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HomeMy WebLinkAboutA2023-0003 120 Port Darlington-CommentsClarftwn Planning and Infrastructure Services Committee of Adjustment If this information is required in an alternate accessible format, please contact the Accessibility Coordinator at 905-623-3379 ext. 2131. Date of Meeting: January26, 2023 File Number: A2023-0003 Address: 120 Port Darlington Road, Bowmanville Report Subject: To facilitate the development of one additional apartment unit within an existing townhouse condominium development. Recommendations: 1. That the Report for Minor Variance A2023-0003 be received. 2. That all written comments and verbal submissions were considered in the deliberation of this application. 3. That application A2023-0003 for a minor variance to Section 14.6.3 a) of Zoning By- law 84-63 to facilitate the development of one additional apartment unit within an existing townhouse condominium development be approved subject to the following condition: 1. That prior to the issuance of a building permit for the new additional residential unit and/or the recreational space the following is required: i) The condominium corporation amends the existing condominium agreement. ii) The condominium corporation enters into a Restrictive Covenant Agreement with CLOCA and registered on title; iii) The condominium corporation include this agreement in their updated condo agreement and declaration; and iv) The condominium corporation obtain a permit from CLOCA. 4. That all interested parties listed in this report be forwarded a copy of Committee's decision. Municipality of Clarington Committee of Adjustment A2023-0003 Page 2 1. Application Details 1.1 Owners: Port Darlington Marina Villas 1.2 Applicant: Keven Reay 1.3 Proposal: Minor Variance to Section 14.6.3 a) of Zoning By-law 84-63 to facilitate the development of one additional apartment unit within an existing townhouse condominium development 1.4 Area of Lot: 0.52 Ha (1.3 acres) 1.5 Location: 120 Port Darlington Road, Bowmanville (see Figure 1) 1.6 Legal Description: Part Lot 9, Broken Front, Former Town of Bowmanville. 1.7 Zoning: Urban Residential Exception (R3-3) Zone 1.8 Clarington Official Plan: Environmental Protection and Waterfront Greenway: 1.9 Durham Region Official Plan: Waterfront Areas and Port Darlington Waterfront Place 1.10 Heritage Status: None Municipality of Clarington Committee of Adiustment A2023-0003 _CT: 10 CON: BF v v 3 125 145 93 n 150 1fi0 PORT DARLINGTON ROAD s a EAST BEACH ROAD Property Location Map (Bowmanvif l e) - Area Subject To Minor Variance 120 Port Darlington Road A2023- 0003 Figure 1: Property Location Map Page 3 Municipality of Clarington Committee of Adjustment A2023-0003 Page 4 2. Background 2.1 December 5th, 2022, Planning Staff received an application for a minor variance to permit one additional dwelling unit within the existing townhouse condominium building. The proposed unit would be accommodated on the second floor of the condominium and replace the existing common party /recreational room. The proposal shows plans to remove the indoor pool on the first floor and replace it with common recreational space. The one -unit apartment will be above. The applicant is also proposing one additional parking space for the additional dwelling unit. 2.2 The applicant consulted with Staff and the Central Lake Ontario Conservation Authority regarding the proposal prior to submitting an application. At the time, there were concerns regarding the health and safety risks of permitting another unit within the floodplain based on the information that was available. The applicant has since prepared a Geodetic survey on October 31, 2022, which included precise floodplain elevations for further review and consideration. After reviewing the information, Staff and CLOCA are satisfied that the unit can be accommodated, subject to conditions. Further discussion in this regard can be found in Section 6 of this report. 