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Planning Rationale Report PLANNING RATIONALE REPORT 137 BEECHWOOD AVENUE Pt. Lots 78, 79, Registered Plan M43 PIN: 04225 - 0067 CITY OF OTTAWA Site Plan Control Application PREPARED BY SMART LIVING PROPERTIES MARCH 2017 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 … Background … page 2 1.2 … Design Intent … page 2 2. PLANNING APPLICATIONS 2.1 … Application for Site Plan Control … page 3 3. EXISTING CONDITIONS 3.1 … Community Attributes … page 4 3.2 … Current Site Context … page 6 4. DEVELOPMENT PROPOSAL 4.1 … Design Summary … page 11 4.2 … Proposed Occupancy … page 12 4.3 … Building Features … page 13 4.4 … Materiality … page 14 4.5 … Comparative Study … page 16 5. LEGISLATION FRAMEWORK 5.1 … Ontario Provincial Plan … page 19 5.2 … City of Ottawa Official Plan … page 22 5.3 … Beechwood Community Design Plan … page 24 5.4 … Zoning By-law Provisions … page 25 6. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION 6.1 … Proposal Summary … page 30 6.2 … Conclusion … page 30 TABLE OF EXHIBITS A: Existing Site Plan; Survey information taken from Annis, O’Sullivan, Vollebeck Ltd. February 26, 2014 … page 3 ​ ​ B: Map of Ward 12 Rideau-Vanier (marker indicates location of 137 Beechwood Avenue) … page 4 ​ C: Beechwood Avenue Sphere of Influence Map; Beechwood Community Design Plan … page 5 ​ D: Examples of Beechwood Avenue Traditional Mainstreet Land Use (125 & 83 Beechwood, 46 St. Charles St.) … page 6 ​ E: Zoning Map for 137 Beechwood Avenue … page 7 ​ F: Current Site Context; View from South, June 2016 … page 8 ​ G: Existing street view from Acacia Avenue, June 2016 … page 9 ​ H: Aerial Photo 137 Beechwood Avenue … page 9 ​ I: Beechwood Community Heritage Reference List (all buildings on Ottawa Heritage Reference List are in red) … page 10 ​ J: Proposed Site Plan, 137 Beechwood Avenue, MARCH 2017 … page 11 ​ K: Site Rendering, 137 Beechwood Avenue, street view from NE … page 12 ​ ​ L: Site Rendering, 137 Beechwood Avenue, street view from SOUTH … page 13 ​ M: 137 Beechwood Avenue, Front (East) Elevation … page 15 ​ N: 137 Beechwood Avenue. Rear (West) Elevation … page 16 ​ O: Examples of Beechwood Mainstreet and Vanier North Mixed Use (30 MARNIER, 115 BEECHWOOD) … page 17 ​ P: Examples of Contemporary Beechwood Community Development (455 GREEN, 100 CARSDALE, 222, 17 BEECHWOOD) … page 18 ​ Q: St. Charles District, Beechwood Community Design Plan (property highlighted in orange circle) … page 24 ​ ​ ​ R: Zoning Map TM8 (GeoOttawa, properties shaded in red) … page 27 ​ SMART LIVING PROPERTIES : 100 ARGYLE AVENUE : UNIT 200 : OTTAWA : K2P 1B6 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 1 S: Zoning Information for 137 Beechwood … page 29 ​ SMART LIVING PROPERTIES : 100 ARGYLE AVENUE : UNIT 200 : OTTAWA : K2P 1B6 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 2 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 BACKGROUND Smart Living Properties has been retained by the property owner to prepare a planning rationale in support of an application for Site Plan Control to permit a 6 storey mixed use building at 137 Beechwood Avenue. This report will present the existing conditions of the Beechwood Mainstreet district, examining its inherent qualities, and how they relate to the proposed site. This report reviews the existing state of the site, including survey information and contextual relationships to its surroundings. The report will then proceed to explain the proposed development of the acquired site, how the context of the neighbourhood has influenced the design, and reviews the applicable land use planning policies outlined by the Provincial Policy Statement (PPS), Ottawa’s Official Plan (OP), the Beechwood Avenue Community Design Plan (BCDP), and the Zoning By-law Provisions. The summary and conclusion will indicate that the proposed development has taken into consideration all of the required policies to design and construct a mixed use building, which is supported by the PPS, OP, BCDP and Zoning By-laws. ​ 1.2 DESIGN INTENT The proposed development aims to revitalize the lot at 137 Beechwood, with the intention of creating marketable commercial and retail space in a new construction mixed-use building. While previous design programmes have explored the possibility of reviving the site through renovation of the existing structures, and developing the adjacent sites individually, it is the owner’s wishes to build a new structure that optimizes the lot space through new construction. This will require the demolition of both existing buildings at lots 78 and 79, preparing the site to introduce new urban residential suites, above new commercial units, which will reinvigorate the area through the process of lot intensification. The City of Ottawa has established the Beechwood Avenue corridor as an area of particular design importance, aiming to continue providing the local community with an array of services that are accessible through