Discussion:

PLANNING ANALYSIS:

This site has been the subject of two zoning by-law amendment applications. The first application took place in 2008. At that time the Planning Department recommended approval to rezone the subject lands from RD1.4 to CD2.1 (ZNG/286). Council denied this application (CR 167/2008). The applicant appealed council’s decision to the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB). The Parties to the appeal agreed on a settlement. The Minutes of Settlement and Board Decision approved a medical office as an additional permitted use to the RD1.4 zone, and applied certain site specific regulations to mitigate any impact a new structure on the site may have. (File No. PL080534).

The second application was filed in 2016 (Z-018/16 ZNG/5004) and approved in January of 2017 (BL40/2017). That application proposed to add permitted uses to the existing site specific regulation. Those uses included Business Office, Pharmacy, Professional Studio and Health Studio. These used were determined to be consistent with uses that are commonly found in a neighbourhood commercial setting and would be of benefit to the neighbourhood in general. No changes were made to the provisions of the original OMB order that set out the yard, parking, height and floor area regulations for the form and placement of the building on the site.

PROVINCIAL POLICY STATEMENT: (PPS 2020)

The proposed development consistent with the PPS in that:

It promotes compact and transit supportive forms of development by providing neighbourhood commercial uses close to residents and adjacent to transit corridors, as well as by providing additional neighbourhood based employment opportunities.

1.1.1 (e) promoting the integration of land use planning, growth management, transit-supportive development, intensification and infrastructure planning to achieve cost-effective development patterns, optimization of transit investments, and standards to minimize land consumption and servicing costs;

1.3.1 Planning authorities shall promote economic development and competitiveness by:

a) providing for an appropriate mix and range of employment, institutional, and broader mixed uses to meet long-term needs;

d) encouraging compact, mixed-use development that incorporates compatible employment uses to support liveable and resilient communities, with consideration of housing policy 1.4;