2.3 The townhouse units were built in the mid 80's, prior to the adoption of By -Law 84-63. There are currently three separate condo corporations on the townhouse block. The applicant has indicated that the indoor recreational pool is impossible to maintain with only 25 units total in all three condo corporations. Therefore, a decision was made to close the pool on the main floor and replace it with a common recreational room. The applicant has further indicated that the recreational room would be relatively easy to convert to a loft style condo as there is already a living area, kitchen and washrooms. Separate utilities are also in place. There are no major exterior changes that are being made to the building. The site -specific zoning permits a maximum of 25 dwelling units. If granted, the application would serve to permit an additional dwelling unit on the subject lands, totalling 26 units. The one -bedroom apartment would need one additional parking space. Municipality of Clarington Committee of Adjustment A2023-0003 Page 5 Figure 2: Photo showing the interior recreational space to be converted to the apartment unit. 3. Land Characteristics and Surrounding Uses 3.1 The subject property is located at 120 Port Darlington Road, within the Bowmanville Urban Area. It is within the area known as the Port Darlington Waterfront Area (see Figure 1). To the west of the subject lands is Soper Creek and docking facilities. To the east is the Wiggers boat storage facility and further to the east is the Region Water Pollution Control Plant. To the south is the Port Darlington Harbour and to the north is a restaurant, formerly know as Bobby C's and a motel. The lot is approximately 0.52 hectares. Municipality of Clarington Committee of Adjustment A2023-0003 SST SNORE DRIB E r; I�Af��r Figure 3 — Subject Lands and Surrounding Context 4 Public Notice and Submissions Page 6 4.1 Pursuant to the requirements of the Planning Act, the appropriate signage acknowledging the application was installed on the subject lands. In addition, the appropriate notice was mailed to each landowner within the prescribed distance. 4.2 At the time of writing this report, Staff have not received any inquiries regarding the proposal. 5 Departmental and Agency Comments 5.1 The Central Lake Ontario Conservation Authority (CLOCA) have no concerns with this proposal given the scale of the proposed development and the location on the second floor within the existing building, subject to the below conditions: i. The condo corporation enters into a Restrictive Covenant Agreement with CLOCA that saves CLOCA from liability in the event of flood regarding any personal or property damage; ii. This agreement must be registered on the title; iii. The condominium corporation must include this agreement in their updated condo declaration; and Municipality of Clarington Committee of Adjustment A2023-0003 Page 7 iv. A permit pursuant to Ontario Regulation 42/06 under Conservation Authorities Act be acquired from CLOCA. 5.2 Further discussion regarding the floodplain analysis and comments from CLOCA are found in Section 6 of this report. 5.3 The Development Engineering Division have no concerns with this proposal. 5.4 The Building Division has reviewed the proposal and requires a building permit for internal changes. 5.5 Clarington Emergency and Fire Services Department have no concerns with this proposal. 6 Discussion 6.1 The majority of the subject property is within a natural hazard area (floodplain) and currently contains 25 townhouse units in three separate condominium corporations. The site -specific zoning for the property permits a maximum of 25 dwelling units. The proposal is to convert the existing common recreational space on the second floor to an apartment unit, which would result in a total of 26 units on the subject lands. The proposal must be evaluated based on the four tests for a minor variance to determine if it is a minor variation to the provisions of the zoning by-law. Conformity with the intent and purpose of the Regional and Clarington Official Plans 6.2 The subject property is designated Waterfront Areas and Port Darlington Waterfront Place within the Region of Durham Official Plan. Waterfront Areas shall not negatively impact the key natural heritage features and shall make the provision for public access to the waterfront uses. Residential, commercial, marina, recreational, and tourism uses are permitted. 6.3 The subject property is designated "Environmental Protection" and "Waterfront Greenway" within the Clarington Official Plan. It is also within the Port Darlington Neighbourhood Secondary Plan Area. 6.4 The Port Darlington Secondary Plan area designates the subject lands Marina Commercial. The Marina Commercial designation permits boat moorage repair and storage, boat manufacturing, associated marina uses, hotels, motels and conference facilities, restaurants, and existing residential uses. 6.5 The existing residential use on the subject lands is considered legal non -conforming in the Clarington Official Plan since residential uses are not permitted in the Environmental Protection