Report to/Rapport au :

Planning and Environment Committee

Comité de l'urbanisme et de l'environnement

and Council / et au Conseil

15 November 2007 / le 15 novembre 2007

Submitted by/Soumis par : Nancy Schepers, Deputy City Manager

Directrice municipale adjointe,

Planning, Transit and the Environment

Urbanisme, Transport en commun et Environnement

Contact Person/Personne Ressource : Grant Lindsay, Manager / Gestionnaire, Development Approvals / Approbation des demandes d'aménagement

(613) 580-2424, 13242 Grant.Lindsay@ottawa.ca

Capital (17)

Ref N°: ACS2007-PTE-APR-0196

SUBJECT:	ZONING - 1000 Brookfield Road (FILE NO. D02-02-07-0092)

OBJET :	ZONAGE - 1000, chemin brookfield

REPORT RECOMMENDATION

That the recommend Council approve an amendment to the former City of Ottawa Zoning By-law to change the zoning of 1000 Brookfield Road from R3H [847] (Converted House / Townhouse Exception Zone) to R3H [***] Sch. 246, as shown on Document 1, and as detailed in Document 3.

RECOMMANDATION DU RAPPORT

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 visant à faire passer la désignation de zonage de la propriété située au 1000, chemin Brookfield, de R3H [847] (zone d’exception – Maison / maison en rangée transformée) à R3H [***] Sch. 246, comme l’illustre le document 1 et le précise le document 3.

BACKGROUND

In 2002, an application for a Zoning By-law amendment regarding the subject lands, and lands adjacent, was filed by Campanale Homes.

The purpose of the Zoning By-law amendment application was to re-zone the lands that are the subject of this submission from I1 (Institutional Zone) to R3H [847] (Converted House / Townhouse Exception Zone), as well as to rezone the lands that now have been developed with townhouses, from L1 (Major Open Space Zone) to R3H [847] (Converted House / Townhouse Exception Zone).

The aim of the 2002 application was to allow for the building of townhouses on the former school grounds, and for the conversion of the school building (formerly the Gabrielle-Roy School) to apartments, or for it to be leased for other school uses. The townhouses have been built, and the school is currently leased to three private educational tenants.

Through the previously approved Zoning By-law amendment (By-law No. 2002-491), the majority of the permitted institutional uses were removed, leaving only those uses permitted in the R3H zone, with an exception to permit only an “apartment building”; “retirement home”; and “school” within the former school building that has been retained.

Purpose of Zoning Amendment

As part of the public comments concerning the Draft Comprehensive Zoning By-law, Campanale Homes contacted City staff regarding its property at 1000 Brookfield and 149 King George Street (which previously was a school, was rezoned to allow residential development with the original school building retained and now has been developed as permitted by the zoning established), indicating a desire to re-instate the institutional uses that had been permitted prior to the 2002 re-zoning for both properties. In this regard, Campanale Homes had received interest from various groups to locate their uses, many of which are institutional in nature, within the former school buildings and therefore have not proceeded with their original plans to convert these buildings to residential use.

Campanale Homes further made comments at the June 8, 2007 public hearing concerning the new Zoning By-law, asking formally through the public comment on the new Zoning By-law that the previously permitted Institutional uses be reinstated. Following the June 8, 2007 Planning and Environment Committee Meeting, staff introduced into the draft Zoning By-law an exception to reinstate as permitted uses the institutional uses permitted under the previous institutional zoning for a temporary three-year period to allow for interim uses of the school buildings until the uses permitted by the residential zones could be established. Subsequently, and in discussion with Campanale Homes, staff agreed to initiate site-specific zoning changes for the two sites. This decision recognized that there is merit in considering having some institutional uses being permitted to occupy the sites and that such allowance was supported by the Official Plan. Processing a site specific rezoning further recognizes a need to assess each potential situation on a case-by-case basis in the context of the compatibility considerations set out in the Official Plan given that the vacant portions of the site have been developed. Should Committee and Council approve the zoning change recommended in this submission, the temporary use provisions included in the draft new Zoning By-law approved by Planning and Environment Committee in October 2007 will be replaced with exception provisions to allow the uses recommended to be additional permitted uses rather than temporary uses.

