department is recommending that the By-law to allow public parking not go forward to Council for approval, until such time as the Site Plan Control Approval has been granted for the entire site.