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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPD-29-95THE CORPORATION OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF CLARINGTON 1. THAT Report PD -29 -95 be received; 2. THAT the application for rezoning and draft plan of subdivision submitted by WDM Consultants be referred back to staff for consideration subsequent to the adoption and approval of the new Clarington Official Plan; and 3. THAT the Region of Durham and the interested parties listed in this report and any delegation be advised of Council's decision. 1. APPLICATION DETAILS 1.1 Applicant: Claret Investments Ltd. and Rexgate Holdings Ltd. (Courtice Heights Developments) 1.2 Agent: WDM Consultants 1.3 Subdivision: 34 single detached units, 128 semi- detached units and 28 townhouse units, for a total of 190 units, with blocks for future development 1.4 Rezoning: from "Agricultural (A) " and "Environmental Protection (EP)" to an appropriate zone or zones to implement RECYCLED A-P R RECYCLE 1H 4S 2 PRIMED M RECYCLED PAPER REPORT NO.: PD -29 -95 PAGE 2 the above proposed development. 1.5 Area: 9.36 ha (23.13 acres) 2. LOCATION 2.1 Legal Description: Part Lot 28, Concession 3, former Township of Darlington 2.2 Relative Location: The subject lands are located on the east side of Courtice Road, Lot 28, Concession 3, approximately midway between Pebblestone and Nash Roads (see Attachment #1). 3. BACKGROUND 3.1 On December 28, 1994, an application for approval of a plan of subdivision was submitted by WDM Consultants to the Region of Durham. On December 29, 1994, WDM Consultants also filed an application for rezoning with the municipality to amend the former Town of Newcastle Comprehensive Zoning By -law 84 -63 in order to implement the proposed plan of subdivision (see Attachment #2). 3.2 The subject property falls within Courtice North Neighbourhood 3C (see Attachment #3). On April 13, 1992, the applicant filed applications with the Town of Newcastle Planning and Development Department for a Neighbourhood Plan Amendment and an Official Plan Amendment for Neighbourhood 3C. The applications for Neighbourhood Plan Amendment and Official Plan Amendment have previously been addressed under Planning Report number PD- 22 -93. In regards to that report, under resolution number GPA -58 -93 Council stated that the applications be "referred back to staff to be considered in the context of the Town of Newcastle's Official Plan Review ". 524 REPORT NO.: PD -29 -95 PAGE 3 4. PUBLIC NOTICE 4.1 In accordance with the Town's procedures and the requirements of the Planning Act, written notice was given as follows: • the appropriate signage acknowledging the application was installed on the subject lands; and • written notice was circulated to all property owners falling within a 120 metre radius surrounding the site. 4.2 As of the writing of this report two public enquiries have been received by staff: • one was in favour of the application and wished to be kept informed of its progress; and • the second stated concerns about the impact of tree clearing on storm drainage west of Courtice Road and on the ground water table, expressed preference for development which is more sensitive to the environmentally sensitive nature of the area and voiced opposition to what would be non - sequential development, stating that the southern part of Hancock Neighbourhood should develop first. 5. LAND USES 5.1 Existing Uses: fallow farm land 5.2 Surrounding Uses: North - woodlot and scattered residential development South - strip residential development East - strip residential development and Hancock Rd. West - woodlots and strip residential development REPORT NO.: PD -29 -95 PAGE 4 6. OFFICIAL PLAN POLICIES 6.1 Within the 1991 Durham Region Official Plan the subject property is designated "Living Area" with indications of "Environmentally Sensitive Areas ". Lands designated "Living Area" shall be primarily for housing purposes. The "Environmentally Sensitive Areas" have been identified to ensure the preservation, conservation or enhancement of its deemed valuable ecological functions. Section 2.3.17 of the Durham Region Official Plan requires that an environmental impact study be prepared under the direction of the Region. This has been conducted and is discussed under the comments section of this report. 