designation. The Port Darlington Secondary Plan recognizes the existing residential use on the subject lands. Section 23.5 of the Clarington Official Plan allows for the expansion of a legal non -conforming use provided it does not further aggravate the situation created by the existence of the use, it does not create a public nuisance to neighbouring properties, and the size is appropriate in relation to the existing legal non- conforming use. Municipality of Clarington Committee of Adjustment A2023-0003 Page 8 6.6 The proposal for one additional dwelling unit within the existing building does not further aggravate the impacts to the floodplain area as there will be no exterior expansions to the building to accommodate the apartment unit. 6.7 Both the Regional and Clarington Official Plans, and the Port Darlington Secondary Plan would allow for the additional dwelling unit on the property. 6.8 It is Staff's opinion that the proposed unit conforms to the intent and purpose of both Official Plans and the Secondary Plan. Conformity with the intent and purpose of the Zoning by-law 6.9 The subject property is zoned Urban Residential Exception (R3-3) Zone. It should also be noted that the north portion of the site is zoned C5-2 Zone but that this is a technical error with the zoning mapping completed in the 1980's that will be corrected internally. 6.10 The R3-3 zone permits a maximum of 25 link townhouse dwelling units. The dwelling unit area must be a minimum of 115 square metres. The proposed apartment is approximately 150 square metres which meets the minimum unit size requirements. 6.11 A minor variance is required to increase the total number of dwelling units permitted on the subject lands from 25 to 26 units. It is presumed that the maximum of 25 units was to recognize the existing 25 townhouse units that were already built when Zoning By-law 84-63 was passed. The intent was to prevent any expansions to the building which could further impact or aggravate the floodplain area and put more people and property at risk. It was likely not contemplated that an additional unit could be accommodated within the building itself. 6.12 An additional parking space has also been shown to be provided within the existing paved surface parking area in front of the unit. The parking space dimensions meet the minimum parking space size requirements in the Zoning By-law, however, the location of the parking space shown on the site plan drawing appears to be slightly beyond the property line and encroaches on the road allowance. There is room to accommodate the parking space fully within the property limits. The applicant will need to revise the site plan drawing to show the proposed parking space fully within the property limits. Municipality of Clarington Committee of Adjustment A2023-0003 Page 9 O I i 0 r3 u'f � C] 0 (� 7 IA D an 19.45m -�- - o a e. v rF CL � I-3 7 O Z CL M 0 -. n (A Cr M O 0 rro- n } T O � W N � W 4' 4 yaO � R py rn d X Port Darlington Rd in rD 0 y� V r_ r L 3 X r CL 7M F7 M Figure 4 — Proposed Site Plan Showing Parking Space Location Municipality of Clarington Committee of Adiustment A2023-0003 Paae 10 6.13 It is in staff's opinion that the proposed increase of one additional dwelling unit within the existing townhouse building maintains the intent and purpose of the zoning by-law as it does not impact the floodplain area and would be a minimal conversion of the existing space. Desirable for the appropriate development or use of the land, building or structure 6.14 The proposal for one additional dwelling unit within the existing building would not have any negative impacts on the floodplain as there are no external additions to the building. Although there are no impacts to the surrounding area, the proposal should also be evaluated to determine if there are any risks to public health and safety, including safe pedestrian and vehicle ingress and egress in emergency situations. 