Report
to/Rapport au :
Planning and Environment Committee
Comité de l'urbanisme et de
l'environnement
and Council / et au Conseil
28 October 2005 / le 28 octobre 2005
Submitted by/Soumis par : Ned
Lathrop, Deputy City Manager /
Directeur municipal adjoint
Planning and Growth Management / Urbanisme et Gestion de la croissance
Contact Person/Personne ressource : Grant Lindsay,
Manager / Gestionnaire
Development Approvals / Approbation des
demandes d'aménagement
(613) 580-2424 x13242,
Grant.Lindsay@ottawa.ca
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SUBJECT: |
ZONING - 1259 Stittsville Main Street |
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OBJET : |
ZONAGE - 1259,
rue Stittsville main |
REPORT RECOMMENDATION
That the Planning and Environment
Committee recommend Council approve an amendment to the former Township of
Goulbourn Zoning By-Law to change the zoning of 1259 Stittsville Main Street
from Environmental Protection Area (EPA) to a Special Environmental Protection
Area Zone (EPA-x), as shown in Document 1, and as detailed in Document 2.
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’ancien Canton de Goulbourn en vue de changer le zonage du 1259, rue
Stittsville Main de secteur de protection environnementale (EPA) à secteur de
protection environnementale spécial (EPA-x), comme il est indiqué dans le
document 1 et expliqué dans le document 2.
BACKGROUND
The
subject site is located at 1259 Stittsville Main Street. The site is situated in the east end of the
Mixed Use Commercial Zone, which includes several retail and commercial uses,
including a stand-alone Tim Horton's Restaurant. The parcel of land, which abuts the Tim Horton's Restaurant to
the east, has a depth of 6 metres and a length of 37.42 metres. In total, the area of this site is
approximately 206 square metres, and is presently zoned Environmental
Protection Area (EPA). It is part of a
large conservation and stormwater management area that services the adjacent
retail lands to the west and a large residential development to the east.
The subject land is fairly flat with no significant vegetation (trees or shrubs), and is separated from the abutting commercial use by a board on board fence that is located on the existing property line. There is currently no formal access onto this parcel of land, although a private road leading in an east/west direction from Main Street is located such that access could be provided from this private road.
A concurrent site plan application details the proposed reconfiguration of the drive-through layout, as shown in Document 5. The parcel of land would contain a realigned drive-through queue lane. This queue lane would be accessed from the private east west road running along the north side of the site. The private road is also used as a service lane for the abutting commercial development to the north.
With the introduction of access to the subject lands from the private road, in addition to the relatively exclusive storage of over 13 vehicles on the north south service road, many additional vehicles could be queued in the service lane. The newly aligned drive-through lane would cross the north-south service lane, where a stop bar and sign would be installed to ensure that vehicles do not block this lane.
DISCUSSION
The City Council Approved Official
Plan designates the subject land as "General Urban Area". This designation permits the development of
a full range and choice of housing types as well as employment, service,
cultural, leisure, entertainment and institutional uses.
The former Regional Official Plan designates
the subject land as "General Urban Area". This designation, much like the City Council Approved Official
Plan which, permits residential uses, and uses that meet the day-to-day needs
such as shopping, services and community facilities.
The former Goulbourn Official Plan designates
the subject land "Stittsville Main Street Mixed Use Area". This
designation permits such uses as community facilities and institutions,
office/commercial facilities, residential dwelling units, retail outlets and
service outlets.
The Goulbourn Zoning By-Law zones the subject
property "Environmental Protection Area" (EPA). This zone permits such uses as; a
conservation use, farm, forestry use, golf course, park, parking lot (accessory
to a permitted use) and public use. The
applicant wishes to rezone the subject lands from EPA to EPA-x to permit the
use of a drive-through queuing lane as a means of rectifying circulation
problems on site.
The Department is fundamentally opposed to the
selling and rezoning of City owned environmentally sensitive land. This discussion will identify four important
facts that will demonstrate both the need and rationale for the staff
recommendation for this Zoning By-law Amendment. Furthermore, this discussion will go beyond the boundaries of the
subject site, to reveal steps the City is taking to ensure future drive-through
facilities are designed such that a balance between community concerns and
drive-through industry requirements is met.
Justification for Approval:
The need and rationale to rezone the subject
lands from EPA to EPA-x to permit a drive-through queuing lane involves four
fundamental matters: safety concerns, traffic issues, environmental impacts and
Official Plan conformity.
1.
Safety Concerns - The current configuration of the drive-through queuing
lane creates safety concerns on site.
