HomeMy WebLinkAboutPD-184-82 iV REPORT #6
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CORPORATION OF THE TOWN OF NEWCASTLE
PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT T.T.EDWARDS,M.C.I.P.,Director
HAMPTON,ONTARIO LOB 1J0 TEL.(416)263.2231
REPORT TO THE COUNCIL MEETING OF NOVEMBER 1ST, 1982
REPORT NO. : PD-184-82
SUBJECT: APPLICATION FOR REZONING - BLOCK "E",
REGISTERED PLAN 702, D'ANGELO HOMES
OUR FILE: Z-A-2-4-10
RECOMMENDATION:
It is respectfully recommended to Council that : \
1 . Staff Report PD-184-82 be received; and
2. That application for rezoning Z-A-2-4-10, in
respect of part of Block "E", Plan 702
submitted by D'Angelo Homes and Pedan
Enterprises Limited be denied at this time,
without prejudice, as being premature and not
in conformity with the provisions of the
Official Plan for the Bowmanville Urban Area ;
and
3. That the applicant be further advised that the
Town of Newcastle would give consideration to a
revised proposal subject to a maximum density
of eighty units per net hectare, the
availability of sanitary sewer servicing
capacity and execution of a Development
Agreement in respect of the subject lands.
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Report No. : PD-184-82 . . ./2
BACKGROUND:
* On July 27th, 1982, staff received the attached application
for rezoning, submitted by D'Angelo Homes Limited and Pedan
Enterprises Limited on behalf of the Southeast Building
Corporation. The subject proposal is requesting the
rezoning of a 1 .2 acre parcel of land fronting on Quinn
Drive in Bowmanville, and located immediately east of the
Waverly Plaza to permit the development of a sixty-three
(63) unit senior citizens apartment building. The subject i
application was accompanied by a copy of a letter from the
Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing to Mr. D'Angelo
indicating that at the present time the Durham Area Housing
Authority has twenty-one (2.1 ) applications on file for some
thirty-five (35) senior citizens units , and that the
turn-over in units is not meeting present demand.
The subject lands are designated "Residential " by the Durham
Regional Official Plan, which provides that the predominant
use of such lands shall be for housing purposes , and shall
be developed with the widest possible diversity of housing
types and sizes in order to provide accommodation for
households of different socio-economic characteristics.
Furthermore, Section 8.1 .3.1 of the Regional Plan requires
that residential areas be fully serviced by municipal water
and sewage systems and that this is a necessary condition
which must be satisfied prior to the approval of residential
development.
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The Regional Official Plan also provides guidance in respect
of residential densities which shall not exceed a floor
space index of 1 .25. However, under certain circumstances,
Council may permit a higher density for public or community
uses such as day-care centres, nursing homes, homes for the
aged and schools.
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Report No. : Pn-184-82 . . ./3
The Plan goes on to state that where residential uses
approach the maximum floor space index permitted, they shall
be encouraged in residential areas adjacent to the major
transit route shown on Map "B" of the Regional Plan, and
also provides for the imposition of a development control
agreement as a condition of approval for the development or
redevelopment of any lands or buildings for multiple family
residential dwellings.
The Official Plan for the Bowmanville Major Urban Area, as
approved by both Local and Regional Councils , designates
within this area a site for higher density residential uses
in conjunction with the development of a local central area,
neighbourhood park and public school . The subject lands are
presently the only vacant lands available for such a
development. The Urban Area Plan also provides guidelines
in respect of residential densities and indicates that, in
general , high density residential areas should have a
density between fifty-five (55) and eighty (80) units per
net residential hectare. However, proposals for higher
densities may, in some situations, be considered to be in
conformity with the Plan, provided that the Region of (Durham
ascertains that servicing capacity exists and provided that
the proposed higher density use does not lower development
potential of other vacant residential lands within the given
neighbourhood. The Urban Area Plan further suggests that
high density residential uses only be encouraged to locate
on sites where there is a transition of medium density
residential uses between high density and low density
residential areas.
