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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCouncil - November 17 - 100 Victoria Street S November 12, 2014 VIA EMAIL colin.goodeve@kitchener.ca Mr. Colin Goodeve Manager of Council/Committee Services & Deputy City Clerk City of Kitchener Kitchener City Hall 200 King Street West Kitchener, ON N2G 4G7 Dear Mr. Goodeve: RE: 98 - 110 Victoria Street South – Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendment Application We are the planning consultants for the Allerton family, owners of the properties located at 11, 12, 13, 14 and 16 Arthur Place in the City of Kitchener. We previously submitted comments on September 5, 2014 and September 12, 2014 (appended hereto) regarding the Staff Reports prepared for the proposed Official Plan and Zoning By-law amendment applications by Momentum Developments. We also presented at the Committee and Council meetings held to consider the matter on September 8, 2014 and September 15, 2014 respectively. Our position remains that appropriate tower separation must be imposed in a comprehensive manner to allow the lands between Joseph Street and Bramm Street fronting on Victoria Street South to develop in an equitable fashion and in accordance with Kitchener’s Official Plan policies. Given the current OP policies and the development context, Momentum’s proposal does not represent proper land use planning. As per Council’s Motion on September 15, 2014, Staff were to report back by November 10, 2014 with preliminary tower separation guidelines in advance of consideration of Momentum’s proposal. Staff have since advised that additional time is needed to prepare the tower separation guidelines and that they would not be available in advance of consideration of Momentum’s proposal. Having the tower separation guidelines is imperative for assisting Staff, Council and developers in ensuring the orderly redevelopment of Kitchener’s new high rise communities with minimum impacts on adjacent lands. Such guidelines are particularly needed in Downtown Kitchener which has been established in the Official Plan for high density redevelopment, similar to what is being proposed by Momentum. MOMENTUM’S REVISED PLANS Momentum’s proposal, as currently proposed, will detrimentally impact the maximum and appropriate redevelopment of the adjacent lands, including our client’s properties on Arthur Place. As such, ···· LDAZIDDMPMI AND EVELOPMENT DVICE ONING SSUES UE ILIGENCE ASTER LANS ARKET NTELLIGENCE 250 Wellington Street W Tel: 416.364.5926 Suite 130 Fax: 416.364.8757 6. c. - 1 Toronto, ON M5V 3P6 www.lakeshoregroup.ca consideration of Momentum’s application is premature until such time that Kitchener’s tower separation guidelines have been completed and Momentum’s proposal assessed against those guidelines. At present, the Momentum proposal fails to meet the transition, scale and design policies of the OP and does not utilize best practices with respect to tower separation considering the approved planning permissions on adjacent lands. While we previously provided a list of municipalities with tower separation guidelines representing best planning practices, the City of Waterloo recently undertook the Northdale Land Use and Community Improvement Plan Study. As part of that process, a new zoning by-law was proposed and adopted for the area which contained tower separation and tower footprint requirements. The Ontario Municipal Board approved the Northdale Zoning By-law (By-law 2012-070) through an Order issued on July 11, 2013. The by-law contains tower separation requirements of 25m which is consistent with best practices utilized in municipalities throughout Ontario and consistent with our position. Momentum has not provided any supportable justification as to why their proposal cannot be slightly reconfigured and appropriately scaled to allow a significant level of density on its site while at the same time affording adjacent lands to similarly develop. Appended hereto is a conceptual redevelopment scenario of the Victoria Street South corridor including Momentum’s lands. This scenario is based on similar tower separation principles used in the City of Waterloo’s Northdale Zoning By-law and other Urban Design guidelines throughout Ontario which achieve appropriate living environments and address wind, light, shadow and privacy concerns. You will note that the Momentum concept is only slightly modified from their original proposal. However, that slight modification allows for all adjacent lands to develop in similar fashion in accordance of the OP. Given that the redevelopment lands are essentially a blank canvas, appropriate tower separation can easily be achieved with the simple design adjustment of Momentum’s current proposal by stepping back Tower 1 to achieve a minimum 12.5m tower setback from the Arthur Place lands. RECOMMENDATION Based on the foregoing, we request that Council defer consideration of Momentum’s application until Kitchener’s Tower Separation Guidelines have been considered and approved and Momentum’s proposal tested against the standards of the same. Kindly notify us of all future public meetings and Council’s decision regarding the adoption of the Official Plan and zoning by-law amendment applications. 