TOWN OF WHITBY REPORT RECOMMENDATION REPORT

Transcription

1 TOWN OF WHITBY REPORT RECOMMENDATION REPORT REPORT TO: Planning and Development Committee REPORT NO: PL DATE OF MEETING: June 14, 2010 FILE NO(S): OPA-2010-W/03 & Z PREPARED BY: Planning Department LOCATION: 920 Champlain Court REPORT TITLE/SUBJECT: Official Plan Amendment Application & Zoning By-Law Amendment Application (By-Law No. 2585) Royal Distributing Canada / Industrial Equities Whitby Corporation 1.0 RECOMMENDATION: 1. That Council approve Official Plan Amendment application (OPA W/03), and a By-law to adopt Amendment No. 88 to the Whitby Official Plan, as shown on Attachment #3 to this report, be brought forward for Council s consideration, subject to the comments and conditions contained in Planning Report, Item PL 80-10; 2. That the Clerk forward a record of the adopted Official Plan Amendment, including a copy of the Planning Report, Item PL 80-10, two (2) copies of the adopted Amendment, a copy of the adopting By-law and any other required documentation to the Region of Durham Commissioner of Planning within fifteen (15) days of adoption of the Amendment; 3. That Council approve Zoning By-law Amendment application (Z-12-10), and a Zoning By-law Amendment be brought forward for Council s consideration, subject to the comments and conditions contained in Planning Report, Item PL 80-10; and, 4. That the Clerk send a Notice of Council s decision to those persons and agencies who had requested to be notified of Council s decision.

2 Report No.: PL Page 2 of EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: An Official Plan Amendment application and Zoning Amendment application have been submitted by Sernas Associates on behalf of Royal Distributing Canada / Industrial Equities Whitby Corporation proposing a single automobile and/or recreation vehicle sales dealership within existing buildings located at the property municipally known as 920 Champlain Court, Whitby (former BMW Canada headquarters and automotive complex). The Official Plan Amendment application proposes a site specific amendment to the Automobile Complex Policy in the Whitby Official Plan to permit as an exception, the additional use of a single automobile sales dealership and/or boat and recreational vehicle sales dealership including the sale of ancillary accessories within existing buildings on the site. The Zoning By-law Amendment application proposes to amend Zoning By-law No to add as an exception the following additional uses on the subject site: 1) a single automobile sales dealership with accessory sales; and 2) a single boat and recreation vehicle sales dealership with accessory sales. The Official Plan and Zoning applications are proposed to include additional land use rights on the subject property. The applicant is not proposing any changes to the size of the existing structures on the site or the current parking configuration. The existing site plan is found on Attachment #2. Council approved a single dealership on 1100 Champlain Court (G.P. Bikes) in November, 2009, two properties east of the subject applications. 3.0 ORIGIN: The purpose of this report is to make a recommendation to Council regarding the subject applications. The Planning Department has received applications to amend the Official Plan and Zoning By-law No for the property municipally known as 920 Champlain Court, Whitby. 4.0 BACKGROUND: SITE DETAILS Site Location : 920 Champlain Court, Whitby See Attachment #1 - Location Sketch Property Information : Part of Lot 24, Concession 1

3 Report No.: PL Page 3 of 11 Site Area : 3.96 Hectares (9.76 Acres) Previous Use : BMW Canada Corporate Head Office and Automobile Complex comprised of 3 dealerships - (1) Mini Cooper sales and service (2) BMW new car sales and service (3) BMW pre-owned sales and service Present Use : Durham Access to Care, vacant building and temporary use of vehicle detailing Proposed Use : In addition to existing uses, a single automobile sales dealership/ a single boat and recreational sales dealership with accessory sales Official Plan Designation Region of Durham : Employment Area Town of Whitby : Prestige Industrial See Attachment #3 - Schedule A Land Use Current Zone Category : By-Law No M1A-AC Select Industrial Zone Automobile Complex F Flood Zone Surrounding Land Uses North : Prestige Industrial McNairn Packaging Newman Deidre Solicitors East : Prestige Industrial Patheon Pharmaceutical Manufacturing South : Champlain Court, Highway 401 West : Pringle Creek 5.0 DISCUSSION/OPTIONS: N/A 6.0 PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS/PLAN: Notice of this meeting was mailed to all landowners within 120 metres (400 feet) of the subject property, and all persons requesting further notification. In addition, Notice of

