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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDTS-10-121 - Comprehensive Review of Intensification Areas - Official Plan Review Study REPORT REPORT TO: Development & Technical Services Committee DATE OF MEETING: June 21, 2010 SUBMITTED BY: Alain Pinard, Interim Director of Planning PREPARED BY: Andrew Pinnell, Planner (519-741-2668) WARD(S) INVOLVED: All DATE OF REPORT: June 14, 2010 REPORT NO.: DTS-10-121 SUBJECT: COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF INTENSIFICATION AREAS OFFICIAL PLAN REVIEW STUDY RECOMMENDATION: That report DTS-10-121 entitled Comprehensive Review of Intensification Areas be received for information and discussion, and further That staff be directed to further investigate the following with respect to completing the Comprehensive Review of Intensification Areas and developing new and revised policy direction for the new Official Plan: Determine the planned function and location of proposed Intensification Areas and draft urban structure elements; Ensure consistency of the draft urban structure with other policy objectives; Formulate solutions to challenges of achieving intensification; Establish density targets for Intensification Areas (including minimums where appropriate); and Protect the function of Downtown as the primary Intensification Area. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The Comprehensive Review of Intensification Areas (CRIA) is being conducted to implement a recommendation of the Kitchener Growth Management Strategy. This recommendation involves conducting a detailed review of Intensification Areas, especially Mixed Use Corridors and Mixed Use Nodes, which play an integral role in the framework of the City’s urban structure. Further impetus for this study comes from the Places to Grow Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe and a number of recent Regional documents, including the Regional Official Plan. ê ó ï In response to an investigation of the City’s current urban structure and in order to facilitate discussion, the project team has formulated a draft urban structure for consideration by the Development and Technical Services Committee. The key highlights of the draft urban structure concept are as follows: Downtown remains the top priority for intensification in Kitchener. The current nodes and corridors planning model is reliable and effective for achieving many policy objectives, including intensification. The draft urban structure is based on connectivity between destinations via Transit Corridors. The urban structure also includes the Urban Growth Centre, Activity Centres, Mixed Use Corridors, Village Corridors, and a Proposed Rapid Transit route and stations. Kitchener’s vision is to be a healthy community. Identification of further opportunities to achieve intensification and connectivity and improve the overall urban structure. Reevaluation of specific Activity Centre (Node) and Corridor locations. Staff recommends that the subject report be received for information and discussion and that a number of matters related to the study be further investigated prior to formulating Official Plan policy recommendations, including: Determining the planned function and location of proposed Intensification Areas and draft urban structure elements. Ensuring consistency of the draft urban structure with other policy objectives. Formulating solutions to challenges of achieving intensification. Establishing density targets for Intensification Areas. Protecting the function of Downtown as the primary Intensification Area while encouraging intensification within other Intensification Areas. BACKGROUND: The City of Kitchener is growing rapidly. Between 2006 and 2031, the population of Kitchener is expected to increase by more than 100,000 people. The Kitchener Growth Management Strategy (KGMS) contains six broad goals for planning where and how future growth will be accommodated. As part of the Creating Vibrant Places goal, the KGMS recommends that the City conduct a more detailed review of Intensification Areas, especially Mixed Use Nodes and Mixed Use Corridors, to assist with growth planning in these areas and to understand what is required to help facilitate redevelopment. In response to this recommendation, Planning staff is conducting a study called the Comprehensive Review of Intensification Areas (CRIA). Further motivation to prepare this study comes from the Province and Region. The Places to Grow Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe contains policies that require a significant portion of new growth be directed to built-up areas of the community and that development be focused in Intensification Areas. In addition, the Region’s recently adopted Official Plan (ROP) sets out new growth and development policies that relate to reurbanization or intensification. The ROP outlines new urban structure elements that include areas for reurbanization, such as Major Transit Station Areas, Major Local Nodes and Reurbanization Corridors. The locations and implications of these policy areas require further