Agenda Item # Page # d 02-661I /Om6666 Chuck Parker
TO: CHAIRS AND MEMBERS - PLANNING COMMITTEE R. W. PANZER FROM: ACTING GENERAL MANAGER OF PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT
SUBJECT: APPLICATION BY: FIRST LONDON NORTH DEVELOPMENTS INC. 1250-1326 Fanshawe Park Road West and lands fronting onto Hyde Park Road north of the woodlot
OFFICIAL PLAN AND ZONING BY-LAW REVIEW INITIATED BY THE CITY OF LONPON 13504422 and 1335-1425 Fanshawe Park Road West and southerly portion of First London North lands PUBLIC PARTICIPATION MEETING ON June 7,2004 at 7:30 p.m. - c
I RECOMMENDATION
That, on the recommendation of the Acting General Manager of Planning and Development, the following actions be taken with respect to the application of First London North Developments Inc. relating to the properties located at 1250-1326 Fanshawe Park Road West and lands fronting onto Hyde Park Road opposite Seagull Road and extending to the north limit of the woodlot (Patch #01012); and the Official Plan and Zoning By-law Review initiated by the City Of London on properties located at 1350-1422 and 1335-1425 Fanshawe Park Road West and the southerly portion of the First London North lands which comprise most of the woodlot (Patch #01012) abutting the east side of Hyde Park Road:
(a) a by-law BE INTRODUCED at the Municipal Council meeting on June 14, 2004 to amend the Official Plan in accordance with the attached amendment to;
I) change the designations of lands at 1250-1422 and 1335-1425 Fanshawe Park Road West and lands north of the woodlot on Hyde Park Road from Community Shopping Area, Associated Shopping Area Commercial, Restricted Service Commercial, Office Area and Multi-Family, Medium Density Residential to a Commercial Policy Area designation and incorporate special policies to guide the development of this major commercial node;
2) delete Section 10.1.3 Ixxiii) of the Official Plan to remove existing policies which apply to this site; and,
3) add a new Section to Section 4.7 to add the Fanshawe/Hyde Park Road Commercial Node as a new Commercial Policy Area.
(b) that the request for an Official Plan Amendment to;
I) add a Community Shopping Area designation on the eastern portion of the property (Phase 1 and 2 of the First London North lands); and,
2) add an Official Plan designation or special policies to permit a total of 56,226m2 (605,231 sq.ft.) of retail commercial gross floor area on the First London North lands BE REFUSED.
(c) a by-law BE INTRODUCED at the Municipal Council meeting on June 14, 2004 to amend Zoning By-law No. 5000 (Former London Township), in accordance with the attached enacting clause, to delete the Highway Commercial Exception (CI-9) Zone which applies to 1350-1422 Fanshawe Park Road West and remove this site from the By-law;
1 SUBJECT 1250 - 1326,1335 LOCATION MAP SITE: FANSHAWE PARK RD W CITY OF LONDON I
Bldgs-new.shp PREPARED BY D.T. I CMH w:: :: Ecological Land Classification 8g:;?y Fabric SCALE: 1:8000 DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING 2004/01116 f23 Municpal Numbers AND DEVELOPMENT DATE: 2004 May 17 PREPARED BY: Graphics & Information Services Agenda Item # Page #
02-661110-6666 Chuck Parker
(d) a by-law BE INTRODUCED at the Municipal Council meeting on June 14, 2004 to amend Zoning By-law Z-1, in conformity with the Official Plan (as amended above), in accordance with the attached enacting clause, to apply a Holding Associated Shopping Area Commercial Special Provision (h-25.ASA3/ASA6/ASA8( )) Zone to 1350-1422 Fanshawe Park Road West which permits retail, offices and personal service uses to a maximum gross floor area of 10000m2(107,643 sq.ft.) within the zone;
(e) a by-law BE INTRODUCED at the Municipal Council meeting on June 14, 2004 to amend Zoning By-law No. 5000 (Former London Township), in accordance with the attached enacting clause, to delete the Agricultural (AI) Zone which applies to lands on the east side of Hyde Park Road south of Seagull Road and remove this site from the By-law ;
(f) a by-law BE INTRODUCED at the Municipal Council meeting on June 14, 2004 to amend Zoning By-law Z-1, in conformity with the Official Plan (as amended above), in accordance with the attached enacting clause, to;
I) change the zoning on the property FROM a Holding Restricted Service Commercial Special Provision (h. h-20.RSC2(5)/RSC4) Zone which permits a limited range of commercial uses at a maximum gross ‘floor area of 18,580m2 (200,000 sq.ft.), Holding Office Area Special Provision (h.OF3(2)) and Holding Residential R5 (h.R5-7) Zones TO Holding Associated Shopping Area Commercial Special Provision (h- 25.ASA3/ASA6/ASA8( ) and h-2. h-25.ASA3/ASA6/ASA8( )) and an Associated Shopping Area . Commercial Special Provision (ASA3/ASAG/ASA8( )) Zone to permit a maximum gross floor area of 41805m2 (450,000 sq.ft.) within the three zoned areas combined, an Office Area Special Provision (OF3(2)) Zone to permit 6968m2 (75,000 sq.ft.) of office space, and a Holding Residential R5 (h.h-2.R5-7) Zone to permit cluster townhouse and stacked townhouse dwellings at a maximum density of 60 units per hectare (24 units per acre) subject to holding provisions for servicing and an environmental study;
2) apply the Open Space (OS5) Zone to lands on the east side of Hyde Park Road south of Seagull Road; and,
3) delete the existing Restricted Service Commercial Special Provision (RSC2(5)) Zone.
(9) the request to amend Zoning By-law No. Z.-1 to change the zoning of the subject property to a Community Shopping Area Zone and to allow 56,226m2 (605,231 sq.ft.) of retail commercial gross floor area on the First London North lands BE REFUSED.
RATIONALE --P
1. The recommended change to a Commercial Policy Area designation recognizes that the subject lands are developing in a form and at a scale that does not fit well with the Community Shopping Area, Associated Shopping Area Commercial or Restricted Service Commercial designations. The Commercial Policy Area designation has been applied to similar areas of “power centre” development along Wonderland Road and Wellington Road South.
2. The recommended policy changes and floor area limitations are intended to achieve a balance between the merits of allowing the First London North lands to develop as a fully, integrated mixed retaiVoffice commercial node, while having regard for concerns regarding
2 Agenda Item # Page #
02-661110-6666 Chuck Parker the negative implications of over-designating commercial lands as previously reported to Planning Committee and Council.
3. The recommended zoning by-law amendments implement the revised Official Plan policies which addresses Municipal Council’s concerns about the supply of retail commercial floorspace as included in the existing special policy that applies to these lands which restricts the retail floorspace to 41 ,805m2 (450,000 sq.ft) on the First London North lands.
4. The recommended Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendments permit development at an appropriate scale and encourage a well-designed, integrated commercial node at the appropriate time.
I BACKGROUND I
: Glen ScheelslEric Saulesleja; GSP
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3EQUESTED ACTION: By letter dated December 12, 2003, GSP Group, on behalf of First ,ondon North Developments Inc., requested Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendments to iermit an increase in the permitted gross floor area and permit a greater range40fretail uses In the western portion of the property. Specifically they requested a Community Shopping 4rea designation and zone (CSA5) on Phase 1 (Wal-Mart) and Phase 2 (Winners,Old Navy 3t.al.) on the eastern portion of the property and an Associated Shopping Area Commercial jesignation and Zone (h.h-20.ASA3/ASA6/ASA8) on proposed Phases 3 and 4 on the Nestern portion of the property. The commercial portion of the property is approximately 22 Tectares in size. Other lands to south including the woodlot and lands designated for .esidential uses are 14 hectares in size. They requested an increase in gross floor area permitted on the commercial portion of the First London North lands from 23225m2 (250,000 sq.ft.) of Associated Shopping Area Commercial plus 18,580m2 (200,000 sq.ft.) of Restricted Service Commercial and 6968m2 (75,000 sq.ft.) of new office space to 56,225m2 (605,220 sq.ft.), based on a proposed site plan dated November 23, 2003, of Community Shopping Area and Associated Shopping Area Commercial floorspace, a 25% increase, and elimination of the office component. A planning justification report and proposed site plan were also submitted with the application. The difference between their request and the current Official Plan limit is 14,864m2 (160,000 sq.ft.) which is equal to the floor area slightly larger than the existing W al-Ma rt .
In response to this application the City initiated an Official Plan and Zoning By-law review for the remaining First London North lands to the south because; 1) of the proximity of proposed new commercial floorspace next to a significant woodlot which required an updated Environmental Impact Statement; 2) to make official plan and zoning by-law zone boundary corrections on the Wal-Mart site; and, 3) to rezone the last portion of the First London North site which still had the former Township zoning applied. The City also included the remaining properties in the developing commercial node on the south side of Fanshawe Park Road West (1350-1422 Fanshawe Park Road West) in the review to ensure that the southeast corner of the intersection was comprehensively reviewed with the First London North lands. A Regional Shopping Area designation and zone were liaised as a possible option because the total existing and proposed gross floor area exceeded the maximum size limits specified in the Official Plan.
Planning staff met with the applicant’s representatives a number of times to discuss issues and possible options. Through this process, another possible land use option was identified. On April 13, 2004 the City initiated an Official Plan Review (0-6666) to also consider a Commercial Policy Area designation on both the -southeast corner, as described above, and the northeast corner of Fanshawe and Hyde Park Roads so that the entire developing commercial node could be comprehensively reviewed.
SITE CH ARACTERlSTl CS :
0 Current Land Use - First London lands Phase 1 Wal-Mart 12,l 32m2 (130,592 sq.ft.) Phase 2 Winners etc. 12,547m2 (I35,059 sq.ft.) Vacant land Other lands The Leather CentreIAntique Store 4,700m2 (50,593 sq.ft.) Vacant land Frontage - 265m (869 ft.) on Fanshawe, 330m (1082 ft.) on Hyde Park Road Depth - 450m (1476 ft.) from Fanshawe, 595m (1952 ft.) from Hyde Park Road 0 Area - 22.26 hectares (55 acres) -commercial component, remainder is 14 hectares 0 ShaDe - lrreqular
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02-661 1/0-6666 Chuck Parker
SURROUNDING LAND USES:
North - Developing commercial node within the Fox Hollow Commuoity Planning Area and to the north and east proposed residential subdivisions, Sam’s Club 12,700m2 (136,706 sq.ft.)
0 South -Vacant land and woodlot owned by First London North, developing single family subdivisions to the south.
East - Developing residential subdivision, Existing Whitehills subdivision
0 West - Existing commercial corridors along Hyde Park and Fanshawe containing restricted service commercial type uses
EXISTING OFFICIAL PLAN DESIGNATION: 0 ASSOCIATED SHOPPING AREA COMMERCIAL (applied to north, northeast and eastern portions-Wal-Mart, Phase 2 and existina businesses on Fanshawe) permits a broad range of retail, service and office uses which are complimentary to the function of adjacent Regional or Community Shopping Areas. This designation is not intended to diminish the dominance of these shopping areas. Shopping centers and free- standing retail uses are typically limited to a maximum size of 6000m2 (64,585 sq.ft.) within this designation.
0 RESTRICTED SERVICE COMMERCIAL (applied to the west-proposed Phase 3 and -4) permits a limited range of commercial uses which require large sites primarily due to the extensive, open or enclosed display or storage areas they have. Similar to the above, individual uses are generally limited to a maximum size of 6000m2(64,585 sq.ft.).
OFFICE AREA (applies to west-part of Phase 3) permits low-medium height (generally 3-5 storeys) office buildings with a limited range of commercial uses permitted on the ground floor.
SPECIAL POLICY 10.1.3 Ixxiii) Japplies to the north portion of First London North lands-Phases 1-4) places limits on the amount of new commercial space permitted by the above designations and required an office component be included in the development. Total new retail commercial permitted was 41 ,805m2 (450,000 sq.ft.) plus 6968m2 (75,000 sq.ft.) of office space.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW lapplies to the southwest corner-existinq woodlot) is a holding designation applied to natural features which have not undergone an environmental study. (NOTE: In this instance, this woodlot was evaluated through the Hyde Park Community Plan process and was identified as a significant feature and was recommended to be designated Open Space (Schedule A) and Significant Woodlot (Schedule B) in OPA No. 193. Those designations were appealed and a hearing is pending.
MULTI-FAMILY MEDIUM DENSITY RESIDENTIAL [applies to the southeast corner) permits multiple-attached dwellings such as townhouses and low-rise apartment buildings up to a maximum density of 75 units per hectare (30 units per acre) and an approximate height of 4 storeys and a range of community facility uses including nursing homes, churches and day care centers.
5 LEGEND DEFERRED AREAS --I AREAS DOWNTOWN AREA mi OFFICE AREA I, Irl UNDER APPEAL REGIONAL SHOPPING AREA 0 FFICE/RESIDENTIAL r74 COMMUNITY SHOPPING AREA El OFFICE BUSINESS PARK NEIGHBOURHOODSHOPPING AREA GENERAL INDUSTRIAL ASSOCIATED SHOPPING AREA COMMERCIAL LIGHT INDUSTRIAL BUSINESS DISTRICT' REGIONAL FACILITY ARTERIAL MIXED USE DISTRICT COMMUNITY FACILITY HIGHWAY SERVICE COMMERCIAL OPEN SPACE RESTRlCTED/HIGHWAY SERVICE COMMERCIAL URBAN RESERVE - COMMUNITY GROWTH RESTRICTED SERVICE COMMERCIAL URBAN RESERVE -INDUSTRIAL GROWTH
COMMERCIAL POLICY AREA RURAL SETTLEMENT MULTI - FAMILY, HIGH DENSITY RESIDENTIAL ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW MULTI - FAMILY, MEDIUM DENSITY RESIDENTIAL AGRl CU LTURE LOW DENSITY RESIDENTIAL URBAN GROWTH BOUNDARY
THIS IS AN EXCERPT FROM THE PLANNINQ DIVISION'S WORKINQ CONSOLIDATIONOF SCHEDULE A To THE CITY OF LONDON OFFICIAL PLAN, WITH ADDED NOTATIONS
FILE NO. CITY OF LONDON 02-6611 DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT MAP PREPARED:
OFFICIAL PLAN SCHEDULE A - LAND USE
PREPARED By: Graphlcs 5 lnformatlon Ssrvlcss I SCALE 1:30,000 I AML LOCATION: \\clfilel\GisWark\alannina\arolects\a offlcial~lan\workconsolOO\exerots\amls\s~hablk8xl4.aml LEGEND 0DEFERRED AREAS NATURAL HERITAGE SYSTEM NATURAL HAZARDS ESA'S /"v FlOODLlNES rI *NOTE* flood Ilnes shown on this map are approximate, ...... The precise delineation of flood plain rnappin ir available ...... POTENTIAL ESA'S from the conservrtlon authorlty havingjuried%tion. FLOOD FRINQE d$,;p'+ VEQETATION PATCHES OUTSIDE ESA'S AND WETLANDS *NOTE* Flood Fringe map ing for certain areas of the city Is :i >j+:;$ available from the Upper #amor River Conretvrtion Authority.