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Report No. : PD-184-82 . ../4
Further guidance is obtained from the Urban Area Plan in
respect of locational criteria. In that regard, high
density proposals should be located in proximity to
facilities and services including shopping, schools, parks
and transportation , and on sites whose amenities or other
physical attributes will minimize any adverse physical or
aesthetic effects upon adjacent uses and surrounding areas .
The subject lands are presently zoned "C3-Local Commercial "
by By-law 1587, as amended by By-law 72-32 and 73-2.6 of the
former Town of Bowmanville. Permitted uses within the C-3
zone would include a full range of retail stores and
personal service uses, save and except drive-in type
establishments. The C3 Zone would also restrict building
height to a maximum of two-stories. Staff note that the
existing zoning would be considered as being in conformity
with the Local Central Area Designation on the Official Plan
for the Bowmanville Urban Area. However, that designation
would not prevent a change in zoning to permit residential
uses in accordance with the high density designation of said
Official Plan.
In accordance with Departmental procedures, the subject
application was circulated to a number of Departments and
Agencies for review and comment, and in addition , a public
information sign was erected on the the site in accordance
with current Town policy. As a result of these actions, the
following comments were received.
Town of Newcastle Public Works Department
"I have reviewed the subject application and recommend that
the rezoning be granted subject to the applicant entering
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Report No. : PD-184-82 . ../5
into a Site Plan Agreement suitable to the Public Works
Department. On initial investigation of the site, it was
noted that storm drainage from the existing shopping plaza,
Part 1 , drains across Part 2 to Quinn Drive. This storm
drainage must be channelized and intercepted with a catch
basin and suitable storm sewer connections."
Town of Newcastle Fire Department
"The Fire Department has no objection to the application for
rezoning. The proposed location has municipal water supply
for fire protection with twelve inch secondary feeder mains
and six inch distributor mains. Fire hydrants are located
within the area, fire emergency response time and travel
from Station No. 1 is within an acceptable limit. Recommend
requesting building 's internal fire alarm system be
connected into the municipal fire alarm panel ."
Durham Regional Planning and Public Works Departments
"Further to your request for comments , we note that the site
is designated residential in the Durham Regional Official
Plan. The proposed residential development for sixty-three
senior citizens housing units conforms to the land use
designation. In the Official Plan of the Bowmanville Urban
Area (approved by Regional Council on July 7th, 1982) a high
density residential area symbol is shown in the vicinity of
the site. The proposal must conform to the provisions for
high density residential development as stated in Section
2.1 .2(iv)(c) of the Bowmanville Urban Area Official Plan,
including the availability of servicing capacity. In this
regard, municipal water supply is available to the site
through an existing watermain on Quinn Drive. There is also
a sanitary sewer abutting the frontage of the site, however
this sewer eventually outfalls to the Bowmanville Creek
sanitary sewage pumping station. This pumping station and
sections of the existing sanitary sewer on Baseline Road
from Hunt Street to Liberty Street do not have adequate
capacity to accommodate additional development. The
aforementioned capacity constraints will be eliminated by
the construction of the Bowmanville Creek trunk sanitary
sewer. The alignment of the required sewer is shown in red
on the attached plan. Provision has been made in the
Region 's 1982 capital budget and four-year forecast for the
design and construction of the trunk sewer in 1983 (Project
83-S48) . The actual scheduling for construction however,
will be subject to Regional Council approval of the 1983
Capital Budget. Accordingly, full municipal services as
required in both the Durham Plan and the Bowmanville
Official Plan are not available to -the site at this time and
the proposal is premature. However, we will provide you
with further comments when Regional Council has made a
decision on the required trunk sewer.
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Report No. : PD-184-82 . . .A
Staff note that due to the nature of this proposal , which
the application indicates is for senior citizens apartments,
comments were not requested from the two School Boards.
However, as a result of the concerns identified by the
residents of the Waverly area as recited by Mr. Hammond at
the Council Meeting of October 18th, 1982, staff did contact
both Boards by telephone and were advised that they did not
have any objections to the principle of the proposal , but
should the proposed apartment house school age children, an
assessment of available classroom space would have to be
made. In that regard, copies of the detailed proposal have
been forwarded to both the Boards, but at the time of
writing, we have yet to receive written confirmation that
they would not have any objections to the proposal , even if
it were to house school age children.
In addition to the comments obtained through our
circulation, a written submission, including a Petition
containing the signatures of eight-hundred and eighty (880)
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residents of the Waverly Gardens area, was submitted to
Council at its meeting of October 18th, 1982. Said Petition
requested that Council deny the application for the
following reasons:
1 . The initial plan for Waverly was designed for low
density residential uses, and the subject lands zoned
"Commercial " for the purpose of convenience shopping.
2. Residents of the Waverly area purchased their homes on
the understanding that this zoning was fixed.
3. Consideration for rezoning is felt to be a betrayal of
the original intent of the development plans for this area.
Report No. : PD-184-82 . . ./7
In addition to these general concerns about the principle of
development, the Petition also detailed a number of site
specific concerns as follows :
a) insufficient land to accomodate the request ;
b) increased traffic on a residential road, which will
create a safety hazard;
c) area schools are over-taxed and would not be able to
support additional students;
d) local parks are insufficient in size to accomodate
development of this nature; and
e the ro osal would devalue surrounding P p g properties.
COMMENTS:
The subject parcel of land, being 1 .2 acres ( .48 hectares)
in size, has a total lot area of 51 ,705 square feet (4803.4
square metres) . The Durham Regional Official Plan would
permit a floor space index of 1 .25, and would thus permit
63,843.75 square feet of floor space (5931 .1 square metres) .
The applicant is proposing the development of approximately
50,050 square feet (4649.6 square metres) which is well
within the Regional Official Plan density provisions. The
Official Plan for the Bowmanville Urban Area would permit a
maximum density of up to eighty (80) units per net hectare,
and this 1 .2 acre ( .48 hectares) site could be developed for
a maximum of thirty-nine (39) residential units. The
subject proposal exceeds this by some twenty-four (2.4)
units, and therefore does not conform.
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Report No. : PD-184-82 .. ./8
In addition, the comments provided by the Regional
Municipality of Durham indicate that sanitary sewer
servicing capacity is not presently available, and may not
be available until 1983, depending upon the outcome of the
Regional Council consideration of the 1983 capital budget.
The proposal therefore does not meet the requirements of the
Official Plan in respect of servicing.
Furthermore, staff note that the Official Plan for the
Bowmanville Major Urban Area has not yet been approved by
the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, and as such ,
approval of any proposal which would implement the
provisions of land use designations of that Official Plan
could be considered premature until the Minister's approval
has been received.
With respect to the comments presented by Mr. Hammond on
behalf of the Waverly residents group, staff offer the
following comments.
The subject proposal generally conforms with the principle
of development established by the Official Plan for the
Bowmanville Urban Area as approved by Council . In that
regard, the site was previously designated as Neighbourhood
Commercial in the Official Plan for the former Town of
Bowmanville, with adjacent lands designated for low density
residential purposes. The effect of the new Official Plan
is to change this designation to permit residential uses up
to a density of eighty (80) units per hectare. This change
in designation followed from a review of potential sites for
higher density residential uses in an attempt to facilitate
the policies of the Durham Regional Official Plan in respect
of providing a range in the variation of residential types
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Report No. : PD-184-82 . . .fig
within residential neighbourhoods, bearing in mind the
proximity of sites to other facilities such as commercial ,
recreational and educational . Staff note that although this
is a deviation from planning guidelines established by the
Waverly Road Neighbourhood Study in 1971 , there have been
numerous changes in housing demand, and given present
vacancy rates for rental accommodation within the Town, it
was felt that every possible opportunity should be presented
to facilitate development of this type of accommodation.