various modes of transportation. This creates a region that encourages pedestrian movement, as well as alternative travel methods to personal vehicles. It is the vision of Ottawa’s urban planners to create communities with balanced development, using built form, greenspace and infrastructure to stimulate neighbourhood growth and activity, while maintaining the identity and character of the city’s various neighbourhoods (Urban Design and Compatibility ​ 2.5.1). ​ Numerous design principles that have been outlined by the Ottawa Official Plan have been considered by this project, and will be explored in this report to support the proposed structure, ensuring that the site integrates into the community, and respects the established natural and built environment of the Lindenlea and Vanier neighbourhoods. SMART LIVING PROPERTIES : 100 ARGYLE AVENUE : UNIT 200 : OTTAWA : K2P 1B6 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 3 2 PLANNING APPLICATIONS 2.1 SITE PLAN CONTROL The proposed development looks to achieve Site Plan Approval for the new construction and excavation required at 137 Beechwood Avenue. By the measures of Ottawa’s Planning Act, a Site Plan Control would be required in this instance to ensure that the development meets the quality and standards approved by the City. The proposal looks to create 20 new dwelling units and 2 ground floor commercial units within the newly proposed 6 storey structure, after the removal of the existing structures on site are approved. The scale and scope of this building is classified under the Ontario Building Code (2015) as a Part 3 building, and will adhere to the design and safety standards for a mixed use building. The applicant is aware of the required studies for submission in addition to this planning rationale as essential to the application approval process, as well as the involvement of community design panels, and the Urban Design Review Panel. All comments and questions from these governing bodies and the public will be addressed by the applicant upon review. EXHIBIT A. Existing Site Plan; Survey information taken from Annis, O’Sullivan, Vollebeck Ltd. February 26, 2014 ​ SMART LIVING PROPERTIES : 100 ARGYLE AVENUE : UNIT 200 : OTTAWA : K2P 1B6 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 4 3 NEIGHBOURHOOD CONTEXT 3.1 COMMUNITY ATTRIBUTES 137 Beechwood Avenue resides along the northern border of the Rideau-Vanier district of Ottawa, adjacent to the Rideau-Rockcliffe Ward to the north. The arterial mainstreet of Beechwood Avenue provides an important arterial mainstreet directed east to west, connecting the mainstreet which is host to a variety of small businesses, specialty services, small parks and an assortment of residential buildings, ranging from 2 storey single detached homes to larger highrise complexes. The site is uniquely situated at an intersection of three communities, each with their own distinct attributes and community design programs that impact the lots facing onto Beechwood Avenue. To the north and west of the site is the low rise residential garden community of Lindenlea, to the east and north of the site is the heritage-protected region of Rockcliffe Park, and to the south is the urban residential neighbourhood of Vanier. The residential community to the east of the Rideau River was once recognized as the small village of Eastville, at one time a popular location for civil servants to live close to Parliament Hill, without residing in the downtown core. Various neighbourhoods and suburban dwellings began to populate the area as early as the 1830s, through to the post war era as Ottawa expanded. While the urban centre grew, this region largely protected the area to create quiet residential streets organized around public parklands and tree lined streets, bordered by the traditional mainstreet that connected Lowertown to the late township of Gloucester. Today, it is host to a diverse demographic of Ottawanians, providing residences for students, young professionals and small business owners, retirees, and civil servants. Vanier is found to be an accessible area of the city, for its relative proximity to Ottawa’s urban centre, and immediate connection to the transit system, providing an affordable and desirable mixed use neighbourhood. SMART LIVING PROPERTIES : 100 ARGYLE AVENUE : UNIT 200 : OTTAWA : K2P 1B6 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 5 EXHIBIT B: Map of Ward 12 Rideau-Vanier (marker indicates location of 137 Beechwood Avenue) ​ The Ward of Rideau-Vanier provides access to a variety of essential amenities to many of the adjacent Wards located west of St. Patrick Street Bridge. The Wards of New Edinburgh, Lindenlea, Southern Vanier, and Rockcliffe Park frequent the Beechwood Mainstreet district for its restaurants, grocers, gas stations and specialty shops, bringing economy to the area and extending the Mainstreet influence roughly 2 kilometers in every
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