Biz Park Info Cambridge Gen Ctte Jan 7 2013

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF APPLICATION:

In October 2010, the proponent made application for an amendment to the 1999 City of Cambridge Official Plan for the site located at 245 Riverbank Drive for a future proposed plan of subdivision seeking the following uses:

• Office and Employment uses, including ancillary retail uses; and, • Commercial and Service related uses, including a Local Shopping Centre.

The application was made with supporting studies with the intention of bringing forward further development applications, including a draft plan of subdivision and zoning by-lawamendment.

With the Council adoption and Regional approval of the new 2012 Official Plan, the proponent has now amended their request and is now seeking an amendment/modification to the City of Cambridge 2012 Official Plan to permit the eventual development of a portion of the same site (30 hectares of a 91 hectare site located at 245 Riverbank Drive) for a future proposed plan of subdivision. The proponent has noted the site will be developed:

‘…for prestige mixed-use business park. The development will be primarily office employment oriented to high technology uses, including data centres, with some supporting service commercial uses and a hotel. The owners also propose to develop a portion of the lands for motor vehicle and recreational vehicle sales and service.’

REPORT

To: GENERAL COMMITTEE PUBLIC MEETING,

PROPOSED OFFICIAL PLAN

AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION,

AMA INVESTMENTS/FRED

BENNINGER, 245

RIVERBANK DRIVE

Date of Meeting: January 7, 2013

Prepared By: Trevor McWilliams, Senior Planner

Department: Planning Services

Date to Management Committee: January 2, 2013

Report No.: P/13-04

File No.: R21/10/TM

Ward No.: 1

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PUBLIC MEETING, PROPOSED OFFICIAL PLAN AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION, AMA INVESTMENTS/FRED BENNINGER, 245 3 of 104

P/13-04, General Committee, January 7, 2013 Public Meeting, Proposed Official Plan Amendment/Modification AMA Investments/Fred Benninger, 245 Riverbank Drive Page 1

G:\Administration Common\Reports - Council-Committee\iCompass reports\Word versions\P-13-04.doc/Last printed 12/12/2012 2:22:00 PM

Pursuant to Section 22 of the Planning Act, prior to making a decision, Council is required to hold a public meeting to receive comments from the public. Given the amendments/modification requested, Planning Staff is re-circulating the request to the public and all agencies who were originally circulated in 2011 to ensure proper and appropriate notification. Prior to a final decision being made, a further report will be forwarded to Council that includes the comments and concerns of the agencies and the public.

LOCATION AND PROPOSAL

The applicant is requesting amendments to the Official Plan for 30 ha of land located northeast of Highway 8 and south of Riverbank Drive, and noted as Phase 1. The site is legally described as Part of Lots 8,9,13, and 14 Beasley’s Broken Front Concession.

The applicant is proposing the Official Plan Amendment/modification to re-designate the lands from Class1 (Prime) Agricultural Districtand Special District policy (Policy 17.25) to Employment Corridor with Site Specific policies.

The applicant is proposing to replace the current ‘Drive and Putt Special District’ with a new Site Specific policies that would permit:

Information technology related uses, including data centres and information processing establishments;

Display, sales, repair and service of motor vehicles and display, sales, repair and service of recreational vehicles.

Fitness centres and recreational facilities located within an industrial mall;

Courier and delivery services;

Small equipment and machine sales, rental, lease and service;

Rental of residential, commercial or industrial equipment;

Commercial education facilities; and

Limited supporting retail sales and service commercial uses.

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PUBLIC MEETING, PROPOSED OFFICIAL PLAN AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION, AMA INVESTMENTS/FRED BENNINGER, 245 Page 14 of 104



The applicant has noted that this proposal affects 30 ha of a 90 ha site and is the first phase (Phase 1) of development for these lands.

SUPPORTING MATERIAL

The applicant has submitted the following material in support of the original application:

Planning Justification Report, MHBC Planning, October 2010 Transportation Network Assessment, Paradigm Transportation Solutions,

October 2010 Access Options (Traffic Access Study), Meritech, June 2010 Preliminary Natural Heritage Review, Ecoplans, September 2010 Functional Servicing Study, Meritech, September 2010 Archaeological Assessment (Phase 1 and 2), Archaeological Research

Associates Ltd., January 2010

Copies of these reports are on file in the Planning Services Department.

