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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlng & Econ Dev - 2000-04-10PED\2000-04-10 PLANNING & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE MINUTES APRIL 10~ 2000 CITY OF KITCHENER The Planning and Economic Development Committee met this date commencing at 4:05 p.m. under Councillor C. Weylie, Chair with the following members present: Mayor C. Zehr and Councillors K. Taylor- Harrison, M. Yantzi, John Smola, J. Haalboom, J. Ziegler, T. Galloway and G. Lorentz. Councillors B. Vrbanovic and Jake Smola entered the meeting after its commencement. Officials Present: Ms. C. Ladd and Messrs. J. Gazzola, B. Stanley, J. Shivas, D. Mansell, G. Richardson, J. Witmer, J. McBride, K. Mayer, L. Bensason and L.W. Neil. 1. BPS 00~34 9 CAMERON STREET NORTH ZONE CHANGE APPLICATION ZC 00/08/C/BH PEEVER TECHNICAL SERVICES - CENTRE WARD The Committee was advised that the Department of Business and Planning Services was in receipt of an application from Peever Technical Services to change the zoning of lands known municipally as 9 Cameron Street North. The purpose of the zoning change is to remove a holding provision from the lands that prohibited commercial use or any other new development from occurring until such time as the lands have been consolidated with lands fronting King Street East, a 0.3 metre reserve separating the lot from Cameron Street has been conveyed to the City, and a site plan has been approved by the City's Director of Planning. In this regard the Committee considered staff report BPS 00/34 dated March 16, 2000 and a proposed by-law dated March 13, 2000 attached to the report. It was noted in the report that the subject lands located on the east side of Cameron Street North, north of King Street East, have now been consolidated with the abutting property located at 550 King Street East which has frontage on and access to King Street East. As well, a site plan which incorporates both 550 King Street East and 9 Cameron Street North was approved by the City's Director of Planning on March 16, 2000. Thus, two of the three conditions relating to the removal of the holding provision have been met with the exception of conveyance of a 0.3 metre reserve along the frontage of Cameron Street North and in this regard the applicant has agreed to prepare and submit a reference plan for conveyance of the strip to the City prior to Council giving three readings of the by-law. It was pointed out that notice that the Committee would hold a public meeting this date to consider this matter had previously been given. Ms. C. Ladd provided a brief explanation describing the application and advised that the Legal Department was reviewing the wording of the deed respecting the conveyance of a 0.3 metre reserve along the frontage of Cameron Street North. Accordingly, she indicated that the applicant has essentially met the holding provision criteria. Mayor C. Zehr questioned if the Cameron Street property could be severed from the King Street property in future. Ms. Ladd responded that an application for severance could be filed for any property; however, she stressed that the commercial uses which the Cameron Street property now enjoyed could only be utilized in connection with the King Street property. Mr. P. Britton, MacNaughton Hermsen Britton Clarkson, appeared as a delegation on behalf of the applicant and advised they were in agreement with the recommendation in the staff report. No other delegations were registered respecting this matter. The recommendation in the staff report was then considered. On motion by Councillor K. Taylor-Harrison - It was resolved: "That Zone Change Application ZC 00/08/C/BH (9 Cameron Street North Peever Technical Services) to remove holding provision [15H] from lands zoned Commercial Residential Four Zone (CR-4) legally described as Part of Lots 1, 2, and 3, Registered Plan 100, be approved in the form shown in the "Proposed By-law" attached, dated March 13, 2000, subject to the following condition being satisfied prior to any readings of PLANNING & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE MINUTES APRIL 10, 2000 - 66 - CITY OF KITCHENER 1. BPS 00~34 9 CAMERON STREET NORTH ZONE CHANGE APPLICATION ZC 00/08/C/BH PEEVER TECHNICAL SERVICES - CENTRE WARD (CONT'D) the By-law by Council: The owner agrees to prepare and register a deed conveying ownership of 0.3 metre reserve along the frontage of 9 Cameron Street North to the City of Kitchener. It is the opinion of this Committee that approval of this application is proper planning for the City and is in conformity with the City's Municipal Plan." BPS 00/25 3040 OLD MILL ROAD ZONE CHANGE APPLICATION ZC 9918101GR JANET KUNSCH AND JOHN KINZIE DOON-PIONEER WARD The Committee was advised that the Department of Business and Planning Services was in receipt of an application from Janet Kunsch and John Kinzie to change the zoning of lands known municipally as 3040 Old Mill Road. The proposal would rezone part of the subject property from its current Residential Three Zone (R-3) to Residential Six Zone (R-6) in order to permit a townhouse development of 98 units. Further, the owners also intend to have part of Old Mill Road closed and diverted so as to develop the site including part of the road allowance and an adjacent property currently located between Old Mill Road and Doon Valley Drive