6.2 Within the former Town of Newcastle Official Plan the subject property falls within the Courtice Major Urban Area and is designated "Residential ". Schedule 6 -2 of the former Town of Newcastle Official Plan identifies the property as an "Environmentally Sensitive Area ". Section 6.4.2 (i) of the Official Plan states that lands so identified shall be examined through the preparation of an Environmental Impact Analysis. In 1981 an analysis was completed and its findings are discussed in Section 8.5 of this report. 6.3 Section 6.1.2 iii (a) of the Town of Newcastle Official Plan states that Neighbourhood Plans shall be prepared for the Courtice Urban Area's residential neighbourhood. Such plans have been prepared for all of Courtice's neighbourhoods with the exception of the northerly portion of Courtice North Neighbourhood 3C, the location of this application under consideration. Attachment #3 depicts the existing partial development plan for 526 REPORT NO.: PD -29 -95 PAGE 10 been deferred for consideration by Council pending consideration of the new Clarington Official Plan. 8.4 An Environmental Impact Analysis (EIA) undertaken by the Municipality in 1981 for the Courtice North Urban Area identified large portions of the lands subject to application as an Open Space Area and a Special Policy Area, with some lands shown as an Environmental /Hazard Area (see Attachment #4). The report stated that the Open Space Area should be developed as estate lots or be utilized as open space. The Special Policy Areas were so identified because the impact of the development on the shallow water table was unknown. The applicant's hydrogeological and environment consultants addressed this matter but the Ministry of Natural Resources, CLOCA and the Region considered the work insufficient to constitute an environmental impact analysis. 8.5 In 1994 an "Environmental Impact Study of the Courtice Major Urban Area - Regional Municipality of Durham" was prepared by Ecological Services for Planning Ltd for the Region of Durham. The applicant was one of the developers which contributed to the funding of the study. Attachment #5 identifies the site as containing Environmental Units F2 and E1, the F2 being "Moderate Sensitivity" and the E1 "High Sensitivity ". The Moderate Sensitivity rating is considered to possess moderate sensitivity to impacts from development. The change in the sensitivity ranking was the result of the lands being "previously disturbed 5- 3 C_ REPORT PD-29-95 PAGE 5 Neighbourhood 3C, showing the lands subject to this report and other lands owned by the applicant. Section 6.1.2 iii(b) stipulates that Neighbourhood Development Plans shall be prepared and approved by Council "prior to approval of plans of subdivision ". 6.4 Map A of Clarington's Draft Official Plan indicates an urban area boundary for Courtice to the year 2021, in accordance with the Durham Region Official Plan. An "Interim Urban Boundary" has been identified to delineate lands which are to be developed within a 15 to 20 year period, in accordance with Provincial policy. The subject property falls outside the "Interim Urban Boundary" in the Draft Official Plan. The lands are designated "Urban Residential" and "Medium Density Residential ", with a "Green Space" portion on the eastern section. The predominant use of lands designated as Residential shall be for housing purposes. Lands designated "Green Space" shall be for active and /or passive recreational and conservation uses, including parks, conservation areas and reforestation. 6.5 The delineation of the proposed Interim Urban Boundary is undergoing review. In public submission number W131 the applicant stated a number of concerns about the Draft Official Plan, including such matters as follows: • the exclusion of the development site from the interim urban area boundary; ® an increase in population from the current Official Plan limit of 1900, the proposed Official Plan limit of 2900 and the applicant's desire for 4500; 2_ REPORT NO.: PD-29-95 PAGE 6 • the proposed "Green Space" designation; • the proposed alignment of the north /south collector and the east /west mid -block collector; • deletion and identification of tributary types; and • setting the basis of the Plan to the years 2015/2016. Staff are considering these concerns in conjunction with other public submissions and agency comments on the Draft Official Plan. 7. AGENCY COMMENTS 7.1 In accordance with departmental procedures the application was circulated to obtain comments from other departments and agencies. The following departments /agencies, in providing comments, offered no objection to the application as filed: • Regional Health Department; • Ministry of Agriculture and Food; • Clarington Fire Department; • Ontario Hydro; and • Clarington Hydro. 