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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDTS-05-074 - ZC 04/12/C/DR - 41 Cherry Street ) Report To: Date of Meeti ng : Submitted By: Prepared By: Ward(s) Involved: Date of Report: Report No.: Subject: Development & Technical Services Committee June 27, 2005 Larry Masseo, Manager of Design & Development 741-2305 Della Ross, Senior Planner 741-2327 Ward 6 June 1 , 2005 DTS-05-074 ZC 04/12/C/DR Lolita and Alex Paroski 41 Cherry Street RECOMMENDATION: That Zone Change Application ZC 04/12/C/DR, for Lolita and Alex Paroski, to change the zoning on the subject lands, at 41 Cherry Street, from Residential Five Zone (R-5) to Residential Five Zone (R-5), with Special Use Provision 352U and a Special Regulation Provisions 429R and 430R on lands legally described as Plan 375 Pt Lot 406 Pt Lot 407, in the City of Kitchener, be approved in the form shown in the attached "Proposed By-law", dated May 3, 2005, be approved without conditions. REPORT: The subject lands are located at 41 Cherry Street, at the corner of Cherry Street and Walnut Street. The applicant originally requested that the property be rezoned from Residential Five Zone (R-5) to Residential Six Zone (R-6) in order to permit three street fronting townhouse units. Multiple residential units such as a triplex are presently permitted on the property under the existing R-5 zoning. The owner is seeking a zoning amendment to permit three street fronting townhouse units which are not permitted in the R-5 zone. The proposed rezoning, therefore, does not necessarily increase the density of development permitted on the site but provides for the proposed townhouses to be street fronting. City staff are of the opinion that the best approach to facilitating the development of the proposed street fronting townhouse units is to maintain the zoning as Residential Five Zone (R- 5) with a Special Use Provision to permit street townhouse dwellings. The Residential Five Zone (R-5) is designed to be a lower density zone than Residential Six Zone (R-6) through regulations that restrict the maximum number of dwelling units in a multiple dwelling to three and also provide location criteria for lodging houses. The regulations/restrictions in the Residential Five Zone (R-5) maintain the "status quo" in this neighbourhood, only with the additional provision for street townhouse dwellings, in the event that owner does not proceed with the proposed development. The modified Residential Five Zone (R-5) proposed will maintain the compatibility of building form and land use that was intended in established residential areas. An additional Special Use Provision is required to prohibit duplexing within the proposed street fronting townhomes, as well as Special Regulation Provisions to recognize the front lot line of the property to be the Walnut Street frontage, rather than Cherry Street, and to permit a 7.0 metre rear yard set back. The special regulation provisions are required as the zoning by-law requires that the portion of the property with the shortest frontage be regarded as the front yard. In this case, it is more appropriate to consider the Walnut Street frontage to be the front yard. The applicable regulations/setbacks will be the regulations that are applicable to street fronting townhouses in the Residential Six Zone (R-6) save and except the rear yard set back which is proposed to be 7.0 metres instead of 7.5 metres. The reason for this minor reduction in the rear yard set back is that when the applicant first met with city staff to look at a preliminary site plan, staff advised that a 5.5 metre garage setback would be required. Mr. Paroski developed a detailed site plan based on the 5.5 metre setback which was not a by-law requirement at the time but a staff request. Since that time, City staff have determined that a garage setback of 6.0 metres is appropriate for townhouse dwellings and have recommended this regulation as part of the housekeeping amendment to the zoning by-law. Now that a 6.0 metre setback is required by by-law, staff felt it appropriate to provide a 0.5 metre reduction in the rear yard setback in order to maintain a 6.0 metre garage setback at the front of the units, since parking was a concern with the neighbouring residents. This permits the applicant to proceed with his original site plan. As well, staff have proposed a restriction on duplexing to ensure that the three townhouse units cannot be further divided into a maximum of six units. This would exceed the three unit maximum that was considered an appropriate density for multiple units in the existing Residential Five (R-5) Zone, especially giving consideration to the size of the subject lot. City of Kitchener Municipal Plan policies support opportunities for a variety of housing options within neighbourhoods. Policy 1.1.1. of the Municipal Plan states that "the City favours a land use pattern which mixes and disperses a full range of housing types both across the City as a whole and within neighbourhoods." Further, "to support the successful integration of different housing types the City shall apply the principles of community and site design emphasizing compatibility of building form with respect to massing, scale, design and the relationship of housing to adjacent buildings, streets and exterior areas." The owner intends to construct three street fronting townhouses on the site. A preliminary site plan (see attached) has been submitted as well as sketches showing the elevations of the buildings. City staff have worked for several months with the owner to ensure that the proposed development is compatible with this established neighbourhood. The townhomes will be street fronting, with garages which will be more compatible with the surrounding single detached units than a triplex which is presently permitted on the site under the existing zoning. The townhomes are proposed to be staggered as opposed to a straight line of units. This provides a more interesting development and resembles a traditional streetscape where there are varying setbacks of dwellings. As this is an older neighbourhood and some of the houses are approaching one hundred years of age, the City's Heritage Planner assisted in reviewing the elevation drawings (the area does not have a heritage designation). It was suggested by the Heritage Planner that the buildings be constructed with red brick, yellow brick accent and a black asphalt roof. As well, some additional detail such as keystones, prominent concrete sills and pillars/base on the front porches were suggested. The owner has agreed to construct the buildings to these suggested specifications in order to ensure architectural compatibility with the adjacent buildings. The other major design issue is the Cherry Street side elevation, which the applicant has proposed windows to ensure compatibility with the adjacent residential buildings in the neighbourhood. As