2 6. c. - 2 Sincerely, TLG HE AKESHORE ROUP Rick Pennycooke P RESIDENT c.c Owen Allerton Steven O’Melia – Miller Thomson LLP 3 6. c. - 3 APPENDIX1 6. c. - 4 STREETBRAMM APPENDIX2 6. c. - 7 September 12, 2014 VIA EMAIL colin.goodeve@kitchener.ca Mr. Colin Goodeve Manager of Council/Committee Services & Deputy City Clerk City of Kitchener Kitchener City Hall 200 King Street West Kitchener, ON N2G 4G7 Dear Mr. Goodeve: RE: Planning & Strategic Initiatives Committee Item 2 – 98 - 110 Victoria Street South We are the planning consultants for the Allerton family, owners of the properties located at 11, 12, 13, 14 and 16 Arthur Place in the City of Kitchener. We previously submitted comments on September 5, 2014 (appended hereto) regarding the Staff Report prepared for the proposed Official Plan and Zoning By-law amendment applications for on Victoria Street South submitted by Momentum Developments. We also presented at the Committee meeting held to consider the matter on September 8, 2014. As per the Committee’s direction, we attended a subsequent meeting/teleconference held with Momentum’s consultants and Kitchener City Staff on September 11, 2014 to discuss potential revisions to Momentum’s plans and their transition to the Arthur Place lands. MOMENTUM’S REVISED PLANS The revised plans presented by Momentum on September 11, 2014 implement a tower “stepback” distance of 3.0m from the base podium of Tower 1, for a minimum tower setback distance of 6.0m from the Arthur Place property line increasing to a minimum setback of 7.6m from the Allerton properties. Although it is positive that an attempt has been made to address the tower separation concerns presented, the proposed setback distance remains insufficient to mitigate adverse negative impacts and to provide adequate transition and privacy to the Arthur Place lands. As presented in our previous submissions, the provincial and municipal planning framework has established this area of Downtown Kitchener for significant intensification as is currently being pursued by Momentum. However, Section 2.2.3 of the Provincial Growth Plan clearly states that municipalities will identify the appropriate type and scale of development in intensification areas, provide high quality site design and urban design standards and achieve appropriate transition of built form to adjacent areas (amongst other matters). It is our opinion that Momentum’s revised proposal fails to provide the appropriate transition of built form to the Arthur Place lands. Furthermore, the City’s ···· LDAZIDDMPMI AND EVELOPMENT DVICE ONING SSUES UE ILIGENCE ASTER LANS ARKET NTELLIGENCE 250 Wellington Street W Tel: 416.364.5926 Suite 130 Fax: 416.364.8757 6. c. - 8 Toronto, ON M5V 3P6 www.lakeshoregroup.ca new Official Plan at Policy 11.1.4, 11.1.5 and 11.C.1.33(c) require mutually supportive relationships between individual site elements and buildings and the mitigation of adverse impacts through design considerations. As previously submitted, a best practice approach supports a minimum tower separation of 25m (or 12.5m from the property line). REDEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL OF THE ARTHUR PLACE LANDS The Arthur Place lands, as a consolidated parcel, has been made attractive as a redevelopment site by the City’s Official Plan. The Arthur Place lands share the same underlying land use designation and zoning as the adjacent Momentum lands and are within walking distance of the proposed King-Victoria Multi-Modal Transit Hub. As a consolidated development block, the Arthur Place lands have approximately 46m of frontage onto Victoria Street South and an approximate area of 2,590 sq.m. (0.64 acres). The Arthur Place lands have adequate site area and street frontage to accommodate intensified development (as envisioned in the Official Plan) through a tall or mid-rise building, or some combination thereof. This planned potential, however, is compromised by Momentum’s proposal as currently proposed. In order for any future redevelopment on the Arthur Place lands to provide adequate separation on all sides of the development and achieve a reasonable floorplate, taller building elements in this area should share a reasonable setback distance from their respective property lines. As currently proposed, Tower 1 in Momentum’s proposal will arbitrarily restrict any future redevelopment on the Arthur Place lands along its southern lot line. As discussed in our previous submission, a minimum 20- 30m tower separation distance (10-15m from the lot line) is best practice in urban environments to mitigate adverse impacts and provide adequate privacy for residents. We presume it is for this very reason that Momentum has proposed an approximately 25m tower separation between the two towers in their proposal. RECOMMENDATION We continue to find the proposed location of the Tower 1 in Momentum’s proposal to be detrimental to the future redevelopment of the Arthur Place lands. The proposed 6.0 – 7.6m tower setback does not represent proper land use planning in the context of surrounding lands and their planned intensification with similar type development. Although some effort has been made by Momentum to address our tower separation concerns, additional separation distance is required to ensure that the full redevelopment potential of the Arthur Place lands can be achieved. While we believe that a 12.5m property line setback is optimal, we have considered and support a reduction to 10m as this would represent the low end of best practice. Based on the foregoing, we request that Council defer consideration of Momentum’s application until a design is brought forward incorporating a 10m tower setback from the Arthur Place property line. Although we have been advised that pre-sales of the Momentum development may have limited the potential to redesign the proposal, such private financial transactions should not inhibit the 2 6. c. - 9 municipality’s responsibility to review applications in accordance with the vision of the Official Plan and proper land use planning principles (particularly since the project has not been approved). Kindly notify us of all future public meetings and Council’s decision regarding the adoption of the Official Plan and zoning by-law amendment applications. Sincerely, TLG HE AKESHORE ROUP Rick Pennycooke P RESIDENT c.c Owen Allerton 3 6. c. - 10 September 5, 2014 VIA EMAIL daphne.livingstone@kitchener.ca Ms. Daphne Livingstone Committee Administrator, Planning and Strategic Initiatives Committee City of Kitchener Kitchener City Hall 200 King Street West Kitchener, ON N2G 4G7 Dear Ms. Livingstone: RE: Committee Item 4 – 98 - 110 Victoria Street South OPA/Rezoning Applications We are the planning consultants for the Allerton family, owners of the properties located at 11, 12, 13, 14 and 16 Arthur Place in the City of Kitchener. We have reviewed the Staff Report dated August 5, 2014 regarding the proposed Official Plan and Zoning By-law amendment applications for 98, 100, 100 ½, 110 Victoria Street South and 55 Bramm Street (“Momentum Developments”) in Downtown Kitchener. Momentum’s lands are adjacent to our client’s lands as well as others on Arthur Place. This correspondence outlines our land use planning concerns respecting Momentum’s proposal. BACKGROUND Momentum’s proposal seeks approval for a development of one 15 storey and one 19 storey residential point tower on a common 3 storey podium containing office and retail uses. There is clear land use planning support for reinvestment, redevelopment and mixed-use intensification in Downtown Kitchener, and specifically in the subject area bounded by Victoria Street, Park St, King Street West and the rail line (this area contains our client’s lands, Momentum’s property as well as others). We see no issue with the Momentum proposal in principle. However, the current design raises concerns related to the minimum setbacks of the proposed residential towers and the built-form transition to the Arthur Place properties and the immediately surrounding lands. In our opinion, these concerns need to be addressed in the implementing zoning by-law as part of any approval of the proposal. It is our opinion that the proposed development, as currently designed, is not in keeping with design provisions of the current and new Official Plan; does not utilize best practices with respect to tower separation on the subject and adjacent lands; and, will have negative impacts on the long term redevelopment potential of the adjacent Arthur Place lands which are similarly located within the Provincial Urban Growth Centre and designated in the new Kitchener OP as Urban Growth Centre ···· LDAZIDDMPMI AND EVELOPMENT DVICE ONING SSUES UE ILIGENCE ASTER LANS ARKET NTELLIGENCE 250 Wellington Street W Tel: 416.364.5926 Suite 130 Fax: 416.364.8757 6. c. - 11 Toronto, ON M5V 3P6 www.lakeshoregroup.ca (Downtown) – Innovation District. Given this, regard must be had to ensuring that appropriate building separation distances, including tower stepback requirements, are incorporated in the implementing zoning by-law to be considered for Momentum’s lands. Minimum stepback requirements for the tower elements of the proposal will ensure that development on the subject lands and future redevelopment on the Arthur Place lands can occur and coexist in an appropriate manner. At present, the siting of the proposed residential