Report to/Rapport au :

 

Planning and Environment Committee

Comité de l'urbanisme et de l'environnement

 

and Council / et au Conseil

 

31 July 2006 / le 31 juillet 2006

 

Submitted by/Soumis par : John L Moser, Acting Deputy City Manager/

Directeur municipal adjoint par intérim,

Planning and Growth Management / Urbanisme et Gestion de la croissance

 

Contact Person/Personne Ressource : Grant Lindsay, Manager / Gestionnaire, Development Approvals / Approbation des demandes d'aménagement (613) 580 2424, 13242  Grant.Lindsay@ottawa.ca

 

Goulbourn (6)

Ref N°: ACS2006-PGM-APR-0177

 

 

SUBJECT:

ZONING - 866 (Formerly 865) and 898 Eagleson Road (FILE NO. D02-02-06-0043)

 

 

OBJET :

ZONAGE - 866 (anciennement 865) et 898, chemin eagleson

 

 

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 866 (formerly 865) and 898 Eagleson Road from MG (General Industrial Zone), CC-1 (Commercial Core Special Exception Zone) and CH-8 (Highway Commercial Special Exception Zone) to MBP-xx (Business Park Industrial Exception Zone); MBP-xy and MBP-xz as detailed in Documents 3 and 4.

 

 

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 permettant de faire passer la désignation du 866 (anciennement 865) et du 898, chemin Eagleson, de MG (zone industrielle générale) à CC-1 (zone spéciale commerciale centrale assortie d'une exception) et CH-8 (zone spéciale commerciale routière assortie d'une exception) à MBP-xx (zone industrielle de parc commercial assortie d'une exception), MBP-xy et MBP-xz, comme le précisent les documents 3 et 4.

 

 

 

BACKGROUND

 

The subject lands are located at 866 and 898 Eagleson Road and are bounded on the east by Eagleson Road, on the west by an unopened road allowance (formerly First Line Road), on the south by Terry Fox Drive, and on the north by a future public street, Romina Street as shown in Document 1.

 

The land is currently used for agricultural purposes.  There are no existing dwellings or structures on the land.  The Emerald Meadows community is to the east fronting on the east side of Eagleson Road.  Lands immediately to the west are vacant and will be bounded by the southern extension of Terry Fox Drive, now under construction.  The land to the north is phase one of the subdivision to be comprised of townhouses, stacked townhouses and condominium flats.

 

The land is part of a draft plan of subdivision approved by the City on June 30, 2005.  The draft plan of subdivision includes Residential, Employment, Commercial, Mixed Use, and Open Space Blocks.  The plan of subdivision is to be registered in two phases, the north half comprised of residential uses is to be registered as phase one.  The south half, which is the subject of this Zoning By-law amendment application, is comprised of commercial and employment uses, and is to be registered as phase two.

 

The proponent originally applied for a Zoning By-law amendment in February 2005 for phases one and two of the subdivision.  While processing the application, staff was also working on an amendment to the City Council approved Official Plan to resolve outstanding appeals to the retail policies.  Official Plan Amendment (OPA) No. 28, an amendment to change the retail policies was adopted in July of 2005.  One aspect of the amendment added the Arterial Mainstreet designation to the subject lands fronting on the west side of Eagleson Road.

 

Following the adoption of OPA No. 28, the proponent, in consultation with City staff, decided to postpone the zoning change to the employment portion of the subdivision to give the opportunity to further refine the Zoning By-law amendment to better match the new Arterial Mainstreet designation.

 

Proposed Zoning By-law Amendment

 

The purpose of the Zoning By-law amendment application is to permit a mix of commercial and business park uses and introduce new zoning provisions aimed at safeguarding the employment targets of the Enterprise Area designation that applies to the property and achieving the design goals of the Arterial Mainstreet designation.  The subject lands are presently zoned MG (General Industrial Zone), CC-1 (Commercial Core Special Exception Zone) and CH-8 (Highway Commercial Special Exception Zone).  The application is requesting that the property be rezoned to three special exception Business Park Industrial zones; MBP-xx, MBP-xy and MBP-xz.

 

 

DISCUSSION

 

Policy Context

 

The lands were previously subject to an OPA application, to amend the former Regional Official Plan and former Township of Goulbourn Official Plan to incorporate the Enterprise Area policies as outlined in the City Council Approved Official Plan and apply these policies to the subject lands. This OPA was approved by Council on January 12, 2005.