Existing Zoning

The property, as a result of the 2002 Zoning By-law amendment, is zoned R3H [847], a Converted House/Townhouse Exception Zone. The exception adds the uses “apartment building”, “retirement home”, and “school” to those uses permitted in the R3H zone. The exception limits the number of units in the apartment building to 40, and permits up to 10 parking spaces for the additional permitted uses to be located in the front yard.

Proposed Zoning

This amendment applies only to those lands shown in Area A on Schedule 246. The proposed zoning will recognise the applicability of Schedule 246, and add further additional permitted uses to the property, through the creation of a new exception. The proposed additional permitted uses were all permitted on the property prior to the 2002 rezoning and are as follows:

Community centre
Community health and social services centre (with a limitation being recommended that this use is not to include a methadone clinic, supervised heroin injection site, probation or parole services)
Cultural, social and counselling centre
Day care
Library
Office, limited to municipal services
Museum
Place of worship
Training centre limited to job instruction or training associated with a school

A reference in the zoning designation to Schedule 246 will also be added, as this was overlooked through By-law No. 2002-491.

DISCUSSION

As noted in the background discussion, Section 2.5.1 of the Official Plan provides direction, where a school is identified by a school board as a candidate for closure, for the City to work with the school boards, the community, the private sector and other interested parties to investigate means to retain the school building for public purposes and the school ground for open space, either in whole or in part. This rezoning has been initiated by staff to assess the appropriateness of re-establishing as permitted uses all those use that were previously permitted to provide an ability for continued use of the existing school building for public and/or community-type uses. While this assessment is occurring after the site had been disposed of, the thrust of the initiative is consistent with the objectives expressed in Section 2.5.1 to maintain opportunities for community type uses to continue to utilize former school buildings.

Prior to the closure and sale of the school by the OBE in 2002 and the subsequent rezoning of the property to allow residential development, the previous institutional zoning allowed all those uses proposed to be re-established as permitted uses. These uses were seen as appropriate for the property prior to its redevelopment.

The uses that are currently permitted for the site were determined through the 2002 rezoning to be appropriate for site to allow for residential use of the then undeveloped lands that previously provided parking and playing fields for the former school use and to allow for adaptive re-use of the original school building for residential uses of for a school use.

Given that much of the property has now been developed as was provided for under the 2002 rezoning, conditions on the site have changed which could limit potential institutional uses. Specifically, uses that require outdoor amenity areas such as play fields or extensive parking beyond what has been retained to support the uses permitted for the former school building may no longer be able to be supported. Also, there is potential for other impacts for certain institutional uses that may now be experienced due to the residential community having been extended onto the former school site. The Official Plan in section 2.5.1 and 4.11 requires that any proposal to introduce uses that currently are not permitted (or in this case to re-establish those uses previously permitted where site conditions have changed) that such proposals be assessed relative to their compatibility with the area and with consideration to potential undue adverse impacts that could result. All the uses previously permitted have been assessed in the context of these policy directives and staff have concluded that they continue to be appropriate for the site and can be accommodated within the former school building.

The uses proposed to be re-established as permitted uses include the following:

- Community center

- community health and social services centre (not to include a methadone clinic, supervised heroin injection site, probation or parole services)

- cultural, social and counseling centre

- day care

- library

- office, limited to municipal services

- museum

- place of worship

- training centre, limited to job instruction or training associated with a school

These uses, as evidenced by them being permitted previously prior to the 2002 rezoning are appropriately located within the General Urban Area. Lands having this designation are expected to develop with a wide range of residential uses as well as employment, service, cultural, leisure, entertainment and institutional uses. This is intended to facilitate the development of complete and sustainable communities.

Consistent with the broad overall direction for General Urban Areas to accommodate a variety of uses to support the establishment of complete communities, specific direction is provided to permit and encourage the provision of a variety of small locally oriented convenience and service use that compliment adjacent residential areas to locate within residential communities. Policies in Section 4.11 further direct that uses intended to contribute to supporting neighborhood services be of a scale appropriate to the needs and character of the area. Section 4.11 also sets out policies to provide for having adequate parking available to support uses so as to not unduly impact adjacent areas.