which is also in their ownership. In this regard the Committee considered staff report BPS 00/25 dated March 15, 2000 and a proposed by-law dated March 16, 2000 attached to the report. It was noted in the report that the subject lands are located on the north side of Old Mill Road at its intersection with Doon Valley Drive and comprised of two separate properties. The larger parcel is comprised of former farmland and flood plain and the smaller parcel is comprised of a level, triangular shaped field located between Old Mill Road and Doon Valley Drive. The zoning change would accommodate a proposal to develop a total of 98 bungalow townhouse units as illustrated on a draft site plan attached to the report. The staff report points out that most of an existing dwelling (the original farmhouse, which is listed on the City's Heritage Inventory) on the property will remain and an addition will be constructed to facilitate the development of a 'community building' to act as a meeting place for residents of the project. As previously noted the proposal requires that the current road allowance for Old Mill Road in front of the subject lands be closed and purchased from the City by the owners in order to complete the development. Two issues arise out of this road closure being: a Class 'A' Schedule Environmental Assessment is required in order to re-locate the current road allowance to that currently shown on the draft site plan and Municipal Plan Policies relating to the current classification of the road as a 'Scenic-Heritage' Road require consideration. Additional comment is contained in the staff report dealing with the Municipal Plan and Zoning By- law, the diversion of Old Mill Road, structural setback from the top of the bank/GRCA concerns and neighbourhood concerns relating to traffic, student housing and other concerns including impact on property values, impact on the character of the surrounding area, lack of services for seniors, density of the development and impact of the development on adjacent residential property immediately west of the subject lands. In reference to the diversion of Old Mill Road it was pointed out that Old Mill Road is currently classified as a Scenic-Heritage Road in the City's Municipal Plan. It would appear Old Mill Road was designated for both scenic and historic reasons and as such under the Policy no changes are to be permitted. However, notwithstanding the above, it was staff's view that the proposed diversion of the road would generally conform to Municipal Plan Policy given that it is intended that the former alignment can be preserved through the site plan making it possible to preserve both the current view shed and the existing vegetation. As well, the proposed realignment represents an improvement to the existing intersection with Doon Valley Drive and represents a very small portion of the overall length of Old Mill Road. BPS 00~25 3040 OLD MILL ROAD ZONE CHANGE APPLICATION ZC 9918101GR PLANNING & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE MINUTES APRIL 10, 2000 - 67 - CITY OF KITCHENER JANET KUNSCH AND JOHN KINZIE DOON-PIONEER WARD (CONT'D) It was pointed out that notice that the Committee would hold a public meeting this date to consider this matter had previously been given. Mr. G. Richardson gave a detailed presentation reviewing most aspects of the comments contained in the staff report. He noted that several new letters have been received from residents pertaining to this matter. Mr. Richardson proposed that an additional recommendation be considered dealing with revision to the Lower Doon Secondary Plan which reads as follows: "That the Lower Doon Secondary Plan be revised by adding a new policy after section 1.6 to permit multiple dwellings on lands located on the north side of Old Mill Road at its intersection with Doon Valley Drive and municipally addressed as 3040 Old Mill Road." Councillor B. Vrbanovic entered the meeting during Mr. Richardson's presentation. For the record, it is noted that the zone change application number on page 1 of the staff report should be corrected to ZC 99/8/O/GR rather than ZC 00/8/O/GR. Further, the date of the proposed by-law as referenced in recommendation 1 of the staff report should be corrected to March 16, 2000 rather than March 8, 2000. In response to Councillor J. Haalboom, Mr. Richardson indicated that two meetings were held with area residents concerning issues dealing with the proposed development. Councillor J. Haalboom maintained that essentially only one meeting had been held since a meeting that took place on January 25, 2000 basically dealt with a different subject. Mr. Richardson then explained the consequences of the zoning change from R-3 to R-6 and deletion of lodging house as a permitted use. Councillor T. Galloway questioned if there were any controls within the zone change that would deal with the built form of the proposed development. Mr. Richardson noted that regulations would provide for a 10 ¼ metre height restriction, a 100 unit density cap and a floor space of 1000 to 1200 square feet though some units could be larger. Councillor Galloway questioned if there was anything in the zoning regulations that would address concerns over the possibility that the property would be sold with the zoning in place. Mr. Richardson commented that features could be added to the proposed by-law in order to tailor it to be