6. ZONING - 8465 NORTH SERVICE ROAD ZONAGE - 8465,
CHEMIN NORTH SERVICE |
Committee recommendation
That Council approve an amendment to the
former Cumberland Urban Zoning By-Law to change the zoning of 8465 North
Service Road from D-CR (Development-Commercial /Recreation) to R5B-X
(Residential-Apartment-High Density - Exception) and row houses
and CON (Conservation Zone) as shown in Document 1 and as detailed in Document
3.
Recommandation du Comité
Que le Conseil approuve une modification au Règlement de zonage urbain de l’ancienne Ville de Cumberland afin de changer la désignation de zonage du 8465, chemin North Service de D-CR (Zone d’aménagement – commercial et récreation) à R5B-X (Zone d’immeubles d’habitation à forte densité assortie d’une exception) et à CON ( Zone de conservation), tel qu’il est indiqué dans le document 1 et expliqué en détail dans le document 3.
Documentation
1. A/Deputy City Manager's report
(Planning and Growth Management) dated
12 October 2006 (ACS2006-PGM-APR-0012).
Report
to/Rapport au :
Planning and Environment Committee
Comité de l'urbanisme et de
l'environnement
and Council / et au Conseil
12 October 20065 / le 12 octobre 20056
Submitted by/Soumis par : John L. MoserNed Lathrop,
Acting Deputy City
Manager /
Directeur municipal adjoint par intérim
Planning and Growth Management / Urbanisme et Gestion de la croissance
Contact Person/Personne ressource : Karen Currie,
Manager / Gestionnaire
Development Approvals / Approbation des
demandes d'aménagement
(613) 580-2424 x28310,
Karen.Currie@ottawa.ca
SUBJECT: |
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OBJET : |
REPORT RECOMMENDATION
That the Planning and Environment
Committee recommend Council approve an amendment to the former Cumberland Urban
Zoning By-Law to change the zoning of 8465 North Service Road from D-CR
(Development-Commercial /Recreation) to R5B-X
(Residential-Apartment-High Density - Exception) and row houses
and CON (Conservation Zone) as shown in 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
urbain de l’ancienne Ville de Cumberland afin de changer la désignation de
zonage du 8465, chemin North Service de D-CR (Zone d’aménagement – commercial
et récreation) à R5B-X (Zone d’immeubles d’habitation à forte densité assortie
d’une exception) et à CON ( Zone de conservation), tel qu’il est indiqué dans
le document 1 et expliqué en détail dans le document 3.
BACKGROUND
The
subject property is an irregular shaped lot bordered on the south by Highway
174, on the north by North Service Road and on the east and west by Bellevue
Creek and Brisebois Creek respectively.
The site is generally flat with ravines on each side. There is one large cluster of trees in the
center of the property covering approximately 4,000 square metres and the
remainder is open field. The total area
of the property is 6.7 hectares.
To
the west of the site is an established residential enclave of Riverwalk, which
consists of approximately 225 row house units.
To the east, the City has recently received applications to permit
another 1135
row house units. North of the North
Service Road the land is designated Urban Natural Feature and is protected from
development.
The
applicant intends to constructbuild
row
houses and apartments, a senior citizen's residence and townhouses
on the site. The existing zoning needs
to be amended to permit this.
DISCUSSION
The site is designated General Urban Area in the
Official Plan as a result of Amendment 28 which was approved by City Council in
July 2005. This amendment makes changes
to various sections of the Plan and to Schedule ‘B’, Urban Policy Plan, in response
to appeals that were submitted to the Ontario Municipal Board. The changes to Schedule ‘B’ include a change
of the designation of the subject lands from Enterprise Area to General Urban
Area. This amendment also has been
appealed, however, none of the appeals specifically relate to this property.
This application conforms to the General Urban Area
policies of the City’s Official Plan, which permits a variety of
residential unit types and densities.
The subject property is zoned D-CR Development –
Commercial/Recreation in the former City of Cumberland Urban Zoning
By-Law. A Development Zone is intended
to signify Council’s approval in principle to future development of the land
for the purposes indicated. Only
existing uses are permitted on this property until the Development Zone is
amended.
The applicant is requesting the zone to be changed
to R5B-XX Residential-Apartments – Exception Zone. This zone permits apartment dwellings, senior citizen’s residences and accessory uses, which
closely matched the proposed concept plan submitted in support of the application. Through this amendment, townhouse uses
will be added to the zone.