RIVER,STREAM AND RAklNE CORRIDORS OUTSIDE I~L\vi 100 YEAR EROSiON LINE OF FLOOD PLAIN REQUUTEDCORRIDORS I/"\v)' FILL UNES WETLANDS CLASS 1- 3 POTENTIAL SPECIAL POUCY AREAS 4 !@ !@ b&,,h,!j$Yfipb WETLANDS CLASS - 7 - 4- GROUND WATER RECHARGE AREAS NATURAL RESOURCES WOODLANDS v& EXTRACTIVE INDUSTRIAL yB AGGREOATE RESOURCE AREAS /$. POTENTIAL NATURALIZATIONAREAS AND UPLAND CORRIDORS ABANDONED OIUQAS WELLS -
THIS IS AN EXCERPT FROM THE PLANNINQ DIVISION'S WORKING CONSOLIDATION OF SCHEDULE B To THE CITY OF LONDON OFFlCiAL PLAN, WITH ADDED NOTATIONS
I FILENO. I CITY OF LONDON I 02-6611 CP DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT 1 MAP PREPARED: May 14,2004 OFFICIAL PLAN SCHEDULE 6 - FLOOD PLAIN AND ENVIRONMENTAL FEATURES .c
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OZ-661l/O-6666 Chuck Parker mTlNGZONING: ASSOCIATED SHOPPING AREA COMMERCIAL (ASA3/ASAG/ASA8) ZONE (Wal- Mart and Phase 2) permits a broad range of retail, service and office uses at a maximum height of 12m and with no restriction on maximum size.
HOLDING RESTRICTED SERVICE COMMERCIAL SPECIAL PROVISION (h.h- 20,RSC2(5)/RSC4) ZONE (Phase 3 and 4) permits a limited range of commercial uses at a maximum gross floor area of 18,580m2 (200,000 sq.ft.) subject to holding provisions for servicing and urban design.
HOLDING OFFICE AREA SPECIAL PROVISION (h.OF3(2) ZONE (west- part of Phase 3) permits clinics, medical-dental offices, medical-dental laboratories and offices in an office building up to a maximum gross floor area of 6968m2 (75,000 sq.ft.) and maximum height of 15m or approximately 3 storeys subject to a holding provision for servicing.
HOLDING RESIDENTIAL R5 (h.R5-7) ZONE (southeast) permits cluster townhouse and stacked townhouse dwellings at a maximum density of 60 units per hectare and a maximum height of 12m or approximately 3 storeys subject to a holding provision for
servicing. I
HIGHWAY COMMERCIAL EXCEPTION (CI-9) ZONE (FORMER LONDON TOWNSHIP) (existinq businesses frontinq Fanshawe east of the intersection of Hyde Park Road) permits a general retail store, drive-in restaurant, farm supply sales outlet, farm equipment sales and service, motel, building supply outlet, public garage, gas bar, automobile service station, automobile sales and a furniture or home furnishings retail store at a maximum height of 10.5m and maximum coverage of 45%.
AGRICULTURAL (AI) ZONE (FORMER LONDON TOWNSHIP) (woodlot) permits
~~ ~~~ ~ PLANNING HISTORY Y Subject Site
These lands were part of the lands annexed by the City of London January I,1993.
The Hyde Park Community Plan process, which included the First London North property, was initiated in September 1998. In June 1998 planning staff met with representatives of First Professional Management Inc to identify Principles for a Lead Developer Agreement for funding the completion of the Hyde Park Community Plan. This agreement was identified in a letter dated June 22, 1998.
In the spring of 1999, the City began the process of preparing urban design guidelines for “big box” retail uses, largely in response to development occurring at the Hyde ParWFanshawe Park Road intersection. On December 9, 1999 Council adopted the Commercial Urban Design Guidelines after a public meeting was held.
Official Plan Amendment No. 88, which designated the subject lands Urban Reserve-Community Growth, was approved by the Ontario Municipal Board on December 23, 1999.
On April 17, 2000, Council approved the site specific Official Plan designation and zoning on 1250- I326 Fanshawe Park Road West and lands on the east side of Hyde Park Road (OZ-5836/First London North Development Inc.) which placed maximum gross floor area limits on commercial development. Official Plan Amendment No. 193, the amendment which implemented the Hyde Park
6 COUNCIL APPROVED ZONING FOR THE SUBJECT SITE: h*h-20*RSC2(5)/RSC4, ASA3/ASAG/ASAS, h*OF3(2), h*R5-7, LO-AI, LO-CI -9 OR - OFFICE/RESIDENTIAL I) LEGEND FORZONING BY-LAWZ-I OC - OFFICE CONVERSION RO - RESTRICTED OFFICE R1 - SINGLE DETACHED DWELLINGS OF -OFFICE R2 - SINGLE AND NVO UNIT DWELLINGS R3 - SINGLE TO FOUR UNIT DWELLINGS RF - REGIONAL FACILITY R4 - STREET TOWNHOUSE CF - COMMUNITY FACILITY R5 - CLUSTER TOWNHOUSE NF - NEIGHBOURHOOD FACILITY R6 - CLUSTER HOUSING ALL FORMS HER - HERITAGE R7 - SENIORS HOUSING DC -DAYCARE R8 - MEDIUM DENSITY/LOW RISE APTS. R9 - MEDIUM TO HIGH DENSITY APTS. OS - OPEN SPACE RlO - HIGH DENSITYAPARTMENTS CR COMMERCIAL RECREATION R11 - LODGING HOUSE - OB - OFFICE BUSINESS PARK DA - DOWNTOWN AREA LI - LIGHT INDUSTRIAL RSA - REGIONAL SHOPPING AREA GI - GENERAL INDUSTRIAL CSA - COMMUNITY SHOPPING AREA HI - HEAVY INDUSTRIAL NSA - NEIGHBOURHOOD SHOPPING AREA EX - RESOURCE EXTRACTIVE BDC - BUSINESS DISTRICT COMMERCIAL UR URBAN RESERVE AC - ARTERIAL COMMERCIAL - HS - HIGHWAY SERVICE COMMERCIAL "h" - HOLDING SYMBOL RSC - RESTRICTED SERVICE COMMERCIAL "D" - DENSITY SYMBOL CC - CONVENIENCE COMMERCIAL "H" - HEIGHT SYMBOL SS - AUTOMOBILE SERVICE STATION "B" BONUS SYMBOL ASA - ASSOCIATED SHOPPING AREA COMMERCIAL - *r- TEMPORARY USE SYMBOL FOR TOWNSHIP ZONES PLEASE SEE THE RELEVANT 2) 2. n .-. ****&*. a*- ZONING BY-LAW FOR A DESCRIPTION OF REGUIATIONS
FILE NO: CITY OF LONDON OZ-661I DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT MAP PREPARED: ZONING 2004lOl I1 6 BY=WWNO. Z.-1 1:7500 SCHEDULE A ' 100 Meters THIS MAP IS AN UNOFFICIAL EXTRACT FROM THE ZONING BY-LAW WITH ADDED NOTATIONS - *
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OZ-661110-6666 Chuck Parker Community Plan, was approved, minus deferred matters, at the same meeting. Partial approval of OPA No. 193 was granted by the OMB on September I,2000.
In December 2000, the City received a site plan application (SP-00222118) for Phase 1 of the above development which included a I2045m2 (I29,656 sq.ft.) new Wal-Mart store. The applicant applied to lift the holding provision (H-6057) for urban design on February 7, 2001. The By-law came into force August 6,2002 and the store opened in January 2003.
On December 13, 2002 the applicants submitted a site plan application (SP-02135157) for Phase 2 of the above development which included 12,507m2 (134,629 sq.ft.) of space in three multi-tenant buildings. Another holding provision for urban design (H-6468) was removed from the site and Phase 2 opened in November 2003.
On May 26, 2003 a zoning by-law amendment application was submitted for 1422 Fanshawe Park Road West, at the southeast corner of the intersection, requesting an Associated Shopping Area Commercial Special Provision Zone with a higher coverage, a reduction in landscaped open space and an increase in gross floor area for certain uses. Staff recommended standard ASA Zones with no special provisions and the applicant (Doug Jack) withdrew the application on August 22, 2003. He has now submitted a minor variance application (A78/04) for similar amendments to the existing township zoning. It is expected to be heard May 25, 2004 by the Committee.
Northeast corner of Hvde Park and Fanshawe
On July 23, 1998 Charcomp Developments Inc. submitted an official plan and zoning by-law amendment application for 1335-1425 Fanshawe Park Road West, on the northeast corner of Fanshawe and Hyde Park. On April 19, 1999, Council approved a Community Shopping Area designation in the Official Plan and a Holding Community Shopping Area (h-20.CSA5) Zone on the property which permitted a maximum gross floor area of 30,000m2 (323,000 sq.ft.) subject to the removal of a holding provision requiring that building elevations and the site plan address the City’s Urban Design Guidelines. The Official Plan amendment was in conformity with the Fox Hollow Community Plan. On November 5, 1999 the applicants submitted an application to remove that holding provision. The zoning by-law amendment was approved January 17, 2000. That property is now owned by First London North.
On February 15, I999 Council adopted the Official Plan Amendment for the Fox Hollow Community Plan.
In 2003 a site plan application was submitted for the eastern portion of the First London North property on the corner and in early 2004 a new 12067m2(129,892 sq.ft.) Sam’s Club opened.
On March 17, 2004 Stanton Bros. Limited submitted an Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendment application (02-6651) at 1281 Fanshawe Park Road West to permit the construction of a 12,077m2 (130,000 sq.ft.) Home Depot store plus an unspecified amount of additional retail along the frontage of the property.
1 d
The Transportation Plannina & Desiqn Division
“has serious concerns with the proposed Z-7 Zoning By-law and Official Plan amendment OZ- 667 7 & 0-6666 for 7250-7326 & 1335 Fanshawe Park Road. If these lands are rezoned to permit an intensification of commercial development a holding provision should be placed on these properties until Fanshawe Park Road from Hyde Park Rd to Wonderland Rd and Wonderland Rd from Fanshawe Park Road to Gainsborough Rd are improved to four lane cross-sections. Analysis has indicated that these roads have reached capacity and would have difficulty accommodating any additional traffic volume that new development would generate. Based on existing conditions, these roads will have difficulty accommodating traffic generated 7 Agenda Item # Page #
hl I 02-661110-6666 Chuck Parker by the full build out of these lands currently permitted under the Zoning By-law. Wonderland Road and Fanshawe Park Road have been identified in the Capital Budget for reconstruction in 2009.
Basis: The drafi Transportation Master Plan identifies the need to improve Wonderland Road and Fanshawe Park Road within the next 5 year time frame based on a City wide assessmenf. It is apparent that the traffic growth rafe due to commercial development in the northwest part of London is outpacing the Capital Works road improvement program.
An area traffic impact sfudy conducted to supporf further commercial developmenf at the corner of Fanshawe Park Road and Hyde Park Road estimates thathackground traffic growth from currently planned residential and commercial development within the Hyde Park and Fox Hollow Community Planning areas are only accommodated after the road works are complete (2009). This means that the City needs the widening of these two major arterial roadways earlier than presently scheduled in the City Capital Works Budget. Based on this analysis, Fanshawe Park Road and Wonderland Road would not be able to accommodate the traffic generated by this proposed re-zoning unless the roads are improved to four lane cross-sections. Development of the lands in this proposed rezoning would further add to the need for an accelerated Capital Works.”
On January 19,2004, 28 notices for OZ-6611 were sent to all PUBLIC landowners within 120m of the property boundaries. Living in Two LIAISON: London notice was provided Saturday,January 24, 2004 in the London Free Press. On April 14, 2004,29 notices for 0-6666 were sent to all landowners within 120m of the property boundaries. Living in London notice was provided Saturday, April 24, 2004 in the London Free Press. For both applications both the Hyde Park and Nor’West Com mun it y Associations we re notif ied .
Nature of Liaison: First London North requested Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendments (OZ-661I) to remove the Restricted Service Commercial and Office Area designations/zones and replace with Associated Shopping Area and Community Shopping Area designations and zones and allow a higher commercial gross floor area on the western portion of their lands. The City added their lands to the south and existing businesses to the northwest to the review so the corner was dealt with comprehensively. The City also circulated a Regional Shopping Area designationlzone and holding provisions for servicing, EIS and urban design. Subsequently, the City liaised an alternative land use option, Commercial Policy Area (0-6666) for the First London North lands on the southeast and northeast corners of the intersection.
Responses: One telephone caller had concerns about the amount of commercial being built and it’s impact on traffic and lighting.
One letter from the agent of the landowner at 1422 Fanshawe Park Road West requested a broader zoning than the proposed ASAIlASA6, instead requesting a RSAO or CSA Zone.
8 LL
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OZ-661110-6666 Chuck Parker
A) Commercial ComDonent
I) How were the Official Plan policies for this site established? Before the Hyde Park Community Plan was initiated in late 1998 Planning staff met with First Professional Management to establish some principles for the development of the Hyde Park Community. The intent was that First Professional would fund the Community Plan process and background studies and upfront some of the servicing and roadworks costs to support their proposed “big box” commercial development on the southeast corner of Fanshawe and Hyde Park Roads. Staff requested that they prepare a commercial justification report at the onset of the process to support the amount of commercial space requested and a report entitled “Commercial Potential of a Hyde Park Property” prepared by John Winter & Associates was submitted for our review. That report concluded that there is ”sufficient demand for at least
450,000 square feet of Commercial Space.”
Pursuant to a meeting on June 16, 1998 and letter dated June 22, 1998 to the agent for First Professional Management Inc.; the principles of agreement for completion of the Hyde Park Community Plan were established. With regard to the amount of commercial development the principles of agreement stated;
2. “Commercial development at the south east corner of Fanshawe Park Road West and Hyde Park Road will have to be less than the amount proposed north of Fanshawe Park Road (within the Fox Hollow community Plan). The designation of the lands within the Hyde Park Area would be an Associated Shopping Area (ASA) with the range of permitted uses under the ASA policies of the Official Plan. The City will consider Restricted Service Commercial, Residential and Industrial lands uses for the balance of the land. ’’
Further meetings were held on the principles and by letter dated August 24, I988 First Professional Management responded to the above;
“Although we have previously been satisfied as to the guidelines that you have already provided on the size and nature of our proposed commercial development (retail 250,000 to 300,000 sq.fT, ofice 50,000 to 60,000 sq.ftJ additional commercial 200,000 sq.fi., and the balance of the land as medium density residential or light industrial), we are concerned that there may be some general restrictions applied to our property relative to the size of the proposed commercial development to the north of Fanshawe Park Road. We would appreciate your confirmation of the development guidelines and permitted scale of the First Professional commercial proposal as set out above.”
On the basis of these principles, First Professional completed the Hyde Park Community Plan and on April 17, 2000 Council approved the Hyde Park Community Plan, Official Plan Amendment No. 193 to implement the Plan and the site specific official plan and zoning by-law amendment application (02-5836) on 1250-1326 Fanshawe Park Road West for First Professional Management. Those changes included a special policy in Section IO. I.3. of the Official Plan which reads;
Ixxiii) “In the new commercial development proposed on this corner (excluding lots fronting onto Fanshawe Park Road West) the amount of new commercial floorspace is limited to the following; 23,225m2 (250,000 sq.ft.) of new commercial space in the Associated Shopping Area Commercial designation, 78,580m2 (200,000 sq.ft.) of new commercial space in the Restricted Service Commercial designation and 6968m2(75,000 sq. ft.) of new office space in the Office Area designation, with no more than 4645m2(50,000 sq.ft.) of office space in any one building.