point tower which is only setback 2.8m from the Arthur Place property boundaries will not allow for a reasonable transition to, and separation from, future similar development on Arthur Place which is in accordance with the Growth Plan and the new Official Plan. TOWER SEPARATION CONCERNS In existing and emerging urban areas, imposing appropriate minimum setbacks and building stepbacks in a by-law for mid to high rise developments is an effective tool used to mitigate wind, shadow and sky view impacts as well as to provide adequate visual privacy and daylighting for residents of the new developments. As Downtown Kitchener continues to evolve into a high-density, mixed-use community, as it is planned for in accordance with the new Official Plan, it is critical at this stage to protect the future redevelopment potential of other adjacent similarly planned lands (in this case, the Arthur Place properties). The current proposal includes one 15 storey and one 19 storey residential point tower on a common 3 storey podium. The tower elements in the proposal are both sited near to the northerly property line (shared with the Arthur Place lands). Tower 1 in the proposal, which immediately abuts 11 and 13 Arthur Place, is setback 2.8 metres from the northern property line. The May 23, 2014 Urban Design Report submitted by the Momentum as part of the proposal states the following regarding the proposed tower locations: “The siting of the buildings near to the northerly property line optimal efficiency of the underground parking layout, of the above ground podium floors and of Tower 1.” The rationale provided regarding the location of the tower elements does not, however, address the potential impacts on any future redevelopment of the Arthur Place lands (as planned for in the new OP and encouraged in the Growth Plan). A minimum separation distance of 20-30m between high-rise tower elements is a common best practice used in zoning by-laws and urban design manuals in municipalities throughout Canada, including the City of Toronto, City of Brampton and the City of Victoria, BC. A minimum setback requirement of 12.5m from tower elements to the property line (when not abutting a street or laneway) is also commonly required to address wind, shadow and sky view impacts as well as to provide adequate visual privacy and daylight for future residents. While Momentum has provided an approximately 25m separation distance between the 2 tower elements on their own lands, the current siting of Tower 1 will not allow for such separation to occur between it and similar development when such occurs in the future on Arthur Place. It is our position that Tower 1 being closest to the Arthur Place property line should be set back a minimum of 12.5m. 2 6. c. - 12 In addition, the as-of-right permissions for the Arthur Place lands allow for the development of a 6 storey building with a minimum 3.0m side yard setback. If the lots on Arthur Place were assembled for a comprehensive redevelopment (similar to land assembly undertaken by Momentum), taking advantage of the as-of-right development permissions would produce an unacceptable living condition for the Momentum developments residents under the development’s current design. As such, an increased stepback of the tower element above the base podium is warranted. OP REQUIREMENTS FOR APPROPRIATE TRANSITION AND SCALE Further support for the tower element to be setback a minimum of 12.5m from the property line can be found in the redevelopment transition and scale policies contained in the in-force Official Plan and Council adopted Official Plan as follows: Policy 1.6 (2)(iv) of the Official Plan - new buildings should be sensitive to the exterior areas of adjacent properties and that the appropriate screening and/or buffering is provided to mitigate any adverse impacts. Policy 6.1(10) of the Official Plan - groups of buildings shall be positioned to define usable and secure open areas and to afford a reasonable measure of privacy to individual dwelling units and adjacent residential properties. Policy 11.1.4 of the Council adopted Official Plan - individual site elements, buildings, structures and spaces should be designed to have mutually supportive relationships with one another and with the overall urban fabric and interrelated networks and systems. Policy 11.1.5 of the Council Adopted Official Plan – the potential adverse impacts of development on surrounding land uses should be minimized and mitigated through careful design considerations and solutions. Policy 11.C.1.33(c) of the Council adopted Official Plan - minimize adverse impacts on site, onto adjacent properties (particularly where sites are adjacent to sensitive land uses) and into the public realm through building design. In our opinion, Momentum’s current proposal fails to meet the above policies. Appended hereto is a visual demonstration of the