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HomeMy WebLinkAbout75-163Report No. 161 REPORT ON APPLICATION for OFFICIAL PLAN AMENDMENT NO.50. Ri'�e Pin, e Park, Lots 1. 2 and 3. B.F. Cc..-ession, Darlington: - 1. Purpose of Application - An application was submitted to the Region for an amendment to the Darlington Official Plan to permit a Light Industrial Subdivi- sion on a 185 acre parcel comprising of lots 1, 2 and 3, Broken Front Concession, Darlington. This application was referred to the Town of Newcastle for processing on May 6, 1975, and was subsequ- ently referred to the Planning Advisory Committee. 2. Official Plan Provisions - The Darlington Official Plan designates the subject site "Agricultural". The site is designated "Rural" and "Environmental Protection Area" in the Interim District Plan. Since the applicant is proposing a 200 foot wide park on the section of the site desig- nated "Environmental Protection Area", an Amendment would not be required for this section. However, the applicant would require an "Industrial" designation on the rest of the site. 3. Zoning Provisions The site is presently zoned "Agricultural" in the Darlington Zoning By-law. This zoning would not permit the proposed Industrial Park. The applicant wishes to apply for rezoning to Industrial if this application for Official Plan Amendment is approved. 2 - 4. Circulation of Application - This application was circulated to the following agencies for their comments. (1) Durham Works Department (2) Durham Health Unit (3) Bell Canada (4) Central Lake Ontario Conservation Authority (5) Ministry of Transportation and Communications (6) Ontario Hydro (7) Newcastle Works Department (8) Newcastle Building Department (9) Newcastle Fire Department (10) Canadian Nation Railroad (11) Canadian Transport Commission (12) Ministry of Industry and Tourism All of these agencies replied. 5. Resume of Comments - (1) The Durham Works Department - advised that the subject lands are located outside the sewer and water service areas and that they have no plans to extend services to the area at this time. They also requested an indication from the Region and the Town of Newcastle Planning Department as to their position with respect to both developments proposed by Ridge Pine Park in order that the developers proposals for servicing may be given consideration by the Regional Works Department and Works Committee. (2) The Durham Health Unit - advised that they had no objections to the applicant's proposal. (3) Bell Canada - advised that they had no objections to the applicant's request. that the land appears generally suitable for the proposed develop- - 3 - (4) (continued)..... ment. However, they expressed concern about the well defined drain- age course which traverses the property. They pointed out that the manner in which this applicant proposes to deal with the drainage course in relation to the water reservoir is very vague. They sug- gested that more detailed plans should be required by the Town of Newcastle before the proposal is approved for development. The waterfront on this property is slated for eventual acquisition as part of a waterfront park of regional significance. The rate of erosion at the crest of the bluff is, on the average, approximately 1.1 feet per year. (5) The Ministry of Transportation and Communications - advised that the rezoning of this property would be beyond their juriddic- tion and that the property could be served by the Cobbledick and Bennett Road interchanges. (6) The Ontario Hydro - advised that there is both three phase primary voltage and sub -transmission voltage available in the area to serve commercial and industrial customers. They also stated that the recommended route for the Solandt Commission runs through this site. (7) The Newcastle Works Department - advised that the applicant will be required to enter into an agreement with the Town and meet their specifications. They recommended that consideration be given to improving Bennett Road in relation to such things as pave- ment widths and granular base. The advisability of directing the major traffic flow from the industrial site into a residential 4 - site was questioned. It was suggested that this route be relocated. (8) The Newcastle Building Department - advised that there is, at present, serviced and unserviced land not being used. (9) The Newcastle Fire Department - advised that the subject site has no access from an improved road and that the existing roads would need to be improved. The recommended travel distance from a fire station for industrial areas is not more than one and a half to two miles. The Department would require the following safety devices. 1. watermains capable of producing 6000 gallons per minute, primary feeders, secondary feeders and distributors of a gridron arrangement, no dead end mains 2. storage reservoir or stand-by pump 3. hydrants which would deliver 250 gallons per minute from each 22 inch outlet. These hydrants should have a large suction connection and should be spaced not more than 300 to 400 feet from the building be protected (10) The Canadian National Railway - advised that they had no objections to the proposal. (11) The Canadian Transport Commission - advised that rail traffic on the C.N.R. line which crosses the property is fast and frequent. At the very least, it is entirely likely that autom- atic signal protection would be required and, if vehicular traffic is appreciable, a grade separation could be required. (12) Th�_yinistry of Industry and Tourism - stated that the availability of fully serviced industrial sites is needed in Durham Region. The location of this site is good. Housing avail- - 5 - (12) (continued)..... ability in the area is good and with further development it would provide the necessary work force. It was suggested that these lots be available for purchase, not lease, and that lots of this size would call for fairly large oper- ations unless subdividable. 