9 Agenda Item # Page #
OZ-661I /0-6666 Chuck Parker It is interesting to note that in clause 2 (above) , one of the principles was that the amount of commercial development on the First London North site was expected to be less than the Community Shopping Area on the northeast corner of Hyde Park Road and Fanshawe Park Road (27,870m2 or 300,000 sq.ft.). At the moment there is 25,327m2 (272,626 sq.ft.) of built space (see attached graphic “Summary of Retail Capacity Requests”) in Phase 1 &Val-Mart) and 2 (Winners etc.), almost equal, without any further buildings or zoning by-law amendment a pp rovaIs.
In hindsight, staff realized that the area that was designated for commercial uses on the First London North lands was very large. At a “normal” commercial coverage of 30%, this 22 hectare commercial site could accommodate approximately 66,000m2 (710,000 sq.ft.) of retail commercial gross floor area. At the onset, staff realized this and placed limits on the amount and type of space in each designation. To allow the 41 ,805m2 (450,000 sq.ft.) of recommended gross floor area, at 30% coverage, only 14 hectares of land would have needed to be designated commercial.
Staff designated a larger area because the Restricted Service Commercial designation proposed for the west side would include uses which require large properties for showrooms for large items (eg. Furniture stores) and outdoor storage (eg. Automobile sales and service
establishment) etc. so fewer individual uses were expected in this area. The Associated I Shopping Area Commercial designation, requested by First London North, permits small uses (see Phase Iand 2) so more uses and more gross floor area can now be accommodated in the same area.
First London North are now requesting that Council reconsider the understanding reached six years ago, before the Hyde Park Community Plan was initiated, to permit a different type of commercial space, with 25% more gross floor area (approximately I4864m2 or 160,000 sq.ft.).
2) Is the amount of new commercial floorspace requested excessive? The City has completed two reviews of commercial land supply (see attached), one in I996 (Evaluation of Planned Commercial Land Supply in the City of London) and one recently in 2004 (Issue Paper:Commercial Land Supply). The 1996 report concluded that “London was well supplied with commercial land and that there was a more-than-adequate supply of commercial land to accommodate demand to 2076 and beyond.”
Since 1996, Municipal Council has received further requests for commercial designations through the Community Plan process, through site specific amendment applications and inquiries and new commercial uses have also been built in existing designations. Commercial development has proliferated at Hyde ParWFanshawe; Wonderland, south of Southdale and along the Wellington Road corridor near White Oaks Mall. Approximately 233,000m2 (2.5 million sq.ft.) of retail gross floor area has been built within existing commercial designations since 1996. Approximately 338,700m2 (3.65 million sq.ft.) of additional new commercial space could be built on vacant land in new community planning areas approved since 1997.
In response to this substantial commercial growth and the amount of vacant land available for commercial development, the City completed another review in early 2004 (see attached). The report found that;
7) There is approximately 7.3 million m2 (14 million sq.R,) of existing occupied retail commercial floorspace in the City;
2) There is approximately 93,900m2(7 million sq.#.) of vacant commercial space in existing buildings;
3) Since 7997, through the community plan process, vacant lands which could accommodate an addifional338, 700rn2(3.65 million sq. e.) have been added; I 02-6651 / Stanton Bros. I 1281 Fanshawe Park Rd W Land Owner: Stanton Bros. 0-6666 / Cit of London Built: 0 1335-1425 ?anshawe Park Rd W Amount Approved: 0 Land Owner: First London North Requested GFA: 13,935 sq m (150,000 sq ft) Built: 12,700 sq m (136,706 sq ft Amount.Approved; 30,000 sq m 2322,928 sq ft) Remaining Capacity: 17,300 sq m (186,222 sq ft) \\ \\
OZ-6611 / First London North Developments 1250-1326 Fanshawe Park Rd W V Built: 24,677 sq m (265,630 sq ft) Additional Amounts Requested : 7,942 sq rn (85,490 sq ft) Total Requested GFA: 32,619 sq m (351,120 sq ft)
BLOCK REQUESTS (Sq fi) APPROVED (Sq ft) SUB-TOTAL (Sq fi) RECOMMENDED (sq ft) BUILT (sq ft)
A 150,000 150,000 0 0 B 323,000 323,000 323,000 136,700 C 107,000 107,000 58,000 D 254,100 254 100 0 E 85,500 265,600 350:OOO 450,000 265,600 TOTAL 1,184,100 -880,000 452,300 I
n I I SUBJECT FANSHAWE PARK RD W LOCATION MAP & HYDE PARK RD CITY OF LONDON FILE NO: OZ-6611, 0-6666,02-6651 / C.Parke LEGEND: PREPARED BY: CK IN I A DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING SCALE: 1:8000 723 Municipal Numbers AND DEVELOPMENT 1 Prepared by: Graphics & Information Services DATE: 2004/05/25 I S File location: .. .\planningkotelesUocmaps\oz-66il~locmap.apr Agenda Item # Page #
OZ-661110-6666 Chuck Parker
4) On existing vacant commercially designated land in fhe Cify an additional 730,000m2(7.4 million sqff.) of new commercial space could be built (eg. Southeast corner of Highbury and Huron);
5) Approximately 233,000m2(2.5 million sq.ff.1 of new commercial space has been built since 7996, approximately 29, 725m2(373,509 sq.fl.) or two and a half Wal- Mart sized stores per year;
6) The staff report tended to OVERSTATE the future demand for commercia/ space, estimating that the London CMA will generate a demand for approximately 278,000m2(3 million) of new commercial space in the nexf 20 years, roughly 73,900m2(749,625 sq.ft.) per year or 40% of what has been built since 7996 per year.
Based on the above findings, if no new lands are designated and all space is developed by 2014, which is highly unlikely, there will be 1,858,900m2 (20 million sq.ft.) of retail commercial space in the City, approximately a 50% increase in 10 years. This equates to 4.8m2 (52 sq.ft.) per person, considerably higher than the normal 2.3-3.7m2 in other Ontario municipalities. Similar to the 1996 study, this recent report concluded, again, that the City of London has an adequate supply of commercial land to meet demand.
With regard to the amount of commercial space and it’s impact on the City’s commercial hierarchy, the 2004 Study concluded that;
7) “Failing older, traditional retail centers are less likely to be reformatted when there exists excessive opportunities for “greenfield” commercial development;
2) There is a finite demand for commercial development based on population growth and consumer expenditure. Understanding this, excessive supply only suppotts a “shell game” whereby new development merely encourages the relocation of existing tenants from older spaces to newer centers, thus leaving exisfing centers with large vacancies. This is inefficient and costly to the public and undermines the planned
function of existing commercial centres.”
3) there is no need for major additions to London’s commercial land supply,,,
4) Applications for new commercial designations should be considered within the context of the report and the conclusions it derives.”
The First London North Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendment application is requesting an additional 14864m2 (160,000 sq.ft) of commercial floorspace in a different commercial designation. Their specific request is to change both the type of commercial from Restricted Service Commercial to Associated Shopping Area Commercial and increase the amount permitted by 14,864m2 (160,000 sq.ft.). As indicated above, there is no justification for adding this new space based on the amount of vacant space available in the overall City-wide market. The justification for adding this new space must have regard for the planning concerns listed above.I
3) What impacts on the existing commercial hierarchy could occur if excessive amounts of commercial development are allowed?
Developers and the retail industry maintain that the retail market should determine the amount, type and location of new retail space and any existing retail space impacted by new retail space should respond to this change by reformatting their centers for alternative uses. Agenda Item # Page #
02-661 110-6666 Chuck Parker However, as planners, it is important to review the impact these changes will have on the City and the existing commercial hierarchy, and whether these changes are examples of “smart growth”. The significant amount of public investment that has occurred in and around existing centers should not be wasted. Road works, traffic lights, services, sidewalks, boulevard landscaping etc. have all been built around these centers, partially at City expense, plus on- going maintenance of these facilities is at full expense of the City.
In addition, these centers are already located at the centre of an existing community, many within walking distance of existing residential neighbourhoods. Compare these existing sites which are more accessible to the general population to new “greenfield” development, where long commutes to the edge of the City are required. The new commercial development at Hyde Park/Fanshawe is not serving a surrounding neighbourhood gt the moment but is contributing to capacity problems on Hyde Park Road, Fanshawe Park Road and Wonderland Road. It has been developed in advance of the surrounding community and is presently servicing commuters inside and outside the City.
Given the choice between building a new building in a suburban location and reformatting an existing center to accommodate a new use, the suburban location is typically selected because of lower costs and flexibility to accommodate size and design of the individual tenant. Given this . scenario, the existing sites are at a disadvantage.
The existing centers which are likely to experience impacts from this development include Masonville Mall and the surrounding plazas, Shewood Forest Mall, Oakridge Mall and London Mall. Other retail concentrations west of the subject site, at Wonderland and Fanshawe and OxfordNVonderland as well as the Downtown’s in rural towns north and west of the City may also be impacted given the regional “draw” of this node. Some of the national retailers have already left, or may leave, some of these centers which are now comprised primarily of small in d e pend en t retai I e rs, comm u n i ty faci Ii ty uses and some comme rcia I recreation establishmen ts .
Most of this impact will result from the movement of existing tenants to new locations. Examples of the “re-shuffling of the existing commercial deck” are occurring all over the City. Wal-Mart moving out of Oakridge Mall to Hyde Park and Fanshawe is an example. The proposed Canadian Tire on this site and the proposed Home Depot on the Stanton site to the north could result in the closure of the existing Masonville and Adelaide/Fanshawe sites, respectively.
In other parts of the City, speculation is that some tenants are leaving White Oaks Mall for the new Wellington Commons development further south. In addition, the proposed relocation of Wal-Mart at White-Oaks to Wonderland and Southdale and the “rumoured closure” of the existing Home Depot on Wharncliffe and relocation-tothe same area will result in vacant space. There is further speculation that Zellers is closing its store south of Highway 401 to possibly fill the old Wal-Mart site in White Oaks Mall. Theoretically, at the end of the all this movement, the City ends up with a vacant Home Depot on Wharncliffe Road South and a vacant Zellers store south of Highway 401 and little real economic growth. There is little long term City benefit from these moves.
The retail industry claims it is introducing ‘(new“ retailers to the City; uses such as Old Navy, Linen’s & Things and Sam’s Club in Hyde Park and that this is good for the City in terms of economic development and jobs. However, these uses compete for a finite amount of retail dollars with existing retailers selling the same range of goods. No comprehensive study of the impact of retail uses on the economic growth of the City has ever been completed to justify this position.
The retail market has a finite supply of supportable space with slight increases as the population grows. In 2004 there was approximately I.3 million m2 (14 million sq.ft.) of commercial space in the City, roughly 3.7m2 (40 sq.ft.) per person. This figure is high compared to other Ontario municipalities. Previous retail studies of other Ontario municipalities have determined the range is generally between 2.3-3.7m2 (25-40 sq.ft.) person and is expected to decrease as the population ages. However, in recent years in London, the commercial growth has significantly
12 Agenda Item ## Page ##
OZ-661I /0-6666 Chuck Parker exceeded population growth. Between 1996 and 2004 commercial space grew by 21 % whereas population grew by 7%. Staff expect, over the next few years, there will be a “correction” in the market which will lead to vacant buildings and vacant commercial sites in more inner city locations. It is difficult at this time to identify the specific impacts of this development because there is generally a “lag time” between the opening of new stores and the closing of existing stores.
At some point there should be a determination that “enough is enough”,ie. That the supply of planned commercial land is sufficient. The addition of 14864m2(I 60,000 sq.ft) of additional retail gross floor area to the First London North commercial complex is not,needed from a supply or planned commercial function perspective and would make it more difficult to resist the further expansion of commercial land in this area, as already,*appliedfor or proposed.
4) What has changed since 1998 that would warrant the additional floorspace? From a retail demand perspective, very little has changed since staff established the principles of agreement with First Professional Management in 1998, before the Hyde Park Community Plan was initiated. The First London North property is the same size; no additional lands have been added. There has been no additional residential growth proposed or a loss of land available for commercial development. The one factor that has changed significantly is the ’ increased demand from retail tenants wanting to locate at this commercial node. The issue is whether this demand should be satisfied at the expense of other components of the commercial hierarchy.
5) What is the most appropriate Official Plan designation and Zoning to apply? The applicants have requested a Communitv ShoDping Area designation be applied to Phase l(Wa1-Mart) and Phase 2 (Winners et.al.) and have requested an Associated Shopping Area Commercial designation on the remainder of the property. Staff have reviewed the appropriateness of a Community Shopping Area on the portion requested; however, it does not fit well with the location and form (Section 4.3.3) and size (Section 4.3.4 ii) criteria in the Official Plan. Section 4.4.3 of the Plan directs Community Shopping Areas to nodal locations at major road intersections, this site is mid-block some distance east of the main intersection, Section 4.4.4 also limits the size of Community Shopping Areas to between 6000-30,000m2 (64,585 - 322,928 sq.ft.), Phase Iand Phase 2 are proposed to be 32,l 10m2(345,640 sq.ft.), exceeding the permitted maximums.
Staff have reviewed two possible Official Plan designations for the entire property, Regional Shopping Area and Commercial Policy Area. Because the node performs more of a regional function, staff reviewed this designation for the First London North lands on the northeast and southeast corners of Hyde Park and Fanshawe and the existing businesses along Fanshawe Park Road. Although the site meets the locational criteria by being located at the intersection of two major arterial roads at a major entryway into the City the combined site would exceed the 75000m2 (807,320 sq.ft.) maximum size specified for a Regional Shoppinq Area in Section 4.3.4 (Scale of Development) in the Official Plan. Both the recommended size of 87,855m2 (945,694 sq.ft.) and the requested size of 101,767m2 (1.1 million sq.ft.) significantly exceed the maximum size. Furthermore, Masonville Shopping Centre currently serves as the City’s northern regional centre and there is no justification for requiring another regional centre under the policies of the Official Plan.
The only remaining option is the Commercial Policv Area designation. Commercial Policy Areas are unique commercial areas in the City which cannot be described nor appropriately planned through the use of a single land use designation in the Official Plan. This particular developing node has some of the characteristics of a Regional Shopping Area and Associated Shopping Area Commercial areas. Because of the proposed size of the node, there are also traffic and urban design issues which can be addressed through the special policies. To deal with traffic
13 Agenda Item # Page #
OZ-661110-6666 Chuck Parker issues, a special section on phasing has been included. To deal with urban design, a section has also been added to encourage street-orientated buildings and a higher landscaping standard on the periphery of the site.
Within the Commercial Policy Area designation, staff have made provisions for retaining the nodal office component envisioned before the Hyde Park Community Plan was initiated as a means to provide for a mix of uses on this site and avoid an over concentration of retail uses The 6968m2 (75,000 sq.ft.) total amount of office space and the 4645m2 (50,000 sq.ft.) maximum size for an office building is unchanged, however, specific design guidelines have been incorporated into the special policy to require a street orientation and upgraded landscaping along Hyde Park Road. In addition, the policy doesn’t allow the future conversion of this office space to retail gross floor area.