During high peak drive-through times, the queuing lane backs up into the
parking lot, creating a conflict between pedestrians entering and exiting the
restaurant, and vehicles within the parking lot and queuing lane. Furthermore, there are safety concerns
between motorists within the congested parking lot and queuing lane (Document
6).
2.
Traffic Issues - As stated above, during high peak drive-through times,
the queuing lane backs up into the parking lot, creating a conflict between;
patrons parking their vehicles, patrons entering and exiting the lot, and
patrons queuing in the drive-through lane (Document 6). Although the original site plan for the
subject application meets City standards for parking and drive-through
requirements, the restaurant use (Tim Horton's) has generated more traffic
impacts then were expected, of which the owner is willing to rectify. The current design of the drive-through lane
often causes internal circulation problems within the larger parking area of
the shopping plaza. The re-designed
drive-through lane would direct traffic away from the parking lot thus alleviating
these issues.
3. Environmental Impacts - The area where the
proposed rezoning is to occur is an area of fill material placed within a
previously defined and permitted location, and is of no environmental
significance. Although this fill area
does not encroach into the wetland, it does serve as an important buffer
between the commercial development and the wetland feature. This buffer intercepts and filters fine
particles before the overland flow enters the wetland, however, through the
site plan, a vegetative buffer will be implemented to ensure overland flow will
continue to be filtered.
Zoning the subject site EPA-x allows for tight
control on what is a permissible use within the subject 200 square metre
area. EPA-x will only permit a
drive-through queuing lane, thus prohibiting any future development of the
subject land without a subsequent Zoning By-law Amendment.
4. Official Plan Conformity - Within the
Council Approved Official Plan, former Regional Official Plan and former
Goulbourn Official Plan, the development of a queuing lane is a permissible
use.
This application was approached with caution
due to the sensitivity a rezoning of EPA land can invoke. Careful review indicated the toe of the
filled and regraded slope does not encroach into the 1:100 year floodplain for
Poole Creek. Since the new queuing lane
will be situated on the crest of the regraded filled slope, it will not
encroach into this floodplain.
Furthermore, the queuing lane will be setback approximately 25 metres
from the edge of the water, including a 6 metre vegetated buffer.
The concurrent Site Plan will address lighting,
landscaping and buffering to mitigate against negative impacts the new queuing
lane could potentially have with respect to the pond and the adjacent
neighbourhood. The draft design guidelines
for drive-throughs will be referred to as the site plan is evaluated
Forward Thinking:
Across the city drive-through facilities have
raised several planning, environmental and urban design issues. Their capacity to attract high volumes of
vehicular activity to a site and their potential impacts on neighbouring land
uses have generated both public and staff concern. To address these concerns and provide solutions, staff brought
forth a report for information to the September 13th, 2005 Planning and Environment
Committee regarding recommended urban design guidelines. These design guidelines would address
drive-throughs, as well as other planning issues within the city including,
traditional mainstreets, arterial mainstreets, gas stations, and large format
retail. The guidelines will be
developed to provide greater detail and guidance based on the citywide
objectives and principles found in the Official Plan. It is envisioned that these guidelines will be stand-alone
documents approved by City Council.
Although the urban design guidelines for
drive-through facilities are in preliminary development, they will conceptually
follow the listed objectives[1]:
- To
protect and enhance the identity and quality of the districts and
neighbourhoods where drive-through facilities are located.
- To
encourage compatible development that fits well with and improves its
existing or planned context.
- To
create safe and controlled traffic circulation for both vehicles and
pedestrians on drive-through sites.
- To
create an enhanced pedestrian environment as a part of a high quality
public realm.
- To
minimize negative impacts that may be caused from on-site activities to
adjacent uses and the environment.
These impacts include litter, light spillage, noise, and air
pollution.
The purpose of these urban design guidelines
will be to assist applicants and planning staff in making informed decisions in
the consideration of future drive-through facilities.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS
Two areas of interest have been identified by the Mississippi Valley Conservation: wetland and fish habitat buffer and unstable soils.
Wetland and Fish Habitat Buffer:
Development of the overall commercial area has involved importing substantial quantities of fill in the past. The subject site is situated on the crest of a slope that tapers off from the filled/developed area towards the wetland. The fill material was placed within a previously defined and permitted location. Although the subject parcel is located within this fill area and does not encroach into the wetland it does however serve as an important buffer function. This buffer intercepts and filters fine particles contained within the overland runoff water before it enters the wetland. Reduction of this buffer could result in impacts on water quality and potentially contribute to the degradation of fish habitat quality. As such, it is recommended that a 1:1 compensation vegetative buffer be implemented between the subject parcel and Stittsville Wetland Complex. This translates to a 6.25 metre deep and 37.42 metre long buffer that will be addressed on the companion site plan application.