EXISTING LAND USE

The subject lands are currently used for agricultural purposes. The total land holding extends north to Allendale Road and is bisected by Freeport Creek which defines the limit of the Phase 1 lands covered by this application. An existing residential cluster of larger lots containing detached one family dwellings abuts to the north of the subject site. The Canadian Pacific Railway abuts to the south and west of the site and is the municipal boundary between Cambridge and Kitchener, with Hwy 8 paralleling the railway tracks just beyond. The Regional Operation Centre, Emergency Services Centre, and Police Headquarters are adjacent to the subject lands on the east.

Existing land uses are more specifically detailed on Map 4, as attached.

OFFICIAL PLAN DESIGNATION

1999 Cambridge Official Plan

This site is designated as Class 1 (Prime) Agricultural District and Class 1 Open Space in the City’s Official Plan. The agricultural designation consists of lands that are generally specialty crop lands and/or lands of predominantly Classes 1, 2, and 3 agricultural soils as defined in the Canada Land Inventory. This designation permits:

a) agricultural uses; b) agriculture-related uses; c) existing recreation activities; d) veterinary clinics; e) canine and feline boarding and grooming services; and f) sod farming only where the City’s Zoning By-law reflects the use on a site-specific

basis.

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The lands designated as Class 1 Open space permits the following:

a) a conservation area of the Grand River Conservation Authority (GRCA); b) a flood or erosion control facility approved by the GRCA; c) a wildlife, wetland or fishery management project or other ecological rehabilitation

program approved by the Province and in conformity with policies and regulations of other government agencies;

d) the management and harvesting of timber in accordance with good forestry practice. Landowners are encouraged to protect and maintain significant naturalfeatures containing old growth and forest interior conditions;

e) a wildlife sanctuary; f) passive recreational activities and outdoor education or research which do not

threaten the significant features and their functions; g) any existing agricultural activity described in Policy 16.1.2 of this plan where such

activity is compatible with the existing natural environment of the area and where no building or structure is constructed without the approval of the GRCA;

The site the subject of Official Plan and Zoning Amendment applications in 1996. A Special Policy District was established for a ‘Drive and Putt’ outdoor recreational facility.Specifically, Official Plan Policy 17.25 permits the following:

“17.25 Drive and Putt Special District

Notwithstanding the provisions of Policies 3.2.1.1.1, 12.2.1 and 16.1.2 the lands fronting on Riverbank Drive, but south of Freeport Creek, extending to the CP Railway line and bounded on the west by the Cambridge Cityboundary and on the east by the Regional Police Headquarters, designated on Map 15 of this plan as an Agricultural Resource District and more particularly shown on Figure 25 may also be used for the purposes of a golf driving range, a miniature golf course, an executive golf course (a nine hole chip and putt course), a 9 hole golf course and associated uses subject to the following:

a) a stormwater management facility is also permitted as shown on Figure 25 and designated on Map 15 as a Class 1 Open Space District and may be further used as a golf tee off area only above the 301.1 m elevation;

b) the associated uses will be strictly limited to those normally accessory, subordinate and incidental to a golf course such as club house (which may include a licensed food services establishment) a proshop, maintenance sheds, parking and storage facilities;

c) permanent and construction access to the golf facility shall be from King Street and is strictly prohibited from Riverbank Drive;

d) the golf course development shall only be permitted on the basis of municipal water supply and shall not be permitted if the source of water includes private wells. Municipal sanitary servicing is not required;

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The subject site is also within the City Urban Area as shown on Map 1 of the Official Plan.

2012 Cambridge Official Plan

The subject site is designated on Map 1a (Urban Structure) of the 2012 Official Plan as Greenfield and on Map 2 (General Land Use) as Future Urban Reserve. The Future Urban Reserve designation permits only existing uses or those uses permitted in all designations, including agriculture uses without livestock operations. It is expected that final designation on these lands will be deferred with the Regional approval of the Cambridge 2012 Official Plan which has been granted and currently in the appeal period. The Creekside lands are described as Deferral No. 9.

