68 Cooper Street PLANNING RATIONALE ZONING BY-LAW AMENDMENT APPLICATION December 2014 Revised January 2015 RICHCRAFT GROUP OF COMPANIES | 2280 ST. LAURENT BLVD., SUITE 201 OTTAWA, ONTARIO 68 COOPER STREET JANUARY 2015 CONTENTS 1 Application Submission ......................................................................................................................... 2 2 Contextual Analysis ............................................................................................................................... 2 3 The Proposal ......................................................................................................................................... 3 4 Policy Justification ................................................................................................................................. 5 5 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................. 9 6 Appendix ............................................................................................................................................. 10 RICHCRAFT GROUP OF C OMPANIES 1 68 COOPER STREET JANUARY 2015 1 APPLICATION SUBMISSION Richcraft Homes Ltd. is seeking a Zoning By-law amendment with the purpose of introducing office use to its existing building located at 68 Cooper Street. The subject site is legally described as Lot 61 on Registered Plan 14350. It has a General Urban designation in the Official Plan, and is zoned Residential Fifth Density Subzone B, Exception 482, Maximum Height 37 Metres (or R5B [482] H (37)). The following is a Planning Rationale justifying the appropriateness of this proposal in accordance with the policy framework. 2 CONTEXTUAL ANALYSIS Local Context - The subject site is located in the Centretown area. The built form is characterized by low to high-rise buildings with a variety of uses (i.e. residential, commercial, office, and institutional). The development pattern is characterized by a street grid with narrow road right-of-ways and narrow blocks. The local character of the area is very urban in nature. Local landmarks include City Hall and the Corktown Footbridge (Somerset Street Bridge). The site also has access to Elgin Street (a commercial main street) and the Rideau Canal. Site conditions - The subject site is 604.9m² with a 17.7m frontage. It is occupied by a two and a half storey building inhabiting ~275m² of the site, and consisting of two dwelling units. The building is used as a rental property. There is no potential of contamination, nor is there any significant historical, topographical, or natural features on site to report. Views - North of Cooper Street the site is occupied by high-rise residential buildings, including a hotel. Further north is Ottawa’s City Hall. South of the site the property is occupied by a three storey residential apartment building. Southwest of the site is St. Theresa’s Church. West of the site is occupied by surface parking. Further west is the Centretown Heritage Conservation District. East of the site is occupied by an outdoor amenity space associated with the neighbouring high-rise building fronting Somerset Street. Further east is the Rideau Canal and associated multi-use pathway. Connections - The pedestrian network is comprised mostly of sidewalks lining both sides of the street. There is an existing shared use lane along Cartier Street for cycling. As well, the Centretown Community Design Plan (CDP) proposes a shared use lane for cycling along Somerset Street. There is also the multi- use National Capital Commission (NCC) Capital Pathway that runs along the Rideau Canal just opposite the Queen Elizabeth Parkway. The subject site is within the 600m catchment area for the Campus Bus Rapid Transit Station (future Light Rail Station) at the University of Ottawa. It is within walking distance to the transit stops at Albert Street and Slater Street at Metcalfe Street. It is also serviced by Bus Routes #5 and #14 along Elgin Street. The subject site is adjacent to a network of arterial roads starting at Elgin Street to the west and Laurier Street to the north. Somerset Street is considered to be a collector road directly south of the site running towards the Queen Elizabeth Parkway, and transitions into an arterial road west of Elgin Street. RICHCRAFT GROUP OF C OMPANIES 2 68 COOPER STREET JANUARY 2015 Natural Heritage System - Marion Dewar Plaza, Golden Triangle Park (or MacLaren Park), Minto Park, Jack Purcell Park, and St. Luke’s Park are among the city parks within proximity to 68 Cooper Street. Other open spaces include those associated with Elgin Street Public School, Lisgar Collegiate Institute, the Museum of Nature, and the NCC land along the Rideau Canal. The canal is also a