All of the uses being recommend to be re-established as permitted uses are considered suited and appropriate for the site both in the context of the policy directives of the OP for general urban areas and in the context of the site conditions that now exist. The recommended uses are all considered uses that can provide services to the surrounding community or that can co-exist within a residential context. In this regard due to the limitations established by locating within an existing building with a defined area for parking, any use to be accommodated could only be established at a scale that can be supported on the site to ensure that it will be at a scale compatible with the area. With respect to parking specifically, currently 28 parking spaces have been formally established for the current use of the former School building. Additional informal parking is available on the recreational area at the rear of the building which could in the future be established as a formal parking area should there be such a need. Finally, it is noted that a city park is located adjacent to the site which will allow for institutional use of the site to contribute to maintaining a community focus centered on the existing park and the former school building where various community and/or institutional uses complimentary to one another could locate

Zoning Details

It is recommended that the previously permitted institutional uses be re-instated as permitted uses for the property through an R3H exception zone. The exception will detail the specific uses that will be permitted and will include specific provisions limiting the extent of those uses. It will limit the height of a building containing the proposed additionally permitted uses to 7.0 meters, and will limit the cumulative gross floor area of the additionally permitted uses to 3 530 square metres. These limitations in effect provide for the institutional uses to be located within the former school building that has been retained with the available parking serving to limit further the intensity of specific uses that could be accommodated to ensure that no undue adverse impact will result for the adjacent community.

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.

Details of the comments received, and staff responses, are included in Document 4.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

N/A

APPLICATION PROCESS TIMELINE STATUS

This application was processed by the "On Time Decision Date" established for the processing of Zoning By-law amendment applications.

SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION

Document 1 Location Map

Document 2 Schedule 246 to Zoning By-law 93-98

Document 3 Details of Recommended Zoning

Document 4 Consultation Details

DISPOSITION

City Clerk’s Branch, Council and Committee Services to notify the owner, 2022768 ONTARIO INC. c/o Campanale Homes, 200-1187 Bank Street, Ottawa, ON K1S 3X7; Attn: Rocco Campanale, OttawaScene.com, 174 Colonnade Road, Unit #33, Ottawa, ON K2E 7J5, Ghislain Lamarche, Program Manager, Assessment, Financial Services Branch (Mail Code: 26-76) of City Council’s decision.

Planning, Transit and the Environment Department to prepare the implementing by-law, forward to Legal Services Branch and undertake the statutory notification.

Legal Services Branch to forward the implementing by-law to City Council.

LOCATION MAP DOCUMENT 1

SCHEDULE 246 TO BY-LAW 93-98 DOCUMENT 2

DETAILS OF RECOMMENDED ZONING DOCUMENT 2

[U1]

2. The R3H [847] zone applying to the property known municipally as 1000 Brookfield Road, and shown as Area A on Document 1, is rezoned to a new R3H[***] Sch. 246 exception zone, and the following provisions apply:

Additional Permitted Uses –

- apartment

- retirement home

- school

- community centre

- community health and social services centre (not to include a methadone clinic, supervised heroin injection site, probation or parole services)

- cultural, social and counseling centre

- day care

- library

- office, limited to municipal services

- museum

- place of worship

- training centre, limited to job instruction or training associated with a school

Provisions –

- The uses permitted in Column II must be located on Area A shown on Schedule 246

- Section 37g applies with all necessary modifications to the uses permitted in Column II

- Up to 10 parking spaces for the uses permitted in Column II may be in the front yard

- An apartment building must not have more than 40 dwelling units

- The height of a building containing the uses permitted in Column II must not exceed 7.0 metres

- The cumulative gross floor area of the uses permitted in Column II must not exceed 3,530 m²

- The width of the minimum separation required between a parking lot and a public street or a residential zone may be reduced to 1.0 metre

- A loading space is not required.

CONSULTATION DETAILS DOCUMENT 3

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

I personally do not want anything but townhomes at that location and would prefer the zoning to remain as such - hence, no change in zoning to accommodate retirement homes, schools, apartment building etc. I don't feel that our neighbourhood should be commercialized at all.

Response to comment: The zoning at 1000 Brookfield Road currently permits “apartment building”; “retirement home”; and “school”. The current application is to add additional Institutional uses that were permitted before the property (and Sawmill Private) were re-zoned from Institutional and Major Open Space to Residential in 2002.