5) What other issues need to be addressed before any additional development can occur?
Three additional issues need to be addressed before any new development can proceed. These include road capacity, impacts on the woodland and urban design.
With regard to road capacity, iTrans submitted a Traffic Study on February 18, 2004 which was circulated to the Traffic Division for comment. Traffic have indicated they have concerns about the existing commercial and proposed additional commercial space’s impact on traffic. Currently, there are traffic problems in the area along Fanshawe, Hyde Park and Wonderland and adding additional space will make it worse. Fanshawe Park Road is not expected to increased to 4 lanes until 2008. If the recommended or requested gross floor space is added, there will be traffic problems unless additional lane capacity is provided.
Because Phase 3 of the First London North development abuts a significant woodland (as evaluated through the Hyde Park Community Plan by ESG) any uses within 50m have to be evaluated with regard to impact on the natural feature. As part of the original zoning by-law amendment submission, First London North submitted an Environmental Impact Statement on January 3,2001. To assess the impacts of the first phase of development, a scoped Environmental Impact Study now needs to be submitted. We have met to discuss outstanding issues and what the study will involve. On May 20, 2004 the applicants submitted the required study which now needs to be reviewed by the City’s Ecologist and EEPAC. The recommended h-2 holding provision should remain until the study has been accepted by the City. Once the study has been accepted by the City, the h-2 holding provision will be removed.
The last outstanding issue is urban design. Section 4.5.4 ii) g) of the Official Plan indicates I‘ development will be consistent with design guidelines which may be developed for Associated Shopping Area and Commercial Policy Areas.” Council adopted the Commercial Urban Design Guidelines on December 6, I999 and they are normally implemented through the use of the h- 25 holding provision if no specific development is imminent. Site plans, landscaping plans and building elevations are required to do the assessment.
B) Natural Heritage Component
I) Is it appropriate to deal with the designation, zoning and impacts on the Woodlot at this time?
Yes, it is appropriate to deal with the woodland at this time. Through the Hyde Park Community Plan process this woodland was evaluated against the Woodland Evaluation Guidelines by ESG and it was found that this woodland (Patch 0101 2) was significant. As a result, staff recommended that it be designated Open Space on Schedule “A and Significant Woodland on Schedule ”B” of the Official Plan and those changes were incorporated into Official Plan Amendment No. 193, the amendment which implemented the Hyde Park Community Plan. On 14 Agenda Item # Page #
02-661110-6666 Chuck Parker April 17, 2000 Council approved OPA No. I93 and the London Development Institute (LDI) appealed the designations on this woodlot plus two woodlots further south, even though they don’t own them. To date, a hearing has not been scheduled over the last four years to deal with the appeal.
The zoning on this significant woodlot is still Agricultural (AI) from the former London Township and is the only remaining portion of the entire 36 hectare parcel First London Noith site which has Former London Township zoning. Applying a Zoning By-law Z-I zone to the woodlot now would bring everything into the City’s By-law Z-1. It would also be an advantage to have both the Official Plan designation and zoning at a future Ontario Municipal Board hearing at the same time and prevent two OMB hearings, one for the Official Plan and one for zoning, on the woodland. r
Planning staff feel that the woodland should be dealt with as part of the entire property and not separated out. Staff‘s concern is that First London North are not residential developers and they may sever the woodland off with the residential lands to another party. In such a scenario, the woodlot may never be properly dealt with or protected. The woodlot is part of the entire First London North property and should be dealt with at the same time. Parkland dedication for commercial development is 2% which works out to .44 hectares plus .66 ha for the southerly portion at 5%. There has been no final determination made on how the woodland area may be acquired, however, both parkland credit and acquisition using funds from the Woodland Acquisition Fund are available options.
C) Residential Component
I) Is it appropriate to deal with the designation and zoning on the southeast portion of the First London North lands at this time?
Unlike the woodland, there is no need to deal with the residential component of the First London North lands at this time. Approximately 50% of the lands are currently being used as a temporary stormwater management pond and no short term development plans have been expressed. Currently, there is no access to these lands. Development on this southeast portion of the First London North property will likely follow the construction of the proposed primary collector road north up to Fanshawe Park Road.
The recommended Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendments permit an appropriate amount of commercial space at this major entryway into the City and would minimize any impacts on the the City’s existing commercial hierarchy.
15 Agenda Item # Page #
OZ-661I /Om6666 Chuck Parker
PREPARED BY: SUBMllTED BY:
W.J. CHARLES PARKER GREGG BARRETT SENIOR PLANNER- MANAGER IMPLEMENTATION IMPLEMENTATION -
.W. PfiWER GENERAL MANAGER OF PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT
May27,2004 CP/CP
planningreport
I
16 Agenda Item # Page #
02-661I /Om6666 Chuck Parker
Responses to Public Liaison Letter and Publication in "Living in the City"
Telephone Written
May Sampson - 373 Black Acres Blvd. Steven Ross (on behalf of Doug Jack) 1422 Fanshawe Park Road Agenda Item ## Page ## rn 02-661 110-6666 Chuck Parker
AMENDMENT NO.
to the
OFFICIAL PLAN FOR THE CITY OF LONDON
A. PURPOSE OF THIS AMENDMENT
The purpose of this Amendment is:
1. To change the designation of certain lands described herein from Community Shopping Area, Associated Shopping Area Commercial, Restricted Service Commercial, Office Area and Multi7Family, Medium Density Residential to a Commercial Policy Area designation described herein on Schedule "A", Land Use, to the Official Plan for the City of London.
2. To delete policy in Section 10.1.3. Ixxiii) of the Official Plan for the City of London.
3. Add a new subsection to Section 4.7 (Commercial Policy Area).
B. LOCATION OF THIS AMENDMENT
I. This Amendment applies to lands located at 1345-1425 Fanshawe Park Road West and 1250-1422 Fanshawe Park Road West and some lands fronting onto the east side of Hyde Park Road, comprising the southeast and northeast corners of Hyde Park Road and Fanshawe Park Road West in the City of London.
C. BASIS OF THE AMENDMENT
This commercial node in Northwest London has developed in a non-traditional manner as a "big box" or "new-format retail" destination for community and regional customers. Traditionally in London, commercial nodes have developed around either a Regional or Community Shopping Area (ie. an enclosed mall) with other commercial space, free- standing stores and strip plazas, clustered around those nodes. Masonville, White Oaks, Argyle and Northland Malls in London have all developed, at different scales, in this manner.
This node is developing with no enclosed shopping center as its focus, instead it is comprised of a collection of freestanding stores and strip malls with integrated parking and traffic circulation. In terms of scale, as defined by our Official Plan policies, it would be exceed the size specified in the Regional Shopping Area designation.
To address this functional difference a Commercial Policy Area designation has been recommended which addresses such matters as function, permitted uses, scale, phasing and urban design. These policies are intended to create a functional, attractive, integrated commercial node which serves regional and local customers with limited impacts on the existing commercial hierarchy in the City of London.
D. THE AMENDMENT
The Official Plan for the City of London is hereby amended as follows:
I. Schedule "A", Land Use, to the Official Plan for the City of London Planning Area is amended by designating those lands located at 1345-1425 and 1250-1422 Fanshawe Park Road West and lands on the east side of Hyde Park Road in the 18
b Agenda Item # Page #
02-661 110-6666 Chuck Parker City of London, as indicated on "Schedule I"attached hereto from Community Shopping Area, Associated Shopping Area Commercial, Restricted Service Commercial, Office Area and Multi-Family, Medium Density Residential to a Commercial Policy Area designation.
5. Section 10.1.3. to the Official Plan for the City of London is amended by deleting subsection Ixxiii).
6. Section 4.7 to the Official Plan for the City of London is amended by adding the following new subsection;
4.7.A .- FANSHAWE PARK ROAD WEST/HYDE PARK COMMERCIAL NODE
4.7.1 .-I For the purposes of these policies, this node includes1345- Description of 1425 and 1250-1422 Fanshawe Park Road West and lands Boundaries fronting onto the east side of Hyde Park Road north of the wood lot.
4.7.1 .,2 The Fanshawe Park /Hyde Park Road Commercial Node is Function of Node intended to develop as a major regional node in the City of London. The node is located at a major gateway into the City from the west and northwest. As a result of this regional role and accessibility, it is expected that large-scale retail uses will be attracted to this area, Council does not intend that this node will diminish the existing commercial hierarchy and lead to the demise of existing commercial nodes.
4.7.1 .-.3 Consistent with the intended function of the node, a broad Permitted Uses range of retail, service, community facility and office uses will be permitted within the Commercial Policy Area designation. The full range of uses permitted in the Regional Shopping Area and Associated Shopping Area Commercial designations will be permitted in the node. Zoning on individual sites may not allow for the full,range of permitted uses and may limit the size based on the total allowable floor area in the node.
To allow a mix of uses, 6968m2 (75,000 sq.ft.) of office uses will be permitted with no more than 4645m2 (50,000 sq.ft.) permitted in any one office building. This office space will be required to be located along the east side of Hyde Park Road on the First London North lands within 60m of the road alIowa n ce. 4.7.1 .-.4 Total gross floor area permitted in the node will be 81,805m2 Scale and Form (880,570 sq.ft.) of retail commercial uses and 6968m2 (75,000 sq.ft.) of office commercial uses proposed for the east side of Hyde Park Road. If the office building does not develop the office space cannot be reallocated to retail gross floor area. The total retail gross floor area will be comprised of 30,000m (322,928 sq.ft.) on the northeast corner, 10,000m2 (107,643 sq.ft.) on the immediate southeast corner on the existing properties and the remainder of 41 ,805m2 (450,000 sq.ft.) on the First London North lands on the remainder of the southeast corner designated for commercial uses. Zoning on individual sites may not allow for the scale requested.
I9 Agenda Item # Page #
OZ-6611/0-6666 Chuck Parker 4.7.1 .-.5 The subject site is located at the fringe of the City and to date Phasing of some services and roadwork are not available to accommodate Development the scale of development envisioned by this policy. Additional improvements are not only required next to the site but also off- site. Significant roadworks will be required to accommodate growth and staging will be required before the entire site develops . 4.7.q .-.6 In addition to the guidance provided by the Urban Design Design Guidelines Principles listed in Chapter I1 of the Official Plan and the Council approved Commercial Urban Design Guidelines, Council is particularily concerned about the aesthetics of the street frontages along Hyde Park and Fanshawe Park Roads, both major entryways into the City. Issues include, but are not limited to, buildings,orientated close to the street, windows on the street and amount of boundary landscaping.
20 --.. From: Community Shopping Area, Associated Shopping Area Commercial, Restricted Service Commercial, Multi-Family, Medium Density Residential & Office Area
m DEFERRED AREAS ' LEGEND DOWNTOWN AREA OFFICE AREA -- AREAS REGIONAL SHOPPING AREA 0FFI CE/RESIDENTI AL 1,- ,I UNDER APPEAL COMMUNITY SHOPPING AREA OFFLCE BUSINESS PARK NEIGHBOURHOOD SHOPPING AREA GENERAL INDUSTRIAL ASSOCIATED SHOPPING AREA COMMERCIAL LIGHT INDUSTRIAL BUSINESS DISTRICT REGIONAL FACILITY ARTERIAL MIXED USE DISTRICT COMMUNITY FACILITY HIG HWAY SEW1 CE CO MMERCIAL OPEN SPACE RESTRlCTED/HIGHWAYSERVICE COMMERCIAL URBAN RESERVE - COMYUNITY GROWTH t-4 t-4 RESTRICTED SERVICE COMMERCIAL URBAN RESERVE - INDUSTRIAL GROWTH E&Il COMMERCIALPOLICY AREA RURAL SEmLEMENT MULTI- FAMILY, HIGH DENSITY RESIDENTIAL ESi ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW 1-1 1-1 MULTI - FAMILY, MEDIUM DENSITY RESIDENTIAL 11AGRICULTURE K]LOW DENSITY RESIDENTIAL 4URBAN GROWTH BOUNDARY THIS IS AN EXCERPT FROM THE PLANNING DIVISION'S WORKING CONSOLIDATION OF SCHEDULE A TO THE CITY OF LONDON OFFICIAL PIAN, WITH ADDED NOTATIONS FILE NO. SCHEDULE 1 I 02-6611 CP TO I MAP PREPARED: OFFICIAL FLAN k
AMENDMENT NO. E
8
PREPARED By: Graphics 8t Information Sarvicee I . 8 SCALE 1:30,000 AML LOCATION:\\clfilel\glswork\planning\projects\p-off icialplan\workconaolOO\amendments\o~-00ll\amls\~chablk8xl1 ,am1 Agenda Item # Page ##
OZ-661l/O-6666 C. Parker
ENACTING CLAUSE BY-LAW NO. Z.-A CITY OF LONDON ZONING BY-LAW BY-LAW NO. Z.-I AMENDMENT
I) Section 24.4 of the Associated Shopping Area Commercial (ASA) Zone to By-law No. Z.4 is amended by adding the following new special provision:
ASA8( )
a) Regulations I
Gross Floor Area in all ASA I0,000m2 ' Zone Variations (Maximum) (I07,643 sq.ft.)
2) Section 24.4 of the Associated Shopping Area Commercial (ASA) Zone to By-law No. 2-1 is amended by adding the following new special provision:
ASA8( )
a) Additional Permitted Use
i) Automobile rental establishment.
b) Regulations
Gross Floor Area in all ASA 41 ,805m2 Zone Variations (Maximum) (450,000 sq.ft.)
3) Section 28.4 of the Restricted Service Commercial (RSC) Zone to By-law Z-I is amended by deleting Section 28.4. b) 5). Agenda Item # Page #
OZ-6611/0-6666 C. Parker
CITY OF LONDON ZONING BY-LAW BY-LAW NO. 5000- AMENDMENT
Anne Marie CeCicco Kevin Bain
Schedule "A" to By-law No. 5000 (former London Township is amended by deleting the Highway Commercial Exception (Cl -9) Zone applicable to lands located at 1350-1422 Fanshawe Park Road West, as shown on the map below comprising part of Key Map No. 5 and removing this site from the By-law.
AMENDMENT TO SCHEDULE "A" . - - __ --
File Number: 02-661 I Planner: CP Date Prepared: 2004 May I1117 Technician: CMH ,Agenda Item # Page ##
OZ-661l/O-6666 C. Parker
CITY OF LONDON ZONING BY-LAW BY-LAW NO. 2.-I- AMENDMENT
Anne Marie DeCicco Kevin Bain ...... MAYOR DAY MONTH YEAR CITY CLERK
Schedule "A"' to By-law No. 2.4 is amended by adding lands located at 1350-1422 Fanshawe Park Road West, as shown on the map below comprising part of Key Map No. 13, and applying a Holding Associated Shopping Area Commercial Special Provision (h- 25.ASA3/ASA61ASA8( ) Zone.
AMENDMENT TO SCHEDULE "A" _. __ - __ .-- _.- - - _-- ......