7.2 Comments from the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Recreation state that the subject lands have a high potential for the discovery of archaeological remains and recommend that an archeological assessment be carried out prior to any earth disturbance. 7.3 The Northumberland - Clarington Board of Education has commented with concerns that the development of this plan of subdivision and the other lands owned by the applicant will proceed before a school site is developed in J REPORT NO.: PD-29-95 PAGE 70 Neighbourhood 3C. If so they request that a school site be included within either of the plans of subdivision to accommodate the number of students generated and also request sidewalks on all roads. 7.4 The Municipality of Clarington Public Works Department considers the application to be premature and that the application can not proceed further until the following items are addressed: • a neighbourhood development plan must first be approved by the Municipality and the Region of Durham; • a traffic study must be submitted showing the impact of the proposal on vehicular and pedestrian traffic and all improvements required external to the site to allow it to be incorporated properly; • the area must be included in the Development Charges Study so that the Municipality has funds allotted for all necessary upgrades and improvements such as roads, sidewalks and street illumination; • the development cannot proceed until the final alignment of Adelaide Avenue has been approved by the Municipality and the Region of Durham; • a revised servicing report is to be prepared addressing the conveyance of the minor and major storm systems to the proposed storm water management pond at Nash and Courtice Roads; 2 01 REPORT NO.: PD-29-95 PAGE 8 • a stormwater management report, satisfactory to the Director of Public Works, the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Central Lake Ontario Conservation Authority must be submitted and conform to the 1991 East Tributary of Black Creek Master Drainage Study, which would address the conveyance of the minor system and major overland flow to the detention pond; • easements may be required from the site to convey the storm water to the management pond; • the Master Drainage Study also address the construction of facilities, the purchase of land and the sharing of costs of any facilities which will benefit the watershed as a whole, which the applicant will be required to adhere to; • street D and all other collector roads shall have a minimum width of 26 metres with a minimum horizontal radius of 130 metres; • a temporary turning circle is to be incorporated at the west limit of street E, freezing the abutting lots until the circle is removed; and, • the temporary road connections proposed on lots 77, 92, 107 and 126 are to be replaced with a temporary turning circle at the north limit of street D, or with a block to the north of lots 1 and 126 for a turning circle. The Public Works Department will provide further comments when the above concerns have been satisfactorily addressed. REPORT NO.: PD-29-95 PAGE 9 7.5 As of the writing of this report comments remain upstanding from the following departments and agencies: • Ministry of Natural Resources; • Region Of Durham Planning Department; • Region of Durham Public Works Department; • Clarington Community Services; • Central Lake Ontario Conservation Authority; • Separate School Board; • Canada Post Corporation; and • Bell Canada. 8. STAFF COMMENTS: 8.1 Staff are currently undergoing a comprehensive review of the submissions on the Draft Official Plan. The Interim Urban Boundary is of particular importance as its placement will determine the direction of growth within the next 15 to 20 years The subject lands were not incorporated within the Interim Urban Area boundary in the Draft Official Plan. As the Official Plan is being finalized, staff will be reviewing the pros and cons of the applicant's request to place the property within the Interim Urban Area. 8.2 The 1992 Council- approved Town of Newcastle Development Charges policy report does not identify the Capital Works required to service this area within its 10 year capital works program. 8.3 The Official Plan for the former Town of Newcastle requires that a neighbourhood plan be prepared and approved prior to the development of plans of subdivision. As previously discussed, such a plan has been prepared by the applicant. However, the plan has REPORT NO.: PD -29 -95 PAGE 11 by complete removal of vegetation or selective timber harvesting ". This is evident as Map 5 of the 1981 Environmental Impact Analysis shows the site to be almost completely wooded. The 1994 report states that the area is part of "important environmental units for species utilizing less mature habitat" and that it is "preferable to maintain sections" of the site when considering applications for development. The E1 Environmental Unit is identified as a "High Sensitivity" area. "It possesses a diverse composition of ground flora consisting of many native plant species ", has "high water table conditions" and is "significant for groundwater recharge ". 8.6 The Environmental Impact Study listed recommended considerations for the review of development proposals. In addressing the F2 Moderate Sensitivity unit the recommended considerations were to consider the protection of natural forested core areas, buffers and forested corridors and practicing the Study's suggested mitigation strategy, which included such measures as follows: 0 minimizing the impermeable cover; • encouraging the infiltration of runoff; • avoiding installation of buried services and basements below the water table; • timing of sediment removal to preserve surface water quality; and • erecting fences at the rear of lots to limit access points to natural areas. For the E1 High Sensitivity area the recommendations included the above as well as incorporating groups of 3-) REPORT NO.: PD -29 -95 PAGE 12 mature trees into the development and the protection of the high species diversity. In consideration of the plan of subdivision the developer would need to address the means of implementing the recommendations of the Environmental Impact Study. 8.7 In February of this year the Ministry of Environment and Energy received a request from a Courtice resident "that Clarington's Official Plan, specifically Courtice North (3a, b & c) and adjacent lands, be designated under the Environmental Assessment Act ". The Ministry has requested various agencies, including the Planning Department, to provide comments on the designation request. Planning staff will be responding to the Ministry through a report to Council in the near future. 8.8 An Environmental Assessment is required for the extension of Adelaide Avenue through north Courtice in order to fix the alignment of Adelaide Avenue within or in the vicinity of the applicant's lands. Staff will be reporting on this matter in the near future. 9. CONCLUSION 9.1 Staff's previous recommendation on the other lands owned by the applicant in Neighbourhood 3C, subject to plan of subdivision and rezoning, was to deny without prejudice as premature. Staff believe this to be true of this application. However, in light of Council's disposition of the previous application it is recommended that the application be referred back to staff pending the adoption and approval of the new Clarington Official Plan. 534 REPORT NO.: PD -29 -95 PAGE 13 Respectfully submitted, Franklin Wu, M.C.I.P., R.P.P. Director of Planning and Development IL *DC *FW *df *Attach 10 March 1995 Reviewed by, W.H. Stockwel Chief Administrative Officer Interested parties to be notified of Council and Committee's decision: WDM Consultants 20 Clematis Road Willowdale, Ontario M2J 4X2 -Pam Callus 3452 Hancock Road Courtice, Ontario L1E 2L6 Ivan Perun 5325 Enfield Road RR #1 Hampton, Ontario LOB 1J0 Libby Racansky 3200 Hancock Road Courtice, Ontario L1E 2M1 �- - =W DEV. 94 067 536 N 1� f ✓o �1 v ' V \ AREA TABLE RESIDENTIAL SINGLE _1.417 RESIDENTIAL SEMI - DETACHED RESIDENTIAL ST. TOWNHOUSE ..r ts.a,nna_4.057 -=.. ...n 0.679 RESIDENTIAL RESERVE 4.... q .n_0.099 ROAD WIDENINGS - •w 0.056 ROADS M UNIT COUNT TOTAL 9IMS ^rte 12m SINGLES (D) 74 9. SEMI - DETACHED (S) 126 6m STREET TOWNHOUSE (T) TOTAI 21 790 r 226. C.W. tm.I 0.707 20. R.O.W. n• «.I 2,}jb TOTAL 7.097 ti f I L h s u :: s9 rs a u9 '7 4trk 6 � 1 SUBJECT S ITE OTHER LANDS OWNED BY o APPLICANT U, 2.1 O NASH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -8h LANDS SUBJECT To FURTHER AMENDMENT TO THE NEIGHBOURHOOD DEVELOPMENT PLAN Q, ICOURTICE NORTH NEIGHBOURHOOD 3C LAND USE STRUCTURE PLAN 0 100 200 SCHEDULE 1 C MEDIUM DENSITY RESIDENTIAL M MAX. UNITS PER NET HECTARE \40J LOW DENSITY RESIDENTIAL RESIDENTIAL SPECIAL POLICY MAJOR OPEN SPACE PARKET7E PEDESTRIAN /.BICYCLE PATHWAY ARTERIAL ROAD - TYPE V MAJOR. COLLECTOR ROAD i -, -Z j i LOCAL ROAD PLANNING CONCEPT �t M a O J Q Z O C9 W w v a O Ix W V g'r''" ENVIRONMENTAL /HAZARD AREAS ® SPECIAL POLICY AREAS EM OPEN SPACE AREAS MURBAN RESIDENTIAL AREAS 1. 1.. OWN", WE r MAN .. .. .. . 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