Staff would therefore suggest that rather than being a
betrayal of the original intent of development, the present
Official Plan designation reflects a change in housing need.
With respect to the detailed comments provided by the
residents, we have already indicated that the site is indeed
of insufficient size to accommodate the proposal , based upon
present Official Plan designations, which would only permit
a maximum of thirty-nine (39) units.
With respect to increased traffic on a residential road, we
would note that if the proposal is proceeded with as a
senior citizens apartment, traffic generation may not be as
great as for standard apartments. However, staff are
concerned about the proposed location of the access drive in
relation to an existing pedestrian walkway, and feel that
any access to this site should be adjacent to the commercial
property to the west and should remain on Quinn Drive
inasmuch as the introduction of a new access to Waverly
would create further traffic conflicts with the existing
Commercial accesses. In any event, such an access would be
difficult -to attain. As proposed, traffic originating from
this site would enter the road system via the lower order
road and then proceed.
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Report No. ; PD-184-82 .. ./10
The question of schools and the impact of this development
thereon has briefly been referred to earlier in this Report,
and inasmuch as the application is proposing development of
a senior citizens ' apartment building, we do not anticipate
any impact upon the schools. If, however, the proposal was
to house school age children, detailed comments from the
Boards of Education to assess available classroom space
would be required.
With respect to local recreation facilities , immediately to
the south of the subject lands is located a neighbourhood
park, having an area of approximately 2.1 hectares (5.2
acres) . This is the only existing park site within the
Waverly Road neighbourhood, however a further park site has
been designated to the west of Waverly Road north of St.
Stephens Separate School , which would have a total area of
roughly 4.0 hectares (10 acres). The long range plans for
this neighbourhood would therefore ensure that adequate park
land is provided to meet the demands of its population.
The residents also indicated that they were concerned about
a reduction of property values if the subject proposal were
allowed to proceed, however this has not been substantiated
by the residents. In fact, in staff's experience in similar
situations, only the subject lands would be appreciably
affected by a change from commercial to residential , since
this is usually considered to be down-zoning, except in
cases of extremely high-density. In this instance, the
maximum density permitted on the site is eighty units per
hectare, or thirty-two units per acre. For the purposes of
comparison, typical single family residential densities are
in the order of twenty to thirty units per hectare (eight
to twelve units per acre) and medium density, ranging from
thirty to fifty-five units per residential hectare (twelve
to twenty-two units per acre) .
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Report No. : PD-184-82 . . ./11
Notwithstanding the foregoing comments , staff are of the
opinion that the subject lands could be developed for
residential purposes up to the maximum density permitted by
the Bowmanville Urban Area Plan. However, development of
the site may only proceed at such time as sanitary sewer
servicing capacity is available and subject to certain
design modifications to improve the relationship of the
proposed use and its related activities to the adjacent
residential areas. This would include the need to relocate
access and an intensification of landscaping to soften the
physical relationship of this type of building upon adjacent
uses. Furthermore, a reduction of density to the maximum
permitted could result in a reduction in building height to
the point where aesthetic impacts upon adjacent land uses
would be reduced to a point equal to possible impacts
associated with uses presently permitted on this site. This
combined with architectural control could better integrate
the proposed building resulting in a smoother transition
relative to the massing of buildings.
Based on the foregoing, staff are suggesting that the
subject application for rezoning Z-A-2-4-10, submitted by
D'Angelo Homes Limited and Pedan Enterprises Limited, be
denied at this time, without prejudice, and that the
applicant be advised that the Town of Newcastle would
consider a revised application at such time as sanitary
sewer servicing capacity is available to the site and
subject to a redesign to reduce the number of units to a
maximum of thirty-nine (39) , and the relocation of the
access drive from the east property boundary to the west
property boundary to eliminate possible conflicts with
pedestrians at the existing walkway.
Respec ull b '' ted,
T. T. Edwards, M.C. I .P.
Director of Planning
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