6.15 All existing residential units in the building are located on the 2nd and 3rd floors of the building above the flood elevations. The cars are parked on the ground floor underneath each unit. The area being converted to the apartment unit is on the second floor of the building which is also above the flood elevation. Figure 5 — East Elevation of the Existing Townhouse Units Municipality of Clarington Committee of Adjustment A2023-0003 Page 11 Figure 6 — Portion of the building proposed to be converted to the apartment unit shown in red. 6.16 For safe pedestrian and vehicle access, the maximum allowable flood depth in 0.4 metres (approximately 1 foot 4 inches). The flood elevation is 78.1 metres, therefore a ground elevation of 77.7 metres is acceptable for safe ingress/egress. The applicant has provided a Geodetic survey for the precise elevations around the site's access points. The survey showed that the entrance to the building, as well as other points around the building provide for safe ingress/egress to the building since the elevation is above 77.7 metres. Municipality of Clarington Committee of Adjustment A2023-0003 Page 12 ao W Q ~ ry 00 hg LO ,11 p g 'moo `�n"KL �"�o1�NI ME I vJ z Q Z J 3 " Q a LLJ B1 LFF7-FOFSL--77M14� QJ "LL-81.75 Q �3 FFL=81.54 os-77 Q LLJ ❑ A FrLL-811.54 � m � N 020 Lv EN a J SILL�1.74 ¢ ��m � � � L�J � i J FFL-81.53 m� W 14' o mP O > �� a h nn c1 "' 0 N 0 F- Z J 5 k O O < O :a�^ 0 ¢ CY LLJ 0 Y J Z Q ti U Figure 7 — Elevations around entrance to the building 6.17 The two vehicle entrances to the site, as well as portions of Port Darlington Road, are slightly below the 77.7 metres since the driveway dips lower into the site. The lowest point being around 77.5 metres, which is about 10 centimetres below the acceptable levels for ingress/egress. Given that the flood elevations only partially affect portions of the site entrances for safe vehicle access and that emergency vehicles can access the site from Port Darlington Road, Staff and CLOCA do not object to the approval of the minor variance application to permit the new unit. Conditions of approval are recommended to ensure there is no liability against CLOCA in regard to personal or property damage and the condo declaration must include the restricting covenants to inform purchasers. 6.18 For the above stated reasons, it is Staff's opinion that the minor variance request is desirable for the use of the land and building. The proposal is appropriate for the lands as it is not detrimental to the surrounding area. The proposal would be minimal in terms of the land use impacts and relatively no impact to the surrounding context. Minor in Nature 6.19 In order to determine if an application is minor, the concept needs to maintain a flexible approach, and relates to the assessment of the significance of the variance to the surrounding circumstances and to the terms of the existing By-law. It is understood that an interpretation must be based on the unique circumstances of each application. It is Staff's opinion that the proposal is minor in nature as it does not significantly change the Municipality of Clarington Committee of Adjustment A2023-0003 Page 13 use of the land and it is a slight increase to the permitted provisions of the zoning by-law to allow for one additional residential unit. The extra unit does not significantly depart from the maximum permitted units already contemplated in the by-law. There are no major exterior alterations to the building or site that are being made to have a significant adverse impact on the floodplain area or the immediate surrounding properties. The use would be accommodated within the existing building and does not significantly alter the use of the land. 6.20 It is Staff's opinion that the proposal to add one additional residential dwelling unit within the existing building is minor in nature. 7 Conclusion 7.1 Based on Staff's review of the application, the application conforms to the intent and purpose of the Zoning By-law and the Regional and Municipal Official Plans, is desirable for the appropriate development or use of land and is deemed to be minor in nature. 7.2 Given the above comments, Staff recommends approval of the subject application for a Minor Variance to Section 14.6.3 a) of Zoning By-law 84-63 to facilitate the development of one additional apartment unit within an existing townhouse condominium development be approved subject to the following conditions: 7.3 That prior to the issuance of a building permit for the new additional residential unit and/or the recreational space the following is required: a. The condominium corporation amends the existing condominium agreement. b. The condominium corporation enters into a Restrictive Covenant Agreement with CLOCA and registered on title; c. The condominium corporation must include this agreement in their updated condo declaration; and d. The condominium corporation obtain a permit from CLOCA. Submitted by: Amanda Tapp, Manager - Development Review Branch Staff Contact: Nicole Zambri, Planner, (905) 623-3379 x 2422 Interested Parties: The following interested parties will be notified of Committee's decision: