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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPSD-021-02 j. . JI . ~n REPORT PLANNING SERVICES Meeting: Date: GENERAL PURPOSE AND ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE ,L Monday, March 25, 2002 j) 10. (;'1'11-/37 -0;2- PSD-021-02 File#: PLN 32,11,2 By-Iaw#: Report #: Subject: MODIFICATION 174, DEFERRAL #2, AND DEFERRAL #22 TO THE CLARINGTON OFFICIAL PLAN APPLICATION BY THE MUNICIPALITY OF CLARINGTON TO AMEND THE DURHAM REGIONAL OFFICIAL PLAN, FILE: ROPA 96-004 RECOMMENDATIONS: It is respectfully recommended that the General Purpose and Administration Committee recommend to Council the following: 1, THAT Report PDS-021-02 be received; 2, THAT Durham Regional Council be requested to modify the Clarington Official Plan as set out in Modification 174 (Attachment 1), and to lift Deferral #2 and Deferral #22 of the Clarington Official Plan: 3, THAT Durham Region be requested to close the application submitted by the Municipality of Clarington to amend the Durham Regional Official Plan, File ROPA 96-004: 4, THAT the Region of Durham Planning Department be forwarded a copy of this report; and 5, THAT all interested parties listed in this report, any delegations be advised of Council's decision, l-J ~--tsk Reviewed by: Franklin Wu, Chief Administrative Officer Submitted by: D v ' Crome, MCIP, R.P,P, Director of Planning Services IL*BN*DJC*sh March 15, 2002 CORPORATION OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF CLARINGTON 40 TEMPERANCE STREET, BOWMANVILLE, ONTARIO L 1C 3A6 T 905-623-3379 F 905-623-0830 642 Replacement resolution for the recommendations contained in Report PSD-021-02 (Changes from report highlighted in bold) Moved By: Seconded By: 1, THAT Report PDS-021-02 be received; 2. THAT Modification 174 be revised to designate all lands. bounded by Baseline Road, Trulls Road, the St. Lawrence and Hudson Railway and Courtlce Road as "Light Industrial" in the Clarlngton OffIcial Plan; 3, THAT Durham Regional Council be requested to modify the Clarington Official Plan as set out in Modification 174 (Attachment 1) as revised, and to lift Deferral #2 and Deferral #22 of the Clarington Official Plan; 4, THAT Durham Region be requested to close the application submitted by the Municipality of Clarington to amend the Durham Regional Official Plan, File ROPA 96-004; 5, THAT in accordance with Section 23.5.3 of the Official Plan, staff be instructed in the Zoning Bylaw Review to zone all lands bounded by Baseline Road, Trulls Road, the St. Lawrence and Hudson Railway and Courtlce Road for a Light Industrial exception zone to allow for 70 % of the lot area to be used for outdoor storage and to permit a contractor yard and a transport depot as additional uses to those provided for in the Light Industrial Zone; 6, THAT the Region of Durham Planning Department be forwarded a copy of this report; and 7, THAT all interested parties listed in this report, any delegations be advised of Council's decision, . REPORT NO.: PSD-021-02 PAGE 2 1. BACKGROUND 1,1 The Clarington Official Plan, as adopted by Council, includes a Highway Commercial Area designation on lands located in South Courtice generally bounded by Courtice Road, Highway 401, Trulls Road, the St. Lawrence & Hudson railway, Regional Council deferred approved the designation of these lands when they considered the Clarington Official Plan on October 13, 1996 (Deferral 22), 1,2 Two of the background studies for the Clarington Official Plan led to the recommended designation as a Highway Commercial Area: i) The South Courtice Employment Area Study was prepared as background to the Clarington Official Plan to provide land use planning options for lands between Townline Road, Bloor Street, Courtice Road, and Highway 401, Three different options were presented which included a predominantly business park, or an industrial park, or a special purpose commercial and industrial park combination, The latter preferred option included the designation of Highway Commercial at the northwest corner of the Highway 401 and Courtice Road, ii) The Commercial Hierarchy Study examined the demand for special purpose commercial lands within Clarington and supported the designation of land in areas adjacent to Highway 401 in Bowmanville and Courtice, The recommendations of both these Studies were carried forward into the draft Clarington Official Plan and approved by Council. The Clarington Official Plan has designated a portion of the lands north-west of the Courtice Road interchange as Highway Commercial. Potential uses include automotive sales/service centres, home improvement centres, garden centres, restaurants, hotels, and service stations, 1,3 The Durham Region Official Plan designates the lands as Employment Area, Highway Commercial uses were not permitted in the Employment Area designation at that time, Therefore, the Municipality submitted an amendment to the Durham Region Official Plan (ROPA 96-004), 1.4 At the same time as the Region was reviewing the Clarington Official Plan, they were also reviewing the application for the Thickson Ridge Power Centre in Whitby, This led to broader review of regional policy regarding the type and amount of large format retail 643 1,7 2, 2,1 , . REPORT NO.: PSD.021.02 PAGE 3 stores which could be permitted in Employment Areas, This review resulted in Amendment #28 to the Durham Region Official Plan that would enable municipalities to designate areas for retail warehouses in Employment Areas subject to certain criteria, including a minimum f100rspace of 2000 sq,m, for individual retail warehouses, 1,5 Additional applicants in Whitby had requested minimum f100rspace areas below 2,000 sq,m" these requests were denied by the Region, As a result, Amendment #28 was referred to the Ontario Municipal Board, The Board approved Amendment #28 in 1998 by upholding the Region's commercial structure and polices, Retail warehouses are permitted in Employment Areas, subject to specific criteria, and subject to a floor space minimum of 2000 sq,m, 1,6 Since the Region was developing this policy regarding large format retail stores in Employment Areas at the time of the approval of Clarington Official Plan in 1996, Regional Council deferred two items of the Plan: i) Deferral 2 deals with the policies on retail warehouses as they relate to the South Courtice Employment Area, ii) Deferral 22 relates to the Official Plan mapping as it indicates a Highway Commercial designation between Highway 401, Courtice Road, the Sl. Lawrence and Hudson Rail tracks, and Trulls Road as identified on Land Use Schedule Map A2, Two options are now available to the Municipality: to restrict retail warehouses to a large format of greater than 2000 sq,m, or to provide for other employment area designations, This report recommends the latter. EXISTING DEVELOPMENT The existing development within Deferral Area 22 has occurred during the past 20 years, Major developments on the north side of Baseline Road include the Halminen Homes head office and the Brandom Kitchens building, Although some other office uses exist, the majority of development can be classified as general industrial including contractor's yards, lumber yard and metal fabrication, Vacant parcels within this area total 0,85 hectares, 644 REPORT NO.: PSD.Q21-02 PAGE 4 2,2 Uses on the south side of Baseline Road include agricultural and residential. There are 8 houses in total. The two largest parcels have a total land area of 13,39 hectares, The lands would have the necessary land area requirement for a retail warehouse development. However, there are visibility, traffic and servicing constraints on these lands, 3. PROPOSED MODIFICATION 3,1 It is proposed that the Highway Commercial designation be deleted in its entirety from south Courtice, and that the east portion (approximately 48 hectares) be designated Prestige Employment Area and that the west portion (approximately 27 hectares) be designated Light Industrial. 3.2 The Prestige Employment Area designation north of the St. Lawrence and Hudson line is extended southward along the west side of Courtice Road to Highway 401, This area is a gateway into the industrial park and further Prestige employment development would enhance the area and be complementary to the existing development. The predominant use of land within Prestige Employment Areas shall be professional, corporate, and office buildings, data processing centres, research and development facilities, commercial or technical schools, and light industrial uses within enclosed buildings, Certain other uses that are limited in scale and serve the employment area employees are permitted, All development is subject to a high level of architectural, landscaping and sign control. 