The concept plan presented to staff proposes a
public street be constructed from North Service Road to the cluster of
trees. From there a ring road will
encircle the trees and a residential block.
Around the ring would be mix of housing types including townhouses, 3½-storey stacked condos,
one ten-storey condo building and a six-storey senior citizen’s residence. There will be a total of 411 units including
160 senior’s apartments. Parking for
the condominiums would consist of underground parking for the tenants and
visitor parking above ground. The
applicant is planning to maintain the cluster of trees and natural vegetation along
the ravines.
The Zoning By-law amendment will rezone the ravines and a 15-metre swath along the ravine crest
to the east as Conservation Lands (CON).
This is required by the Official Plan to protect surface water and the
natural function of the Bellevue Creek.
To the west, Brisebois Creek has been
modified with a stormwater pond and does not need the additional buffer and
only the ravine will be rezoned to Conservation.
A new exception zone will be created to address
these issues. Staff is able to support
these requests as they are in keeping with the desired density and scale expected within this area while providing additional
conservation lands.
Rationale
This application conforms to the General Urban Area
policies as amended by Amendment 28 to provide a higher density residential enclave. The proposal will take advantage of easy access to major arteries
because of its location adjacent to the Highway 174
corridor and the
availability of existing infrastructure.
To support the Zoning By-law amendment, the applicant has provided
the City with a Wetland Impact Study, Preliminary Traffic Study and Servicing
Overview. All the reports indicate that the proposed
zoning amendment would not negatively affect the wetlands, traffic conditions or the existing infrastructure.
Staff is able to support the requested amendments,
as they are in keeping with the desired density and scale while providing
additional conservation lands. Staff supports the rezoning with the information
provided and the City will continue to work with the applicant on remaining
applications through the Site Plan and Draft Plan of Subdivision process to provide a high quality
development.
The Council Approved Official
Plan designates the property as Enterprise Area, which permits residential uses
provided the following criteria are met:
§That the applicable policies
in Section 4 have been satisfied. These
include traffic, servicing, erosion control, environmental and tree
preservation policies;
§All housing is in the form of
townhouses, stacked townhouses or apartments in building which are at least
five stories in height;
§That residential development
should be a logical extension of adjacent residential uses and be linked by
road or pedestrian paths;
§That at least 50 percent of
the developable land in the Enterprise Area will be devoted to employment; and
§That the City may require
concept plans to demonstrate how the whole site will evolve over time.
The City Council Approved Official Plan was
modified by Amendment 28 in July 2005.
This amendment makes changes to various sections of the Plan and to
Schedule ‘B’, Urban Policy Plan, in response to appeals that were submitted to
the Ontario Municipal Board. The
changes to Schedule ‘B’ include a change of the designation of the subject
lands from Enterprise Area to General Urban Area. This amendment has also been appealed, however, none of the
appeals specifically relate to this property.
Through this amendment the designation has now been changed to General
Urban Area.
The Former
Cumberland Official Plan was amended in 2004 to change the designation from
Business Sector North to Residential - High Density. Amendment No. 38 was approved and has been in full force and
effect since November of 2004
The subject property is zoned D-CR Development –
Commercial Residential in the former
City of Cumberland Zoning By-Law 1-84. A Development Zone is intended to signify
Council’s approval in principle to future development of the land for the
purposes indicated. Only existing uses
are permitted on this property until the Development Zone is amended.
Through this application, the applicant is
requesting the zone be changed to R5B-X Residential – Apartments – High Density
with some exceptions. This zone was
originally drafted to implement the policies of the Orléans Town Centre
Secondary Plan. The objective was to
encourage high density residential development with a minimum density of 50
units per hectare and a maximum of 150 units per hectare. The policies encourage a high standard of
design and also limit the building height so that no building protrudes above
the height of the escarpment or 85.8 metres above sea level which translates to
10 floors on this site. The R5B Zone
deliberately leaves out any minimum yard requirements (setbacks from property
lines) to allow for greater design flexibility during the Site Plan Control
Approval process. The Orléans Town
Centre Design Guidelines and the Secondary Plan set out a design framework to
promote an urban environment with buildings situated close to the street. The City would have the discretion to
approve the yard requirements through the Site Plan Approval without an
amendment to the By-law. For this site
there are no approved design guidelines in place and the Secondary Plan
provides no design framework. In
contrast the site is located within a more natural setting surrounded by
ravines and woodlands flanking the Ottawa River.