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...... * ...... 1 ....h'..; 2" Date Prepared: 2004 May 17 .,.:...... +::i.'l - :> .:...!t:; I .. ..., ...... ,,.)I ..,, ;-.I 0 100 Meters ...... ;, . 2.. Technician: CMH ... Agenda Item # Page ##
02-661110-6666 C. Parker
CITY OF LONDON ZONING BY-LAW BY-LAW NO. 5000- AMENDMENT
Schedule Vi" to By-law No. 5000 (former London Township is amended by deleting the Agricultural (AI) Zone applicable to lands located on the east side of Hyde Park Road south of Seagull Road, as shown on the map below comprising part of Key Map No. 5 and removing this site from the By-law.
AMENDMENT TO SCHEDULE "A" Agenda OZ-661110-6666 C. Parker
CITY OF LONDON ZONING BY-LAW BY-LAW NO. Z.91- AMENDMENT
Anne Marie DeCicco Kevin Bain
...... ~~~~~~m~s~mem~~~w~~m~~~~~~.~~~~~~~~~~ MAYOR DAY MONTH YEAR CITY CLERK
Schedule "A" to By-law No. Z.4 is amended by adding lands located on the east side of Hyde Park Road, south of Seagull Road to Zoning By-law No. 2-1 and applying an Open Space (OS5) Zone variation and changing the zoning on 1250-1326 Fanshawe Park Road West and additional lands on the east side of Hyde Park Road, as shown on the map below comprising part of Key Map No. 13 from Holding Restricted Service Commercial Special Provision (h.h-2O.RSC2(5)/RSC4), Holding Office Area Special Provision (h.OF3(2)) and Holding Residential R5 (h.R5-7) Zones to Holding Associated Shopping Area Commercial Special Provision (h-25.ASA3/ASASlASA8( ) ' and h-2.h-h- 25.ASA3/ASA6/ASA8( )), Office Area Special Provision )OF3(2)) and Holding Residential R5 (h.h-2.R5-7) Zones. J AMENDMENT TO SCHEDULE "A" _-______- e
Agenda Item # Page #
..... t J.M. Fleming
f
That, on the recommendation of the Acting General Manager of Planning and Development, the following issue paper which considers the supply and demand for commercial land in London BE RECEIVED for information and context relating to the review of future applicationsfor commercial land use designations and zones. I
In 1996 the Planning Division prepared a report which assessed commercial land supply in the City of London. The conclusion stemming from this report was that London was well supplied with commercial land and that there was a more-than-adequate supply of commercial land to accommodate demand to 2016 and beyond.
Since that time, commercial land use designations have beewadded through the Community Planning process. These commercial lands are supported by corresponding designations which will support the growth of surrounding residential cbmmunities.
Four major commercial applications/expressions of interest have recently been received by the Planning Division: This has prompted a review of the supply.and demand for commercJalland.
m The attached report reviews the relationship between commercial land supply and demand in detail. It considers demand for the entire London CMA - recognizing that the City acts as a regional retail centre for the surrounding rural hinterland.
The attached analysis shows the following: I There is approximately 14 million sq.ft. of commercial space in London (this does not include office or RSC-type uses);
Lands designated through the community plan process have added the potential‘ for approximately 3.6 ’million sq.ft. of commercial floor space since -l996.
Vacant commercial lahds in the City could support over 5 million sq.ft. of commercial floor space (this does not include RSC designated lands, nor smaller commercially designated vacant parcels in the City).
. a According to the City’s recent population forecasts, the population of London grew by about 7%, between 1996 and 2004, while commercial floor space grew by approximately 21% during that same time period.
M Approximately 2.5 million sq.ft. of commercialspace has been developed in London since 1996. ,About 850,000 sq.ft. of that has been constructed in the last two years. Agenda Item # Page #
J.M. Fleming There is likely a significant amount of commercial space that will be developed in the near future, including the 130,000 sq.ft. Sam’s Club, the Costco at Wonderland & Oxford and a major commercial retail store in the City’s south end.
, It is expected that the true “fall-6ut” from this construction, in terms of vacancy rates in the London retail market,,will not be visible for one to two years. I, The report shows that there is a good distribution of vacant commercial land throughout the City - and furthermore that all areas of the the City are well serviced with commercial land use
designations. I.
w There is approximately Imillion sq.ft. of vacant commercial.space in the City if London.
I Substantial redevelopment oppprtun’ities exist in older shopping centres that could absorb new comme rcia I demand, includ ing : I. o Oakridge Mall o London Mall o Wonderland Mall o Sherwood Forest Mall o de Highbury/Huron
Forecasts which are designed to OVERSTATE the future demand for commercial space estimate that the London CMA will generate a demand for approximately 3 million sq.ft, of commercial space from 2004 to 2024. This should be compared with the above measures of supply, land vacancy and existing building vacancy.
Conclusions
Failing, older, traditional retail centres are less likely to be reformatted when there exists excessive opportunities for Greenfield commercial development.
= There is a finite demand for commercial development based on population growth and consumer expenditure. Understanding this, excessive supply only supports a “shell game” whereby new development merely encourages the relocation of existing tenants from older spaces to newer centres -thus leaving existing centres with large vacancies. This is inefficient and costly to the public and undermines the planned function of existing commercial centres.
= The above statistical analysis clearly shows that there is no need for major additions to London’s commercial land supply. However, there may be some circumstances whereby the addition of commercial lands may be warranted - eg. the introduction of a commercial designation to support a smaller centre that services a specific neighbourhood .or community OR the introduction of a new. format or niche retail development that cannot be reasonably ’accommodated within the lands already designated for commercial development.
Applications for new commercial designations should be considered within the context of the attached report and the conclusibns it derives. J
I
December 20,2003’ JMF/
POLICMCOMMERCIALLAND USnREPORT TO PLANNING COMMMHTEE ON COMMERCIAL LAND SUPPLY AND 0EMAND.DOC .-
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/ J .Ma Fleming
That, on the recommendation of the Commissioner of Planning and Development, the attached report, entitled An Evaluation of Planned Commercial Land Supply in the Citx of London, BE RECEIVED and coilsidered as context for the evaluation of applications for new or expanded commercial land use designations in London.
The Planning Division has recently received three .separate applications for Official Plan amendment, all of which could result in major additions to the supply of commercially designated laiid in the City. The Planning Division has also received expressions of interest for major commercial amendments through the Vision '96 process and the process leading up to Official Plan Ameridnient #71 (New Format Retailing amendment).
Many of the proposals being considered by the Plan.ning Division call for amendments which could support exceedingly large retail floor areas. FO~example:
Eight proposals could support a retail floor area that exceeds the gross floor area of the Bay store in White Oaks Mall (103,000 sq.ft.) or the Price Club located at . Wellington, sou.th of Highway 401 (113,OO sq.ft.).
Six of these proposals could exceed the size of The Home Depot (136,000 sq. ft.) or Shenvood Forest Mall (208,000 sq.ft.).
0 Four of these proposals could exceed the size of Westmount Mall (520,000 sq.ft.), Mssanville Place (566,000 sq.ft.) or White Oaks Mall (576,000 sq.ft.).
Collectively, eight of these proposals represent a development pote tiial of 3.8 million sqft. which is double the size of White Oaks Mall, Masonville Mallep Westmount Mall and Argyle Mall combined (London's four regional malls to tal approximately 1.9 million sq.ft.).
'Recognizing the impact that one or more of these proposed amendments could have on the retail landscape, it is necessary to consider these proposals comprehensively and to avoid an ad-hoc apprdach. The purpose oftlze attaclzed policy paper is to provide Council rvitlz u better unclerstarzcling ofthe City's planned supply of commercial lund and the adequacy of this supply over the plarzizing horizon and beyond. This understanding will provide a context for the evaliiation of the proposals rvlziclz are before Council norv and those t$at will likely arise
I I J 1.
Agenda Item # 2
@#
/ J.M. Fleming in the future; The attached report forecasts the demand for commercial land in London to the year 2016. This demand is then compared to the current supply of commercial land in the City to assess the adequacy of this supply, in total. Supply is further examined by location and Official Plan designation. Finally, specific opportunities for commercial development are. explored to determine if vacant lands are available to support large scale commercial develop,ment. The report concludes with-a discussion of sustainability and the possibilities of a decline in the demand for commercial space as commercial trends and shopping technologies change.
Junc6, 1996 JMFI. .p:\poli'cy\rcp&rccs\coircovcr.jmF
I I --
An Evaluation of
Planned Cornmercfal,Land Supply
in the City of London
Planning Pivi sion June, 1996
I Contents
a Purpose of Report a Future Demand for Commercial Land Methods for Calculating Demand Trade Area Population Base Commercial Floor Space Per Capita Standards Calculated Demand For Commercid Floor Space Floor Area Ratio Contingency .for Vacancy and Choice Calculated Demand for Commercial Land Confirmation of Demand Calculations
e Supply of Commercia). Land
Community Growth Areas I A Second Test of Supply
Planned Commercial Land Area by Quadrant
Planned Commercial Lands by Designation
Lands Designated for Large. Commercial Uses
a Specific Opportunities for Large Scale Commercial Uses - Vacant Suburban Lands
Specific Opportunities for Large Scale Commercial Uses - Vacant Downtown Lands
Redevelopment and Intensification Potential
e New Commercial Policies New Opportunities Red evelopmefit Sustainability
a Conclusions
Appendix 1 - Flaor $pace per Capita Standards (Background)
Appendix 2 - Examples of Floor Area Ratios
Appendix 3 - Imperial to Metric Conversions I
Executive Summary
Several proposals for large additions to the City’s commercial 1 nd suppl 1 have been receivedbyihe Planning Division. These proposals have come in the form 0: applications for Official Plan ameniment and expressions of interest during the process leading up to New Format Retailing policies (OPA #71) and the Vision ’96 process. These proposals are individually large and collectively represent massive amounts of potential for commercial floor space in London.
It is important to consider these proposals comprehensively and to avoid evaluating them in isolation of one another. As context for dealing with these and other proposals, this report has provided a review of the City’s commercial land supply in London. The following are findings from this analysis:
Based on a series of conservative assumptions which over-state the demand for commercial land, it has been calculated that 2,210 acres of commercial land are required. in London to the year 2016. I
The 3,335 acre sup,ply of land which is currently designated Commercial in the City of London Official Plan.,ismore than 50% =eater than this high-end commercial demand forecast.
The above calculations do not account for the additional supply of commercial land that will be established within Community Growth Areas as Area Plans are prepared and inore detailed designations are applied.
The above calculations do not consider the supply of commercial space outside of the City of London limits.
London is comparatively well supplied with commercially designated land. Of the municipalities that responded to our survey, London had the highest proportion of lands designated for commercial purposes. Compared to London, which has 6.5% of its land area designated commercial, the next highest level of commercial land supply was found in Ottawa, where 5.1% of their total land area was designated commercial. Furthermore, this calculation of 6.5% does not include the supply of lands which will result from the Urban Reserve - Community Growth Area designations.
Total commercial land supply is distributed relatively evenly to support various types of carmnercial uses, including large and small scale uses, nodal and strip form development, traditional and non-traditional retail formats and quasi-industrial forms of development.
Although the south end of the City is most heavily supplied with comercia1 lands, the City’s overall supply Is relatively well distributed throughout London.
Almost half of the total land area which is designated for commercial uses could support large scale commercial development (Downtown, Commercial Policy Area, Regional Shopping Area, Community Shopping Area and Associated Shopping Area).
Within suburban locations, there is opportunity for approximately 3.4 million sq.ft. of commercial development on large vacant commercially designated blocks of land,
Within the Downtown, there is opportunity for approximately 1 million sq.ft. of commercial development on large vacant commercially designated blocks of land. There is approximately 2.6 million sq.ft. of existing commercial development in shopping centres which are over twenty years old. Many of these centres provide excellent opportunities for redevelopment, retrofit and reformatting.
0 It is estimated that a 10% vacancy rate currently exists within commercial buildings already developed in the City. This amounts to over 1,000,000 sq.ft. of vacant commercial space.
The report explains that recent commercial policy amendments (OPA #71) have opened new opportunities for large scale retail development. Recognizing that there is not an unlimited level of consumer expenditure in the London region, OPA #71 has encouraged re-development of the existing stock wherever possible.
0 The report has also recognized that commercial demand may stabilize or decline in the future as new commercial trends and home shopping technologies become more popular.
I Purpose of R,eport
The Planning Division has recently received three separate applications for Official Plan amendment, all of which could result in major additions to the supply of commercially designated land in the City. The Planning Division has also received expressions of interest for major commercial amendments through the Vision ’96 process and the process leading up to Official Plan Amendment #71 (New Format Retailing amendment).
Figure 1 shows the location of these proposals, while Figure 2 shows the maximum development potential which could be supported if such amendments were approved. Development potential has been calculated using a lot coverage factor of 30% (generally permitted by all commercial zones) and assuming one storey of development.
Many of the eight proposals shown in Figure 2 call €or amendments which could support exceedingly large retail floor areas. For example:
All of the proposals shown in Figure 2 exceed the gross floor area of the Bay store in White Oaks Mall (103,000 sq.ft.) or the Price Club located at Wellington, south of Highway 401 (113,000 sq.ft.).
I All but two of the proposals exceed the size of The Home Depot (136,000 sq. ft.) or Shemood Forest Mall (208,000 sq.ft.).
Four of the proposals exceed the size of Westmount Mall (520,000 sq.ft.), Masonville Place (566,000 sq.ft.) or White Oaks Mall (576,000 sq.ft.).
e Collectively, the proposals represent a development potential of 3.8 million sq,ft. whicli is double the size of White Oaks Mall, Masonville Mall, Westmount Mall and Argyle Mall combined (London’s four regional malls total approximately 1.9 million
sqlt.) #
Recognizing the impact that one or more of these proposed amendments could have on the retail landscape, it is necessary to consider these proposals comprehensively and to avoid an ad-hoc approach. The purpose of this policy paper is to provide Council with a better understanding of the City’s planned supply of commercial land and the adequacy of this supply over the planning horizon and beyond. This understanding will provide a context for the evaluation of the proposals which are before Council now and those that will likely arise in the future.
The following report will begin by forecasting the demand for commercial land in London to the year ,2016. This demand will then be; compared to the current supply of commercial land in the City. Supply will be further examined by location and Official Plan designation. Finally, specific opportunities will be explored to determine if vacant lands are available to support large scale commercial deveIopment. The report will conclude with a discussion of sustainability and the possibilities of a decline in the demand for commercial space as commercial trends and shopping technologies change, 2 Future Demand for Commercial Land
Methods. for Calculating Demand I
_...... :::I .. ..
CORPORATION OF THE CITY OF LONDON 94/06
0.50 I 2 3 4 5 KILOMETRES I: 1;
Figyre 2 Applications or Expressions of Interest for New Commercial Lands
s./w Longwoods and Southdale I Application I 61,000 m2 656,000 sq.ft.
B . s/w Wonderland and Southdale Application 84,800 m2 910,000 sq.ft. C s/s Southdale, east of Wharncliffe Interest 12,100 m2 130,000 sq.ft. ~ ~ -~~~ ~ 1 D West of Price Club Interest 77,700 m2 836,000 sq.ft. E East side of Hyde Park Road Interest 12,100 m2 130,000 sq$. F . West side of Hyde Pazk Road Interest 23,000 m2 247,000 sq.jt.