understanding, review, and implementation. ê ó î Through this study staff are seeking to refine the city’s framework respecting Intensification Areas, including identifying additional intensification opportunities, creating a more logical urban structure for Kitchener based on linking destination areas by transit, modifying existing policy related to nodes and corridors, and preparing for potential Light Rail Transit. CRIA is an internal project led by the Planning Division that will provide suggestions for the public to consider prior to finalization of the Official Plan. This study is linked to other City projects such as the Comprehensive Review of Employment Lands, the Commercial Policy Review, and the Parks Master Plan. The Betzner Brownstones on King Street is a local example of small-scale residential intensification. REPORT: Purpose of Study The purpose of the Comprehensive Review of Intensification Areas (CRIA) is to further refine the information created in the Kitchener Growth Management Current Baseline Report, to implement Goal 2, Action 2 of the Kitchener Growth Management Strategy, to follow up on the Nodal Living (1999) Study, Commercial Policies Study (2000) and subsequent Municipal Plan Amendment #36 (2001). CRIA includes a number of project objectives, such as: Investigating how the City’s current urban structure relates to Regional and Provincial policies and initiatives. ê ó í Exploring the relevancy and applicability of the City’s 2001 Commercial Policy Structure. Identifying the drivers and challenges for achieving intensification. Considering whether there should be different types or classes of nodes and corridors and determining their locations. Formulating potential criteria that should be considered for defining Intensification Areas. Investigating the role of transit, roads, parking, Transportation Demand Management in Intensification Areas. Preparing maps of all Intensification Areas. Consider recommendations for changes to existing Official Plan policies. Summary of Work to Date Up to this phase in the study the project team has conducted a significant amount of research related to the above objectives. The team canvassed a number of Ontario municipalities to find examples of intensification and determine how it was achieved. Many excellent examples of site specific redevelopment projects (both single use and mixed use) were discovered. A number of examples of major redevelopment projects by a single developer were also found. Port Credit Village, Mississauga (below) is an excellent example of major redevelopment by a single developer Limited examples of intensification were found by multiple developers on a nodal or corridor scale. One possibility for this is that node and corridor intensification usually occurs over a long period of time in the absence of major catalysts such as subway extensions. The project team explored drivers, needs, opportunities, challenges, amenities for intensification. From a consumer standpoint, one of the major hurdles to intensification is a suburban mindset on the part of our current society. From the developer and investor mindset, higher cost of redevelopment (actual and perceived) compared with Greenfield development and increased risk of “missing the market” are challenges. Neighbourhood amenities, mixed ê ó ì uses, evening and daytime activities, and major pubic investments act as drivers in achieving intensification. The project team conducted an audit of various existing Intensification Areas, including Nodes, Corridors and Neighbourhood Mixed Use Centres. Through this review, it was determined that many Intensification Areas contain low density land uses, auto-oriented development, and few mixed use developments on the same site. These findings appear to imply that many of our Intensification Areas have yet to achieve their planned vision. The team reviewed some of the Kitchener Growth Management Strategy development assumptions such as the number of jobs per floor area for different formats of retail use (e.g., big box, mainstreet retail, plaza retail, etc.). One finding is that generally, the smaller the retail establishment, the greater the density of employees. Agency Consultation On May 19, 2010, the CRIA Team held an agency consultation meeting to discuss, at a high level, the City’s existing and potential Intensification Areas and urban structure. Management representatives were present from the Region of Waterloo Policy Planning, Transportation Planning, and Reurbanization Divisions. From the City, management and senior staff from Engineering, Transportation Planning, Economic Development, Community Services, and Planning participated in the discussion and provided input. At this meeting staff presented a draft urban structure for consideration and comment. The fundamentals of this draft are discussed in the Proposed Direction section of this report. Generally speaking, the group was receptive to the idea of retaining the current nodes and corridors model and favoured refining the existing urban structure in the manner presented below. The project team received a significant amount of feedback and