The applicant has requested that the minimum yard
requirement be determined before an approved Site
Plan. They are suggesting that
buildings be setback 4 metres from the North Service Road and 7.5 metres from
Highway 174. On each of the side yards
they have asked that buildings be allowed to abut the property line. Within the site, they are requesting that
spacing between buildings be a minimum of 3 metres and that row dwellings be
permitted as a permitted use. Finally,
the applicant has requested that the maximum building height be increased to
allow for 15 floors.
Constraints
Due to the nature of the ravines on each side of
the property, there are some constraints to where development may occur. The Council Approved Official Plan requires
buffers from water courses to protect the quality of the surface water and
prevent erosion. These policies require
that no development or site alteration occur within a minimum of 30 metres from
the normal high water mark or 15 metres from the top of a defined bank,
whichever is greater. The alignment of
the existing boundary between the D-CR Zone and CON (Conservation Zone) with be amended
to include the buffers in the CON Zone.
It has been the policy for the lands below the setback line to be
conveyed to the City in order to further protect the integrity of the
buffer. The conveyance of these lands
would be made as a condition of a future Site Plan approval.
An exception to the 15 metre setback from top of
bank can be made on the west side of this property as the ravine has been
significantly modified with a stormwater retention pond which was built as part
of the Riverwalk community. A reduced
setback can be supported as the pond is designed to improve surface water
quality. The applicant had a geotechnical and slope stability study prepared,
which recommends only an 8 metre setback (2 metres for erosion control and 6
metres for an access allowance) from the edge of the western ravine.
Rational
The existing policies relating to this site
envision a higher density residential use.
The Cumberland Official Plan Amendment No. 38 changed the designation
from employment to high density residential.
There is existing medium density development to the west and a similar
proposal for the property to the east.
The zoning requested by the applicant would permit a density above that
seen in neighbouring developments.
The applicant provided the City with some
supporting material to justify the application. A servicing brief was submitted
indicating that there are sufficient municipal services to the site. A geotechnical and slope stability study
recommends that the soils can support the load with appropriate setbacks from
the top of the bank.
While staff agrees with the intent of the
application, some of the requested amendments can not be supported at this
time. The applicant has requested that
a 15 storey height limit be approved and a density of 150 units per hectare. The intent of the original R5B Zone
restricts building heights to match the elevation of the escarpment. This would limit the height to approximately
10 stories on this property. The
reduction in height would also reduce the mass of the apartment buildings to be
more compatible with the existing nearby two-storey row houses. The density requested conforms to the
original R5B Zone, however, only a preliminary traffic study was submitted with
the zoning application. This study
contemplates a total of 543 units on both the subject land and the property to
the east. The proposed development to
the east is now 115 leaving 428 units or 76
units per hectare on the subject property.
The report does not address the needs of the potential 900 units on this
site and accordingly, staff will only support a maximum density of 76 unit per
hectare.
The applicant has also requested an exception zone
to establish required yards as part of this Zoning By-law Amendment. The
original R5B Zone leaves the establishment of the yard to the discretion of the
Municipality at a time the applicant submits a site plan. At this time the applicant has not provided
staff with a concept plan but has requested the front and rear yard setback
be 4 metres and 7.5 metres respectively.
Staff recommends that the front yard setback be 10 metres
which is consistent with the setback along North Service
Road and Riverwalk development. The
lands to the north are a nature
woodland identified as an urban natural feature and a Provincially Significant
wetland is located immediately north of this feature. This enlarged setback would also protect the existing
streetscape. The applicant has also
requested that the building be setback from the top of bank by 15 metres on the
east and 8 metres on the west side of the property. This corresponds to the buffer requirements along each of the
ravines. The City, however, intends
that these buffers will be conveyed to the City as constraint lands and this
would result in a zero side yard. Staff
are of the opinion that a zero side yard along an environmental buffer is not
appropriate and recommends that 6 metre side yards be established.
The
material provided by the applicant to this point does not indicate that there
is any impact onf
the natural areas around the site.
However, due to the environmental features and characteristics of the site, the
applicant will need to address such issues in greater detail during the
subdivision and site plan processes.
These matters include wetland impact, tree preservation and
archaeological features.