more specific to the actual site of the proposed development and as an example he referred to unit size. Councillor G. Lorentz questioned exactly what the impact was of deleting lodging houses from the zoning. Ms. C. Ladd advised that residents had a concern that the development could attract students looking for accommodation and that staff had deleted the lodging house use to address their concerns. However, any dwelling unit could have up to three lodgers. Further, she noted that the current municipal plan supersedes the policies in the Doon South Secondary Plan. Councillor C. Weylie raised the matter of controls on the site that were of concern to the GRCA and Mr. Richardson replied that staff have had several discussions with representatives of the GRCA on these matters. Mr. Mel Code, Consultant, Community Planning and Land Development, appeared as a delegation on behalf of the applicants in support of the recommendation contained in the staff report. Mr. Code distributed a submission dated April 10, 2000 which he read to the Committee. The submission dealt with R-3 zoning, a possible R-3 lotting plan which would allow for development of 60 single family homes on the site, the possibility that the lands might otherwise develop to meet the demand for student housing, the impact of any development on the Hundt property with the proposed development being the most desirable, density of the project which is below the norm for cluster townhouses and traffic impact of the development which is quite acceptable. Mr. Code confirmed that the proposal has been discussed with the immediate neighbours most affected by the development. BPS 00/25 3040 OLD MILL ROAD ZONE CHANGE APPLICATION ZC 9918101GR JANET KUNSCH AND JOHN KINZIE PLANNING & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE MINUTES APRIL 10, 2000 - 68 - CITY OF KITCHENER DOON-PIONEER WARD (CONT'D) Councillor J. Ziegler questioned Mr. Code if his client would agree to a one month deferral of consideration of this application in order for resident concerns to be fully addressed. Mr. Code asked that Mr. L. Sheiner speak to this issue. Mr. Lloyd Sheiner appeared as a delegation along with Mr. M. Code in support of the staff recommendation. He advised that the application was filed in March 1999 and that discussions were held with neighbours for a number of months following submission of the application. He noted that for the past few months various consultants had been engaged, two meetings had been held with Mr. Hundt as well as various casual meetings. Mr. Sheiner pointed out that the development concept was reviewed in detail at a meeting held in September 1999 with area residents and it was his interpretation that the proposal was the least disruptive to primary concerns of the residents which related to traffic volumes and student housing. He advised that the plan has been modified as a result of issues raised by residents and that he had only learned last week that neighbourhood residents had hired an attorney to represent them as well as a planning consultant. He suggested that it was not appropriate to defer the application at this late stage. Councillor J. Ziegler commented that adherence to process often leads to acceptable compromise among parties. Mr. Sheiner stated that it was his view that given everything that has been done there was nothing more to discuss with the neighbourhood. In response to a question from Councillor M. Yantzi, Mr. M. Code advised that the parking ratio per unit was 1.5 parking spaces per unit with 30 parking spaces being provided for visitors. Councillor J. Haalboom commented that her concern was that for 25 years area residents had an expectation that the property would develop with single family dwellings under R-3 zoning and not an R-6 multiple development. She also noted that she did not observe support for the project at the neighbourhood meeting. Mr. Sheiner responded that his view of the neighbourhood meeting was that as residents began to fully understand the proposed development they were generally satisfied and that subsequently their comments related to the merits of the development in terms of the subject property. Councillor T. Galloway also expressed concern that if the zoning was approved and the current development proposal did not go forward the property might be purchased for development with an entirely different proposal. He was advised by the delegation that the proposed development would proceed with pre-selling of phases, that the owners were under no pressure whatsoever to sell the property should the marketplace delay the proposed development and that they were prepared to reduce the height restriction of buildings to 8 metres instead of 10 ½ metres. Mr. Steve Grant, Madorin Snyder, Barristers and Solicitors, appeared as a delegation representing approximately 46 neighbourhood residents to object to the zone change application and request the application be deferred for four weeks so as to allow for concerns of the residents to be addressed by the applicant. A submission dated April 5, 2000 from Mr. Grant was distributed with the agenda. The submission notes that the residents have two principle objections being the change in zoning and the proposed re-alignment of Old Mill Road. The basis of the objections was elaborated on in Mr. Grant's submission. Mr. Grant noted that concerns relating to compatibility