Parking is always an issue in this area. All of the “permitted institutional uses” will require staff and visitor parking. How will this be addressed?

Response to comment: The Zoning By-law regulates parking based on the gross floor area of uses. In order to accommodate any of the proposed additional permitted uses, a current use within the building at 1000 Brookfield Road would have to be discontinued. It is expected that the parking requirements for the uses in the building can be accommodated on site. There are currently 28 parking spaces on the site, with the possibility of establishing more, if required. One of the benefits of a mixed-use building will be that the uses may operate at different times, avoiding potential parking issues.

Present zoning restricts height. What will the impact of the new zoning be on allowable building heights?

Response to comment: The height and gross floor area restrictions in the current zoning will be maintained, and expanded to include the additional permitted uses. The height limit is 7.0 metres, and the gross floor area is limited to 3,530 m².

With increased pedestrian and vehicular traffic with new zoning, will a traffic study be completed?

Response to comment: A traffic study will not be completed as part of the Zoning By-law amendment application. There will be no substantial increase in traffic generation as a result of the proposed rezoning. The proposed zoning would continue to permit the current uses (school) with added institutional facilities.

If any changes to 1000 Brookfield (the building) are restricted to its current volume and footprint, there should not be a sightline problem in the neighbourhood. But, because we on Sawmill Private are at risk of considerable noise and disruptions if some new version of rail transit is planned for the Airport Parkway corridor immediately to the west, any sight and noise incursions from the Brookfield side would certainly not be welcome.

Response to comment: The exception provisions, as noted above, limit the height of the proposed additional permitted uses to 7.0 metres. In order to establish any other use, a Zoning By-law Amendment would be required.

If there are no restrictions on the placement of methadone clinics or other associated types of substance abuse community health centres, site plan control will not prevent the implementation of such, either as the only use of the 1000 Brookfield structure or in combination with existing or future schools.

Response to comment: The community and social service centre use has been limited not to include a methadone clinic, supervised heroin injection site, probation or parole services.

Allowing other uses to occupy a portion of the building may increase the security risk to the school. It would be paradoxical to have an organization such as a school, where employees might be required to have a background check, situated in the same structure as another tenant exploiting another allowed use, albeit where employees and visitors would not be subject to such verification.

Response to comment: The I1 (Minor Institutional) Zone permits a variety of uses without restricting their location within a building. The tenants who choose to locate within a building are responsible to ensure that their use can be carried on in a safe and secure manner.

The setbacks specified in By-law No. 2002-491 were intended for a school use only. These setbacks may be inadequate for many of the former institutional uses, and thus cause chronic annoyance issues with the residents along Sawmill Private.

Response to comment: By-law 2002-491 did not include specific setbacks related to the school use. It required only the uses in Area B to respect the minimum yards provided in Schedule 246.

Adjacent property values may be affected by the unpredictable nature of what might be implemented at any time in the future due to too many allowed uses. An important part of planning and zoning activities is to define as well as limit the number of uses for any single property in order to allow a certain level of certainty to surrounding property owners.

Response to comment: The Department is not in possession of evidence to suggest that a change in zoning of this nature has a negative effect on the property values in the surrounding neighbourhood. Property values are based on many factors, which include, but are not limited to, zoning and development potential.

Some may contend that the lost former uses can be restored because underlying unexploited uses were present and could ostensibly have been put into actual use at any time during the period the property was used as a community school. This is misleading, as no school would have introduced a mixed use.

Response to comment: The I1 (Minor Institutional Zone) that existed prior to the 2002 Zoning By-law amendment applied to the property at 1000 Brookfield Road without regard to ownership. The zone continued to apply after The Gabrielle-Roy School was closed, and after the property was sold to a private developer. It is accurate to say that any of the previously permitted uses could have occupied the building, or a portion thereof.

No residences were present on the greater grounds of 1000 Brookfield when it was used as a non-private community school. These residences were constructed and purchased under the expectation that the 1000 Brookfield property could only be put to two uses: as a school or for residential purposes.

Response to comment: Following a public process, the zoning that applies to any given property can be amended. This application followed a full public process, including the required public notification. The residents of Sawmill Private were privy to the details of the proposal, and have been provided with responses to their questions both in advance of and through this report.

