HomeMy WebLinkAboutPD-42-93
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°TFt COR~ORAT'1 T'Ei 1°OVVtJ OF C~UVCS ft~
DN: INVAR.GPA
Meeting: General Purpose and Administration Committee File #s\- ~~~~`~J
Date: Monday, March 1, 1993 Res. ~ ~ ~ ~l ~ ~ ~
Dy-Lair # ,
6~eport PD_-~.®o~_ Fi(e EP~i Q?-fl02/D
Sub1ect: OFFICIAL PLAN AMENDMENT
INVAR INDUSTRIAL LIMITED
Part Lots 19 and 20, Broken Front Concession, Town of Whitby '
FILE: OPA 92-002/D
H~~rr~rt~~r~ti~rt~e
It is respectfully recommended that the General Purpose and
Administration Committee recommend to Council the following:
1. THAT Report PD-42-93 be received;
2. THAT the Town of Whitby and Region of Durham be advised that
the Town of Newcastle does not object to the proposed Official
Plan Amendment submitted by INVAR Industrial Limited subject
to consideration of the concerns raised in this report;
3. THAT a copy of this report be forwarded to the Town of Whitby
and Region of Durham Planning Departments; and,
4. THAT the Region advise the Town of Newcastle at such time that
the Official Plan Amendment and Rezoning is approved.
1. APPLICATION DETAILS
1.1 Applicant: INVAR Industrial Limited
1.2 Agent: Goodman and Carr
1.3 Proposal: To develop a Price Club Warehouse
retail/wholesale/warehouse outlet
containing a gross floor area of
116,000 ft2 (10,776 m2) and an
Aikenhead's Home Improvement
Warehouse outlet containing a gross
floor area of 126, 000 ft2 (11, 705 m2)
with a combined parking area of
1,509 spaces
~~~E~ ~ ~~,E~r~~E
THIS IS PIiiMED ~~CYCLED PAPER
REPORT NO.: PD-42-93 PAGE 2
1.4 Official Plan: To amend the Region of Durham and
Town of Whitby Official Plans from
the present "Industrial"
designations to permit the proposal
1.5 Zoning By-Law: To amend the Town of Whitby Zoning
By-Law from the present "Prestige
Industrial (M1-A)" zone to permit
the proposal
1.6 Site Area: 8.95 hectares (22.1 acres)
2. LOCATION
2.1 The subject lands located within the Town of Whitby consist of
8.95 hectares (22.1 acres) fronting on Victoria Street East at
the southeast corner of Thickson Road and Highway 401. This
location provides good visibility and access. In legal terms,
the property is described as Part Lots 19 and 20, Broken Front
Concession located in the Town of Whitby.
3. BACKGROUND
3.1 Goodman and Carr have submitted an application on behalf of
INVAR Industrial Limited to the Durham Region Planning
Department on January 10, 1992 to amend the existing 1976
Durham Regional Official Plan and the new 1991 Durham Regional
Official Plan. The amendments would permit the development of
a 116,000 ft2 (10,776 m2) Price Club Warehouse and a 126,000
ft2 (11,705 m2) Aikenhead's Home Improvement Warehouse on a
8.95 hectare (22.1 acre) site. The property is located in the
southeast corner of Thickson Road and Highway 401 in the Town
of Whitby. Applications to amend the Town of Whitby Official
Plan and relevant Zoning By-Law have also been submitted.
~~F
REPORT NO.: PD-42-93 PAGE 3
Given the regional market implications of the proposal, the
Durham Regional Planning Department has circulated the
proposal to the Town of Newcastle for comment. Supporting
documentation consists of a planning evaluation for the site
prepared by KLM Planning Partners, retail market studies for
both warehouses prepared jointly by Malone Given Parsons Ltd.
and Thomas Consultants International and economic and fiscal
impact studies for both outlets prepared by IBI Group.
4. RETAIL CONCEPT DESCRIPTION
4.1 Modelled on concepts developed in the United States, the Price
Club and Aikenhead's Home Improvement warehouse combination is
representative of the changing retail trends in Ontario.
Often referred to as Power Centres because of their "critical
mass", their markets tend to be regional in nature. These
stores generally offer a limited selection of merchandise in
a "no-frills" environment, thereby appealing to price-
conscious consumers. This is achieved by eliminating several
major cost components and emphasizing fast turn-over with low
profit margins on individual. items _By keeping the _
merchandising to a minimum (warehouse style operation) and
dealing only in cash or with a narrow group of credit (club
membership retailing), operating costs are low while cash flow
is high. By eliminating the distribution step in the retail
process and functioning both as a distribution centre and
retailer, savings can be passed on to the consumer. It is
expected that this concept .will spread to a wider range of
merchandise including clothing and electronics.
