May 30, 2017

TO: City Of Development Review - South Planning, Infrastructure and Economic Development Department

ATTN: John Bernier, Planner

RE: 1867 Alta Vista Drive Temporary Zoning By-law Amendment

Dear Mr. Bernier,

Chmiel Architects has been retained by the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) to prepare a Temporary Zoning By-law Amendment to allow “Parking Lot” as a permitted use for 1867 Alta Vista Drive. The CMA is the owner of the property and has recently demolished the existing buildings (which were the CMA Headquarters buildings) on the site. This work was performed under a separate demolition permit, issued by the City of Ottawa, and was completed in March, 2017.

The Owner has a long term plan to develop the site for their new headquarters. Planning of the new building, however has taken more time than anticipated. As this project is a few years out, the CMA will temporarily move into the facility of their associated company, MD Management, located at 1870 Alta Vista Drive. As there is currently no available parking spaces on site for the CMA staff, the Owner wishes to continue to park in the existing parking lot at 1867 Alta Vista Drive. Paved structures were largely kept intact during demolition activities.

The purpose of this planning rationale is to assess the appropriateness of the proposed temporary zoning by-law amendment in light of the Owner’s intentions for the property for the near future against the current regulatory framework affecting the subject lands. Included with our submission is the following:

 3 copies of this report

 2 copies of the current survey of the property

Contextual Analysis

1867 Alta Vista Drive is located on the east side of the road, between and Valour Drive. The site is roughly quadrilateral in shape, with one acute and one obtuse angle and is approximately 12,214.9 square metres in size. Frontage along Alta Vista is 144.27 metres, with a lot depth varying between 59.55 and 115.32 metres. The site is currently vacant, as the previous buildings were recently demolished in March, 2017. Below grade structures have been removed and backfill installed. Hydroseed planting (i.e grass seed) will be installed in the spring at all excavated areas. Existing at grade paved surfaces, including the parking lots on the north and south sides of the site remain intact, however. There is a heavily wooded area including a ravine located on the rear of the property, on the east side.

200 - 109 Ottawa ON K1P 5N5 e [email protected] | t 613 234-3585 | f 613 234-6224

Map of General Context

Oblique Aerial View

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1867 Alta Vista Drive is located to the north of Smyth Road, in a stretch of land that is occupied by the headquarters of other institutions. These buildings are primarily low-rise, featuring 2 and 3 storey structures, with the exception of the 6 storey MD Management building. There is an abundance of landscaping along both sides of Alta Vista Drive, as can be seen in the Oblique Aerial View (above). The following is a brief overview of the uses located adjacent to the subject site.

North The building to the north, at 1815 Alta Vista Drive, houses the Canadian Dental Association. It is a 2 storey brick veneer clad office building with ribbon window detailing on the ground floor and punched window detailing on the second.

East The building to the east, is the Oakpark Retirement Community building, an independent and assisted living residential building. It is a 5 storey brick and masonry clad residential building with punched and ribbon window fenestration. This building is not visible from the 1867 Alta Vista site, even during the winter months, as there is a heavily wooded area between the two sites.

South The building to the south, located on the northeast corner of Smyth Road and Alta Vista Drive (255 Smyth Road) houses the Conference Board of Canada, who is an independent, evidence-based, not for profit applied research organization. The 2 storey brick veneer clad building features punched arched windows on the second floor.

West The building to the west, at 1870 Alta Vista Drive, houses MD Financial Management, which is a CMA company. This organization is responsible for the wealth management of Canadian physicians. This 6 storey office building is highly fenestrated, utilizing a curtain wall system, accented with bands of aluminum cladding.

The Proposal:

CMA’s previous headquarters building at 1867 Alta Vista Drive was due for a major life cycle upgrade and replacement. The original building was constructed in 1968 and many original systems were at risk of failure. A major expenditure was required in order to continue occupying the building. A feasibility study was commissioned, and it was determined that while the existing building could be fully upgraded to current building standards, the configuration of the building could not support CMA’s requirements for the creation of a collaborative and open office environment. The various floor plates were irregular or small, and were not conducive to creating a good circulation flow for the entire organization. The decision was made to demolish the building and design a new headquarters building which would provide a healthy and flexible environment.

