Tri-Arm Holdings Ltd. - Halifax Regional Municipality

Tri-Arm Holdings Ltd.
October11,2013
MitchDickey,Planner
Community&RecreationServices
40AlderneyDrive
Dartmouth,NovaScotia
B2Y2N5
Re:MunicipalPlanningStrategy/LandUseBylawAmendmentandDevelopmentAgreement
Application–WalkerAvenue,Sackville(PIDs41077785,41077793)
DearMr.Dickey,
PleaseacceptthisletterasTriArmHoldingsLtd.requesttoamendtheSackvilleDriveSecondary
PlanningStrategy(SPS)andLandUseBylaw(LUB)toincorporatesitespecificpolicyandbylaw
provisionallowingforthedevelopmentofmultipleunitresidentialbuildingsbydevelopment
agreement.Further,thatHRMenterintoadevelopmentagreementasoutlinedintheattached
developmentproposalfortwomultipleunitdwellingsconsistingof124residentialunitswith10,000sq.
ft.oflocalcommercialfloorarea.Inordertomoveforwardwithourproposeddevelopment,itisour
understandingthefollowingplanningprocesseswillhavetotakeplace:
1. AsitespecificamendmenttotheMPS/LUBtoallowformultipleunitdwellingswithintheLarge
ScaleCommercial(LS)zonethroughdevelopmentagreement
2. AdevelopmentagreementbetweenHRMandTriArmHoldingstoallowfordevelopmentof
multipleunitresidentialbuildingswithcommercialspaceasoutlinedintheattachedproposal
1. ProposedMPS/LUBAmendment
Background
TriArmHoldingsLtd.owns3.86acresoflandlocatedonWalkerAvenueandOldSackvilleRoadin
Sackville.Thesitecurrentlyholdsa14,618sq.ft.commercial,retail&warehousebuilding.TriArm
HoldingsproposestodeveloptwomultipleunitdwellingsoverPIDs41077793&41077785(preliminary
planattached).Inorderforthedevelopmenttotakeplace,amendmentstotheSackvilleDriveSPSand
LUBarerequired.
SiteCharacteristics
ThepropertiesTriArmproposestodeveloparelocatedwithintheSackvilleDriveplanarea.Theyare
designatedDownsviewBeaverbankandzonedLargeScaleCommercial(LS).Thepropertiesare
designatedUrbanSettlementundertheRegionalMPS.Thelandsarelocatedentirelywithinthe
municipalserviceboundary.
1|P a g e Tri-Arm Holdings Ltd.
PID41077785hasextensivefrontagealongWalkerAvenue,totalling830ft.PID41077793has370ft.of
frontagealongOldSackvilleRoad.ThedevelopmentwillbeaccessedfrombothWalkerAvenueandOld
SackvilleRoad.
ProposalSummary
TriArmHoldingsproposestodeveloptwomultipleunitdwellingsoverthefollowingPIDs:
PID
Area(acres)
41077785
2.54
41077793
1.32
Total
3.86
Thebuildingswillbefourstoreyshighandwillcontainatotalof124residentialunitsaswellas10,000
sq.ft.ofcommercialspace.Therewillbeaboveandbelowgroundparkingtoaccommodatethe
commercialandresidentialunitstotalling218spaces.
TriArmisproposingthatthebuildingsrunadjacenttotheroadfrontagealongWalkerAvenueandOld
SackvilleRoad.Thiswillallowtheabovegroundparkingtobehiddenfromstreetviewthusimproving
theimageofthestreetscape.
BuildingA,frontingonOldSackvilleRoadandWalkerAvenuewillconsistof68multifamilyunitsand
includes5,000sq.ft.ofgroundfloorcommercialspace.BuildingB,frontingon8WalkerAvenue,will
consistof56multifamilyunitsaswellas5,000sq.ft.ofcommercialspace.
ApplicationSupport
Inouropinion,anamendmenttotheSPS/LUBandadevelopmentagreementpermittingthismulti
familydevelopmentwouldbeappropriateforthesubjectproperty,andwouldmoreeffectivelymeet
thegoalsoftheRegionalPlanandtheSackvilleDriveSecondaryPlanningStrategy.Wewouldliketoset
forththefollowingpointsinsupportofthisposition:
1. TheproposalreflectsthegeneralintentandvisionoftheRMPS.TheRegionalPlandesignates
thispropertyasUrbanSettlement.Itistheprimaryintentionofthisdesignationtoidentify
whereurbanformsofdevelopmentwilloccurthroughoutthenext25years.TriArm’sproposal
formultipleunitdwellingsisconsistentwiththeurbanformofdevelopmentasoutlineinpolicy
S1oftheRegionalPlan:“HRMshallestablishtheUrbanSettlementDesignation,shownonthe
GeneralizedFutureLandUseMap(Map2),astheareawherecentralwastewaterandwater
distributionservicesareintendedtobeprovidedtofacilitateanurbanformofdevelopmentover
thenext25years.Anydevelopmentboundaryestablishedundertheexistingsecondaryplanning
strategiesshallbereplacedbytheUrbanSettlementDesignation.Thedesignationisintendedto
provideforadiverse,vibrantandliveableurbanenvironment…”
2. Transportation.ThesubjectpropertyisadjacenttotheMetroTransitPark&RideSackville
Terminal.Theproposedtransitorienteddevelopmentwillencourageresidentstotake
advantageofthepublictransportationsystemaswellasprovidecommuterswithnearby
2|P a g e Tri-Arm Holdings Ltd.
