Staff Report - Application to Rezone 813 and 817 Orono Ave (Bylaw No. 1722 proposal)

BACKGROUND

PREVIOUS APPLICATIONS

The subject properties, along with all other properties within Sewer Specified Area No. 1, were rezoned from a One- and Two-Family Zone to a One-Family Zone in 1995 (Z95-0008) as part of a large scale amendment to encourage greater densification in the City Centre area.

In 2017, an application to rezone the subject properties to allow a 14-unit townhouse development (Z17-0026) was submitted but later withdrawn prior to Council consideration.

Table 1: Site Data

SITE AND SURROUNDING AREA

The subject properties are located on the east end of Orono Ave, near the intersection with Peatt Rd. Some redevelopment to multi-storey mixed use and multi-family residential has occurred within this block of Orono Ave further west towards Jacklin Rd as well as on Peatt Rd. One- and Two-Family uses also occur in the vicinity, as well as industrial lands to the south.

Table 2: Surrounding Land Uses

COMMENTS

OFFICIAL COMMUNITY PLAN

The Official Community Plan (OCP) Bylaw No. 1200 designates the subject property as ‘City Centre’, which is defined by the following text:

• A major regional growth centre that support a wide range of high density housing, including affordable and rental housing
• A major employment area for institutional, office, commercial, light industrial uses
• Major civic uses and public buildings are key landmarks
• A major place of community gathering and celebration
• A wide range of public squares, parks and open spaces are integrated throughout
• The City’s major entertainment and/or cultural precinct
• Inter-city and/or inter-regional transit hub connect residents

A Concept for the City Centre

DEVELOPMENT PERMIT AREAS

The subject properties are not located within any environmentally sensitive or hazardous Development Permit areas. However, a Development Permit in accordance with the City’s Multi-Family and City Centre Design Guidelines will be required.

DEVELOPMENT PROPOSAL

The applicant wishes to consolidate the two existing subject properties in order to construct a 6-storey 31 unit apartment building. As proposed, the building contains one walk-up unit, lobby as well as parking and landscaped areas at grade, with an additional 5 storeys of residential units above. This type of lot consolidation and activation of the front façade is encouraged by the new City Centre Design Guidelines recently given first reading by Council. The subject properties are located within the City Hall neighbourhood defined by these pending new Guidelines, which encourage the inclusion of a range of uses including medium to high density residential.

The applicant has provided draft plans for staff and Council review as part of his application. A front elevation and perspective drawing are included below. The proposal will be further assessed at the Development Permit stage.

Table 3: Proposal Data

The plans as presented do not trigger any variances to the provisions of the MU2 Zone or to the required off-street parking. As this building may be constructed as a rental apartment, Council may wish to require the applicant to assign one parking space to each unit, included with the rent, to avoid the scenario of renting out parking spaces separately. This has been applied to many similar rezoning applications recently to help prevent the parking problems that have arisen when tenants do not wish to pay an extra $50-100 per month on top of their rent for a parking space.

FRONTAGE IMPROVEMENTS

The Engineering Department has noted that road dedication may be required to ensure the full Orono Ave cross section, including an eastbound turn lane at Peatt Rd, can be accommodated. Council may wish to require the applicant to provide a frontage drawing to the satisfaction of the Director of Engineering prior to Public Hearing, and to require any necessary road dedication be provided prior to Bylaw Adoption. Other frontage improvements are anticipated to include boulevard landscaping with street trees, sidewalk, streetlights and road edge parking.

INFRASTRUCTURE

Sewer and water mains exist on Orono Ave fronting this site. Any improvements or modifications needed to the sewer mains within the municipal road right-of-way will be constructed by West Shore Environmental Services at the applicant’s expense. The applicant will be required to provide a Fire Underwriters Survey (FUS) Report to verify that sufficient water pressure is available to serve the development. Any upgrades to the water system noted in the FUS report would need to be completed at the developers’ expense prior to the issuance of a building permit.

DRAINAGE AND STORMWATER MANAGEMENT

This site is located within an area where stormwater infiltration is required as per Bylaw 1000. Such a system will be designed through the civil engineering process that appropriately addresses the 2- and 10-year storm events. As a condition of rezoning, Council may wish to request the applicant to examine how stormwater can be managed on-site through infiltration and provide a technical memo from a qualified engineer in this regard to the satisfaction of the Director of Engineering, prior to public hearing.

FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTIONS

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

Rezoning the subject properties to permit higher density of development will increase the assessed value of lands and eventually will increase municipal revenue due to the number of units created. As the developer is responsible to complete all frontage improvements, the direct capital costs to the City associated with this development will be negligible. A summary of Amenity Contributions and Development Cost Charges that the developer will be expected to pay, is outlined in Tables 4 and 5 below.

Council’s Amenity Contribution Policy

The amenity contributions that apply as per Council’s current Affordable Housing, Park and Amenity Contribution Policy are summarized in Table 4 below, based on the current floor plans and total density of 31 units.

Table 4 – Amenity Contributions per Council Policy

Table 5 – Development Cost Charges

OPTIONS

Option 1

That the Planning, Zoning and Affordable Housing Committee recommend that Council:

1. Give 1st reading to the attached Bylaw No. 1722 to amend the zoning designation of the property located at 813 and 817 Orono Avenue from R1 (One-Family Residential) to MU2 (Mixed-Use Residential Commercial 2) subject to the following terms and conditions:

a) That the applicant provides, as a bonus for increased density, the following contributions per residential unit, prior to issuance of a building permit: i. $750 towards the Affordable Housing Fund; and
ii. $2,850 towards the General Amenity Reserve Fund.
subject to reductions depending on the use and height in accordance with the Affordable Housing and Amenity Contribution Policy.

b) That the applicant provides, prior to Public Hearing, the following: i. A technical memo from an engineer that verifies storm water can be adequately managed on-site for the proposed developments, to the satisfaction of the Director of Engineering;
ii. A frontage drawing to the satisfaction of the Director of Engineering to confirm if road dedication is required to complete all required frontage improvements and a left turn lane from Orono Ave to Peatt Rd;

c) That the applicant registers, prior to Bylaw Adoption, a road dedication plan, if required, to the satisfaction of the Director of Engineering;

d) That the applicant provides, prior to Bylaw Adoption, a Section 219 covenant, registered in priority of all other charges on title, that agrees to the following: i. That all frontage improvements to Bylaw 1000 standards, including a left turn lane on Orono Ave, are provided to the satisfaction of the Director of Engineering prior to issuance of a building permit;
ii. That a storm water management plan be provided prior to issuance of a building permit and implemented, as per Bylaw 1000, all to the satisfaction of the Director of Engineering; and
iii. That a construction parking management plan be provide prior to the issuance of a building permit, to the satisfaction of the Director of Engineering.
iv. That the required parking stalls for this development are allocated for the use by individuals in each unit, as required by Bylaw 300 and designed accordingly, and that parking stalls are not rented out individually

OR Option 2

1. Take no action at this time with respect to this application to rezone 813 and 817 Orono Ave.

APPENDICES

SUBMITTED BY:

Leah Stohmann, MCIP, RPP, Deputy Director of Planning

Concurrence:
Matthew Baldwin, MCIP, RPP, Director of Planning
Adriana Proton, Manager of Legislative Services
Chris Aubrey, Fire Chief
Cory Manton, Manager of Parks and Recreation
Michelle Mahovlich, P.Eng, P.Geo, Director of Engineering
Michael Dillabaugh, CPA, CA, Director of Finance
Braden Hutchins, Director of Corporate Services
Darren Kiedyk, Chief Administrative Officer