As these warehouses tend to be characterized by floorplates
with a minimum gross floor area of 100,000 ft2, industrial
locations featuring large land parcels are preferable.
Usually located along major highways, industrial areas also
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REPORT NO.: PD-42-93 PAGE 4
offer excellent visibility and accessibility. Building and
leasing costs as well as taxes are also minimized.
4.2 The Price Club concept combines retail and warehouse functions
on a membership basis. Goods offered by the outlet include
food, tobacco, sundries, perishables, automotive, hardware,
housewares, appliances, film, jewellery and books. The
merchandise sales split is approximately 56% in the food group
and 44% in the non-food or DSTM group. The Price Club's
clientele consists strictly of "Business" and "Privilege"
customer members. Exact information regarding wholesale
versus retail sales is not yet known. Existing Price Club
.locations within the GTA include Mississauga and Vaughan.
4.3 The Aikenhead's Home Improvement Warehouse represents a
"Category Killer" by combining hardware, plumbing supplies,
home improvement, building materials, lumber and garden centre
merchandise at one location. This "one-stop shopping" concept
will directly compete with home improvement centres, hardware
outlets, ....garden centres and Canadian Tire stores throughout
the Region. Aikenhead's further differentiates itself by
offering a high degree of customer service and knowledgeable
tradespeople in every section of the store.
Given Aikenhead's size and range of merchandise large retail
volume movements and lower profit margins, there exists an
opportunity to pass on these savings to the consumer.
Existing Aikenhead's locations include Scarborough,
Mississauga and Vaughan with additional outlets at various
planning stages.
5. OFFICIAL PLAN POLICIES
5.1 The existing 1976 Durham Region Official Plan designates the
subject lands as "Industrial". Predominant uses for which
_ ~~,{i
REPORT NO.: PD-42-93 PAGE 5
these lands are designated include manufacturing, warehousing,
assembly, processing, storage, utility functions and
transportation uses. In addition, certain commercial,
community and recreational uses such as banks, professional
offices, restaurants, fraternal organizations and athletic
clubs may be permitted in Industrial areas provided that they
are compatible with surrounding industrial uses and permitted
by the restricted area zoning by-law. As the proposed Price
Club and Aikenhead's development does not conform with these
policies, an amendment to the 1976 Regional Plan is required.
5.2 The proposed Price Club and Aikenhead's development
combination is similar to the ranges of commercial development
intended for areas designated as "Special Purpose Commercial"
under the 1976 Regional Plan. Such areas are intended to
serve the specialized needs of residents on an occasional
basis with services and facilities requiring large land
parcels and traffic exposure such as automotive sales and
services, drive-in restaurants, motels, hotels, lumber yards
and furniture and major appliance stores. While the
Aikenhead's Warehouse concept appears to be an acceptable use,
the emphasis of the Price Club .Warehouse towards food and
related products represents a retail sector which is not
permitted within "Special Purpose Commercial" areas.
5.3 The 1991 Durham Regional Official Plan has designated the
subject site as "Employment Area" which permits manufacturing,
assembly and processing, service industries, research and
development, warehousing, business parks, limited personal
service uses, hotels, storage of goods and materials and
transportation-related facilities. A limited amount of retail
activity may be permitted within business parks provided that
the combined gross floor area of such uses does not exceed 10%
of each building. As the proposed Price Club and Aikenhead's
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REPORT NO.: PD-42-93 PAGE 6
development does not conform with the Employment Area
policies, an amendment to the 1991 Regional Plan is required.
5.4 Policies contained both within the existing 1976 Regional Plan
and the new 1991 Regional Plan encourage the development of a
regional commercial structure within a hierarchy of Central
Areas. These are intended to serve as the focal points of
cultural, commercial, employment, recreational and
institutional activity. Both Regional Plans allocate
commercial floor space to Central Areas based on the estimated
population forecasts within each municipality.
Large scale commercial development projects such as the Price
Club and Aikenhead's proposal would normally be encouraged to
locate within the Main Central Area serving to enhance the
area as a major retail destination. However, the proposal's
size would clearly consume a significant portion of allocated
commercial floor space within Whitby's Main Central Area.
6. RETAIL MARRET EVALUATIONS
6.1 The retail market analysis prepared for the Price Club
Warehouse estimates that the primary trade area will consist
of the Town of Ajax, Town of Whitby and the City of Oshawa
with the secondary trade area consisting of the Town of
Pickering, Town of Newcastle and portions of the Townships of
Scugog and Uxbridge. This combined trade area will generate
approximately 80% of Price Club's forecasts sales.