CONSULTATION
Notice of
this application was carried out in accordance with the City’s Public
Notification and Consultation Policy. The Ward Councilor is aware of this
application and the staff recommendation.
The City has received comments and opposition to this application. Detailed responses to the
notification/circulation are provided in Document 44.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
The application was not processed by the "On
Time Decision Date" established for the processing of Zoning By-Law
amendments owing to a By-election to elect a new Ward Councillor.to allow
this application to be heard with a simular application after a new Ward
Councillor was elected The
application was further delayed at the request of the proponent in order to
enable them to prepare a
concept plan, which illustrates how the proposed Zoning By-law would be applied to the site.
SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION
Document 1 Location
Map
Document 2 Concept
Plan
Document 32 Details
of Recommended Zoning
Document 43 Consultation
Details
Corporate Services Department, City
Clerk's Branch to notify the owner 3475140 Canada, 200‑500 boul. Greber,
Gatineau, QC, J8T 7W3, applicant Paquette Planning Associates Ltd,
56 Hutchison Avenue, Ottawa, ON, K1Y 4A3, 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 forward the implementing by-law to City Council.
LOCATION MAP DOCUMENT
1
CONCEPT PLAN DOCUMENT
2
DETAILS
OF RECOMMENDED ZONING DOCUMENT
23
The following changes will be made to the property shown on Document 1:
1. Part of the property
known municipally as 8465 North Service Road as shown on Document 1 will be
rezoned from D-CR to R5B-X# and CON as shown in Document 1.
2. Section 6.21 of By-law
1-84 will be amended to add a new R5B-X zone including the following
requirements:
- further permitted use
of Row Dwelling
-
no
building is permitted within 10.0 metres of the lot line adjacent to North
Service Road
-
-
new yard requirements:
minimum
front yard for the end wall of row dwelling 104.0
m
minimum
front yard where garages face the public street 6.0 m
minimum
front yard for all other buildings 6.0
m
minimum
side yard 6.0 m
minimum rear yard 7.5 m
- minimum building spacing
3.0 m
- maximum building height 10 stories
- minimum density 75 units per hectare
- maximum density 100 units per hectare
-
minimum requirements
from Conservation
Zone (CON)
rear wall of a row dwelling must
be 7.5 m from any
CON Zone
end wall of a row dwelling must be 2.0 m from any CON Zone
apartment dwellings under 7 stories in height must be at least 7.5 m from any CON Zone
apartment
dwellings 7 to 10 stories in height
must be at least 10.0 m
from any CON Zone
-
minimum western side yard (abutting retaining wall)
all buildings 6.0 m
-
minimum western side yard (south of retaining
wall)
all buildings 8.0 m
- minimum building spacing 3.0 m
- minimum density 50 units per hectare
- maximum density 70 units per hectare
3. The new R5B-X zone will
include the following provision:
"the
dwelling units and land in a row dwelling development may be divided or severed
into separate, legally conveyable parts without each part meeting all of the
requirements of this by-law as long as each overall development complies with
the requirements of this by-law."
CONSULTATION DETAILS DOCUMENT
44
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. No public meetings were requested to be held
in the community.
PUBLIC COMMENTS
Comment: The Riverwalk community has submitted over 70 letters of opposition to this amendment. The main concern was the loss of employment lands to residential uses and the City’s commitment to future economic development in Orléans. Other comments were added by individuals and included: trees will be lost which provide natural filters for pollution; more pollution; loss of natural environmental areas; tall buildings will cause health problems; traffic will increase locally and more traffic tie-ups on Highway 174 into Ottawa; and more residences will place a burden on transit.
Response: The removal of employment lands has already been approved through the amendments to the Cumberland and City Council Approved Official Plans. The designation is now Residential – High Density and General Urban and this Zoning By-law amendment is only implementing those changes to the policy. With regards to the individual comments, the rezoning will protect the ravine corridors and the natural areas along the water courses. In fact, staff is proposing that the areas zoned 'Conservation' be expanded to encompass additional lands along the ravines. These buffers will continue to act as filters to protect the quality of surface water and preserve the natural areas north of North Service Road. The layout of larger buildings is still to be determined through the site plan process. At that time issues concerning wind and shadows can be addressed. A preliminary traffic study has been submitted which indicates that the local road network and transit service can handle the densities supported by staff. If the applicant wishes to increase those density they will need to provide evidence through a full traffic study.