with existing development, density, traffic volume and preservation of Old Mill Road could be discussed if deferral was agreed to in hopes of reaching compromise. He suggested that while the residents feel the proposal is not compatible, discussion might achieve compatibility. Mr. Grant then commented on Mr. Code's submission with respect to a potential 60 single family home development and noted that the suggestion by Mr. Code that most might be duplexed to facilitate student housing was inappropriate. He also expressed concern that should the development be approved but fail to achieve an acceptable level of pre-sales there was serious concern as to questions of future property ownership and future development proposals on the property. Finally, Mr. Grant advised that if deferral was not granted by the Committee this date, the residents who have registered as delegations wish to make their presentations. BPS 00/25 3040 OLD MILL ROAD ZONE CHANGE APPLICATION ZC 9918101GR JANET KUNSCH AND JOHN KINZIE DOON-PIONEER WARD (CONT'D) PLANNING & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE MINUTES APRIL 10, 2000 - 69 - CITY OF KITCHENER The following individuals were registered as delegations to speak on the zone change application: - Louisa Stephenson - Brad Schneider - Brian Doyle - Lori Shultz - Pat Nippell - Jeanne Leis - Larry Hundt - Brigitte EngeI-Nevill (fax distributed this date) - Tim Bartels (submission distributed this date) - Cecilia MacEachon - Val Zietsma For the record, written submissions were received and distributed with the Committee agenda from: - Dennis Oleskevich - Connie and David Grimm In response to Mayor C. Zehr, Mr. Grant commented that the status of the site plan was simply a proposal and it was questionable as to how the proposed road diversion could comply with Municipal Plan Policies in terms of preservation of the vista of the existing road. In further responding to Mayor C. Zehr, Mr. Grant commented that the deferral would allow for compatability issues to be fully explored. He also stated that there was no guarantee the proposed development would be built but that perhaps through discussion, regulations could be developed within the zoning by-law that would satisfy residents should the proposed development in this form not proceed. Councillor Jake Smola entered the meeting at this point. Councillor John Smola asked that staff comment on the suggested 60 lot subdivision development that Mr. Code referred to as an alternative possibility. Mr. Richardson advised that the 60 lot subdivision could probably proceed with modifications but that the number of units would be similar to what has been suggested. Ms. C. Ladd also commented that there were a few development constraints on this property but that the lot yield was realistic. Councillor J. Haalboom stated that she had many concerns with the development as do many of the delegations attending this date and that there was much uncertainty and lack of security as to the form of final development. Accordingly, for reasons of compatability and in order to consider a traffic report which she has not received, she asked that consideration be deferred so as to allow the applicant the opportunity to meet with area residents to more fully discuss their concerns. Councillor J. Haalboom then put forward a deferral motion. Before considering the motion, Councillor C. Weylie questioned if there was anyone in attendance who wished to speak on the application who was not with Mr. Grant's group. Ms. Val Zietsma advised that she was in favour of the zone change application and commented that many of the residents in the neighbourhood appeared to fear change. She suggested that the proposal was an opportunity to enhance the neighbourhood and noted that the development would attract seniors who would not negatively impact the neighbourhood in respect to traffic volumes and would not be willing to take in student boarders. In response to Councillor J. Ziegler, Ms. Zietsma noted that she lives approximately two blocks from the subject property and has significant experience working with seniors whose lifestyle would not be a threat to the community. BPS 00/25 3040 OLD MILL ROAD ZONE CHANGE APPLICATION ZC 9918101GR JANET KUNSCH AND JOHN KINZIE DOON-PIONEER WARD (CONT'D) Mr. Lloyd Sheiner commented that a one month deferral would not make any difference in terms of the year of work that has gone into planning the development. Further, he stated that the PLANNING & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE MINUTES APRIL 10, 2000 - 70 - CITY OF KITCHENER Kunsch's would not be available for a meeting within that time frame. He also clarified that the development could be built in smaller phases on a pre-sell basis in response to a question raised earlier. Mr. Steve Grant confirmed that the residents wish to meet with the applicant to explore development options. Mrs. J. Kunsch indicated that she would be available for the regular committee meeting to be held May 29, 2000. The motion of Councillor J. Haalboom was then put to a vote. It was resolved: "That consideration of Zone Change Application ZC 99/8/O/GR (3040 Old Mill Road - Janet Kunsch and John Kinzie) be deferred and referred to the May 29, 2000 Planning and Economic Development Committee meeting." 3. ADJOURNMENT On motion, the meeting adjourned at 5:13 p.m. L.W. Neil, AMCT Assistant City Clerk