The report estimates that the Price Club will gain a market
share level of 7-9% of expenditures on food and D5TM
merchandise within the primary trade area (exclusive of
Whitby) and 4-6% within the secondary trade area between 1994
and 2001. As the Price Club is a relatively unique concept,
the consultants believe that the Price Club will not adversely
_a
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REPORT NO.: PD-42-93 PAGE 7
impact the existing retail structure but will instead co-exist
with and/or supplement existing retailers.
6.2 There are a number of concerns with the report as presented:
• Although the primary trade area contains Ajax, Whitby and
Oshawa, the consultants have chosen not to include
Courtice or Bowmanville within this area. Work prepared
by Arthur Andersen as part of the Town's Commercial
Hierarchy Study indicates that the retail orientation of
Courtice residents is towards Oshawa. It would appear
that Courtice, as an adjacent residential area to Oshawa,
should naturally form part of the primary trade area. In
our opinion, this raises questions relating to additional
retail impact within the Town of Newcastle.
• Although the report claims that the Price Club is a
unique concept supplementing existing retailers, no
empirical evidence is presented to reinforce this point.
• The membership criteria appear to encompass a large
portion of the public as well as businesses. Once a
sufficient membership base is developed, the Price Club
will essentially function like any other retail outlet.
• The amount of inflow to the trade area assumed at 20%
also appears relatively high for an outlet which
apparently "restricts" its clientele to members. It is
questionable whether members from other areas would
frequent the location at this assumed rate of inflow.
6.2 The retail market analysis prepared for the Aikenhead's Home
Improvement Warehouse assumes that the Town of Ajax, Town of
Whitby and the City of Oshawa will serve as the primary trade
~5G
REPORT NO.: PD-42-93 PAGE 8
area. The secondary trade area is comprised of the Town of
Newcastle, the Town of Pickering and the rural portions of the
Town of Whitby and the City of Oshawa. Approximately 85% of
the forecast sales are expected to be derived from the
combined trade areas.
The report estimates that the Aikenhead's outlet will achieve
a market share level of 12-13% in the primary trade area
(exclusive of Whitby) and 8-10% throughout the secondary trade
area between 1994 and 2001. Because of anticipated strong
population growth rates forecasted in the secondary trade area
combined with lower market share levels, the consultants do
not expect that sales will be reduced below current levels for
competitive retailers.
The primary concern with this market study also focuses on the
point that Courtice has been excluded from the primary trade
area. This raises questions as to ,additional retail impact
within the Town of Newcastle.
7. COMMENTS
7.1 The Price Club and Aikenhead's warehouse combination
represents a new form of retailing in Canada. These
warehouses rely on regional markets to generate large sales
volumes. Savings attributable to bulk purchasing can be
passed on to consumers.
The subject site within the Town of Whitby appears suitable
.for the proposed use by offering good visibility and
accessibility. Development of this proposal may help to stem
the outflow of expenditures which might otherwise be captured
by similar locations outside of Durham Region.
tJ ,r`
REPORT NO.: PD-42-93 PAGE 9
7.2 Additional information is required regarding the impact of the
facility on the Town of Newcastle. The Department does not
concur with the primary trade area delineation as it
potentially underestimates the retail impact in Courtice. The
Town through the Commercial Hierarchy Study is currently
examining methods of reducing the amount of retail expenditure
outflow from Courtice in order that a local retail base can
develop.
Suitable policies and land use designations for these types of
Power Centre/Warehouse facilities should be incorporated into
the new 1991 Durham Regional Official Plan. However, this
review should also assess the impact of this retail concept on
Central Areas. Undoubtedly, a reallocation of retail
floorspace from the existing Regional-scale centres and the
Main Central Areas of Whitby is required to accommodate this
proposal.
Respectfully submitted, Recommended for presentation
to the Committee
'1 _ _ _ E
Franklin Wu, M.C.I.P. Lawrence E. Kot ff
Director of Planning Chief Administ~#ive
and Development Officer 1
RH*DC*FW*df
Attachments: Schedule #1 - Price Club/Aikenhead's Site Location
Schedule #2 - Site Concept Plan
Interested parties to be notified of Council and Committee's
decision:
Town of Whitby Durham Region Planning Dept.
Planning Department 1615 Dundas Street East
575 Rossland Road East 4th Floor, Lang Tower, West Bldg.
Whitby, Ontario P.O. Box 623
L1N 2MB Whitby, Ontario.
Att: Mr. R. Short L1N 6A3
Att: Dr. M. Michael
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Schedule 1
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