direction through this dialogue. Many questions related to the project objectives were answered. Some of the key highlights of the input received at the consultation meeting are as follows: Support for the draft urban structure general concept. The Region does not have road capacity to sustain continued population growth status quo. Basing the City’s urban structure on transit may be the best way to accommodate growth. Planning for walking and cycling facilities are also important factors to consider. The City and Region need to work together to establish roadway cross-sections that work well for transit, cyclists, pedestrians, and motorists. The majority of the Activity Centres (Nodes) and corridors are on regional roads. For this reason, land use implications must be considered carefully. Staging and prioritization of Intensification Areas should be considered. It is very important to retain and protect the commercial component, especially grocery stores, of Activity Centres (Nodes). Consideration should be given as to whether automobile-oriented Activity Centres (Nodes) should be planned / recognized. Policies could allow for a mix of uses and encouragement of specific uses in all Intensification Areas, however, density and design requirements could differ depending on the type of Intensification Area. Existing Intensification Areas Framework Much of our current urban structure was conceived through the 1979 and 1994 Official Plans with a major implementation in the Commercial Policy Study (1999) and the subsequent ê ó ë Commercial Policy Structure Municipal Plan Amendment in 2001 (see Appendix “A” for Existing Urban Structure Map). Since that time much has changed from a policy perspective and there is a considerable amount of physical change throughout the city. In addition, our Mixed Use Nodes have been partially implemented through developer-initiated zone change applications and a number of our Mixed Use Corridors have recently been implemented through City- initiated zone changes. Generally, staff is satisfied with the Nodes and Corridors planning model adopted in 2001 and consider it to be an excellent approach for achieving a number of Provincial, Regional, and City goals including intensification. There is always a need for further refinement. Under our current planning model, Mixed Use Nodes are not well connected to each other, many major commercial centres are not considered Nodes, there are number of missed intensification opportunities, and the goals and vision for Nodes and Corridors need re-examination to determine whether they achieve broader objectives. Proposed Direction In response to this need for refinement to the City’s urban structure and in order to facilitate discussion, staff has formulated a draft urban structure for consideration by the Development and Technical Services Committee and public. As a supplement to the draft urban structure concepts, staff has prepared a Proposed Urban Structure Map, attached as Appendix “B”. Note that the attached map is conceptual and does not show the delineation of features at a property specific level. The key highlights of the draft urban structure concept are as follows: Downtown remains the top priority for intensification in Kitchener. There are many Intensification Areas in Kitchener, however, the Urban Growth Centre, (the Downtown Community Improvement Plan area), is and will continue to be the City’s main focus for intensification. The current nodes and corridors planning model is reliable and effective for achieving many policy objectives, including intensification. The draft urban structure is based on connectivity between destinations via Transit Corridors. The urban structure includes the Urban Growth Centre, Activity Centres, Mixed Use Corridors, Village Corridors, and a Proposed Light Rail Transit route and stations. Kitchener’s vision is to be a healthy community. The draft urban structure seeks to promote social, spiritual, physical, and emotional well-being of citizens. For example, parks, recreational and institutional facilities, and cycling facilities are being considered through the study. Identification of further opportunities to achieve intensification and connectivity and improve the overall urban structure. Reevaluation of specific Activity Centre (Node) and Corridor locations. Activity Centres The draft urban structure proposes to reclassify Mixed Use Nodes into a category called Activity Centres. Activity Centres do not exist under the City’s current urban structure but are comparable to our current Mixed Use Nodes. A change in nomenclature is proposed in order to better reflect the vision for these areas. The term “node” often refers to centralization on a point of intersection of two roads, whereas many of our Mixed Use Nodes are often not centered on an intersection and may contain only one quadrant of an intersection. ê ó ê The term Activity Centres identifies that we are seeking to achieve a concentration of human activity or intensity and a healthy community. An Activity Centre is a destination point. Staff has formulated some draft criteria that could be used to identify