3,3 The Light Industrial Area designation, immediately west of the Deferral 22 area, would be extended eastward to meet the new Prestige Employment Area boundary, This would serve to recognize the existing industrial businesses, It would permit further development to proceed with the high visibility and accessibility desired for such areas, Both land use designations are indicated on Schedule "A" of Attachment 1, Light Industrial Areas are to be utilized for manufacturing, assembling, processing, fabricating, repairing, research and development and warehousing, They are to be 645 REPORT NO.: PSD-021.02 PAGE 5 4,1 4,2 5, 5,1 5,2 located in places of high visibility along major arterial roads and freeways, They may also permit limited other uses such as athletic clubs, restaurants, and banks to serve the employees, 4. PUBLIC NOTICE The Planning Act does not require a formal Public Notice to be given for this type of application, However, as a courtesy to the property owners, all owners within the deferral area were notified by mail of the proposed modification on February 28th, 2002, As of the writing of this report nine enquiries have been received from property owners in the area, Five owners requested clarification of the proposed modification, The remaining four questioned the impact that the change in land use designation would have on their existing businesses and were particularly concerned about their right to continue to have outdoor storage on their properties, These concerns are addressed in Section 5,9 of this report, ANALYSIS Regional policy only permits the large format retail exceeding 2000 sq,m, in the areas designated as Employment Area in the Durham Region Official Plan, This provides a limited market because the mid-range stores are excluded, These mid-range large format stores include furniture stores, electronic stores and other specialized merchandise stores that do not meet the 2,000 sq,m, threshhold, With power centres operational at Thickson Road, and Taunton/Harmony Roads and with a designated sites at the future Stevenson Road interchange and along the Highway 401 frontage in Bowmanville, there does not appear to be sufficient market in the near future for Courtice, There have been no inquires about the Courtice lands even with the deferred Highway Commercial designation in the Clarington Official Plan, There have been numerous inquires and draft proposals in Bowmanville near Highway 401, This would indicate that the retailers require greater separation from existing centres and that Bowmanville is a viable area, 646 REPORT NO.: PSD-021-02 PAGE 6 5,3 The Durham Region Official Plan requires that retail warehouses be located on a Type A or Type B arterial road, Courtice Road is a Type A arterial road which has been designed to move large volumes of traffic, Baseline Road, however, is a Type C arterial. Type C arterial roads are designed to more lower volumes of traffic, Consequently, the Highway Commercial designation does not meet the criteria established by Amendment 28 to the Regional Official Plan, 5.4 The majority of the area north of Baseline Road has been developed for industrial purposes, The site is constrained by the fragmented ownership and the existing land uses, Several properties would need to be amalgamated before there is sufficient land area to accommodate a retail warehouse building and associated parking facilities, Assembling small, developed land parcels for retail warehouse redevelopment purposes is unlikely to occur, In reality, only the lands on the south side of Baseline Road would be relatively easy to develop as a Highway Commercial Area, 5,5 The northwest corner of the CPR line and Courtice Road has been identified for a future GO Station, The Go Station is surrounded by a Prestige Employment Area designation and there is existing high quality office development at the northwest corner of Baseline and Courtice, The proposed land use designations of Prestige Employment Area and Light Industrial Area provide for suitable higher quality industrial uses in the vicinity of Highway 401 and a future Go Station, 5,6 These land use designations conform with the Region's Employment Areas policies, Should an application be received for a retail warehouse on the Light Industrial Area lands, the application would have to be evaluated on its own merits at that point in time, 5,7 The entire area subject to Deferral 22 is zoned General Industrial (M2), The M2 zone permits a variety of industrial uses and includes the outside storage of goods and material where such use is accessory and incidental to a permitted use, The outdoor storage can cover up to a maximum of 70% of the total lot area, Several of the businesses in this area currently have an outdoor storage component. 