~~ w/s of Highbury, south of Oxford Interest 63,000 m2
I I 680,000 sq.& H s/s Commissioners, west of Adelaide Application 21,000 m2 I I 226,000 sq,ft. --
Figure 3 Qpical Market Study Process (SimpliJied)
1. Define Primary Market Area \G
2. Define Secondary Market Area .1
3. Define Tertiary Market Area 4
4. Calculate future population of each trade area 4
5. Calculate disposable income of future population J
6. Calculate proportion of disposable income likely spent on Department Store Type Merchandise (DSTM) vs. Food & Convenience Type Merchandise (FCTM) \G
7. Calculate the proportion of DSTM and FCTM expenditures likely attracted to the subject commercial area from each trade area - calculate outflow and inflow (this can be a complicated analysis in itself, using gravity models, etc.-) .1
8. Calculate total DSTM and FCTM floor space supportable using a required revenue/sq.ft. standard JI
9. Compare total supportable DSTM and FCTM floor space to total existing (and zoned but undeveloped) DSTM and FCTM floor space to arrive at residual opportunity for new development
-4- a change in one or two assumptions dten resulted in two market studies offering extremely different conclusions regarding a single development proposal. Lengthy Ontario Municipal Board hearings often revolved around these market studies and delved into the credibility of each study's assumptions.
A planning, rather than marketing, approach has been used in this paper to estimate the future demand for commercial land in the entire City. This approach is extremely conservative, often over-stating the likely demand for commercial land to ensure planned supply is adequate, The approach used is as follows: i, Overstate the "dedicated" trade area of London. ii, Calculate the future population of this market area. iii. Use an industry-accepted floor space per capita standard to calculate the total commercial space which would be demanded by this future population. iv. Use, .floor area ratio assumptions (combining coverage and height) to estimate the land area required to support this amount of commercial space. v. Add a contingency to account fm land vacancy and choice.
This approach also requires that assumptions be made. To avoid concerns that certain assumptions could be inaccurate, a conservative set of assumptions were used to produce an over-stated demand forecast. Furthermore, to confirm that this find demand estimate is reasonable, a second method was used as a cross reference. This method simply updated the commercial demand forecast prepared in the London Centred Retail Study of 1980.
Trail?,.Area
Traditional market studies divide a trade area into primary, secondary and sometimes tertiary markets, The primary trade area is geographically concentrated around a specific development proposal and the secondary and tertiary trade areas are much larger. Assumptions are then made to determine what proportion of disposable income could be captured from each trade area by the proposed development (ie. inflows and outflows from and to other areas). Secondary trade areas are often very large, including communities that are relatively remote from the proposed development (eg. 50 km); however, only a small proportion of the disposable income within these large secondary trade areas is assumed to be captured by the proposed development. This type of trade area analysis is extremely complex, often employing gravity models and/or surveys, and can substantially affect the final conclusions of a market study.
To avoid this type of trade area analysis, itwas decided that a trade area would be chosen which obviously overstates the potential demand for commercial uses in London. To do this, a "dedicated" trade area was assumed. That is, it is assumed that 100% of the populatian within the chosen trade area shops exclusively within the City of London. No allowance is made for expenditures in locations outside of the City limits at any time, As desired, this is an obvious over-statement and this conservative definition of.trade area will result in an overdstatement of comm.ercia1 demand,
A "dedicated" trade area, defined by the boundary of London Census Metropolitan Area, was used for this demand forecast. This area extends as far as 30 kilometres from the 1991 City limit and includes a 1391 population of almost 391,500 which is 26% greater than London's total population. St. Thomas, Yarmouth, N,Dorchester, London Twsp., Lobo, Southwold, W, Nissouri, Delaware, Port Stanley, and Belmont are all included within this Census Metropolitan Area, Using this "dedicated" trade area assumes that the entire population within this Census Metropolitan Area, including the London population, shops only within the London City boundary (this is a very high-end assumption). As an example of how over-stated this trade area assumption is, this would assume that fl residents of St. Thomas 'do rill of their shopping within the City of London boundaries,
Population Base
While existing populations are useful in calculating commercial demand in the present, it is necessary to use population forecasts to calculate anticipated commercial demand to the year 2016. The following population forecast assumes that the London CMA, in total, will grow at the same rate as the City of London. Again, this assumption is likely an over- statement of future population in the London Ch4A Areas outside of London will likely not grow at the same rate as London itself. Centres such as St, Thomas, Port Stanley and Belrriont have traditionally experienced relatively low growth rates in the past. However, as intended, this assumption will produce an over-stated demand forecast:
Year London Population Growth Rate London CMA
I991 311,900 n/a 391,500 2016 43 1,900 38S% 542,200 I
The City of London forecast to the year 2016, shown above, was approved by Council as the City's Official Forecast in September of 1993.
Commercial Floor SDace Per. Capita .Standards
Discussions with experts. in the field of commercial development and planning suggest that a reasonable standard of required commercial floor space is between 30 sq.ft. and 50 sq,ft. per capita.
John Winter of John Winter Associates Ltd. estimated the. following commercial floor space per capita figures for several municipalities in Ontario:
-+ Marlham - 41 sq.ft, per capita (see Appendix 1) -+ Oakville - 34 ta 35 sq.ft. per capita 3 Guelph - 35 sq.ft. per capita -+ Kitchener - 45 sq,ft. per capita 4 C-ambridge- 34 sq,ft. per capita - Waterloo - 38 sq.ft. per capita The Green Group used information fro-m the International Council of Shopping Centres (ICSC) to estimate that there is approximately 33 sq.ft. of non-automotive commercial floor space per capita in the entire Unites States.
0 ISircher Research Associates Ltd: estimated a cammercial space per capita requirement of 25 sq.ft. to 32.5 sq.ft.
Larry Smith and Associates provided an estimated requirement of 28 sq.ft. per capita, excluding aut omot he/ hig hw ay cowercia1 uses,
Many of the "experts" suggest that demand for commercial space per capita will decline in *thefuture. The entrance of the baby boom into the work force, which had a profound effect on disposable income, is now complete. Similarly, the widespread entrance of women into the labour force has now occurred and the impact of this trend on household income has been experienced (this fuelled much of the building boom of the 1970's and 1980's). Finally, alternative forms of shopping including TV Home Shopping and Internet Shopping are expected to reduce the required floor space per capita in the future. These trends have Figure 4: Floor Space Per Capita Standards
F I oor Space/ Cap i ta I
already been witnessed iri the United, States.
There is no "hard and fast" rule.to dictate how much commercial floor space is demanded per capita in any one municipality, However, it is useful to consider demand in London based on a reasonable standad. From the sources listed above, it can be generally assumed that a standard of 40 sq.ft. of commercial space per capita is a reasonable "measuring stick" of demand. Figure 4 shows how this standard relates to the information received from sever a1 ret ail consult ants.
Calculated Demand Fbr Commercial Floor Space
Using a combination of conservative assumptions it is estimated that 21,680,000 sq.ft. of commercial space will be demanded in the City of Landon to the year 2016. It should be recognized that this is likely an over-statement of demand based on the conservative set of assumptions that were used to derive this estimate. Furthermore, this estimate does not account for any decline in the demand for commercial space per capita as predicted by many retail experts in North America.
Floor ATea Rati,o
To evaluate commercial land supply, the above demand far commercial floor space must be translated into a measure of the demand for commercial land area. This requires an assumption relating to floor axea ratio. Floor area ratio expresses the gross floor area of a development, relative to the size of the site that the development is built on. For example, a one storey building which covers 30% of the property's total lot area.has a floor area ratio of 30% (expressed as a percentage). If the same building was two storeys and I located on the same property, the floor area ratio would be 60%. Such a ratio provides a connection between commercial €loor space and commercial land area.
Appendix 2 shows several examples of existing developments in various' designations and their floor area ratios. These examples show that there is a relatively wide range of built
-7- floor area ratios within commercially designated lands. The City's commercial zones generally permit at least a 30% floor area ratio, However, to once again over-state land demand, a floor area ration assumption of 25% was used to recognize that commercial development is not always built to a maximum coverage. It should be recognized that there are large designations (Downtown Area and Regional Shopping Area) that allow for high coverage factors and/or two storeys of development, leading to relatively high floor area ratios,
ConFingency. for Vacancy and Choice
A last assumption must be made to account for a desirable land vacancy rate up to and including the year 2016, That is, it is desirable to maintain some vacant commercial land within the City at all times to avoid the unwarranted escalation of land values and to provide opportunity and choice up to 2016. A high-end vacancy assumption of 10% was used. It should be understood that this land vacancy rate would apply in the year 2016 and that land vacancy rates would be much higher in the earlier years of the projection period. Furthermore, this land vacancy rate does not account for the substantial vacancies that may exist in commercial buildings, c
I Calculated Demand Por:Commercial Land
Population I 542,000 D emand / Capita 40 sq.ft./capita Demanded Floor Space 21,680,000 Floor Area Ratio 125% Demanded Land Area (0% Vacancy) 1,990 Acres Vacancy. Contingency 10%
Based on a 2016 population of 542,200, a commercial floor space standard of 40 sq.ft. per capita, a floor area ratio of 25% and a commercial land vacancy rate of lo%,2,210 acres of commercial land would be required in hadon to the year 2016.
Confirmation of Demand Calculati,ons
As a cross reference to confirm that the calculated range of demand is reasonable, calculations from the London Centred Retail Study were updated using the following simplified "ratio" calculations:
The Study estimated that 8,6 million sq.ft. of retail space in London serviced the 614,000 people within the London trade .area in 1981. This trade, area is shown in Figure 5 and includes Elgin, Middlesex, Huron, Oxford and Perth Counties.
a It was assumed that this population grew at a rate of 70% between 1981 and 2016 which is equal to the rate of growth forecasted for the City of London between 1981 and 2016 (using know rates of growth between 1981 and 1991). This growth rate generates a population of 1,043,300 for the year 2016 - likely a vast overstatement given the actual growth rate of 10% in this trade area during the "boom" period between 1981 and 1991.
-8- Figure 5
Market Area Defined in 1981 iondon Centred Retail Study I
,
Lake Huron I
Lake Erie
U
. -.
. ... I .-
e Assuming a population of 1,043,300 in 2016, 14.6 million sq.ft. of commercial space would be required to. achieve .the same service level enjoyed in 1981.
0 14.6 million sq,ft. of commercial space would require 1,490 acres oficornmercial land , This demand calculation shows that the demand for commercial land area calculated above is reasonable, but likely over-stated. As this was the intention at the outset of this analysis, the demand calculation of 2,210 acres is confirmed and acceptable'for a comparison with commercial land supply.
Supply of Commercial Land I(
Based on the City's land inventory, approximately 3,335 -acres of lmd has been designated for commercial land uses, This includes the following commercial designations: Downtown Area, Commercial Policy Area, Regional Shopping Area, Community' Shopping Area, Neighbourhood Shopping Area, Associated Shopping Area, Business District, Arterial Mixed Use, Highway Service Commercial and Restricted Service Commercia!. This does not include designations which are specifically designed to support office uses or the Community Growth Area designation.
Even using a combination of high-end assumptions, the commercial land requirement to the year 2016 of 2,210 acres is 1,125 acres less than the 3,335 acres of land: that is currently designated commercial in the City of London. That is, the current sup& of commercial land is o.ver 50% meater than the high-end commercial demand.forecast to the vear 2016.
Figure 6: Required Commercial Land to 2076 vs , Ex isti ng Commerc i a I Land Supp ly
Land Area CAcres) 3,500
3,000
2,500
2J000
I,50a
q, 000
50 0
0 Required to Yaw 2016 fx I st 1 rig
lrnluder UI lowancss bot- Ian vacanc)
~
It should a o be recognized that this, calculation does not account for 1 decline in the demand for commercial floor space pes capita as expected in the future by lost experts (see "Sustainability" section in this report) or the supply of commercial land w ich exists within Community Growth Areas, but has not yet been specifically designated. fi r such purposes.
-3 0- A Second Test of Suppgt I
A second, more simplified, test was used to evaluate the supply of commercial land in the City of -London, London's supply of commercial land, as a percentage of all other designations in the Official Plan, was compared with that in other municipalities. This test was designed to compare the land area designated for commercial purposes in London versus the amount of land area designated for commercial purposes in other cities. Using a percentage figure standardizes land area so that municipalities of different sizes can be compared. While this comparison simplifies many factors, it does provide another test of supply to ensure that London is well equipped with eommercial land. London's draft Official Plan currently designates approximately 6.5 9% of its total designated land area for commercial purposes. This calculation uses the current stock of commercially designated land and compares it to the total land axes1 of all designations in the draft Official Plan (excluding Agriculture and Rural Settlement designations). This calculation can be considered an understatement of commercial supply since it does not contemplate the supply of commercial land that will come out of the Urban Reserve - Community and Industrial Grawth designations,
Kitchener, Waterloo, Hamilton, Ottawa, Windsor, Oakville, Edmonton and Winnipeg were surveyed. The following table compares London with information gathered from all those municipalities that carried the requested information and responded to the enquiry. In all cases Agricultural land uses were removed from the calculations:
Municipality % Commercial Land
London 6.5% Windsor 4.7% Waterloo (City) .4.3% Ottawa (City) 5.1% Edmonton 3.7%
This brief survey indicates that London is comparatively well supplied with commercially designated land. Of the municipalities that responded to our survey, London had the highest proportian of lands designated for commercial purposes. Compared to London, which has 6.5% of its land area designated commercial, the next highest level of commercial land supply was found in Ottawa, where 5.1% of their total land area was designated commercial.
CQm,munityGrowth. Areas Through the Vision '96 process, several large areas have been designated"'UrbanReserve - Community Orowth Area". This designation indicates that 'an Area Study will be required in the future to determine more; detailed land use designations. In some cases, these Community Growth Area designations front major arterials and major intersections which may suit commercial uses. Neighbourhood and Community Shopping Areas may also be required in these Community Growth Areas to serve the convenience needs of their residential population.
While there is no way to reasonably project the likely supply of commercial land that will be provided 'through these' area studies, it must be recognized that .there will an additional supply of eommercial land provided by these .areas. This supply goes beyond what has been considefed in this supply and demand analysis, Planned Commercial Land Area by Quadrant
The preceding analysis showed that there is an adequate supply of,commercialland, in total, to support the population of the region to the year 2016. However, it is useful to assess this supply fiom a locational perspective, For this analysis, the City has been divided into geographical halves on a north-south and eastcwest axis, The Thames River and Dundas Street serve as the divider for the north-south analysis, while Wellington Road and Richmond Street serve as the divider for the east-west analysis.
I A north-south comparison shows that the north half of the City is supplied with 1,110 acres of commercially designated land. By comparison, the south half af the City is supplied with 3225 acres of commercial land. An east-west comparison shows that the west half of the City is'supplied with 1,480 acres of commercially designated land, while the.east half of the City ksupplied with 1,855 acres of commercial land.
This brief analysis shows that the total .supply of commercially designated land is reasonably well distributed throughout the City. This is likely attributable, in part, to the 1971 Official Plan which planned for an even distribution of Community Shopping Areas to serve identified Planning Districts. The south half of the City is supplied with the greatest mount of commercially designated land.
Planned Commercial Lands by Designation
A question may b.e asked, "can the commercially designated land in the City support various fmms of commercial development?" This can be answered, in general, by looking at the distribution of land supply by Official Plan designation. Such distribution is as follows:
Approximately 36% of all commercial land can support service commercial uses of a type that are not normally found within commercial centres. These lands normally follow a corridor configuration rather than a nodal form. While Restricted Service Commercial designations can support quasi-retail-industrial uses such as home improvement stores, building supply establishments and furniture stores, the Highway Service Commercial designation can support service uses such as fast food, automotive services and motels.
