2. ZONING – 27 LOUISA STREET ZONAGE -
27, RUE LOUISA |
Committee
recommendation
(This matter is
Subject to Bill 51)
That Council
approve an amendment to the Zoning By-law 2008-250 to change the zoning of 27
Louisa Street from R4T to R4T(xxx), to permit parking as shown in Document 1 detailed in Document 2.
Recommandation DU Comité
(Cette question est assujettie au Règlement 51)
Que le Conseil approuve
une modification au Règlement de zonage 2008-250 afin de changer la désignation
de zonage du 27, rue Louisa de R4T à R4T (xxx) en vue de permettre le
stationnement, comme il est indiqué dans le Document 1 et expliqué en détail
dans le Document 2.
Documentation
1.
Deputy
City Manager's report, Infrastructure
Services and Community Sustainability, dated 4 November 2011 (ACS2011-ICS-PGM-0228).
Report to/Rapport au :
Comité
de l'urbanisme
and Council / et au Conseil
07 November 2011 / le 07 novembre
2011
Submitted by/Soumis par :
Nancy Schepers, Deputy City Manager/
Directrice municipale adjointe, Infrastructure Services
and Community Sustainability/Services d’infrastructure et Viabilité des
collectivités
Contact Person/Personne-ressource : Richard Kilstrom,
Acting Manager/
Gestionnaire intérimaire,
Development Review-Urban Services, Inner Core/
Examen des projets
d'aménagement-Services urbains, Unité du Centre intérieur
Planning and Growth Management/Urbanisme et Gestion de
la croissance
(613) 580-2424, 22379 Richard.Kilstrom@ottawa.ca
SUBJECT: |
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OBJET : |
REPORT RECOMMENDATION
That the Planning
Committee recommend Council approve an amendment to the Zoning By-law 2008-250
to change the zoning of 27 Louisa Street from R4T to R4T(xxx), to permit
parking as shown in Document 1 detailed
in Document 2.
RECOMMANDATION DU
RAPPORT
Que le Comité de l’urbanisme recommande au Conseil
d’approuver une modification au Règlement de zonage 2008-250 afin de changer la
désignation de zonage du 27, rue Louisa de R4T à R4T (xxx) en vue de permettre
le stationnement, comme il est indiqué dans le Document 1 et expliqué en détail
dans le Document 2.
The subject property
is located at 27 Louisa Street, on the north side of the street, just east of
the intersection of Louisa Street and Lebreton Street North. The site has an approximate area of 399.7
square metres and currently contains a residential three-unit dwelling with six
existing parking spaces, one of which is at partially located within the Louisa
Street road allowance.
The subject site is
owned by The Roman Catholic Episcopal Church (RCEC), which also owns the church
(St. Hyacinth) directly across Louisa Street to the south. Immediately adjacent to the east is the
parking lot of a nearby high-rise apartment building. To the west and further
to the east along Louisa Street and north and south along Lebreton Street North
are two and three-storey dwellings and apartments with some home businesses and
offices. To the east of the church is a
three-unit dwelling, a training facility and associated parking lots. The site is currently designated General
Urban Area in the Official Plan and zoned Residential Fourth Density (R4T) in
By-law 250-2008.
The church site contains the church
building and residence on the north side of the site and a 20- space parking
lot on the south side. In addition to
the subject site, the church has limited access to parking on the adjacent
properties including a total of approximately 45 spaces on two lots on the
adjacent Gladstone Health and Sports Centre property.
Purpose of Zoning Amendment
The proposed zoning
change is to allow the RCEC and the St. Hyacinth Church, to provide
supplementary off-site parking at 27 Louisa Street, which is zoned R4T. The
applicant indicates that the six-space parking area is ancillary parking for
the church and has been used as such for at least the past 20 years. Parking as
an ancillary use is not permitted in the R4T zone. No buildings will be added to the property
due to the zoning by-law amendment.
Existing Zoning
The site is currently zoned Residential Fourth Density (R4T) in By-law 250-2008. The Zoning By-law indicates that one of the purposes of the R4 zone is to: “regulate development in a manner” that “is compatible with existing land use patterns so that the mixed building form, residential character of a neighbourhood is maintained or enhanced”. The base R4 zone permits a variety of residential uses including: park, apartment dwelling low-rise, bed and breakfast, retirement home, and three-unit dwelling. The R4T zone does not permit a parking lot. The R4T sub-zone establishes specific performance standards related to lot sizes and building setbacks.
The property across Louisa Street
to the south containing the applicant’s primary site, the St. Hyacinth Roman Catholic Church, is
zoned I1A Minor Institutional zone. The
I1A allows for a place of worship and other institutional uses.
Proposed Zoning
The proposed zoning allows for a parking lot limited to six spaces used as ancillary parking in association with a place of worship located at 201 Lebreton Street North, which is currently occupied by St. Hyacinths church. The recommended re-zoning also includes performance standards to address residential parking, parking space dimensional limitations, and requirements for screening and minimum landscape areas.
Official Plan
General Urban Area
The subject property is located in the General Urban Area designation in the Official Plan (OP). The OP states that the “General Urban Area designation permits the development of a full range and choice of housing types to meet the needs of all ages, incomes and life circumstances, in combination with conveniently located employment, retail, service, cultural, leisure, entertainment and institutional uses. This will facilitate the development of complete and sustainable communities.”
The proposed re-zoning provides for
continuation of the existing residential use on the property while supporting
the functional needs of an established cultural and institutional facility, St Hyacinth’s
church, serving the larger community.
Policy 5 of the General Urban Area states that it “permits uses that may generate traffic, noise or other impacts that have the potential to create conflicts with the surrounding residential community. These types of uses are often large and serve or draw from broader areas. The City will ensure that anticipated impacts can be adequately mitigated or otherwise addressed. Such uses will be directed to: ......b. Suitable locations on the perimeter of, or isolated from, established residential neighbourhoods.” The subject site is in the middle of a largely residential neighbourhood. However, directly across on the south side of Louisa Street the block is entirely institutional and cultural uses, except for the priest‘s residence, and abutting the east side of the parking lot proposed for the church is a large parking lot serving a nearby high-rise apartment development. Thus part of the site context is similar to a non-residential neighbourhood perimeter condition and appropriate for a minor non-residential use, such as the proposed small parking lot. The recommended zoning provisions will help mitigate the impact of the parking by limiting it to six spaces and requiring a landscaped area and screening on the rear portion of the lot and screen fencing along the street.
Design
Compatible design is a fundamental
objective of the OP. The Strategic
Directions of Section 2 establish a set of Design Objectives and pursuant
Principles, of which parts of Principle #2 have bearing on the subject
re-zoning application. This principle indicates that “Design should: Clearly define and connect public and private
spaces by defining and enclosing spaces using buildings, structures and
landscaping, enhance and enliven the quality, character and spatial delineation
of public spaces, consider streets as public spaces,” and “meet the needs of
pedestrians as a priority”. The proposed
re-zoning requires the provision of fencing between the proposed parking lot
and the street, which will help screen the parking while defining the public
streetscape and giving a protective priority to the pedestrian realm in this
area.
Policy 2 of Section 4.11, Urban Design and Compatibility indicates that “the City will evaluate the compatibility of development applications on the basis of the following compatibility criteria.
The measures of compatibility
will vary depending on the use proposed and the planning context. Hence, in any
given situation individual criteria may not apply and/or may be evaluated and
weighted on the basis of site circumstances.” The applicable compatibility criteria for this
rezoning application are discussed below:
“a. Traffic: Roads should adequately serve the development,
with sufficient capacity to accommodate the anticipated traffic generated.
Generally development that has the potential to generate significant amounts of
vehicular traffic should be located on arterial or major collector roadways so
as to minimize the potential for traffic infiltration on minor collector
roadways and local streets;” The proposed rezoning permits a parking lot
limited to only six spaces, which generates a volume appropriate to the
capacity of Louisa street which is designated as a local street.
“b. Vehicular Access: The location and orientation of vehicle
access and egress should address matters such as the impact of noise, headlight
glare and loss of privacy on development adjacent or immediately opposite.” The parking lot facilitated by the proposed
rezoning has access directly across from a place of worship and the parked
vehicles will face an adjacent existing parking lot.
“c. Parking Requirements: The development should have
adequate on-site parking to minimize the potential for spillover parking on
adjacent areas. A range of parking forms, including surface, decked, and
underground, should be considered taking in account the area context and
character. Opportunities to reduce parking requirements and promote increased
usage of walking, cycling and transit will be pursued, where appropriate,
particularly in the vicinity of transit stations or major transit stops,” The surface parking allowed by the proposed
rezoning establishes an alternative to on-street parking for six vehicles,
while the performance standards help address the character of the area. Although the church site is within 600 metres
of a possible future rapid transit station at Gladstone Avenue, it is at the
outer edge of the limit and the peak use time of the church does not coincide
with peak period transit service.
“d. Outdoor Amenity Areas: The development should respect the
privacy of outdoor amenity areas of adjacent residential units and minimize any
undesirable impacts through the siting and design of the buildings and the use
of screening, lighting, landscaping or other mitigative design measures.” The performance standards of the recommended
rezoning help protect landscaped area used as amenity space by residents of the
three-unit dwelling on the subject property.
Roads and Parking
Official Plan Section 4.3 –
Walking, Cycling, Transit, Roads and Parking Lots, indicates that “Individual
building sites must be easy to get to and travel through on foot, by bicycle
and transit, and by automobile.” Sec 4.3 goes on to say that “Landscaping, the
positioning of buildings and other features of adjacent development can be
further organized to support pedestrians and cyclists.” Policy 7 of Section 4.3 states: “The City will require that parking areas for
motorized vehicles be screened from the street with low shrubs, trees,
landscaped berms, decorative walls and fences.”
The proposed re-zoning facilitates more ease of access by those using
the St. Hyacinth, and required fencing, as per the proposed zoning performance
standards, will help separate vehicular and pedestrian movements.
Summary
The requested re-zoning is in keeping with the intent of the Official Plan policies for the General Urban Area, including those pertaining to Design and Compatibility and those dealing with roads and parking issues. Therefore, the application is recommended for approval.
N/A
Notice of this application was carried out in accordance with the City's Public Notification and Consultation Policy. The issues raised through the circulation are summarized and addressed in Document 3.
Councillor Diane Holmes commented as follows:
“Please ensure that
the grassed area at the northern end of the property is retained, with the wood
rail fence.”
Should this matter be appealed to the Ontario Municipal Board, it is
anticipated that a one day hearing would result. Should the recommendation be
refused, reasons would have to be provided. In the event of an appeal of the
refusal, an external planner would need to be retained at an estimated cost of
$5,000 to $10,000.
RISK MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS
There are no known risk implications.
The recommended re-zoning may facilitate a reduced walking distance for some attendees of St. Hyacinth Church.
N/A
The subject re-zoning is in keeping with the City’s Strategic Plan objectives pertaining to managing growth and creating sustainable communities.
The application was not processed by the "On Time Decision Date" established for the processing of Zoning By-law amendments due to the seasonal nature of attendance of a place of worship and the need to observe parking patterns associated with normal attendance in the fall season.
Document 1 Location Map
Document 2 Details of Recommended Zoning
Document 3 Consultation Details
City Clerk and Solicitor Department, Legislative Services to notify the owner, applicant, OttawaScene Canada Signs, 1565 Chatelain Avenue, Ottawa, ON K1Z 8B5, Ghislain Lamarche, Program Manager, Assessment, Financial Services Branch (Mail Code: 26-76) of City Council’s decision.
Planning and Growth Management to prepare the implementing by-law, forward to Legal Services and undertake the statutory notification.
Legal Services to forward the implementing by-law to City Council.
DETAILS OF RECOMMENDED ZONING DOCUMENT 2
Proposed
Changes to the Comprehensive Zoning By-law
Details of Recommended Zoning
1. Change the zoning of the property from R4T to R4T[xxxx] as shown on Document 1
2. Section 239 will be amended by adding a new exception with provisions similar in effect to the following:
- Parking lot is added as a permitted use in Column III
Column V is amended by adding:
- Parking lot is permitted only as an ancillary use to a place of worship located at 201 Lebreton Street North with maximum of six spaces
- The minimum length of a parking space is 4.0 m.
- The minimum width of a parking space is 2.5 m.
- The minimum width of an aisle or a driveway leading to or providing access to a parking space is 4.0 m.
- No parking is permitted within 8.4 metres of the rear lot line
90% of the landscaped area within 8.4 metres of the rear lot line must be soft landscaping
- All parking and the aisles must be separated from the northerly 8.4 metres of the lot by an opaque screen having a minimum height of 1.5 metres
- the opaque screen must be continuous from the easterly property line extending not less than 9.4 metres westerly
- Notwithstanding Sec. 110 all parking on the property must be screened from the street by a continuous opaque screen having a height of not less than 1.1 m. and extending not less than 3.5 m westerly from the easterly property line.
- The provisions of Table 110 a. do not apply
- a three-unit dwelling requires only one parking space
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
The comments from the public are summarized below followed by the staff response to each item:
Response: The recommended rezoning includes provisions limiting the number of spaces to six, and only permitting a parking lot as an ancillary use to a place of worship, while providing for resident/tenant parking.
Response: The recommended rezoning contains performance standards to protect existing landscaped areas on the property and requires fencing to separate the parking from the landscaped area and from the street, all generally in keeping with the submitted concept plan. The required fence may inhibit the use of the landscaped rear yard for snow storage; any impact on adjacent properties due to snow storage is a civil matter.
Response: The recommended rezoning will not lead to additional vehicle-oriented uses in the area, and contains performance standards to protect the existing landscaped areas on the property.
The requested six more parking spaces will make little difference. Parking takes place on both sides of Lebreton Street North during church services despite restrictions to one side. It is unreasonable to expect to park right in front of a church in a downtown neighbourhood. How much parking does the church have and how many people attend the church? How much on-street parking is available within two blocks?
Response: The church has indicated that arrangements are in place allowing for their use of two adjacent parking lots owned by the Gladstone Health and Sports Centre totalling 45 spaces, and have 20 spaces in their lot on the south portion of the church property. There are approximately 70 on-street parking spaces within the surrounding two blocks of which approximately 12 spaces have winter restriction. The Church estimates a total Sunday attendance of 605 people spread across five masses, the largest usually being 200 people at 11:00AM; there is also one Saturday evening mass averaging 60 attendees. Allowing for limited parking in the existing lot immediately across from the church is recommended based on the discussion provided earlier in this report.
Response: There is no application to demolish the house for the purpose of creating more parking. A re-zoning was recently approved by City Council that will result in demolition replacement of the church residence a part of an expansion to the church facilities and may include parking for the new residence.
Response: The recommendation is to approve the application with the addition of performance standards addressing the need to limit and screen the proposed parking.
COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION COMMENTS
Dalhousie Community
Association Comments
”The Dalhousie Community Association is aware of the separate planning
application for a proposed addition to the church building, and support that.
However, we are opposed to this parking re-zoning for the following reasons:
·
Using a residential (property) as a parking lot is not in
conformity with the purposes of the R4 zoning. Nor is it conducive to
redevelopment and intensification of this and adjacent lots.
·
Parking lots are
detrimental to achieving sound low-rise residential neighbourhoods and have
negative impact on nearby residential lots.
·
The church already has
a parking lot and will be adding three more spaces at their new addition. Half
a dozen parking spaces is not going to significantly affect the parking demand
created by church functions.
·
In the past the church
has sought to demolish the existing duplex and pave the entire lot. This
application could be merely the first step towards realizing that goal.
·
Permitting this
application may create a moral precedent for the further erosion of this
neighbourhood. We note that several other lots have already been turned into
parking lots, reducing the viability of the remaining houses, and that this
block is continually suffering attempts to expand parking lots. We do not want
to encourage block busting practices.
We note that this application is for six spaces, whereas less than five
can be accommodated on site. We oppose the use of the city boulevard for
parking – it should be landscaped. If this rezoning is approved, there will be
a right to add one or two spaces in the grassed rear yard, reducing the
liveability of the house.
In summary, we see minimal benefit to the rezoning and numerous
drawbacks for the site and adjacent neighbourhood. We therefore recommend
dismissal of this application.
Eric Darwin,
President
Dalhousie Community Association”
Response: Part of the
stated intent of the R4 zone is to “regulate development in a manner” that “is
compatible with existing land use patterns so that the mixed building form,
residential character of a neighbourhood is maintained or enhanced”. The recommended rezoning
includes provisions requiring screen fencing and minimum landscaped area to
help maintain neighbourhood compatibility, and maintains the existing
residential use in keeping with the residential land use pattern in the
area. The church only has 20 on-site
parking spaces with current agreements for the use of 45 other spaces but only
at specified times. Six spaces is a
significant increase to the 20 spaces that they own. The removal of the existing three-unit
dwelling would require approval of a separate application for Demolition
Control, and no application has been submitted.
Any applications for Demolition Control or other forms of re-development
would be evaluated on its own merit. The
parking lot proposed actually exists and is tied to a place of worship through the
provisions of the re-zoning. Given the existing condition, this application is
not considered block-busting nor a precedent for future such proposals. The recommended zoning provisions
specifically limit the parking to the area currently used, excluding the City
road allowance and call for fences to protect the road allowance and the existing
rear yard landscaped area.
ADVISORY COMMITTEE COMMENTS
There was no response from advisory committees.