Policy 8.5.3.3 of the 2012 Cambridge Official Plan defines Employment Corridor as:

“Lands designated Employment Corridor are located along Highway 401 and major roadways offering high visibility and convenient accessibility. The Employment Corridor designation is intended to provide prime locations within the city for prestige employment uses including advanced manufacturing, major office complexes and offices. Development within this designation is expected to display high performance standards of site design.”

Permitted Uses include:

a) light industrial uses in an enclosed building including assembling, fabricating, manufacturing, processing, and industrial service trades;

b) major offices;c) office buildings with a minimum floor area of 1860 m2; d) hotel, conference centre, and banquet facilities; e) research and development including laboratories; f) information technology related uses, excluding data centres; g) recycling facilities in an enclosed building; h) the assembly, sale, service and display of motorized recreational vehicles in

an enclosed building; i) accessory uses to the permitted uses above including warehousing; j) complementary uses including: licensed childcare establishment: food

service; restaurants; medical; financial institutions; security services; and janitorial services may be permitted on a limited basis within industrial malls provided the uses are compatible with the development and operation of industrial uses.

Outdoor storage, transport terminal and industrial stamping uses are specifically not permitted within the Employment Corridor designation.

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For Council’s information, the proponent’s planning consultant has prepared a descriptive package of the amendment/modification proposed. A draft Official Plan Amendment is included in the descriptive package which is attached to this report (see Appendix ‘A’).

ZONING BY-LAW CLASSIFICATION

This site is zoned A1, A1 (4.1.46), OS1, and OS1 (4.1.46). Permitted uses for the A1 zone are generally farm related, as follows:

(a) farming, provided, however, that no lands shall be used for the purpose of sod farming unless specific provision is made therefor in section 4.1.51 of this by-law;

(b) facilities for the sorting, grading, packaging, wholesale distribution and sale of farm products grown or raised on the property, including a roadside stand, but does not include the sale at wholesale or retail of products which are not grown or raised on the property;

(c) a detached one-family farm-related dwelling; (d) a day nursery or day care centre; (e) a class 2 group home which is not located within 200 m of an existing class 1,

class 2, class 3 or class 4 group home; (f) a riding stable with or without facilities for boarding or training horses (see

section 3.3.1.5); (g) a kennel (see section 3.3.1.5); (h) a use permitted in all zones in accordance with section 2.1.1; (i) an accessory use, building or structure.

Permitted uses for the Open Space OS1 zone are:

a) a conservation area of the Grand River Conservation Authority; b) an environmentally sensitive policy area designated by the Regional Municipality

of Waterloo; c) an environmentally significant area;d) a woodlot or reforestation site; e) a wildlife sanctuary; f) flood control or storm water management facilities approved by the Grand River

Conservation Authority; g) farming; h) a use permitted in any zone in accordance with section 2.1.1; and i) an accessory use, building or structure.

A majority of the site falls under a site specific zoning. Site specific section 4.1.46 in the Zoning By-law was enacted under By-law 149-97 which permits the following:

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4.1.46 395855 Ontario Limited (Dan Nudyk)

Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 2.2.2.3(a), 3.5.1.1 and 3.6.1.1 of this by-law, the following uses shall be permitted and the following regulations shall apply in that A1 and OS1 zone to which parenthetical reference to “(s. 4.1.46)” is made on Zoning Maps C3, C4, D4 and D5 attached to and forming part of this by-law:

i) A golf driving range, a miniature golf course, an executive golf course, a 9 hole golf course and associated uses shall be permitted in the A1 zone;

ii) The access driveway shall be from King Street in the City of Kitchener in a different zone than the uses proposed;

iii) No lot frontage shall be required provided a 9.14 m access is provided on King Street in the City of Kitchener; and

iv) Notwithstanding section 4.1.46.1 golf tee off areas shall be permitted in the OS1 zone of the storm water management facility at or above the 301.1 m elevation only.

Surrounding lands are zoned M3, RR2, A1, and OS1. Current zoning is shown on Map 5.