Activity Centres. Under these draft criteria, Activity Centres would be destinations which: Are intersected, though not necessarily centered on at least two Transit Corridors. Transit Corridors are identified in the new Regional Official Plan as roads that accommodate existing or planned high frequency transit service. existing, planned, and Are connected to one another and to the Urban Growth Centre via proposed Transit Corridors. Are planned to possess higher density and taller buildings than surrounding low-rise residential areas. Possess a significant level of redevelopment potential. The Proposed Urban Structure Map shows all major commercial centres as potential Activity Centres (i.e., Sunrise Centre, Ira Needles Commercial Centre, Sportsworld and surrounding area, and Laurentian Power Centre). These would likely qualify as Major Local Nodes at the Regional Level. Conestoga College and surrounding area could be considered as an Activity Centre, whereas only the College itself is currently designated as Major Institutional under the current Official Plan. The map also shows two future Activity Centres which should be considered as part of the overall urban structure (i.e., Victoria/Lackner and Highland/Ira Needles). Though this project, the CRIA Team is proposing to explore the idea of designating different types of Activity Centres to address different policy objectives. For example, it may be desirable to establish Activity Centres that are mixed use, primarily commercial or primarily recreational. In addition, it may be beneficial to protect a portion of the commercial component of mixed use activity centres in order to ensure that the planned function of an area continues to thrive. Some Activity Centres may serve an inter-neighbourhood function while others an intra- neighbourhood function. Although all Activity Centres are proposed to be destination points of human activity it may be important to differentiate between and plan for different types. Corridors Mixed Use Corridors (MUCs) are shown on the Proposed Urban Structure Map. As with Mixed Use Nodes, there may be merit in developing different classifications and designating new MUCs or modifying the existing location of MUCs; staff recommends further exploration of this idea. The existing seven MUCs are shown in their present form, except that the Belmont and Lancaster MUCs are shown as Village Corridors. This change reflects the fact that these corridors differ from the other five MUCs. The other five MUCs (i.e., Victoria St N, Victoria St S, King St W, King St E, Queen St) lead directly into the Urban Growth Centre and/or the Central Transit Corridor whereas these two do not. In addition, the Village Corridors may have less redevelopment potential than the other MUCs and may present an opportunity to create or enhance a village-like character. A section of Frederick Street is proposed as a new Village Corridor (low intensity). A number of new and revised MUCs are shown on the Proposed Urban Structure Map. An example of this is Ottawa Street between Courtland Avenue and Weber Street. This potential MUC leads directly into the potential Rapid Transit system, possesses significant development potential, and connects to the Central Transit Corridor. Additionally, Fischer-Hallman Road between Huron Road and Bleams Road is under consideration as a potential MUC with Activity ê ó é Centres. This proposed MUC could achieve several objectives including transit-supportive development, achieving required density targets, providing a connection for the south west portion of the city, and as a focal point for surrounding residential neighbourhoods. It should be noted that some Mixed Use Nodes are proposed to be converted to Mixed Use Corridors rather than Activity Centres for the purposes of recognizing a more appropriate linear formation and function. Proposed Transit Corridors Staff proposes to further discuss with the Region the possibility of adding four future, new Transit Corridors to the existing and planned Transit Corridors identified the Regional Council adopted ROP. On the Proposed Urban Structure Map, these are shown generally as River Road, Courtland Avenue, Bleams Road (west of Strasburg Road), and Strasburg Road (south of Huron Road). To avoid dead-ends at a jurisdictional boundary, the proposed Transit Corridors are looped to connect with planned or existing Transit Corridors where necessary. Staff’s purpose in proposing new Transit Corridors is to improve connectivity to Activity Centres, and further advance the transit grid system planned by the Region. In the area of neighbourhood design, planners speak of walkability and connectivity based on a “five-minute walk”. A neighbourhood is considered walkable if homes are situated within a five- minute walk of a defined focal point. Staff is currently exploring a vision for the City’s urban structure comprised of a network or grid composed of destinations (e.g., Activity Centres, Urban Growth Centre, etc.) and Transit Corridors where there is a “five-minute transit ride” between major destination points (i.e., approximately a 2 km distance). The