4 Report No.: PL Page 4 of 11 the Public Meeting was also advertised in Whitby This Week on Wednesday, May 26 th, The Region of Durham has determined that the Official Plan Amendment application is exempt from Regional approval. Whitby Council s decision will be final, pending any appeals received during the statutory appeal period. 7.0 CONSIDERATIONS: A. PUBLIC This Statutory Public Meeting is being held in accordance with the requirements of the Whitby Official Plan and the Planning Act. B. FINANCIAL N/A C. IMPACT ON & INPUT FROM OTHER DEPARTMENTS/SOURCES Whitby Fire and Emergency Services Whitby Fire and Emergency Services has no comments regarding the applications. Whitby Public Works Department Official Plan Amendment This Public Works Department has no objection to this application. Zoning By-law Amendment The Public Works Department has no objection to this application. Whitby Hydro Whitby Hydro has no objection to the Official Plan and Zoning Amendment applications. Please note that any new load to this site will have to be satisfied by the existing service supplying this complex. If the existing supply is not adequate then the owner should contact Whitby Hydro for consideration of other options. Any adjustments to the existing Whitby Hydro system to facilitate services to this site will be at the developer s cost.

5 Report No.: PL Page 5 of 11 Region of Durham The subject site is designated Employment Area in the Regional Official Plan. Employment Areas shall be used for manufacturing, assembly and processing of goods, service industries, research and development facilities, warehousing, business parks, limited personal service uses, hotels, storage of goods and materials, retail warehouses, freight transfer and transportation facilities. The proposed amendments are permitted by the policies of the Regional Official Plan. Based on our review of the application, and in accordance with By-law , this application is exempt from Regional Approval. If Council adopts the Official Plan Amendment, a record must be submitted to the Regional Planning Department within 15 days of the date of adoption. The record must include; two copies of the adopted Amendment; a copy of the adopting bylaw; and a copy of the staff report and any relevant materials. Whitby Planning Department The Planning Department have reviewed the subject applications and provide the following comments: Whitby Official Plan Prestige Industrial Designation The subject property is located in the Prestige Industrial Designation as identified on Schedule A - Land Use of the Whitby Official Plan. See Attachment #3 - Official Plan Schedule A Excerpt. Section of the Whitby Official Plan identifies Prestige Industrial Areas as lands with prime exposure to major freeways and that development on these lands is intended to exhibit a high standard of building design, attractive appearance and extensive landscaping. Section continues on to describe the intended use of lands in Prestige Industrial Areas. These intended uses include light industrial uses within enclosed buildings, office buildings (professional / corporate / industrial), technical schools as well as research and development facilities. Incidental sales outlets within industrial buildings compatible with adjacent land uses and limited commercial uses serving the industrial area, as well as community and recreation uses (such as banks and restaurants) are also envisaged.

6 Report No.: PL Page 6 of 11 Automobile Complex In addition to the intended use of lands as described for Prestige Industrial Areas, Section of the Official Plan specifically addresses the issue of automobile complexes within Prestige Industrial Areas. This section of the Official Plan defines an Automobile Complex as a cluster of three or more new automotive sales dealerships with associated storage of vehicles located within a campus setting, and integrated by common access and internal vehicular and pedestrian circulation. Generally, the gross floor area of an individual dealership will exceed 1,000 square metres. The Official Plan does not make specific reference to or support individual automobile or recreation vehicle dealerships within Prestige Industrial Areas. History of Automobile Complex Policy The history of automobile dealerships, automobile complexes and the appropriate location for dealerships and complexes has been an ongoing policy issue in the Whitby Official Plan. The previous 1974 Official Plan and current 1995 Official Plan policy does not permit individual automobile sales establishments in Prestige or General Industrial Areas. In the early to mid-1990 s the Town of Whitby received a number of enquiries and requests from industrial land owners for consideration of various special purpose commercial uses, particularly automobile dealerships, in Prestige Industrial Areas. This included some applications for Official Plan Amendments and submissions associated with review of the 1974 Official Plan. In response to sustained interest from the development industry, the Terms of Reference for the 1995 Official Plan Review and Update Study contained provisions to examine the issue of automobile dealerships in Prestige Industrial Areas. In 1994 Council and in 1995 the Region adopted the current Whitby Official Plan, which included a specific policy defining automobile complexes and by exception allowing automobile complexes on specific sites in the Prestige Industrial Area. Basis of Automobile Complex Policy In a Council Report dated 5 June 1995 this issue was further explored. At the request of Council the report provided a summary of the grounds for retaining the automobile complex policy in the 1995 Whitby Official Plan. This report specifically identified that Planning staff and the consultant did not feel it was appropriate to additionally permit special purpose commercial uses as-of-right throughout the industrial area, and this position was reflected and accepted in the restrictive nature of industrial policies in the adopted Official Plan.