Unstable Soils:
The subject parcel is located in a larger area containing organic soils. As such, the subject site should be confirmed as suitable for development from an unstable soils perspective prior to construction of the reconfigured drive-through queuing land. This determination can be achieved through either of the following options:
1. Completion of a geotechnical evaluation of the site. This evaluation would assess the site for presence of unstable organic soils, and make specific recommendations on addressing the potential hazard.
or
2. Demonstration that a previous evaluation has been completed and safely addresses any potential hazards relating to unstable soils.
One of the above evaluations will be required prior to the issuance of site plan approval.
CONSULTATION
Notice of this application was carried out in accordance with the City’s Public Notification and Consultation Policy. Information signs were posted on-site indicating the nature of the application. The Ward Councillor is aware of this application and the staff recommendation.
Detailed responses to the notification/circulation are provided in Document 4.
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 due to a significant amount of time allocated for community
consultation.
SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION
Document 1 Location
Map
Document 2 Explanatory
Note
Document 3 Details
of Recommended Zoning
Document 4 Consultation Details
Document 5 Proposed Draft Site
Plan
Document 6 Safety/Traffic Issues
(On-Site Photos)
DISPOSITION
Corporate Services Department,
Secretariat Services to notify the owner (City of Ottawa, 110 Laurier Ave.
West, Ottawa, ON, K1P 1J1), applicant (Bill Holtzman, 1076 Castle Hill
Crescent, Ottawa, ON, K2C 2A8), Signs.ca, 866 Campbell Avenue, Ottawa, ON, K2A
2C5 and the Program Manager, Assessment, Department of Corporate Services 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.
Document 1
LOCATION MAP
Document 2
EXPLANATORY NOTE
By-law Number 2005- amends Zoning By-law 40-99 of the former
Township of Goulbourn. The amendment
affects the property at 1259 Stittsville Main Street, which is located within a
commercial plaza on the east side of Stittsville Main Street, at the Junction
of Carp Road and Stittsville Main Street, as shown on the attached location
map.
The
application is to rezone the subject property from “Environment Protection
Area” (EPA) to “Environmental Protection Area Exception Zone” (EPA-x). The current zoning permits a conservation
use, farm, forestry use, golf course, passive park, park, parking lot
(accessory to a permitted use), and public use. The application is for the permission of a drive-through queuing
lane on the subject land.
For
further information please contact Sean Moore at 580-2424 ext. 16481.
Sean.Moore@ottawa.ca
Document 3
DETAILS
OF RECOMMENDED ZONING
Amend the zoning of the subject lands from Environmental Protection Area Zone (EPA) to a Special Environmental Protection Area Zone (EPA-x) to permit a drive-thru queuing lane.
Document 4
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
There were 15 email responses from the public
to the notification regarding the proposed re-zoning. In addition a community information session was held August 31st,
2005 with 13 members of the public attending.
In total 18 questions were asked at the community information
session.
The respondent’s concerns and staff responses are summarized below from both the public circulation and public meeting. The number of comments in this report does not equal the number of responses received because duplicate points were merged and summarized.
SUMMARY OF PUBLIC INPUT
Comment 1: I am very opposed to allowing any changes that would take more of the city owned conservation land. Changing the entrance to Tim's drive-through will improve things slightly during low traffic periods it really won't solve the problem. The bottom line is nothing will really fix the problem of too little parking area for too many shops. There is also no benefit to the people of Ottawa in rezoning and allowing Tim Horton's to have additional space in the conservation area. The only one to gain anything by this proposal would be Tim Horton's who might increase their business slightly at the expense of the residents of the area. The conclusion can only be that there are many good reasons to reject the rezoning proposal and none to support it.
Response: The subject EPA land is not deemed “significant wetland”, as it is fill material placed within a previously defined and permitted location, as a means of ensuring a proper grade between the higher CMU land and the lower wetland to the east. The purpose of the application is to address a safety and circulation problem within the Tim Horton’s parking lot, which can be alleviated by moving the drive-through queuing lane out of the parking aisles.
Comment 2: I
do not have a problem with the taking of 200 square metres of land behind Tim
Horton's restaurant, as long as further action is taken to increase the buffer
between the commercial property and the EPA.
Any new lighting should be directed only on the commercial property.
Response: The site plan application (File#
D07-12-05-0128) will demand an increase in the buffer between the commercial
property and the EPA land to intercept and filter fine particles contained
within the overland runoff water before it enters the wetland. Furthermore, any proposed lighting will be
addressed on the site plan proposal, ensuring that appropriate lighting
fixtures are installed as to not adversely affect adjacent properties.
Comment
3: I do not support any changes to
allow Tim Horton's in Stittsville to solve their traffic problems. I'm sure they can find a creative solution
that does not include paving over more wetlands and destroying more wildlife
habitats.
Response: Please see the response to Comment 1, with
regards to the significance of the EPA land in question.
Comment
4: Two issues are at stake here, one is
based on the City's Idling Project and the fact that the city may support yet
another drive-through window. Through
support of expansion to Tim Horton’s drive-through queuing ability, it is
highly contradictory to the City’s “No Idling Campaign” and leads to
predictable violation of the idling by-law.
At the estimated service time of 30 to 45 seconds and at least 14 cars
in the queue as stated by Tim Horton’s, cars will be idling at a maximum of 7
minutes and more likely closer to 10 minutes. It was also stated that additional queuing of 20 to 25 cars could
be accommodated on Carp Private. Secondly the resident is against "filling
of publicly owned, EP zoned land to correct a congested parking lot due to bad
design and building siting to accommodate convenience".
Response: A drive-through window is a permitted use
within the Goulbourn Zoning By-law.
Design guidelines for drive-throughs are currently in the development
stages, and will address mitigation techniques for their negative impacts on
the environment. Furthermore please see
the response to Comment 1 with regards to the significance of the wetland.
Comment
5: I do not support the direction to
change an environmentally protected area to a commercial use, I ask that Tim
Horton's finds another way to resolve this issue.
Response: The recommended zoning will not change the
EPA land to a commercial use, but change the zoning to an EPA exception zone
permitting only the use of a drive-through queuing lane. The subject land is fill material, and has
no signficance in terms of its value of a wetland.
Comment
6: On behalf of all of the Amberlakes
community may I express our concern and opposition to the request by Tim
Horton's in Stittsville to annex environmental property. While we recognize
that Tim Horton's queuing line does not work well, the annexation of
environmental property will serve only to worsen the issue. In our opinion, the entire "barrier" between the commercial properties
and Amberlakes is not completely satisfactory; thus, perhaps this is the
opportunity to review the whole stretch of common property with a view to make
it more appealing to all. I am prepared to contribute in any way I can to find
more accommodating solutions(s).
Response: The area between the Tim Horton's restaurant
and the wetland will be landscaped as part of the site plan review. This will substantially increase the amount
of vegetation on site.
Comment 7: I wish to comment on the issue and express my support for the proposals and would urge the Planning Committee and City Council to approve the proposal as soon as possible. I offer the following comments regarding my support; only 15 people showed up at the public meeting therefore there is no significant opposition, the environmental implications are virtually inconsequential, the safety considerations should be paramount, the changes will improve both traffic flow and safety, Tim Horton’s is a good addition to the community and the owners are showing good citizenship by attempting to rectify a bad situation.
Response: The number of people who disagree with the subject Zoning By-law Amendment proposal is not necessarily taken into consideration when considering the significance of the opposition.
Comment 8: Due to the poor layout and congestion of this particular site, could the restaurant be located to another site? Furthermore, the application ignores the responsibility of Tim Horton’s to demonstrate that it has fully investigated other options available to it such as converting to a walk-in only business.
Response: The owner has no obligation to move his retail operation or convert it into a walk-in business.
Comment 9: Why
did Taggart (the land owner) not apply themselves? Why is Tim Horton's Restaurant applying?
Response:
Tim Horton's approached the property owner (Taggart) to seek permission to
purchase additional lands and proceed with a Zoning By-law Amendment and site
plan application. The circulation and
safety concerns are issues which directly impact the Tim Horton's site, thus
Tim Horton's wishes to incur the costs to rectify the situation.
Comment
10: I am concerned about lighting,
noise, and excessive garbage in and around the site. The lights from cars travelling down Carp Private will shine into
my backyard, this needs to be addressed.
In addition, any additional lights on the Tim Horton's site should
ensure they do not spill into the wetland and into the backyards of the
Amberlakes community.
Response: The site plan can address such issues as
on-site lighting and the provision of a fence and or landscaping to block
vehicle lights.
Comment
11: The new queuing lane will create a congestion point at the corner of Tim
Horton's and Carp Private, as the queuing lane will back up along Carp Private.
Response: The goal of the new queuing lane is to
alleviate congestion within the internal parking lot of Tim Horton's. The new queuing lane is designed to
accommodate 13 vehicles, and another eight vehicles can be accommodated along
Carp Private before reaching the intersection.