CIRCULATION

The proposal has been circulated to the following departments and agencies and their comments will be included in a future report when recommendations on the proposal are presented:

Ministry of Transportation

Canadian Pacific Railway

Regional Municipality of Waterloo

City of Kitchener

Grand River Conservation Authority

Cambridge and North Dumfries Hydro Inc.

Cambridge Senior Development Engineer

Cambridge Zoning Officer

Cambridge Community Services Department

City of Cambridge Building and Enforcement Services

City of Cambridge Transportation and Public Works

City of Cambridge Fire Department

City of Cambridge Economic Development Division

City of Cambridge Policy Planning

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PLANNING COMMENTS

Pre-consultation

The original October 2010 proposal was the subject of a pre-consultation meeting on October 6, 2009 to identify the requirements of a complete application. The issues raised at that pre-consultation meeting remain significant and must be addressed.

Although the lands are already within the Urban Area under the 1999 and 2012 Official Plan, they are not serviced and share many of the broader planning issues associated with the East Side Lands – an area of proposed future employment lands under the Regional Official Plan. As noted above, the subject site is subject to Deferral 9 under the 2012 Official Plan. As such, it will retain the 1999 Official Plan designation until modified.

For this application to succeed there are a number of major issues that must be addressed prior to final approval including the following:

Freeport Creek Subwatershed Study (FCSS)

The need for a Subwatershed Study for Freeport Creek was identified by the Grand River Conservation Authority and is one component of a larger Regional Project referred to as the East Side Lands (Stage 1-Cambridge) Master Environmental Servicing Plan (MESP). As the subject site falls within the Freeport Creek Subwatershed area and the MESP is well underway, it will provide high level information with respect to the environment that can be used to review the application, a full Environmental Impact Assessment will be required. The applicant has submitted a Preliminary Natural Heritage Review with the original application.

Servicing

Currently, there is no municipal water and sanitary servicing available for the site.The extension of municipal services including the connection to and capacity of the receiving Waste Water Treatment Plant is a major issue for this site and the broader East Side lands and is the subject of the MESP Study being undertaken by the Region. The applicant has submitted a Functional Servicing Study (FSS) for their lands and will be required to demonstrate the proposed method, location and cost of all services needed to service the site and of all external servicing requirements. Confirmation that servicing capacity exists in any existing infrastructure that is being relied upon and addressing how this site fits into the servicing scheme for the broader East Side lands will be required. In the last Development Charge Study, the East Side lands were identified as an area where an Area Specific Development Charge will be required for infrastructure.The broader MESP study is to provide much of the detailed engineering for municipal and regional servicing and cost estimates needed to establish a development charge for this area.

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Traffic and Access to the Site

Currently, the site does not have any vehicular access or road connections. The applicant has submitted a conceptual plan showing a road connection to Old King Street in Kitchener through the Regional Police and Operations Centre on Maple Grove Road and a future road connection toward Allendale Road. There are issues that must be resolved with each of these alternatives that require the approval of other land owners and which are well beyond the control of the applicant. In addition, an assessment of existing and proposed road capacities, all required roadway improvements and a cost estimate for all external road works is required.

Land Use Compatibility

The proposal abuts the Regional Operations Centre, the Emergency Services Centre, Police Headquarters, Challenger Motor Freight, and is in close proximity to the industrial uses of the Cambridge Industrial Business Park. However, the applicant is also proposing to situate employment lands next to the residential development existing along Riverbank Drive. This raises concern over land use compatibility.

Environment

The limits of development including required buffers and setbacks and the boundaries of development land versus land to be protected from development is typically determined through a subwatershed study. As noted that work is being undertaken as part of the MESP. The applicant will be required through their Environmental Impact Statement to determine the limits of the natural features and wetlands on the property and associated buffers to the satisfaction of the review agencies.

Future Plan of Subdivision

Similar to the original October 2010 application, the proponent has chosen to submit this application in advance of a Plan of Subdivision/Zoning Amendments which would eventually see the development of the subject lands and new municipal roads conceptually shown below:

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Attach.

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Biz Park Info Cambridge Gen Ctte Jan 7 2013

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