significant natural feature in the area. 3 THE PROPOSAL Proposal Details - Richcraft proposes to add office use to the list of permitted uses under the current zoning in place on site, which reads as R5B [482] H (37). In addition, given that the existing building does not meet the current zoning requirement on site, Richcraft is requesting to add the existing building’s parameters to the zoning as an exception. The following are two lists of the current uses permitted on site: R5 - Residential Fifth Density Zone - Permitted Uses: apartment dwelling, low-rise; apartment dwelling, mid-rise; apartment dwelling, high-rise; bed and breakfast; community garden; converted dwelling; detached dwelling; diplomatic mission; duplex dwelling; dwelling unit; group home; home-based business; home-based daycare; linked-detached dwelling; park; planned unit development; residential care facility; retirement home, converted; retirement home; rooming house, converted; rooming house; secondary dwelling unit; semi-detached dwelling; shelter; stacked dwelling; three-unit dwelling; townhouse dwelling Exception 482 - Additional Land Uses Permitted: personal service business limited to barber shop, beauty parlour, or dry cleaner's distribution station; place of assembly limited to a club; retail store limited to a drug store, florist shop, news stand; restaurant With regards to the parameters, the exterior of the building and its site context is to remain intact – that includes, landscaping, parking, streetscaping, accesses, and pedestrian and vehicular circulation. The table below illustrates the applicable provisions to the zone against the proposed development. The items highlighted in red require exception. There are no phasing issues to report. TABLE 1 – ZONING REQUIREMENT VS. EXISTING BUILDING PARAM ET RES Provision Requirement Existing Lot width (min.) 18 m 17.7m Lot area (min.) 540 m² 604.9m² Height (max.) 37m 2.5 storeys Front yard (min.) 3m 5.09m Interior side yard (min.) 1.5m for the part of the building 3.2 m (west side) ; 2.2m (east located within 21m from the side) front lot line 6m for the remainder of the building Rear yard (min.) 25% of lot depth, but need not 14% of lot depth ( 4.8m – 5m ) exceed 7.5m RICHCRAFT GROUP OF C OMPANIES 3 68 COOPER STREET JANUARY 2015 Landscaped a rea (min.) 30% (182m²) 14% (85.6 m²) Parking (min.) within 600m of 0.5 per unit resident = 1 rapid transit Parking (max.) within 600m of 1.75 per unit (resident ial and rapid transit visitor combined) = 3.5 5 Visitor Parking (min.) n/a Office Parking 0.75 per 100m² of gross floor area = 2.1 Analysis - The proposed development is consistent with the policies outlined in Section 4.11 of the Official Plan (OP). This section recognizes that the General Urban Area designation (among others) contains broad use permissions, which require the zoning by-law to establish more specific permitted use lists and development regulations within areas and on individual sites in a manner that achieves compatibility among proximate uses and built forms. To achieve the Plan’s strategic directions for managing growth, the zoning in many areas of the City, particularly areas adjacent to transit stations (among others) may allow for more intensive development than has occurred in the past. In addition, an amendment to the zoning by-law may be needed to change the permitted use of the land and increase the height or density permitted. In keeping, Richcraft’s request to introduce office use to the current zoning by-law in place is justifiable under Section 4.11 as the subject site is designated General Urban under the Official Plan, and is adjacent to a transit station (Campus Bus Rapid Station is within a 600m radius). Policies under Section 4.11 applicable to this development proposal include the following: Policy 1 outlines the policy frameworks used by City staff to evaluate the compatibility of development applications. The assessment of this policy is explored further in the Section 4 of this planning rationale entitled, “Policy Justification .” Policy 2 outlines the criteria used by City staff to evaluate the compatibility of development applications. The applicable criteria and assessment is outlined below. Traffic: The development proposal is not expected to have a significant effect on traffic in the area. The existing road network has sufficient capacity to serve the development. Vehicular Access: The current location of vehicular access at the north end of the site, along its frontage, at which there are 5 parking spaces to remain intact. Parking Requirements: There are five parking spaces currently situated on site. Under the zoning by-law the minimum parking requirement is 3.1 spaces and the maximum is 5.6 spaces. See Table