Region does not have road capacity to sustain continued population growth status quo. An urban structure based on transit may be the best way to accommodate growth ê ó è Light Rail Transit The Proposed Urban Structure Map also shows a potential Light Rail Transit (LRT) route and stations, in accordance with the Region’s approval of a Rapid Transit initiative in 2009. The LRT features are included on the map in order to show the relationship with other proposed urban structure elements. Further Refinement of Concept Through the Comprehensive Review of Intensification Areas, many questions have been answered and many project objectives have been achieved. Throughout the study, however, it has become apparent that further consideration of certain issues is necessary prior to formulating policy suggestions. The following is a list of considerations in refining the draft urban structure concept: Which types of Intensification Areas defined through the KGMS should qualify as true Intensification Areas and which ones have a different planning function. For example, a certain Activity Centre comprising a high percentage of planned recreational land uses may qualify better as one that completes the community rather than providing intensification opportunities Further consideration of the urban structure elements. The project team intends on meeting internally with other departments and agencies to ensure consistency with further policies. For example, further dialogue with City Heritage and Environmental Planning staff is necessary to ensure compatibility with other policy objectives Further consideration of the function and locations of urban structure elements Consideration of the challenges to achieving intensification and how to overcome them Consideration for how the City balances the conflicting objectives of walkability (e.g., small scale development, narrow roads, few cars, etc.) and transit / road efficiency (e.g., wide roads, multiple lanes, fast moving traffic, noise, etc.) Consideration of density targets for Intensification Areas Consideration of how to protect the planned function of Downtown as the primary Intensification Area while encouraging intensification and redevelopment of other Intensification Areas Next Steps The CRIA work program identifies that after receiving direction from the Development and Technical Services Committee there will be further project phases. The project team will meet following the presentation to the Development and Technical Services Committee meeting to discuss how to best proceed with refining the proposed direction. Further analysis will be undertaken which will culminate in the formulation of a summary report in the fall of 2010. This report will contain suggestions for the public to consider prior to finalization of the Official Plan. An open house will be held in the late fall of 2010, where the public will be invited to learn more about the findings and policy suggestions with respect to Intensification Areas and the City’s potential urban structure. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: There are no direct financial im plications as part of this report. The overall Official Plan Review project is on budget. ê ó ç COMMUNICATIONS: On May 19, 2010, the Project Team introduced the Comprehensive Review of Intensification Areas to a group of management and senior staff from the City and Region. Management representatives were present from the Region of Waterloo Policy Planning, Transportation Planning, and Reurbanization divisions. From the City, management and senior staff from Engineering, Transportation Planning, Economic Development, Community Services, and Planning participated in the discussion and provided input. No direct advertising was required for this meeting. A public open h ouse will be held in the late fall of 2010 to allow the public a chance to understand more about the findings and policy suggestions of staff with respect to Intensification Areas and the City’s potential urban structure. CONCLUSION: To date, the Comprehensive Review of Intensification Areas project team has collected a significant amount of information regarding Intensification Areas and the City’s urban structure. A proposed urban structure has been prepared for discussion purposes which is generally consistent with City, Regional, and Provincial objectives. Staff conducted an agency consultation to discuss the project and draft urban structure and obtained a significant level of constructive feedback. Staff is recommending that the Development and Technical Services Committee receive the subject report for information and discussion and that staff be directed to further investigate a number of matters with respect to completing the Comprehensive Review of Intensification Areas and formulating new Official Plan policy suggestions. REVIEWED BY: Brandon Sloan, Interim Manager of Long Range and Policy Planning ACKNOWLEDGED BY: Jeff Willmer, Interim General Manager Development and Technical Services Department Attachments: Appendix ‘A’ – Existing Urban Structure Map Appendix ‘B’ – Proposed Urban Structure Map ê ó ïð ê ó ïï ê ó ïî