 

The lands are designated Enterprise Area in the City Council Approved Official Plan as amended by OPA No. 28 in July 2005.  This OPA applied the Arterial Mainstreet designation along the Eagleson Road frontage of the subject lands.  OPA No. 28 was subject to a number of appeals to the Ontario Municipal Board.  Following the withdrawal of the majority of the appeals in May, 2006, Arterial Mainstreet policies now have come into force as they relate to the subject lands.  With the adoption of OPA No. 28, the previous site specific OPAs to the Regional Official Plan and Goulbourn Official Plan, noted above, are repealed.

 

The applicant is requesting that zoning for the land be changed to a new zone to implement both the policies of the Enterprise Area and the Arterial Mainstreet designations.  Any development within the Arterial Mainstreet designation is also subject to the Arterial Mainstreet Design Guidelines adopted by Council in May 2006.

 

The Enterprise Area designation identifies areas where commercial, office, and industrial are the primary land uses.  Policies in Section 3.6.5 of the City Council Approved Official Plan state that the Enterprise Area will permit a variety of industrial and employment generating uses, such as warehousing and distribution, manufacturing, communications, storage, construction, office, institutional research and development uses and retail uses.  The designation will also permit a variety of complementary uses, such as convenience retail, personal service businesses, and recreational uses to serve employees and the general public in the immediate area.

 

Permitted uses within the Arterial Mainstreet designation include retail and service commercial uses, offices, residential, and institutional uses.  The boundary of the designation is flexible depending on site circumstance and lot configuration, but generally applies to those properties fronting on the road designated as an Arterial Mainstreet.  On lots where development has the potential to develop both adjacent to the street and at the rear of the property, the Mainstreet designation applies to the entire lot and development situated on the rear of the lot will not be considered to be non-conforming even though it is not located adjacent to the street.

 

The Official Plan defines Arterial Mainstreets as having an urban fabric of larger lots, larger buildings, varied setbacks, lower densities and more automobile-oriented environment, (in comparison to Traditional Mainstreets) with parking lots often located between the buildings and the street, and the predominant land use being single purpose commercial.  It is intended that development will gradually transition to a more urban pattern of land use over time to be more compact, pedestrian-oriented and transit friendly places.

 

Concept Plan

 

At the request of staff, the proponent submitted a concept plan to support the Zoning By-law amendment application (see Document 3).  The concept plan demonstrates how both business park office uses and commercial uses can be integrated and phased within the site.  It also shows how the site can evolve over time into a visually interesting pedestrian and transit friendly employment centre that fully reflects the Arterial Mainstreet Design Guidelines.  Many of the streets that were redesignated Arterial Mainstreets with the approval of OPA No. 28, contained existing development.  The Arterial Mainstreet policies promote their redevelopment to a more urban streetscape and mix of land uses.  The subject site, however, is entirely a “greenfields” site.  It is anticipated that through the application of the Arterial Mainstreet Design Guidelines and the subject zoning, that many of the goals of the Arterial Mainstreet policies will be achieved with the construction of the first phases of the development.

 

This concept plan will form part of the site specific design guidelines developed for the site in fulfillment of a condition of draft plan of subdivision approval and will be referenced in the subdivision agreement.  The concept plan was used as a basis for the development of the following zone details.

 

Zoning Details (see Document 3)

 

MBP-xx Zone (Area A)

 

A new special exception Business Park zone is being proposed for the central part of the lands.  The original MG (General Industrial) zone currently applies to this portion of the property.  A wide range of uses are being proposed including commercial and employment/business park uses.  These uses are in conformity with either the Enterprise area policies or the Arterial Mainstreet policies or both.  The uses will be allowed anywhere on the block but they must meet the Arterial Mainstreet Design Guidelines and generate an agreed upon number of business park jobs over and above those jobs generated by the commercial uses.  Specific zone provisions have been crafted to achieve these goals.

 

Development within this block will be required to conform to the Arterial Mainstreet Design Guidelines.  The policies and design guidelines seek to create a compact, pedestrian and transit friendly place but recognize that in a suburban environment this may evolve over time.  This newly proposed zone provides minimum and maximum setbacks to Eagleson Road and Romina Street which pull buildings towards the street to create more street presence and a more pedestrian friendly environment.  In recognition that offices and commercial development have differing peak use times, a parking requirement zone provision formulae to encourage shared parking has been included.

 

The Enterprise Area designation is fundamentally an employment designation.  There are employment targets associated with this portion of the larger enterprise area, which extends north to the hydro corridor.  Employment in this context means jobs generated from office and industrial uses and not those generated from retail and service commercial uses.  To ensure the provision of these types of uses, and associated jobs, in this area, a commercial cap is being proposed as part of the by-law.  Once 24,000 square metres of retail and service commercial space has been provided, no additional commercial space can be constructed on site until 16, 720 square metres of business park/office space has been provided.  Based on approximately 23.3 square metres per employee this amount of office space is expected to generate 720 office jobs; the employment target for this site.

 

MBP-xy Zone (Area B)

 

Another special exception business park zone is being proposed for the block of land which fronts on the south side of Romina Street, the new street which is the extension of Emerald Meadows Drive.  This block was rezoned along with the residential portion of the subdivision to the north in July of 2005.  The zone that was introduced at that time permits a range of retail and service commercial uses, or a combination of commercial and medium density residential uses.  The zoning that is being proposed with the subject application adds the business park and commercial uses being proposed on the larger block (Area A above) but maintains the medium to high-density residential uses within the existing by-law.  As with the existing zone, a number of large-scale commercial uses, which would not be appropriate for this location, have been eliminated.  Size limits have been placed on furniture and grocery stores.

 

The development will be oriented towards Romina Street and subject to the same maximum front yard setbacks as the development on Eagleson Road.  Any office uses provided in this block will contribute to the achievement of the employment target.

 

MBP-xz Zone (Area C)

 

Another special exception business park zone is being proposed for the two small blocks of land at the south end of Eagleson Road and fronting onto Terry Fox Drive.  These blocks were rezoned along with the residential portion of the subdivision to the north in July of 2005.  The zone that was introduced at that time permits a range of highway commercial uses.  The zoning that is being proposed with the subject application adds the business park and commercial uses being proposed on the larger block (Area A above) but maintains the auto related uses within the existing by-law.  The block with frontage on Eagleson Road is subject to the Arterial Mainstreet Design Guidelines and will be required to bring the buildings closer to the street.  The block with frontage on Terry Fox Drive has a more traditional front yard setback which does not include a maximum setback.

 

Conclusion

 

The proponent worked in co-operation with staff in formulating their approach to the Zoning By‑law amendment application and the concept plan to implement the Arterial Mainstreet and Enterprise area policies.  No technical issues were raised as a result of the circulation of the application.  Traffic concerns were raised by the public.  These are addressed in Document 5.  Staff and the applicant are participating in the ongoing Eagleson Road Environmental Assessment (EA) for Eagleson Road between Cope Drive and Hope Side Road.  The design goals of the Arterial Mainstreet designation and the concept plan have been discussed with the EA project team such that these planning goals and objectives can be taken into consideration in the ultimate design of Eagleson Road.

 

Staff are recommending approval of the Zoning By-law amendment as detailed in Documents 3 and 4.  The amendment is in conformity with the applicable Official Plan policies, and the concept plan has been prepared in keeping with the Arterial Mainstreet Design Guidelines.  The concept plan will also be tied to the subdivision agreement.  Any future site plan or other planning applications will be required to be in compliance with the Zoning By-law amendment, and in keeping with the Arterial Mainstreet Design Guidelines and the concept plan.

 

 

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.  The City did not receive any negative comments or opposition to this application from the community associations or the advisory committees however a member of the public did raise traffic concerns.  These are outlined and addressed in Document 5.

 

 

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

 

N/A

 

 

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 the appeal of OPA No. 28 and the complexities associated with the implementation of both the Enterprise Area designation and the Arterial Mainstreet designation on the same piece of property.

 

 

SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION

 

Document 1      Location Map

Document 2      Concept Plan

Document 3      Details of Recommended Zoning

Document 4      Zoning Schedule for Recommended Zoning

Document 5      Consultation Details

 

 

DISPOSITION

 

Corporate Services Department, City Clerk’s Branch, Secretariat Services to notify the owner, DIR Investments (105-388 Parkdale Avenue, Ottawa, ON F1Y R4), applicant Greg Winters (Novatech Engineering, 200-240 Michael Cowpland Drive, Kanata ON), Signs.ca, 866 Campbell Avenue, Ottawa, ON, K2A 2C5, 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.

DOCUMENT 1

 

LOCATION MAP                                                                                                                           

 

DOCUMENT 2

 

CONCEPT PLAN     

 

Example of Phasing

 

­

 

DOCUMENT 3

 

DETAILS OF RECOMMENDED ZONING                                                                               

 

A.     MBP-xx Zone (Part of 866 Eagleson Road)

 

Notwithstanding any provisions of this By-law to the contrary, the lands zoned MBP-xx shall be used in accordance with the following:

 

PERMITTED USES:

 

ZONE PROVISIONS

 

For purposes of applying zone provisions the MBP-xx zone will be considered one lot.

 

LOT AREA (minimum): nil

 

LOT FRONTAGE (minimum): nil

 

YARD, FRONT ON PUBLIC STREET (minimum):

 

YARD, FRONT ON PUBLIC STREET (maximum):

 

EXTERIOR SIDE YARD (minimum):

·        Building: nil;

·        Parking garage: nil;

·        Surface parking: 4 metres.

 

INTERIOR SIDE YARD (minimum):

·        Building: nil;

·        Parking garage: nil;

·        Surface parking: nil.

 

SETBACKS TO A PRIVATE STREET (minimum):

·        building: nil;

·        parking garage: nil;

·        surface parking: 4 metres.

 

SETBACKS ADJACENT TO ANY ZONE WHICH PERMITS RESIDENTIAL USES (minimum):

·        building and parking garage: 3 metres;

·        surface parking: 1.5 metres.

 

REAR YARD (minimum):

·        building and parking garage: 8 metres;

·        surface parking: 1.5 metres.

 

BUILDING HEIGHTS (maximum):

·        building, within 7.0 metres of a public right-of-way: 10.0 metres;

·        building, greater than 7.0 metres from a public right-of-way: 44.0 metres;

·        parking garage: 18.0 metres.

 

LANDSCAPED OPEN SPACE (minimum): no minimum

 

LOT COVERAGE (maximum): no maximum

 

OPEN STORAGE:

No open storage is permitted except where planned as an integral part of a Building Supply Outlet and/or a seasonal Garden Centre accessory to a retail store.

 

PARKING PROVISIONS

 

1.      Location on a lot

 

Notwithstanding subsections 3(16)(c) the required parking area and associated access(s) can be provided on an adjacent lot provided that such parking area is guaranteed pursuant to a registered agreement under Section 41 of the Planning Act.

 

2.      Shared parking

 

For the purposes of calculating required parking, where up to 20 per cent of the gross floor area is used for Office Uses, this area may be deducted from the gross floor area of the remainder of the permitted non-residential uses before calculating the parking required. For purposes of shared parking calculations Office Uses shall include the following uses:

 

The gross floor area calculations for both the Office Uses and the permitted non-residential uses shall be determined based on the sum of the gross floor areas MBP-xx, MBP-xy and the MBP-xz combined zones.

 

Parking Structure

 

33 per cent of the gross floor area of the ground floor of any parking structure shall be occupied by commercial uses.

 

BUFFER STRIP

 

Notwithstanding subsection 3(3)(b)(i, ii and iii) where a lot is located in a MBP-xx zone, a MBP‑xy zone, or MBP-xz zone (with frontage on Eagleson Road and/or Romina Street) no buffer strips shall be required unless a parking area is to be located adjacent to the street line formed by a public or private street, in which case it shall have a minimum width of four metres.

 

DEFINITIONS

 

Shopping Centre

 

Notwithstanding the definition of Shopping Centre the number of freestanding buildings in the MBP-xx zone can be greater than two.

 

Shopping Plaza

 

Notwithstanding the definition of Shopping Plaza any unit within the Shopping Plaza may have a gross floor area greater than 250 square metres.

 

SPECIAL PROVISIONS

Employment Targets

 

  1. A minimum of 16,720 square metres of gross floor area of Office Uses must be provided when 24, 000 square metres of gross floor area of other permitted non-residential uses has been realized. The gross floor area calculations for both the Office Uses and the other permitted non-residential uses shall be determined based on the sum of the MBP-xx, MBP-xy and the MBP-xz zones.

