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Updated Planning Report September 2008 Proposed Lafarge/Silvercreek Development • the required scope of an appropriate planning study, including development design concepts detailed enough to demonstrate land use compatibility, mitigation of potential development impacts on existing/future area land uses and the site’s physical environment; and, • the required scope of an appropriate infrastructure study, including road capacity to handle the projected traffic, the adequacy of hard servicing capacity and proposed stormwater management systems, and the adequacy of on-site parking, loading, pedestrian and vehicular circulation systems. In our view, all of the above impact study requirements have been or will be met with the provision of original and updated/supplementary market, traffic, planning, urban design, environmental impact and stormwater management studies. The findings of these studies are (where applicable) accompanied by appropriate conditions/requirements resulting from the studies themselves, and will be supplemented by the completion of final technical agency review, which is currently well-advanced. In addition, some of the above detailed requirements are matters which can most appropriately be addressed through the subsequent site plan approval process. As listed in Section 3.3.11 of this report, Section 9.3 of the Plan also contains general criteria for Official Plan amendments, which address a range of planning considerations, including: conformity to the Plan’s goals and objectives; site suitability and use compatibility; market feasibility of and need for the proposed use; availability of other designated areas; impacts on infrastructure and the natural environment; and, financial implications. Firstly, in our view, the redevelopment proposal does represent an appropriate response to the goals and objectives of the Plan, particularly as follows: • As already noted, the subject site offers a prime opportunity for productive re-use of a substantial, derelict brownfield (former industrial) parcel which is well within the City’s existing urban envelope and readily accessible to municipal servicing infrastructure. All of those considerations accord with the Plan, in terms of fostering intensification and redevelopment and the related greater efficiency in the use of urban land and infrastructure, and thus, lessening longer-term demand for “greenfield” development and potential urban sprawl on the periphery of the existing urban area. • The proposed development safeguards the natural heritage feature on the site (Howitt Creek and associated lands) and its related ecological functions. • The mixed commercial development proposal will enhance the range of retail and service commercial offerings available locally in Guelph, including the proposed introduction of a warehouse membership club – a new large-format, “destination” retail facility not currently in the Guelph market – without detracting from the higherorder, multi-functional “central place” role of the C.B.D. Secondly, the locational attributes of the site for the proposed mix of commercial uses were discussed in Section 6.1 of this report, particularly in terms of exposure and 42
Updated Planning Report September 2008 Proposed Lafarge/Silvercreek Development accessibility. We concur with City staff’s view that the proposed connection of Silvercreek Parkway north to Paisley Road via a new underpass of the CNR main line is essential to the viable redevelopment of the site for the proposed mixed commercial concept. Indeed, that same conclusion would be applicable for any viable redevelopment of the subject lands, in our opinion, and has very likely acted as a substantial deterrent to any such redevelopment -- in terms of both the development economics involved, and the requirements and timing of the approval process (including the need for an environmental assessment.) Thirdly, in our opinion, the compatibility of the proposed use with adjacent uses and designations is not a concern, as previously indicated, subject to appropriate site planning techniques and approval conditions. This finding stems from the effective isolation of the site by major transportation infrastructure and the visual screening for existing residential uses to the north and south offered by the lower-lying nature of the site, between the adjacent railway embankments. Fourthly, the key related criteria of market feasibility and need for the proposed commercial uses (from population and employment standpoints), and the extent of availability of other designated areas for such uses, have all been at least implicitly addressed in TER’s updated market study discussed in Section 5.1 of this planning report. In our opinion, from a planning perspective, the following market study findings are particular relevance in satisfying the above-noted criteria: • The site is well-located to serve Guelph residents and those in areas beyond, given its central location in the City, especially in light of its proximity to Hanlon Expressway (Highway 6) and Wellington Street (Highway 7.) TER thus concludes that this site would be the preferred central Guelph location for a warehouse membership club; by implication, both TER and the CPR suggest that only one WMC can be anticipated in the Guelph market for the foreseeable future. • The site is seen to be complementary to the dispersed pattern of designated Mixed Use Nodes, owing to its more central location, superior overall accessibility, and closer proximity to the C.B.D., which offers potential opportunities for crossshopping. • TER concluded that the subject proposal is warranted from a market demand perspective, in light of the City’s continued growth and TER’s future population estimates. TER makes the related suggestion that the projected year 2021 demand for additional retail space underlying the CPR may be understated given several factors, including the conservative “pure residual” market approach of the CPR (which assumes no impact on existing retailers), and the City’s own market peer reviewer’s acknowledgment that a modest level of sales transfers (up to 7.5 to 10 percent) would result in acceptable market impacts, and in TER’s calculations, equate to a substantial additional increment of warranted retail space. • TER also concluded that there be no significant impact on existing or proposed commercial centres or mixed use nodes, based in part on accounting for the full retail build-out of the four designated Mixed Use Nodes and any active retail applications, including the proposed redevelopment of the Willow West Mall, which is the closest designated “Intensification Area” to the subject site. In a similar vein, TER further 43
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updated planning report updated planning report - City of Guelph

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