The planning phase for the new building, however, is taking longer than anticipated. As a result, CMA will be temporarily housed at their affiliated company, MD Financial Management, located at 1870 Alta Vista Drive, across the street from the subject property. While there is room for approximately 100 CMA staff to move in, there is no parking available on site, as all of the available parking has been assigned to MD Management staff. Also note that CMA regularly receives visitors, due to the nature of their business of being Canada’s national association of physicians.

CMA proposes to utilize the existing parking lot at 1867 Alta Vista Drive during their temporary occupancy at 1870 Alta Vista Drive until the new building is constructed.

There are currently two parking areas – one to the north (65 spaces) and one to the south (51 spaces) of the property, for a grand total of 116 parking spaces, which would be for the exclusive use of 1870 Alta Vista Drive. Access to the parking lots from Alta Vista Drive would remain unchanged, as would existing vehicular traffic patterns. Both parking lots are reasonably shielded from Alta Vista drive through the presence of landscaped berms. Directly following are a series of photographs travelling north and south along Alta Vista Drive, demonstrating the discreet appearance of the existing parking lots from the street:

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Photo #1N: View along Alta Vista looking north. 1867 Alta Vista (now demolished) is visible in the distance behind cars parked in its south parking lot. 255 Smyth Road (Conference Board of Canada) is in the foreground on the right.

Photo #2N: View along Alta Vista looking north. 1867 Alta Vista can be seen behind the trees on the right hand side but is now demolished. The car seen is parked in the 1867’s south parking lot.

Photo #3N: View along Alta Vista looking north. The access road to 1867 Alta Vista is visible on the right.

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Photo #4N: View along Alta Vista looking north. 1867’s north parking lot is behind the landscaped berm on the right.

Photo #5N: View along Alta Vista looking north. 1867’s north parking lot is behind the landscaped berm on the right.

Photo #1S: View along Alta Vista looking south. 1867’s north parking lot is behind the landscaped berm on the left. At Grade parking for 1800 Alta Vista Drive (Canadian Blood Services) is on the right, while the access road for 1815 Alta Vista Drive (Canadian Dental Association) can be seen on the left.

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Photo #2S: View along Alta Vista looking south. 1867’s north parking lot is behind the landscaped berm on the left. An internal access road for 1800 Alta Vista Drive (Canadian Blood Services) can be seen on the right.

Photo #3S: View along Alta Vista looking south. The access road to 1867 Alta Vista is seen on the right. The access road To 1870 Alta Vista Drive (MD Financial Management) is seen in the distance on the right.

Photo #4S: View along Alta Vista looking south. Cars parked in 1867’s north parking lot are visible on the left. 255 Smyth Road (Conference Board of Canada) is seen behind the parking lot on the left. An internal access road for 1870 Alta Vista can be seen on the right.

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Pedestrian Traffic Flow

As this proposal will result in increased pedestrian traffic between 1867 and 1870 Alta Vista Drive, it will be essential to guide people towards the Smyth / Alta Vista intersection for safe road crossing. We would propose to install two new sections of sidewalk joining the existing internal access roads to the existing City of Ottawa sidewalk system to the west of the property. These walkways will encourage users of both the north and south parking lots at 1867 Alta Vista to walk along the length of the 1867 property, shielded from the busy traffic of Alta Vista, and will merge with the City sidewalk as close to the intersection as possible. Refer to aerial plan below:

To help promote the safe crossing of Alta Vista, CMA has prepared a policy statement “Alta Vista Cross Walk Safety Instructions”, which forms part of CMA’s overall Health & Safety Program, which is appended to the end of this report.

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Policy Justification

Provincial Policy Plan 2104

Article 1.1 “Managing and Directing Land Use to Achieve Efficient and Resilient Development and Land Use Patterns” includes guidelines for creating sustainable communities.

In particular, Clause 1.1.1.b. states that an accommodation of “an appropriate range and mix of residential (including second units, affordable housing and housing for older persons), employment (including industrial and commercial), institutional (including places of worship, cemeteries and long-term care homes), recreation, park and open space, and other uses to meet long-term needs” is desirable.

The subject property is located in a low density, low disruption business park industrial zone, and is bordered by uses of a similar nature, as well as institutional uses, including an assisted living residence and hospitals further to the east, as well as residential zones to the west, north and south. It is also adjacent to an environmental protection zone, as evidenced by the presence of a ravine and wooded area to the east. The CMA, while a non-profit agency, is an employer, and is therefore an excellent example of providing the kind of use which supports a sustainable community.