Approximately 32% of the City's commercial land supply is within designated commercial nodes. The Downtown Area, Regional Shopping Area, Community Shopping Area, and Neighbourhood Shopping Area designations all support commercial centres and concentrations: of commercial uses. Most of these designations support large scale; commercial development that makes up the core of the City's commercial structure.
Approximately 32% of all commercially designated land in the City exists within designations which support linear development of a pure or mixed commercial character, While the Arterial Mixed Use Deqelopment designation supports a mix of residential and commercial uses, the Business District Commercial designation is generally applied to older commercial areas that have developed in a strip format. The Associated Shoppihg Area and Commercial Policy Area designations have also supported some linear commercial development, but are generally focused around commercial centres in a nodal form.
The City's commercial land supply is reasonably well distributed among Official Plan land use designations which can support various forms of commercial development. Lands Designated for Large Commercial Uses
While the previous analysis shows that the total planned supply of commercial land in the City is adequate to serve the population of the next twenty years in total, it is useful to consider what proportion of this total planned supply could support large scale retail uses.
In fact, over half of the lands that have been designated for commercial uses could support large scale retail uses. Approximately 1,480 acres of commercial land (45% of total supply) have one of the following designations which could support large scale retail uses: Downtown, Commercial Policy Area, Regional Shopping Area, Community Shopping Area or Associated Shopping Area. This clearly demonstrates that the City’s supply of planned commercial land provides substantial opportunity for large scale retail uses.
Specific Opportunities for Large Scale
Commercial Uses I Vacant Suburban Lands
It is useful to go to a higher degree of detail to wsure that there are specific opportunities far large scale retail uses within the supply of commercially designated lands in the City. This section deals with vacant lands which could support large scale retail uses.
Figure 7 and Figure 8 show development potential on large vacant commercial blocks outside of the Downtown (development potential is calculated assuming 30% coverage and 1 floor of development). Four of the fourteen sites shown on Figure 7 have ‘draft designations within the City’s new Official Plan. However, these sites already have approvals in place under the former Town of Westminster’s Official Plan and Zoning By-law to .proceed with large scale commercial development.
All but three of the vacant sites shown on Figure 7 have’s development potential which exceeds the gross floor area of The Home Depot (136,000 sq.ft.)
a Six of the vacant sites shown on Figure 7 have a development potential which exceeds the grass floor area of the Westminster Centre (n/e Wellington and Baseline) and Westown Plaza (Oxford and Cherryhill) combined.
Collectively, the development potential of these vacant sites equals 3.35 million sq.ft. . which is almost six times the total gross floor area of White Oaks Mall.
0 The development potential an large vacant commercial blocks in the suburbs is equal to approximately 25 Home Depot stores, 65 Sears Outlet stores, 65 Toys R Us stores, 100 Future Shops, 110 Brick Warehouse Stores or 150 White Rose stores.
This analysis shows that there are several commercial sites within London’s suburbs that are vacant and could support large retail uses. This does not consider the many ,redeyelosment opportunities which also support large scale retail uses. This also does not consider vacant lands in the Community Growth Area designation. Furthermore, this does not consider appor tuni ties within London’s Downtown.
Specific Opportunities for Large Commercial Uses - Vacant Duwntown Lands There are several large vacant sites within Downtown London that could support major commercial uses of it retail or mixed-use character. Figure 9 shows the location of these sites and the approximate opportunity assuming 90% coverage and two storeys of
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,I?.
CORPORATION OF THE CITY OF LONDON 94/06
0.50 'l 2 3 4 5 Q KILOM ETRES Figure 8 Development Potential on Large Vacant Commercia
i I
1 I Wonderland Mall CSA desig. 23,500. m2 Draft Plan 252,.000 sq.ft. 2 I North of Wonderland Mall ASA desig. 34,000 m2 Draft Plan 366,000 $q.ft, 3 South of London Ice House ASA desig. 25,300 m2 Draft Plan 273,000 sq.ft. I 4. I South of Price Club CSA desig. 23,700 m2 Draft Plan 255,000 sq.ft. 5' Wellington Corridor CPA desig. 30,000 m2 323,000 sq.fl. 6* RSA desig. 16,400 m2 I76,OOO sqej2. 7 I s/w Dundas and Airport CSA desig. 14,300 m2 154,000 sq.jk 8 I Kilally Commercial CSA/ASA 12,000 m2 desig. 130,700 - sq.ft. 9' I Summerside Commercial CSA/ASA desig.
~~ ~ 10 I I& Adelaide and Fanshawe CSA desig. I 9,800 m2 105,000 sq,ft. 11 I n/e Richmond and Famhawe ASA desig. 18,000 m2 194,000 sq$. 12 1 n/e Oxford and Wonderland CPA desig. 14,000 m2 151,600 sq.ft. 13. I Soutfi.of Qxbury Mall CSA desig. 1O,OOO m2 107,000 sq.jZ.
'14 I n/s Oxford, east of Clarke ASA desig. ' 1 18,200 m2 196,OQOsq.fl.
* denotes canrneroinl .blbcks where-thenoted development potlntial may bb understated U
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0 0 0
*a 5 '* v) 0 A
I
...... -...._.._. " --.--..--...... I--...... development. These five opportunities alone could support almost 1,000,000 sq.ft, of retail . space. All of these sites could accommodate over 100,000 sq.ft. of retail space and two of these five sites could accommodate over 200,000 sq.ft. of retail space. This does not consider opportunities that may present themselves Downtown through the demolition or retrofit af existkg buildings in the core.
Redevelopment and Intensification Potential
Much of the demand €or new retail space stems from new formats of retail development. Recognizing that a substantial amount of the existing retail stock is older, it is important to consider the potential for re-development and intensification rather than just "greenfields development".
Based o,n the City's Shopping Centre Inventory, approximately 2.6 million sq.ft. of retail space is located within shupping centres which are more than 20 years old. Seven of these centres are over 100,000 sq,ft. in size. Fifteen of these centres are more than 50,000 sq.ft.. Many of these older shopping centres can be considered good candidates for redevelopment, renovation or reformatting. It should also be recognized that several existing centres which are less than twenty years of age are also good candidates for redevelopment. CB Commercial's 1995 Retail Report estimated a retail vacancy rate of 10% within the City of London. A 10% vacancy rate also existed in London's retail market in 1994. Although a vacancy estimate has not yet been prepared for 1996, all indications are that a similar rate of vacancy currently exists in 1996, Although CB Commercial does not inventory all retail space in the City, this 10% vacancy rate would suggest that over 1,000,000 sq.ft. of vacant . retail space exists in London's built commercial stock.
Currently, the Department of Planning and Development is investigating the possibility of prezaning excess floor area in Community and Neighbourhood Shopping Areas to allow for minor expansions or additions without the need for a Zoning By-law amendment. This issue is being reviewed as a Zoning Monitoring file (ZM96/0368). This represents another possible opportunity for additional commercial space in the City.
New Commercial Policies
In June of 1995, City Council approved an amendment to the Official Plan's Commercial policies (Official Plan Amendment #71). OPA #71 was approved by the Minister of Municipal Affairs in March of 1995. These policies were intended to recognize the evolution of the retail market and to address the entrance of new formats of retail development into the City of London. The following sections explain how these new polices relate to proposals for the addition of large commercial blocks.
New Opsortuni ties
One direction of OPA #71 was to limit the opportunity for large scale retail uses within industrial and "quasi-industrial" areas. This was intended to avoid the creation of unplanned retail nodes which could:
threaten the viability of planned commercial centres;
lead to the inefficient use of substantial infrastructure around planned commercial centres;
require new infrastructure to serve unanticipated traffic in unplanned commercial areas; and
17- result in large holes in the urban fabric (large vacant commercial uses and parking lots where viable commercial centres currently exist)
Balancing this first direction, a second direction of OPA #71 was to open up new opportunities for large scale retail uses (of a traditional or new format) in more appropriate. areas. Opportunity for large scale retail uses was expanded in the Associated Shopping Area designation surrounding Regional and Community Shopping centres subject to stated evaluation criteria. More opportunity was provided throqgh the creation of a new Official Plan designation - the Commercial Policy .kea. Applied to the Wellington Corridor, this designation allows for large scale retail development (again, subject to stated evaluation criteria). This designation provides a substantial amount of retail opportunity along the east side of Wellington Road, between Bradley Avenue and Highway 401, and along Exeter Road near Wellington Road, where the Highway and Restricted Service Commercial designations did not previously allow for such retail uses. 1
The Commercial Policy Area designation was also applied to the Oxford/Wonderland Node. Wliile this provides new opportunity on the northeast corner of this intersection, it provides further opportunity for redevelopment and intensification on the southeast corner. Coordination amongst uses and design will'be integral parts of any development at this node.
In this way, OPA #71 .opened new opportunities that did not previously exist for large scale retail uses.
Redevelopment
Another tbrust of OPA #71 was the intent to en'courage redevelopment wherever possible, As discussed above, there is a substantial stock of retail development in the City that is relatively old. Since the retail market is supporting a new format of retail development, it is logical to support a reformatting of the traditional stock wherever possible, rather than the construction of an entirely new stock on vacant lands.
OPA #7l supports such redevelopment in several ways:
* The Commercial Policy Mea designation along the Wellington Corridor clarifies the City's intent to allow for consolidation and reformatting for large scale retail uses.
0 The new Associated Shopping Ares Commercial policies clarify that large scale retail uses are permitted around Community and Regional Shopping Areas (subject to - evaluation criteria). This again establishes a clear opportunity to consolidate smaller commercial parcels and redevelop them for new formats.
Limiting large scale retail uses in unplanned locations makes the reformatting of existing centres more attractive as an option for new commercial uses.
Sust ahabil ity
The background reports leading to Official Plan Amendment #71 stressed the need to avoid unsustainable commercial development. Over-supplying commercial land can encourage the development of an unsupportable amount of new commercial space. Since the "pie" of retail expenditure is only so large in the London Region, too much new space could result in the failure of entire commercial centres which currently exist, Furthermore, redeveloping and reformatting existing centres is much less attractive to developers when there are abundant "greenfields" opportunities.
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The background reports for OPA #71 raised the added concern that "greenfields" development Dften requires new roads infrastructure which can be costly. Meanwhile, this infrastructure has already been put in place where existing centres have been developed; this existing infrastructure is under-utilized when shopping centres fail.
Many retail ,experts.anticipate .a shrinkage in ithe demand for commercial space in the future.-Howard Green, a highly regarded retail market analyst in the United States, predicts that "half of all retail malls in the U.S, will disappear". An article appearing in the London Free Press on January 22,1996 headlined that "Its believed the Internet is going to take over from shopping malls". "Widespread acceptance of electronic commerce will devastate many communities because consumers will choose to shop through their computers rather than at local stores". A Real Estate Review by Fielder and Nina estimated "that if only 20% of grocery shopping were done electronically, 500 million sq,ft. of retail space might be vacated nationally" in the United States. New mediums for shopping are already weakening the demand for commercial space in the United States and it is anticipated that this trend will reach Canada in the near future.
To encourage sustainable commerci.al development, the City of London needs to acknowledge these trends by encouraging redevelopment wherever possible and providing opportunities for new "greenfields" development in appropriate locations and amounts.
Conclusions
The above analysis shows that the City has planned for an adequate supply of commpcial land, in total, for the next twenty years and likely beyond. Evidence is provided by the I following facts: i
Based OD a series of conservative assumptions which over-state the demand for commercial land, it has been calculated that 2,210 acres of commercial land are required in Londgn to theyear 2016,
The 3,335 atre su~plyof land which is currently designated Commercial in the City of London OMicial Plan .is more .than 50% greater than this high-end commercia1 demand forecast,
The above calculations do not account for the additional supply of commercial land that will be established within Community Growth Areas as Area Plans are prepared and more detailed designations are applied.
The above calculations do not consider the supply of commercial space outside of the City of London limits.