 

  1. For purposes of calculating the gross floor area, Office Uses shall include the following uses:

·        Bank;

·        Clinic;

·        Industrial Use;

·        Institute;

·        Office, Business;

·        Office, Professional;

·        Research and Development Facility.

 

B.     MBP-xy Zone (Part of 866 Eagleson Road)

 

Notwithstanding any provisions of this By-law to the contrary, the lands zoned MBP-xy shall be used in accordance with the following:

 

PERMITTED USES

 

The following use is an additional permitted use subject to the use being located in a building where more than 50 per cent of the ground floor area is occupied by permitted non-residential uses:

·        Dwelling units.

 

The following use is an additional permitted use subject to the use having a minimum of 50 per cent of the width of the frontage of the lot occupied by permitted non-residential uses:

·        Apartment dwelling

 

The following use is an additional permitted use subject to the use having a minimum of 50 per cent of the width of the frontage of the lot occupied by permitted non-residential uses:

·        Stacked townhouse dwelling.

 

The following uses are not permitted:

·        Building Supply Outlet;

·        Industrial Use;

·        Grocery store larger than 1, 393 square metres;

·        Furniture and Appliance Store larger than 650 square metres;

·        Parking structure;

·        Place of Worship;

·        Recreational Establishment;

·        Research and Development Facility;

·        Tourist Establishment.

 

ZONE PROVISIONS

 

The zone provisions of the MBP-xx zone shall apply with the exception of the following:

 

 

YARD, FRONT ON A PUBLIC STREET (maximum):

 

 

REAR YARD (minimum):

 

C.     MBP-xz Zone (Part of 898 Eagleson Road)

 

Notwithstanding any provisions of this By-law to the contrary, the lands zoned MBP-xz shall be used in accordance with the following:

 

PERMITTED USES

 

In addition to the PERMITTED USES in the MBP-xx Zone, the following additional uses are permitted in the MBP- xz Zone

 

 

ZONE PROVISIONS

 

The zone provisions of the MBP-xx zone shall apply with the exception of the following:

 

For purposes of applying zone provisions lands within the MBP-xz zone with frontage on Eagleson Road will be considered one lot.  For purposes of applying zone provisions, lands within the MBP-xz with frontage on Terry Fox Drive will be considered one lot.

 

YARD, FRONT ON A PUBLIC STREET (minimum):

 

Lands with frontage on Terry fox Drive: 6 metres

 

YARD, FRONT ON A PUBLIC STREET (maximum):

 

·        Once 30 per cent of the width of the frontage of the lot is occupied by buildings with ground level walls and active entrances within the front yard the maximum front yard requirement no longer apply;

 

REAR YARD (minimum)

·        Building and parking garage: nil;

·        Surface parking: nil.

 

 

DOCUMENT 4

 

ZONING SCHEDULE FOR RECOMMENDED ZONING                                                       

 

DOCUMENT 5

 

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.  No public meetings were held in the community.

PUBLIC COMMENTS

 

Comment

An email was received from a resident who lives on Emerald Meadows Drive expressing concern with an increase in cut-through traffic that will result as residents use Emerald Meadows Drive to access the new commercial uses to be established on the subject lands.

 

Response

The proposed Zoning By-law amendment implements OPA No. 28 which was approved by Council in July 2005. The change in land uses anticipated in this new zoning by-law reflects the Arterial Mainstreet designation.

 

Although it cannot be guaranteed that no cut-through traffic will result from the development of the subject lands, a considerable amount of transportation infrastructure improvement is anticipated over the next few years which will provide a number of different options for existing and future residents to move into, out of, and within these neighbourhoods. These projects are as follows:

 

·        Eagleson Road/Fernbank Road Modifications and Signalization Complete

·        Terry Fox Drive Extension south to Eagleson Road       Summer 2006

 

Prior to registration of phase two of the subdivision it will be necessary for the Traffic Impact Study to be updated. Through this study, any intersection improvements necessary to aid in the movement of traffic generated from this new development will be identified.

 

COUNCILLOR’S COMMENTS

Councillor Janet Stavinga - Goulbourn and Councillor Peggy Feltmate – Kanata, are both aware of this application.