City of Ottawa Official Plan

Schedule B of the city of Ottawa’s Official Plan designates the subject site as “General Urban Area”.

“The General Urban Area designation permits the development of a full range and choice of housing types to meet the needs of all ages, incomes and life circumstances, in combination with conveniently located employment, retail, service, cultural, leisure, entertainment and institutional uses. This will facilitate the development of complete and sustainable communities. A broad scale of uses is found within this designation, from ground-oriented single-purpose to multi-storey mixed-use; from corner store to shopping centre.”

-3.6.1, “General Urban Area”, City of Ottawa Official Plan

City of Ottawa Secondary Plan - Alta Vista / Faircrest Heights / Riverview Park

The “Alta Vista / Faircrest Heights / Riverview Park Secondary Plan provides more detailed area-based policy direction for the immediate area in which the subject lands are located. Furthermore, the subject lands are located in a section along Alta Vista Drive, north of Smyth Road, and is described as the “Alta Vista / Smyth institutional / office node”. There is sensitivity that any development is compatible with the neighbouring residential areas, and that they are also visually and functionally compatible with existing development.

The policies of both the Official Plan and the Secondary Plan support the presence of a mix of uses. Presently 1867 Alta Vista Drive is located directly adjacent or in close proximity to office, institutional, residential, environmentally sensitive lands and parks.

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City of Ottawa Zoning By-law (2008-420)

The subject site is zoned IP12 F(1.5), which is Industrial Park Subzone 12 – Hospital Lands, with a floor space index of 1.5. The purpose of the IP zone is to promote mixed use including office and low impact, light industrial uses in a business park setting, and in this case, in accordance with the guidelines of the General Urban Area designation. Permitted uses in the IP12 Subzone are as follows:

Requested Temporary Minor Re-zoning

“Parking Lot” is not a permitted use in the IP12 Subzone. This application requests a temporary re-zoning of the subject property to allow a “Parking Lot” use.

The subject and neighbouring properties have an IP12 Zoning designation and house organizations which are related to medical service professionals and providers, including MD Financial Management (a CMA company), The Dental Association, the Pharmacists’ Association, and Canadian Blood Services. It is therefore logical and desirable for the CMA to remain in the immediate vicinity. Office space for CMA staff is available at 1870 Alta Vista, however, parking is not. The CMA wishes to continue parking at 1867 Alta Vista Road, while they finalize plans for their new building.

From a functional perspective, the proposal merely splits the ancillary use of parking from that of the occupancy of an office building for a temporary period. The two uses are directly across the street from each other, and will result in increased foot traffic along Alta Vista to Smyth. Vehicular traffic is expected to remain the same. Excluding the neighbour to the east (assisted living residential, not visible from the site), all neighbours surrounding the subject site are office functions, and have existing at-grade surface parking areas and vehicular access. The existing berm, trees and shrubbery on the west side of the property between Alta Vista and the parking areas provides a pleasing visual barrier and has been protected and maintained throughout the demolition activities. Because of the landscaping and because the parking configuration will remain the same, the visual compatibility with the neighbouring functions will not be adversely affected. (Refer to photographs #1N – 5N and #1S to 4S.

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Conclusion

Based on the rationale presented above, we are of the opinion that the request for a temporary minor rezoning will help to support CMA’s needs for the immediate future as they continue to plan their future headquarters, a building which will be in keeping with the Province of ’s Policy Plan, the City of Ottawa’s official and secondary plans, and the City of Ottawa Zoning By-law.

Regards, 

CHMIEL ARCHITECTS INCORPORATED

Elaine Yee, O.A.A., LEED AP ID+C, MRAIC

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Alta Vista Cross Walk Safety Instructions

CMA is committed to the safety of its employees. Protection of employees from injury is a continuing objective. We, as an employer, will make every reasonable effort to provide a safe work environment and all staff must support our continuing objective of reducing risk of injury.

As part of our commitment for safe work practices and procedures, and safety in every activity, employees are instructed NEVER TO JAY WALK across Alta Vista. ALWAYS use the crossing lights at the corner of Smyth Road and Alta Vista Drive to ensure your safety.

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*The above policy forms a part of CMA’s overall Health & Safety Program. For more information on CMA’s Joint Occupational Health & Safety Committee or other health and safety policies and resources, click here.