6. Comments - A decision as to the desirability and practicality of a develop- ment of this nature on the subject site must take into consideration several major factors which affect the site; namely access, servic- ing, surrounding land use, agricultural capability and Lake- shore recreational potential. (1) Access - The subject site is located south of the 401 and the C.N.R. mainline and east of the existing Bennett Road Interchange. The proximity to this C.N.R. mainline is highly desirable from the standpoint of transportation of materials which could be facilitated by a spur line. However, this line is heavily used and the problem of workers and industrial traffic crossing the line to get to the site would have to be resolved. This would require the construction of a grade separated crossing. At present, access from Hwys. 401 and 115 is possible via the Bennett Road Interchange. However9 there are at present too many Interchanges in the Bowmanville area. The Bowmanville Con- cept Plan suggests the elimination or restriction of the Bennett Road and Liberty Street interchanges and their replacement by an 6 - interchange at Carastrap Street. The widening of Highway 401 is currently under study by DeLeuter Cather consultants on behalf of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, and the Bennett Road interchange may be downgraded to a simple overpass without access to the Highway. This interchange is already too close to the Hwy. 115 interchange for proper design and the present structure is not wide enough to accomodate six lanes of traffic and acceleration and deceleration lanes. It is likely that this interchange will be replaced by another located somewhere between Liberty Street and. Bennett Road. If this were implemented, an east -west service road would be 11 required south of the 401 from the new interchange to this subdivi- sion. Conservative estimates of the cost of construction of this road, the construction of the bridge over the Rail line on the pro- posed road, the upgrading of Bennett Road south of the 401, and the upgrading of Bennett Road to Hwy. 2, exceed $3 million. Since the applicant would be the only major benefactor of this upgrading he should be required to pay the costs incurred. (2) Servicine - The Interim District Plan suggests that only those industrial uses which can properly function on private water supply and/or sewage disposal systems will be permitted. where ser- vices are not available. These industries would necessarily be low water users. Most industry presently requires full piped services to function effectively. Full piped services are especially essen- tial in an area such as this, which is fairly low and contains a watercourse which could easily be containinated. - 7 - The Town's sewer and water mains do not serve these lots or any nearby lands. The nearest sewer connections in either direction are 22 miles away. The cost of extending these mains to serve one development would be prohibitive and would have to be bourne by the applicant. The servicing of these lands would only be economically feasible if and when urban development extended to this either from Bowmanville on the west or Newcastle on the east. (3) Surrounding Land Use - The subject land includes the route suggested by the Solandt Commission for a600 foot wide power Trans- mission Corridor. This corridor would remove 57 acres from the developable land. A reduction of this scale might make the costs involved on the provision of services uneconomical. The eastern half of the applicant's property has been proposed for a Mobile Home Park. The problems cited for the Industrial Park also apply to this proposed Mobile Home Park. Additional problems would be caused by allowing the main access to this residential area to pass through an industrial park. There could be a traffic conflict between residential and industrial traffic passing through an industrial area and eastbound industrial traffic would be likely to pass through the proposed adjacent residential development. (4) Aggicultural Capability - The site is designated in the Canada Land Inventory as Class I agricultural land. If this were an extension of an existing industrial area which could be easily serviced, the loss of agricultural land might be justified, but when the enormous costs of servicing this site are considered, the sacrifice of agricultural land seems unjustifiable. (5) Lakeshore - The Conservation Authority have long term plans to eventually acquire the waterfront lands in this area. Indeed, it would be desirable for the remaining strip of land to the south of the proposed transmission line to b•e acquired for recrea- tional purposes at the same time as land for the Hydro corridor is expropriated. We consider that a 200 foot wide strip is inadequate for recreational use and would tend to be encroached upon by open storage, being located at the rear of industrial lots. In fact allowing industry to approach so close to the lake would encourage the disposal of waste materials into the lake itself. A 1000 foot setback would be more appropriate. 7. Conclusion - It is evident that the proposed Industrial Park would economically impractical unless the Regional Official Plan proposed extensive development to the east or west of the site to justify the installation of the necessary infrastructure. (ie. sanitary services, roads and bridges) to serve the site. It should aslo be noted that there is already sufficient land zoned for industry and within or near serviced areas to accomodate more current rate of industrial development for many years to come. It is therefore recommended that the Region be advised as.follows: (a) This proposal for amendment to the Darlington Official Plan does not appear to constitute the most appropriate location for industrial development at this time. (b) The ,proposal appears to be potentially viable only if urbaniza- tion is to occur to the immediate east or west of the site. - 9 - (c) The proposal can only be further evaluated when decisions have been made with respect to the widening and reconstruction of Hwy. 4019 the use of lakefront lands, and the location of the proposed power transmission corridor. Respectfully submitted, George F. Howden, Planning Director. t \ v ; / • i 'It '