7 Report No.: PL Page 7 of 11 More specifically the report continued on to state From Council s previous direction, it is assumed and planning staff would concur, that the [Official] Plan should contain an enabling policy for the possibility of considering automobile dealerships in Prestige Industrial areas only on the basis of an integrated, concentrated cluster of three or more dealerships, and only by exception to the zoning by-law. The grounds for the policy established in this report for the 1995 Official Plan are summarised as follows: Autoplex uses are intended to be in addition to, not in replacement of, permitted uses within Prestige Industrial. Council felt it did not have to include automobile dealerships / complexes as-ofright in Industrial areas and sufficient consideration of this matter could be given to via assessment of an individual development proposal. Council control over the location, design and appearance of automobile dealerships was important and the highest design and development standards could be achieved through the site plan approval process. It was considered important to prevent non-contiguous scattering of dealerships on individual properties across Prestige Industrial areas. Avoiding the potential precedent of single automobile dealerships would be achieved if permitted by zoning exception only. A nodal automobile complex approach was considered to provide convenience to the consumer, support comparison shopping, minimise traffic congestion and minimise parking problems. A singular automobile complex would assist in controlling negative effects on industrial land prices and rents, which could impact other industrial users in finding affordable space / land. Establishing a requirement for an automobile complex with minimum floor area requirements would prohibit dealerships selling used cars only. The Region s Employment Areas did not permit automobile dealerships singly or in a complex, but the policy issues of limited commercial uses in Employment Areas was being considered by the Region at that time. Approvals for Single Automobile Dealerships Since the adoption of the automobile complex policy in 1995 the Town has continued to received enquiries and applications seeking to establish singular automobile dealerships in Prestige Industrial Areas. Since 1995 a number of applications for single automobile dealerships have been approved by Council by exceptions to the Official Plan, including: Chrysler - Champlain Avenue, East of Thickson Rd.

8 Report No.: PL Page 8 of 11 Whitby Oshawa Honda - NW corner of Thickson Rd. S. & Consumers Dr. Whitby Mazda - NE corner Sunray St & Consumers Dr. Whitby Honda Victoria St. E. G.P. Bikes Champlain Crt. Introductory Discussion Paper - Whitby Official Plan Review The need to review the automobile complex policy was identified in the Introductory Discussion Paper for the Whitby Official Plan Review Planning and Development Committee Meeting on May 28 th, Section of the Introductory Discussion paper included the following issue analysis: There is a need to re-examine the limited commercial use provisions in the Official Plan for their efficiency. For example, the Plan conditionally allows consideration of an automobile complex of three or more sales dealerships. Such development is to be in a campus setting on lands adjacent to the 401 east of Pringle Creek, and provided at least two dealerships are to be constructed in the first phase of development. The policy was intended to cluster such uses in a concentrated fashion, rather than have them scattered throughout the employment areas. It has not been entirely successful. While one autoplex has established itself on the north side of Champlain Avenue near the municipal boundary, three exception amendments have been approved for single dealerships on the north side of Consumers/Champlain, as these dealerships expand and vacate the Dundas Street corridor. It is noted that the ROP [Regional Official Plan] does permit automobile dealerships in the Employment Areas of the Region without the need for clustering. This policy was not removed by Amendment 114. On a broader note, increasing commercial development pressure to infiltrate the less expensive industrially zoned lands is an ongoing concern, particularly as the industrial land base is diminished. There is concern that current permissions are still appropriate, given the municipal goal of building strong central areas. Policies may require fine tuning what service commercial, office and even retailing activities should be permitted in industrial areas. Current Situation Consideration of the merits ot the automobile complex policy came to a head in 2009 following Council consideration of the latest single automobile dealership application for G.P Bikes. At the October 19 th, 2009 Planning and Development Committee Meeting staff were directed to review Section of the Official Plan as part of the Official Plan Review process and advise Council on whether