Comment 12: The traffic congestion caused by the existing poorly designed parking and drive-through lanes will still exist due to the existing poorly designed mall itself.
Response: The purpose of this application is to alleviate traffic congestion from within the parking lot at Tim Horton’s. A new 13 car queuing lane will direct traffic away from the parking lot, and into the queuing lane as well as the end of Carp Private.
Comment 13: It should not be seen as a “small” decision affecting only a marginal piece of land because it sets a precedent for many other “small” decisions and needs to be considered in a broader context.
Response: Each application is evaluated on its own merits and does not take into consideration previous decisions.
COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION COMMENTS
This
Association has serious concerns regarding these proposals and is certainly
opposed to any further encroachment into the EPA zoned wetlands, regardless of
the size of the parcel of land involved. We find it absolutely unbelievable that the City is prepared to sell off
environmentally sensitive land for commercial development purposes in
contradiction of its own Ottawa 20/20 strategy and the new Official Plan,
particularly in light of the sensitive history of this particular property.
Even
before the Amberlakes and Loblaws/Taggarts developments at this site, it was
acknowledged that this wetland was environmentally sensitive. Even in its
reduced size it still plays an important role in the cleansing and regulating
the flow of Poole Creek which, incidentally, is to be protected all the way
down stream through the Kanata West lands. Once any of this land is rezoned,
the precedent will have been set and the City will find it difficult to make a
credible case for refusing future re-zoning applications for other parts of
this EPA land, or when Tim Hortons decide that their present building is not
large enough and so want to expand further into the wetland.
In
discussions with representatives from Tim Hortons we feel that some viable
alternatives to the proposal could be explored. The drive-through line-up and
the congestion at the entrance/exit to the lot could be alleviated by adding a
second service window and by having the drive-through exit directly out to the
paved driveway. With such an arrangement there would appear to be no
requirement to expand into the wetlands, and there would be no drive thru
traffic crossing the service road/fire route. Unless Tim Hortons wish to pay for
the services of a dedicated police officer on the site, a stop sign and a
painted bar on the road will not prevent that route getting blocked.
Another
alternative that could possibly be pursued would be to have the parcel of land
in question re-zoned as site specific, special use EPA zone. Although not
meeting the criteria for the existing EPA designation, the traffic it would
carry as part of the drive-through would be would be no more environmentally
harmful than permitted EPA uses such as golf courses and their parking lots and
the vehicular traffic they attract. A creative measure such as this on the part
of the Planning Dept. would still leave the Amberlakes wetland area under
environmental protection.
Finally,
it should be noted that when site plans for the shopping plaza were presented
to the public, concerns were expressed regarding the capability of the facility
to handle the expected traffic, particularly with respect to the lay out of the
then proposed Tim Hortons. We do not believe it is now reasonable for the
restaurant to seek this rezoning after having ignored the community concerns on
the matter.
For the reasons given above, we believe that the City of Ottawa Planning and Growth Management Department should refuse the application as it currently stands.
Response: The comments received by the Stittsville Village Association have been summarized into the following areas of concern, with a response to each issue:
- Significance of EPA Land - The subject EPA land (200 square metre parcel) is not deemed “significant wetland”. The area has been altered using fill material as a means of ensuring a proper grade between the higher CMU land and the lower wetland to the east
- Precedence of Rezoning the Subject Land - Each application is evaluated on its own merits and does not take into consideration previous decisions.
- Encroachment of Tim Horton’s into the Wetland – The Stittsville Village Association’s suggestion of zoning the subject site to an EPA-Exception Zone is the proposed zoning for this application. Zoning the subject site EPA-x allows for tight control on what is a permissible use within the newly acquired 200 square metre area. EPA-x will only permit a drive-through queuing lane, thus prohibiting any future development of the subject land without a subsequent Zoning Amendment.
- Internal Design Changes (i.e. second service window) – The idea of a second service window was presented by the Stittsville Village Association to the applicant. Consideration for this solution was given, however the applicant determined that it was not a desirable option. The need to make substantial changes to both the exterior and interior of the existing building, including on-site alterations for the second service window, made this scenario an impractical option.
- Community expressed concern with regards to internal design - The design of the current drive-through meets City zoning standards for parking and drive-through requirements. Design guidelines are being developed which will assist applicants and planning staff in making informed decisions in the consideration of future drive-through facilities.
Document 5
PROPOSED DRAFT SITE PLAN
Document 6
SAFETY / TRAFFIC ISSUES