Being a property owner on Sawmill Private, directly behind 1000 Brookfield Road, I am very concerned about the impact the zoning by-law amendment would have on our neighbourhood and properties. I would like these concerns considered in the evaluation of this proposal. Specifically, I believe some of the permitted institutional uses being considered for reinstatement would adversely affect the character, safety, and value of our neighbourhood and properties. In detail:

(1) A "community health and social services centre" located at 1000 Brookfield Road would be inconsistent with the needs and character of the neighbourhood. It could pose a health or safety risk to children living nearby or attending the public elementary school near the intersection of Brookfield and Kaladar. The area near 1000 Brookfield Road is not especially well serviced by public transit, and the neighbouring streets do not have much additional capacity for public traffic or parking. Increased likelihood of common nuisances (e.g., littering and loitering) and property crime are also a concern.

(2) While a cultural centre would be welcome, the "social" and "counselling" aspects of a "cultural, social and counselling centre" would likely affect our neighbourhood and properties in a similarly adverse manner---increased safety risk to neighbourhood children, increased vehicle traffic in a residential school zone with little capacity for public parking, increased likelihood of common nuisance.

(3) An "office, limited to municipal services" would not serve the community and neighbourhood especially well because the location of 1000 Brookfield Drive in the community is not well suited to increased business activities---the public transit service will not absorb increased flow of people on business, there is little capacity for additional vehicle traffic and parking, and increased vehicle traffic through the neighbouring school zone during business hours would likely increase risk to the children in attendance.

Having said that, I would welcome expanded use in the form of "community centre", "day care", "library", "museum" and "place of worship", since the added benefits to the community and neighbourhood from those five forms of institutional use would be large. Furthermore, those five forms of institutional use exhibit safety, traffic, and security characteristics similar to those of the currently allowed "apartment building", "retirement home" and "school" institutional uses.

Response to comment: The Official Plan speaks to the creation of complete, liveable communities. It contains policies supportive of a broad mix of uses in neighbourhoods, and speaks to changes in how we live and plan our communities as a result of population growth, economic development, finite resources and environmental concern. The use “community health and social services centre” has been limited in its breadth as a result of residents’ concerns, and all of the requested additional uses are already permitted in proximity to this site. The Department feels that they would be appropriately permitted at 1000 Brookfield Road.

SUMMARY OF PUBLIC INPUT

[U2]

In addition to the comments noted above, e-mail inquiries requesting clarification of the proposed additional uses. Clarification was provided and no further comments resulted.

As well, a comment concerning the intent of the 2002 rezoning and the fact that the current application was City-initiated was received. This comment has been received and considered. The merit of the individual uses proposed is not impacted by the application being initiated by the City. The application was subject to a full public process, including the posting of an on-site sign, notification to registered Community Associations, and notification to property owners within 120 metres of the property. The proposed uses will be assessed on an individual basis, and City Council will decide if they are appropriate at this location.

COUNCILLOR’S COMMENTS

[U3]

Councillor Doucet is aware of the staff initiated proposal for a Zoning By-law amendment at 1000 Brookfield Road and has consulted with the community association and with city staff. It is his opinion that this request does not present a problem for the community, and he concurs with the request.

COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION COMMENTS

[U4]

The members of the Heron Park Community Association are, without exception, in agreement with the uses that have been proposed as additions to the existing zoning for 1000 Brookfield Drive. We feel they have potential to benefit the community by providing space we can rent for our activities and therefore we support the proposed additions to the current zoning.

The following are our concerns regarding all possible uses of the building, and how these proposals would likely affect these concerns.

• Parking: groups that rent space in the building as a result of the proposals would use it mainly during weekdays, which would not contribute to parking problems the way apartments or more townhouses would.

• Noise levels: again, we don’t expect the building’s new tenants to contribute to elevated noise levels.

• Security: groups similar to the one that is interested in renting space in the building would be welcome. We feel strongly that the proximity of young school children, as well as the nearby homes, should be kept in mind when any future uses of this space are being considered.

Among the community at large, including those who don’t live here but have interests in the neighbourhood, there are two dissenting opinions. I believe you have already heard from them directly.