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Updated Planning Report September 2008 Proposed Lafarge/Silvercreek Development • environmental design – design to support energy efficiency and water conservation (storm water infiltration, “green” building designs, alternative energy, etc.) • implementation – incorporate measures in the Zoning By-law and site plan approval process to meet the City’s urban design objectives 3.3.9.3 Impact Studies Section 7.4.48 re-iterates the circumstances under which impact studies (on market, planning and infrastructure impact) are required to be submitted and approved by Council; the subject proposal is subject to these impact study requirements by virtue of its intent to establish a new Mixed Use Node. The specific policy ”tests” to be met by an appropriate market impact study are addressed in Section 7.4.49. The required market impact study must demonstrate that: • “the proposal can be justified without detriment to the overall function or economic vitality of the ‘Central Business District’ or the key component functions that contribute to the C.B.D.’s overall vitality; • the achievement of the City’s major Goals, the Urban Form policies or the Commercial and Mixed Use policy objectives of the Official Plan will not be compromised; and, • the ability of existing designated commercial or mixed use lands to achieve their planned function will not be compromised.” The Plan further sets out, in Section 7.4.50, the required scope of a market impact study, including the following: • an assessment of the current market situation and future potential for retail expansion (based on growth projections); • an evaluation of the proposal’s economic feasibility (based on current market demand); • the scale of any adverse effects on the economic viability of the C.B.D. and on existing or planned (designated) commercial or mixed use lands; and, • an assessment of the proposal’s implications relative to the approved CPR Study and the Plan’s objectives and implementing policies. The above market study tests and components have been addressed in a comprehensive updated (June 2008) market demand and impact analysis, the key findings of which are discussed in Section 5.1 of this planning report. Section 7.4.51 addresses the scope of an appropriate planning study, which is to include “…site and building design concepts at sufficient detail to demonstrate, among other matters:” 16
Updated Planning Report September 2008 Proposed Lafarge/Silvercreek Development • compatibility of the proposal with adjacent planned land uses; • mitigation of potential development impacts (noise, activity, lighting, visual) on existing and future land uses in the area; • potential development impacts on the physical environment and natural features of the property and area, and related mitigation; and, • development of the proposal in a functional and aesthetically acceptable manner, consistent with urban design policies and any urban design guidelines. These planning considerations have been addressed either in this updated planning report or in the November 2007 urban design brief previously submitted to the City in support of the November 2007 revised concept. Lastly, Section 7.4.52 calls for an appropriate infrastructure study to address the following: • the adequacy of road and intersection capacity to accommodate the proposal’s anticipated traffic • the adequacy of hard servicing capacity and stormwater management systems to accommodate the proposal; and, • the availability of adequate on-site parking, loading, pedestrian and vehicular circulation systems. These key infrastructure matters have been addressed in the original (2005) planning report (based upon analysis provided by the servicing consultant), the updated urban design analysis (2007) and development concept, the updated (2008) traffic impact study, and the updated (2008) stormwater management report. The key findings from the latter two technical reports are canvassed in Section 5.0 of this updated planning report. Additional, more detailed design on parking, loading and circulation (vehicular and pedestrian) matters will be addressed at the site plan approval stage. 3.3.9.4 Intensification Areas Given the nature of the subject proposal, the other key commercial land use category among the Plan’s four commercial land use designations is “Intensification Area”. Although different than Silvercreek’s requested “Mixed Use Node” designation, “Intensification Areas” (IA’s) form part of City’s planned commercial structure, and are to be addressed by any required market impact study. Thus, some understanding of the planned function and key governing policies in IA’s (from Sections 7.4.15 to 7.4.21 of the Plan) is also appropriate, in the context of both this planning report and the updated market impact study discussed later in this report. IA’s are “…comprised of one or several individual developments on one or more properties within a “node”…. Similar to Mixed Use Nodes, IA’s are to serve both the wider City and nearby residents, and the Plan intends the IA designation “…to promote the intensification and revitalization of existing well defined commercial nodes… Also 17
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