well the setback on Cherry Street will be required to be a minimum of 4.5 metres in order to ensure a consistent setback with the existing houses fronting onto Cherry Street. The zone change application was circulated to adjacent property owners and written responses (Appendix B attached) were received by Planning Staff. There were seven letters received. One letter supported the proposed zone change and six letters identified concerns which are detailed below. It should be noted that after working with the applicant and the Heritage Planner a copy of the elevation drawings were mailed to the adjacent property owners, who originally had concerns, for comment and/or a meeting. Two property owners called and indicated that they no longer had concerns with the application after seeing the proposed development and clarifying some issues around setbacks and proposed unit design. One property owner requested clarification on setbacks and number of windows from his adjacent home. The three remaining property owners did not contact City staff with additional comments. Neiahbourhood Concerns Density Some residents indicated a concern about the density of the proposed development. A single detached dwelling unit was originally on the property and the applicant is proposing three townhouse units. The purpose of the zone change is to permit the townhouse units to be street fronting. Under the existing R-5 zoning, the applicant could construct a triplex or semi detached unit without requiring a zone change. Therefore, the density on the site is not necessarily being increased as a result of the zoning, but rather the configuration of the unit(s). City staff are of the opinion that the street fronting townhouses proposed will be more compatible with the existing residential streetscape than a triplex, which is a permitted use, would be. Traffic/Parking Concerns have been raised about additional traffic on Cherry Street. Traffic generated from three units should not have a substantial impact on the street. Again, the same traffic could be generated from a building (triplex) that would be proposed under the existing zoning. City staff advise that the proposed site plan provides sufficient parking for residents and visitors of the development as there are garages and 6.0 metre driveways to the garage to provide sufficient room for a car in front of the garage. Affordable Housing Some adjacent residents expressed concern with additional affordable housing being created in the neighbourhood. The applicant is proposing to rent the units initially but may consider a condominium or severances, to establish separate units/lots at a later date. The units are going to be approximately 1 ,300 square feet, all brick construction, with garages and should be able to rent for in excess of $1 ,000 per month. While the City is responsible to establish a range of housing types and affordability within the City, it is expected that these units will be in the medium to high rental rates which would provide a good mix within this neighbourhood of single detached dwellings, and some of the more recent affordable housing established in close proximity to this site. Architecture/Heritage Letters were received by residents expressing concern about compatibility of the proposed development with some of the older homes in the neighbourhood. The City's Heritage Planner took a site visit of the neighbourhood and while the houses are not designated, City staff agree that this site should be compatible architecturally with the surrounding residential development. All brick exterior is proposed with white brick detail such as keystones. There will be front porch detail and the site exterior fronting Cherry Street will be enhanced to ensure compatibility with both street frontages. Precedent Concern was raised about the precedent of establishing townhomes in this area. City staff acknowledge that the City of Kitchener is growing and provincial policy is encouraging the use of existing infrastructure and land through infill development. Infill proposals are going to become more prevalent in the next several years. Infill development, though, must be compatible with the existing neighbourhood while meeting City requirements for higher use of land on existing infrastructure. City staff feel that the proposed development is appropriate as the density is not increased from what exists in the present zoning. Additional work has gone into ensuring architectural compatibility and a high level of urban design. City staff do hope that this development sets a positive president in assuring residents in this neighbourhood and others that infill can be attractive and compatible. Resident's comments incorporated into design City staff feel that through the initial responses of the neighbours that some excellent comments and very legitimate concerns were brought to City staff's attention. These comments have been the impetus in working with the developer to design a development that is compatible with the existing dwellings from a density and urban design perspective. The proposed site plan is a balance between what is compatible with the existing residential neighbourhood while still meeting the policies of the Low Rise Residential designation in the Municipal Plan to provide for a full range of housing types. Once the applicant receives zoning approval, he has agreed to develop the site, through site plan approval, in accordance with the attached plans. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: Nil COMMUNICATIONS: Aaencv and Department Circulation This application was circulated to all required agencies and city departments. The comments received have been addressed or will be addressed through site plan review. The Region of Waterloo indicated that a noise warning clause for the CN Rail Line will be required if the proposed units proceed to condominium approval. Neiahbourhood Circulation This application was circulated to all property owners within 120 metres of the subject lands as per the Planning Act requirements. Notice of the public meeting was advertised in The Record on June 3, 2005. As per Council policy, this report will be circulated to all property owners within 120 metres of the subject property as the application is being considered by Council more than one year since the initial submission. CONCLUSION: Based on the foregoing, the Department of Development and Technical Services recommends that Zone Change Application ZC04/12/C/DR be approved in the form shown in the Proposed By-law, and with the understanding that the owner of the property is agreeing to design the plan in accordance with the attached proposed site plans. Della Ross, M.A., MCIP, RPP Senior Planner Larry Masseo, MCIP, RPP Manager of Design and Development Attachments Proposed Zoning By-law Newspaper Advertisement Draft Site Plan and Elevation Drawings Appendix A - Department/Agency Comments Appendix B - Neighbourhood Comments