London is comparatively well supplied with commercially designated land. Of the municipalities that responded to our survey, London had the highest proportion of lands designated for commercial purposes. Compared to London, which has 6.5% of its land area designated commercial, the next highest level of commercial land supply was found in Ottawa, where 5.1% of their total land area was designated commercial. Furthermore, this calculation of 6.5% does not include the supply of lands which will result Total commercial land supply is distributed relatively evenly to support various types of commercial uses, including large and small scale uses, nodal and strip form development, traditional and non-traditional retail formats and quasi-industrialforms of development. Although the south end of the City is most heavily supplied with commercial lands, the City's overall supply is relatively well distributed throughout London. -1Y- -- 0 Almost half of the total Iand area which is designated for commercial uses could support large scale commercial develo,pment (Downtown, Commercial Policy Area, Regional Shopping Area, Community Shopping Area and Associated Shopping Area). Within suburban locations, there is opportunity for approximately 3.4 million sq.ft. of commercial development on lawe vacant commercially designated blocks of land, Within the Downtown, there is opportunity for approximately 1 million sq.f.t of commercial development on large ,vacant commercially designated blocks of land. There is approximately 2.6 million sq.ft. of existing commercial development in shopping centres which are over twenty years old. Many of these centres provide excellent opportunities for redevelopment, retrofit and reformatting. 0 It is estimated that a 10% vacancy rate currently exists within commercial buildings already developed in the City. This amounts to over 1,000,000 sq.ft. of vacant commercial space. This paper has explained that OPA #71 has opened new *opportunitiesfor large scale retail development. Recognizing that there is not an unlimited level of consumer expenditure in the London region, OPA #71 has. encouraged re-development of the existing stock wherever possible. In an effort to support commercial development which is sustainable, the background reports to QPA #71 suggested that over-abundant greenfields opportunities Will simply encourage new commercial uses to chose vacant lands rather than redevelopment opportunities. $ustainable growth must also recognize that commercial demand may decline in the future as new,€orms af home shopping become more popular. This paper has provided a context for the evduation of applications to expand or create new commercial designations within the City. The facts demonstrate that London has planned an adequate supply of commercial land, in total, to the year 2016. This supply provides opportunity for commercial uses of various Sizes, including large commercial uses. In addition to many redevelopment opportunities, this paper has identified many opportunities for lave scale commercial uses on yacant lands which are currently designated for such purposes. These facts do not suggest that there is no need for new commercial lands in the City of London. Certain situations may warrant such additions. However, these facts show that new commercial designations may only be supportable at the expense of existing commercial sites, Furthermore, these facts show that Londan is not undersupplied with commercial land and the City does not need to actively pursue large additions to this land supply. Applications and expressions of interest have been received for commercial projects which are individually large and collectively represent B major increase to London's current supply of planned commercial land, The evaluation of any one proposal should consider these facts relating to the City's commercial .market overall and these. proposals should not be considered in isalation of one-another, -20- Appendix 1 Floor Space Per Capita Standards (Sample Background) I -21- F ....,' t' ** * NQV 21 '95 17:12 FR LIl.IMRR/JOHI.I WINTER 415 694 6258 TO 15196615397 ' P.Q2/07 Prepmed for; Pl.mning Department, Town of Markham @ JOHN WINTER ASSOCIATES LMnEp 9dte 20'1, Two Wheeler Avenue Toronto, Ontario, M4L 3VZ (416)491-1870Fa: 69%258 , SPACE REQUIREMENTS, BY TYPE Expressed in Terms of3quare Fdt Per Future Resiclent Suitability for Tvfixed'Use In Combinadon with Residential ;; Total . Yes No i I 10 15 I I 8 8 1 7 2 ! WLL 111-- 1-11 --^.I I 25 25 In the Madcham Cents? study we estimated the commertid requirements on a per capita hasis, The mazket mathernatip~are repeated in Appendix A for information pwposes, Today, approximately 25 square feet of retail comiercial space is required pel: person, followed by 16 squwe feet for $elvice comercia1 uses, and same 9 square feet per capita for local-office space. It should be noted that we have used an exhaustive list of comesad facilities, all of which occw inoM~&,hmtoday, although some are relegated to the industrial areas (basically for lack of space e1sewhere),l4 111 Markham Centre, we were also intefested in estimahg the amount af space that might be suitable to be combined with residential jlJl mixed use buildings, and the amount of space that might not be 50 suitable. I '4 These pur capita planning ratios do change a5 the market adapts and as new facilities enter the market. Lafry Smith & Associates Ltd, in 11990 esthatd a comewid tdcpbament €or 27.6 square feet per capita far the neighbourhwds of Ninth U.m, but they did not havs'such ill\ exhaustive list of commercial facilities as we have included for this total planning exerdse, and they did not apparently include much local office commercial spare. , *.. . .” NOV 21 ’95 17:13 FR LIt.IMRR/JDHtd WINTER 416 6’34 6258 TO 15196615397 + P.Q4/07 19 Exhibit 7 SPACE REQUIREMENTS, BY CATEGORY Expressed in Terms of Square Feet Per Future Resident Suitability for Mixed Use In Combination with Residentid Total Yes No ! j Retail Commercial I ! ! I Department Store TM 13 9 4 ! Improvement 1 Hame TM 4 4 I IFwd Starres 4 0.5 3.5 I Auto $ales 2.5 2.5 1 Other Store8 2.5 1 ---I-- 5== * 2s 15 Service Gammercia1 Personal Services 6 4 2 Leisure /E&!rtainment 4 2 2 Restaurants 3 2. .5 1.5 Auto $emices 2. 2 Day Care, and All Othw 1 0,5 OS I 16 8 a I I_... -.- Source; Appcmdix A, Our planned stare and service req~earenbare B~OWII in more detail in ~e above table. It: should be noted that each permn in. today’s market suppcxts same thee square feet of supermarket space per capita, three square feet of department store space per capita adabout one square fobt of canvedence stme space per capita. .- * .. * NOU 21 '95 1'7:13 FR LINMAR/JOHN MINTER 416 694 62SB TO 15196615397 ' P.05187 Exhibit B SPACE HEQUIFIEMENTS,TOTAL SPACE Expressad in T0rrns ot Gquare Feet Pel' Future Rssident I. Suitability for Mixed Use In Combination with Resideatial, Yes No LOCAL "DAILY USE' "WALKING DISTANCE" Ret& md Service Commorcid 9 6 3 NEARBY 'WEEKLY/BTEKLY USE" Retd and Service Commercial 21 11 6 ' LOC~Office Commercial 9 7 2 ....D Sub-TCJ td 24 18 8 EL$'EWHERE , "INFREQUENT USE" TOTAL SWPFT)RTABLESPACE Ow opinion coztcaai~~gthe plm~gratios of those stores and services that should be located "very close" to the residents is shown above. Same 15 square feet per capita is needed only infrequently and, due to its uniqueness, does not need to be located close to its market. However, the municipality should want to keep these stores and services withist its boundaries to m&tairt its taxable asse$sment. The latter types of stores and services include new car dealers, banquet rooms, cinemas, retail warehouses, lmber dadem, herdservices, auto glass dealers, recreational vehicle deders;mattress dedera, and other Mrequently sought-out stores and services. It is OUT swong opidrn, however, that the 35 quam feet per capita of commercjral space needed on a daily, weekly Or bidweekly bash should be provided rdativdy dose to the new residents I .R NOV 21. '95 17:13 FR'LINMRRfJOHN WINTER 416 694 6258 TO 15196615397 P 636.437 Exhibit 9 SPACE REQUlREMENTS, GROSS SPACE Expressed in Terms of Square F&t Per Future Resident Net: Per Estimated Required Capita ' Coverage Site Area -TYPE -- e-- FREQUENCY LOCAL 'ID AILY USE" "WALKIS;JG DISTANCE" 9 30.0% 30.0 Retail and Service Commercial 17 56.7 Local Office Commercial 9 18.0 "NIIEQUENTUSE" Retail and Service Commercial 15 25.0% 60.0 -.I- I------.--- I 50 30.496 164.7 The Future Urban Area will be at: a relatively high popdation density, at least for iMa&ham, Gomequently, we have aslsumed a relatively high cornmerual coverage for the various components fo reflect this "urbanity". Ow assumptions lead to an overall coverage of some 30.4 percent, Thatis, for every 50 square feet af mnmercial space req*ed per resident, same ' 165 square feet of;building and parking area are reqyired, :./ . 1 , .,.I. I... Exhibit ‘IQ COMMERCIAL SPACE REQUIREMENTS == 50 square feet commercial space I Lhp’ Future Urban Area = 151,OOQ people 151,000 x 50 = 7,550,000 square feet required ~~~~ Coverage- =: 30.4 percent (see Exhibit 9) 1 = 24,838,COOsquare feet site area + 1 = 570 acres of site %ire3 Source:. John Winter Associates Limited. = 1 acreper 265 people Each person currently supports some 50 square feet of commercial space (think of a square, seven feet by seven feet). Some 151,000 new residents are expected in the FuWe Urban Area. 151,000 persons at 50 square feet per capita of fetd, SenhCe and lacdl affke comerual space represents a need, just far these people, of some 7,550,000 square feet of commercial space. Any space designed for the regional commercial maket wauld, of course, be in addition to this amount. At the coverage cddated in Exhibit 9, these 7,550,000 squaxe feet of commeraal space translate into a requirement, on the pound, for 25 Wonsquare feet (some 570 acres) of commercial space, induding parking. Net of mads, therefore, a block just under one square mile is needed to satisfy all the commeraal needs of the new population threshold. To visualize the magnitude of this reqt&ernent, please refer to Exhibit 11. This arnount of space has not been provided in the existing concept plans for the Fuwe Urban ‘ Area. 27a”, I/ I I .: .... Telephone (41 6) 867-3 14 1 KIRCHER Famidk (416) 867-3127 Research Associates Ltd- I. ' M. John M. Fletnhg Planner City of London 300 Dufferin Av~utt London, Ontario 'N6h4L9 Dear John: RE: PER (I.AF'I'LA SPACE REQIJIREMENTS As discussed earlier, please find. attached table that outlines per capita reqiiii-einenf~fhr retail and service space, 'X1l.k. table indicates a typioal range of space requirements under norrrral market conditions. Also iticluded is a detailed breakdown.of store types in each major category. As disciIsscd, tllcrs: are a number factors that shodd be considered in conjunction with 8. per capita space analysis, 'These include the expenditure levels .of residents in a particular market area, the: axistirlg inventory of competitive space, inflows arid outflows of expenditures arid many others, Nonetheless, a per capita fippraach may be appropriate if' wed as an iilitinl planning tc>d to fq3recast fiitnre requirements, in geneftll ternis, It is bur understailding that this type of iiiitial assessrimit, using a number of sinlplieing astumptians, is the purpose of' ywr analysis. It tllust be Etressed that thcse per capita requirements are not necessarily applicable 011 a lleighbcrllrhnad basis. For example, an additional 5,000 residents does iiat indicate that 3 supel-n1at-kCt of' 13,500 to 17,500 square feet. is required in an area, The supermarket. ticcds of these rcsidetlts should likely be addressed by a larger YupennClrket that selves n greater market: area, Please do not hesitate to call if.wc can be of further assistatice, If the Planning Department desires a more thoroixgh asst3SSment of thc retail commercial tieects and opportunities' in the City of Loiid~n,we wocitd be pleased to disciiss our rescarch approach with you. .. Y I. ....--- -- , , . . - .-. ------1 .e--- e--- a--- --I- I 'I . IWTAXL STORE ANI) SERVICE CLASSTFICATZQN BY TYPE I 40 2 41 3 42 4 43 5 44 6- 4s 7 46 8 47 9 48 10 49 86 , Liquor 11 30 a7 12 51 88 Wirw (not winu rnakhg) 13 j2 . 14 53 15 54 5s 38 59 I"M! APPAREL ANP ACCESSORIES 60 GI 23 62 23 t5 24 64 2s 6S 26 66 27 67 . 28 68 29 69 30 70 31 71 32 7'2 33 73 34 74 3 5 7s 36 76 37 77 111 78 39 79 8Q 81 82 ., . " .-. ._/ - . _.. .------* ..--- ...- I EQQ! Supermarket 2.7 .1 3.5 I Specialty Faad L.5 .. 23 Toti11 Food 4.2 6.0 . DSTM Other Retail 1 4.36 Services 6.0 * Y 8.0 .U. ..- - -4 -. . S 0URCE: Ki rch ezkwaroh &so oiat BS Ltd I 1) Rased on our experience in many Oritario markets. DSTM indudes general merchandise, apparel and accessorks, household furnishings drugs atid casmetics, and durables 1 semi durabk. Other Retail includes: selected automotive, liquodbaedwine and home improvement. Sewices inclrrdes: rearnurants and fiat faad, pcrsonal services and othcr mmiccs. A more detailed breakdown of store typa is provided on the accompmying table, ..- .+.I February 14, 1996 Mr. John Fleming Corporation of the City of London P laming Division 300 Dufferin Avenue London, Ontario N6A 4L9 Canada RE: Retaii Square Footage Per Capita c Dear John: ' It was a pleasure speaking with you this past Friday. You have asked The Green Group to provide to you relevant statistics with regard to the amount of retail square footage per capita in the United States. You have also asked whether similar data is published for Canada. According to the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), there was a rough estimate of 8.68 billion square feet of non-automotive retail space in the United States in 1995. The 1995 United States population was just over 262 million persons, resulting in 32.8 square feet of retail per capita in the United States. I contacted the United States Census Bureau, the National Retail Federation, and the Urban Land Institute, and was unable to verify this figure. They had little information on the total number of retail square feet in the United States. , John, perhaps another way of going about this analysis is by comparing the retail square feet per capita in shopping centers onZy. The ICSC keeps what they feel is a very up-to-date figure on the square feet per capita of shopping center space only. In 1995 it was estimated that in the United States there was over 18.7 square feet per capita of shopping center space. Shopping centers are defined as those centers owned, operated, and managed as a single unit. A shopping center, by their definition, has at least tlxee stores. Interestingly, the ICSC also had a square feet per capita figure of shopping center space for Canada. In 1995 the ICSC estimated that there were 11.5 square feet per capita of shopping center space throughout Canada. Again, this is compared to 18.7 square feet per capita of shopping center space in the United States. Please refer to the attached backup' material for further detail. RETAIL EXPANSION PLANNING d LOCATION ANALYSIS COMMERCIAL LAND USE 2690 CROOKS RD., SUITE 105 0 TROY, MICHIGAN 48084 810/244-9400 FAX: 810/244-9024 Mr. John Fleming -2-1 February 14, 1996 Jolm, though these figures are important, other factors are equally important and must not be overlooked as part of your analysis. They include: I An Exact Trade Area Definition of the London, Ontario Market Area. To derive an accurate measure of whether a market is under-stored or +over-stored,you must first define a trade area for that market. In the report I ani currently working on for Triune Investment Enterprises, Ltd., with regard to the feasibility of their desired large anchor shopping area site (within the Associated Shopping Area designation) at Highway 401 and Wellington Road, I defined the retail trading area for the City of London as a thirty-mile radius. Should you choose to include only the City of London or the London statistical area in your analysis, you have a greater likelihood of skewing the results toward an over-stored situation. The Current Location of Existing ,Larve-Anchqred ShopDinp Centers and Those Areas Currently Designated As Commercial Policy Areas. In our opinion, the City of London must ask itself the question, "Is the area that has been designated for new forinat retailing, the optimal location for the retailer? Are these the best parcels to eiisure the retailers' overall success?" It is our opinion that some of the parcels currently identified as format retail shopping areas are inferior to the Triune site. This is due to the following: 1) many of these sites are too small 2) they are not located along a regional highway (such as Highway 401) 3) they are located on the north side of town and, therefore, do not enjoy highway access 4) they are located in an industrial area 5) they lack adequate visibility As such, it is our opinion that not only should the. City of London conduct the over- and under- storing analysis, it must do what is best for both the community and the retailer. John, our final retail feasibility report on the Triune site should be completed by the beginning of March. My client has confirmed that once the said report is completed a copy will be forwarded to you for your review. Should you have any questions on the above, please do not liesitate to contact me. ...... Mr . Joliii Fleming -3- February 14, 1996 I As always, I enjoy being of assistance to the City of London. Cordially, Jeffrey &reen President Chief Operating Officer JSG:mm enc. .. \ Appendix 2 Examples of Floor Area Ratios Below are a sample of commercial developments within various Official Plan designations, Estimates -of each development's gross floor area, site area and calculated-floor area ratio are shorn, The .designationwithin which each development is located is also shown. Floor area ratio is expressed as a percentage and is calculated as the gross floor area divided by the development's site area, 4 Development O.P. GFA Site Area Floor Area Descriptian Designation (sq,f t .) (s q.f t .) Ratio Galleria London DA 771,000 393,000 195% Carling/Richmond/ DA 1611,000 106,150 152% Dundas/Talbot (retail- 0n-W W estmcxunt I RSA I 525,000 I 1,180,600 1. 44% White 0.aks. Mall RSA 577,000 1,771,000 32% Oakridge Mall CSA 243,000 713,000 34% Pond Mills Square I CSA I 225,000 I791,OOO I 29% Canadian Tire Plaza, I I85,OOO 1 663,500 128% East of 'Masonville I ASA 515 Wellington Road ASA 17,100 42,700 40% I 1 1 1 1 I ' I" - 1' 715-725 Wellington Rd ASA 11,765 43,400 27% Canadian Tire, South of ASA 10,650 35,625 30% White Oaks 100 Wharncliffe S., I '7,720 1 24,330 132% South of Euclid Ave, 169 Wharncliffe S., I 41,380 South of: Cove Rd. I Hamilton Rd. Plaza 1 AMUD I 3,600 I 12,050 130% 379 Hamilton Rd, Home. Depot RSC 132,000 609,700 22% 125 Claxke Rd. RSC ' 30,000 79,000 38% Plaza with RSC uses Byron Village BDC 78,400 261,150 30% 1267 to 1283 BDC 10,725 24,225 44% Cornmissionen Rd. W. -22- Appendix 3 Imperial to Metric Conversions This report has used imperial measurements to be consistent with the most commonly used standards in the real estate and development industry. The following conversions provide i guide €or converting imperial floor area and land area calculations to metric equivalents. foot = ,3048 metres r square foot = ,0929 square metres I acre = ,4047 hectares