tower element above the base podium on Momentum’s lands in relation to the Arthur Place lands and a suggested 9.5m tower stepback from the base podium to ensure a high standard of development and living condition for future residents (i.e. the base podium can remain setback 3.0m from the Arthur Place property line as presently proposed. However, the tower element above the podium should be “stepped” back 9.5m above the podium in order to achieve a 12.5m setback from the Arthur Place property line). This suggested design modification can be easily accommodated on the Momentum’s lands and will ensure that the intent of the Official Plan for intensification can be met on both Momentum’s lands and the Arthur Place lands. Momentum’s current proposal arbitrarily constrains similar future development on the Arthur Place lands. 3 6. c. - 13 BROADER AREA STUDY REQUIRED Momentum has prepared angular plane diagrams for the proposed development to demonstrate the human-scale of the proposal from the Victoria Street South right-of-way. Several diagrams demonstrating visual corridors proximate to the site have also been prepared by Momentum. However, further such analysis should also be provided for lands abutting Momentum’s site (including our clients properties) to ensure compatibility and an appropriate transition in scale should these adjacent parcels redevelop with similar high-density uses as is intended by the Growth Plan and municipal planning documents. The Growth Plan and adopted municipal planning documents have established a clear frame-work encouraging careful intensification throughout Downtown Kitchener. However, as detailed analysis of the impacts of the proposal on adjacent redevelopment parcels has not been conducted by Momentum, the intent of this policy framework may be compromised (ie. the proposal will create a condition whereby the planned intensification of the Arthur Place lands cannot be fully achieved because of an inability to create an appropriate building setback from the applicant’s proposal). Momentum’s development simply cannot be viewed in isolation given the City’s intensification policies applicable to this area of Downtown Kitchener. AGREEMENT OF PURCHASE AND SALE We understand that Momentum has entered into an agreement of purchase and sale with the City of Kitchener for a portion of the lands subject to the current applications (legally described as Plan 378 Pt Lot 553, Plan 420 Pt Lot 41 and RP58R1597 Pts 1 and 2). The terms of this agreement received approval from City Council on May 5, 2014. The sale of the City lands will provide Momentum with a larger, more rectilinear site that will enable a denser development. As the City has a direct stake in Momentum’s development, and given the City’s own adopted OP intensification policies, it is even more incumbent to ensure that best practices with respect to tower separation are utilized in the implementing zoning by-law. Appropriate tower separation through a by- law requirement for minimum setbacks are an appropriate means for the City to achieve this objective. CONCLUSION & RECOMMENDATION We find that the redevelopment of Momentum’s lands for high density mixed use is supportable in principle. In addition, we find no significant issue with the podium locations presently proposed. However, the proposed locations of the tower elements do not represent proper land use planning in the context of surrounding lands and their planned intensification with similar type development. Based on the foregoing, we request that the Committee defer consideration of Momentum’s application until such time that a more detailed area analysis is undertaken by Momentum to deal with appropriate transitions to neighbouring lands and to create a design incorporating a 12.5m tower setback from the Arthur Place lands. Best practices dictate a minimum 12.5m setback from the tower 4 6. c. - 14 element of a building to a common lot line. Such setback can be accommodated on Momentum’s lands. As Downtown Kitchener has now been planned to redevelop with high-density mixed-use projects, requiring a minimum 25m separation between tower elements would be appropriate to impose in the implementing zoning by-law in order to ensure a higher standard of living for future residents. We will be in attendance at the Committee meeting on September 8, 2014 and will be available at any time to provide additional information you may require regarding this submission. Kindly notify us of all future public meetings and Council’s decision regarding the adoption of the Official Plan and zoning by-law amendment applications. Sincerely, TLG HE AKESHORE ROUP Rick Pennycooke P RESIDENT c.c Owen Allerton 5 6. c. - 15 APPENDIX1 6. c. - 16 z-·š©z{·u{u‘šÞ;©­­/Ò©©;“·Œät©š¦š­;7 Note:PinkLineshows12.5msetbackfrompropertylineforTowerSeparation 6. c. - 17 z-·š©z{·u{u‘w;-š’’;“7;7šÞ;©{;·,-‰ ARTHURPLACE 6. c. - 18