9 Report No.: PL Page 9 of 11 that particular policy should be maintained. The Official Plan Review process is still in it s early stages and therefore a recommendation to Council on this item has yet to be made. As highlighted in this Section of the report the effectiveness and justification for the automobile complex policy has come under intense scrutiny. It has been identified that while the automobile complex policy has merit, the policy has not had the intended effect of establishing a node of integrated / interconnected dealerships within complexes. Specifically the concepts associated with colocating dealerships for customer convenience and avoiding precedent setting, scattered individual dealerships stand up in theory, but do not respond to the market. In terms of market it is clear that due to the dynamic nature of the automobile dealership industry flexibility is required for market competitiveness. For example the changing ownership of brands and ownership affiliations leads to changing dealership location needs. Also the demand for recreation vehicles is a steadily growing market. These changing needs makes co-location into combined dealership complexes problematic. In addition as evolving standards for automobile servicing and storage / distribution strategies change, the ability to colocate facilities in integrated complexes decrease. Further consideration of the specific locations where automobile dealerships or complexes should be allowed within Prestige Industrial Areas is still required through the Official Plan Review, as is the specific wording of the policies. However it is clear from analysis of recent proposals that co-location of dealerships on sites in single ownership or within integrated / interconnected complexes is being resisted by the market. This being said requiring clustering of automobile dealerships in identified nodes in Prestige Industrial areas, but allowing individual dealerships to establish on individual sites strikes a balance between the desire for co-location and high quality design, but with sufficient flexibility to respond to market realities. Proposed Automobile / Recreation Vehicle Dealership This application proposes the re-use of existing buildings which previously supported three (3) automobile dealerships in the form of an automobile complex. The Applicant proposes to establish a single automobile dealership and single recreation vehicle dealership, and sales of associated accessories. Recreation vehicle sales is a land use similar to automobile sales in terms of business operation, stock storage and delivery, customer trip generation and servicing of vehicles. Recreation vehicles can include, but is not limited to,

10 Report No.: PL Page 10 of 11 vehicles such as snowmobiles, All Terrain Vehicles (ATVs), Motorcycles, scooters and personal watercraft. Regarding automobiles and recreation vehicle dealerships as similar uses is reenforced by the recent Whitby Honda and GP Bikes applications, which involved dealerships for motorcycles and/or scooters processed as automobile dealerships. Given the above discussion regarding the complexities of co-locating individual dealerships in one complex versus on individual sites within an identified node and the proposal to re-use existing buildings previously used for car sales to allow both car and recreation vehicle sales, Planning staff recommend support for the proposed applications. Proposed amendment No. 88 to the Official Plan is found on Attachment #4. The subject property is currently zoned M1A-AC Select Industrial Zone Automobile Complex and F Flood with an exception to permit office and warehouse uses on a restricted portion of the property. The zoning application requests the additional use of a single automobile sales dealership and a single boat and recreational sales dealership with accessory sales. If approved, the by-law will be appropriately amended to permit the proposed uses. The proposed uses include accessory and incidental sales to the principal use of the aforementioned sales dealerships. The accessory and incidental sales shall be subordinate to the principal uses. D. CORPORATE AND/OR DEPARTMENT STRATEGIC PRIORITIES N/A 8.0 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION It is recommended that Council approve Official Plan Amendment application (OPA 2010-W/03) and Zoning Amendment application (Z-12-10) subject to the comments and conditions contained in Planning Report Item No. PL ATTACHMENTS Attachment #1: Attachment #2: Attachment #3: Attachment #4: Location Sketch Existing Site Plan Excerpt from Official Plan, Schedule A Proposed Amendment No. 88 to the Whitby Official Plan

11 Report No.: PL Page 11 of 11 For further information contact: John Taylor, Ext and/or Anne Edmonds, Ext Robert B. Short, Director of Planning, Ext Robert Petrie, Chief Administrative Officer, Ext. 2211

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