647 REPORT NO.: PSD.021-02 PAGE 7 5,8 The proposed Prestige Employment Area designation permits light industrial uses within enclosed buildings, Outside storage or display of goods is strictly prohibited, The proposed Light Industrial Area designation permits limited outdoor storage to a maximum of 25% of the total gross bUilding floor area, The concerns noted by several business owners in the area was that either land use designation would have a negative impact on their right to have outside storage on their properties, and the effect the designation would have on any future sale of their businesses and/or property, 5,9 It should be noted that the existing zoning will not change with the Official Plan change, However Staff are in the process of preparing a draft zoning by-law for the entire Municipality, As part of the process staff are considering situations where property uses conform to the existing zoning by-law but do not conform to the existing land use designation, If the land use change is approved in the Official Plan, the new zoning must be in conformity with it. However, there are two options for existing uses: a) All businesses that do not conform with the Official Plan would have legal non- conforming status, These businesses could continue to exist but they could not expand or convert to a similar use without a by-law approved by Council. b) Section 23,5,3 of the Official Plan would permit non-conforming properties to be recognized and zoned in the new by-law and allowed to expand or convert to a similar use, Staff has not determined whether it would make such a recommendation for these properties at this point in the review, 6. CONCLUSION Amendment #28 has been approved and provides a regional policy on the type of large format retail uses appropriate in Employment Areas, Staff recommend that the Highway Commercial uses no longer be pursued and that Council notify the Region to close the associated Official Plan Amendment file (ROPA 96-004), 648 . REPORT NO.: PSD.021.02 PAGE 8 8taff also recommend that the Region be requested to approve Modification 174 to the Clarington Official Plan to change the land use designation from Highway Commercial to Prestige Employment Area and Light Industrial Area, and consequently lift Deferral 2 and 22, Attachment 1 - Modification 174 Interested parties to be notified of Council and Committee's decision: Hannu Halminen 1748 Baseline Road Courtice, Ontario L 1 E 286 Keith Green McCaul Fencing 83 Cigas Road Courtice, Ontario Randy Lethangue 1197 80uthdale Ave Oshawa, Ontario L 1 H 7Z1 June Watson 1632 Baseline Road Courtice, Ontario L 1 E 286 John Foster Prairie Plumbing 1695 Baseline Road Courtice, Ontario 8afetech 80 Cigas Road Courtice, Ontario L 1 E 286 Mike Konopacki 1700 Baseline Road Courtice, Ontario L 1 E 286 618709 Ontario Inc, 131 Cigas Road Courtice, Ontario Lloyd Down 1687 Baseline Road Courtice, Ontario L 1 E 286 649 . ATTACHMENT 1 MODIFICATION NO. 174 TO THE CLARINGTON OFFICIAL PLAN That the designation of those lands indicated as subject to Deferral 22 on Map A2 of the Clarington Official Plan be modified from Highway Commercial to Prestige Employment Area, and from Highway Commercial to Light Industrial Area, as indicated on Schedule "A" to this Modification, 65U , . SCHEDULE "A" MODIFICATION No. 174 TO THE MUNICIPALITY OF CLARINGTON OFFICIAL PLAN, MAP A2, LAND USE, COURTICE URBAN AREA i@ b I @ ~ D - ". - URBAN RESIDENTIAL FUTURE URBAN RESIDENTIAL HIGHWAY COMMERCIAL I PRESTIGE EMPLOYMENT AREA UGHT INDUSTRIAL AREA _GENERAL INDUSTRIAL AREA _ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AREA _ GREEN SPACE _ WATERFRONT GREENWAY ..) '-.s REDESIGNATE FROM "HIGHWAY COMMERCIAL" TO "LIGHT INDUSTRIAL AREA" LAKE ONlAR/O t MAP A2 LAND USE COURTICE URBAN AREA REDESIGNATE FROM "HIGHWAY COMMERCIAL" TO "PRESTIGE EMPLOYMENT AREA" OFFICIAL PLAN MUNICIPALITY OF CLARINGTON DECEMBER 4, 2000 THIS CONSOUDATJOH IS PROVIDED fOR COIflENIOCE ONLY AND REPfl:ESEHTS REQUESTED ~IFICATlONS N-lD ,lflflRO\IAlS ~ DEFERRED BY ~ THE REGION OF DURHAM J