commercialamenities.ThisisinkeepingwiththeSackvilleDriveSPS’sgoaltoimprovetraffic
efficiencywhichincludesobjectivesto“Reducecongestion“and“Increaseconvenience”
(SackvilleSPS,pg.1213)
3. ImprovePedestrianOpportunitiesontheStreet.AspartoftheSackvilleDriveSPSvision,it
aimstoimprovepedestrianopportunitiesonthestreetby“Providingmorepublicdestinations”,
“Encouragingmorepedestrianorienteduses”and“Creatingconvenientandaccessible
pedestrianlinkagestothestreet”(SackvilleDriveSPS,pg.13).Theproposeddevelopmentwill
integrateintotheexistingstreetcreatingdirectpedestrianaccesstosidewalks.Thegroundfloor
commercialspacewillcreateapublicdestinationandencouragepedestrianorienteduses,
especiallyforcommutersusingtheadjacentpublictransithub.Theproposeddevelopmentis
alsowithinwalkingdistancetoexistingcommercialfacilities.
4. StimulateRetail&ResidentialGrowth.TheSackvilleDriveSPS’svisionoutlinesagoalto
stimulateretailandresidentialgrowththroughobjectivesto“Encourageagreaterretailand
residentialmix”,“Createafocusforretailandresidentialactivityinthestreet”and“Strengthen
theimageofSackvilleDrive”(SackvilleDriveSPS,pg.13).Inkeepingwiththeseobjectives,the
developmentproposesamixofresidentialandretailusesandprovidesstreetaccessnearpublic
transportationwhichcreatesafocusforretailandresidentialactivityonthestreet.Thevisually
pleasingexteriorofthebuildingalsoservestostrengthentheimageofthearea.
5. CreateaUnique,Identifiable,MemorableStreetscape.ItisthegoaloftheSackvilleDriveSPS
to“createaunique,identifiable,memorablestreetscape”(SackvilleDriveSPS,pg.13).
Specifically,theDownsviewBeaverbankdesignationaimsto“createarecognizableentryinto
SackvilleDrive”and“improvethequalityandimageofthestreetscape”(SackvilleDriveSPS,
PolicyDB1).Thecustomdesign,articulatedfaçade&streetwallandintegratedlandscapingof
theproposeddevelopmentwillcreateauniquelandmarkbuildingfortheSackvilleDrivearea.
ThedevelopmentwillprovidearecognizableentryintotheSackvilleDriveareawhileofferinga
transitionbetweentheLargeScaleCommercialzoneatthetopofWalkerAvenue,andthe
existingresidentialdevelopmentalongthelowerhalfofthestreet.
6. AdjacencytoResidentialNeighbourhood.Thepropertyabutsaresidentialplanarea.The
adjacentpropertyiszonedR1.Theproximitytotheresidentialareacreatesanundesirable
locationforalargescalecommercialdevelopmentforbothresidentsandbigboxcommercial
retailersalike.Allowingforamixeduseresidential/commercialdevelopmentonthissitewould
createamuchneededtransitionbetweentheLargeScaleCommercialzoneandthelowdensity
residentialarea.
7. CurrentCommercialClimate.TheSackvilleDrivePlanAreacurrentlyaccommodatesover300
businesses.Withthelargeamountofcompetingbusiness,theareaiscurrentlyexperiencinga
numberofcommercialvacancies.IntheDownsviewMall&Plazaalonethereis133,817sq.ft.of
vacantcommercialspace.Thisincludes3spacesinexcessof20,000sq.ft.Itisclearthatthe
areahasampleamountsofexistingcommercialspace,bothlargeandsmallinscale.Theintent
ofTriArm’spropertytobedevelopedasabigboxretailsiteisobviouslyoutofdateandnotin
keepingwiththeneedsofthecommunity.Aprimarilyresidentialdevelopmentonthesite
wouldservetohelpstimulatetheexistingcommercialareawhilecreatingavibranturban
community.
3|P a g e Tri-Arm Holdings Ltd.
2. ProposedDevelopmentAgreement–MixedUseResidential/CommercialBuildings
ProposalSummary
TriArmHoldingsproposestodeveloptwomixeduseresidential/commercialbuildingsonPID’s
41077785&41077793locatedatWalkerAvenue.Theproposedbuildingsarecomprisedofatotalof
124residentialunitsaswellas10,000sq.ft.ofcommercialspace.
BuildingA,frontingonOldSackvilleRoadandWalkerAvenuewillconsistof68multifamilyunitsaswell
as5,000sq.ft.ofgroundfloorcommercialspace.BuildingB,frontingon8WalkerAvenue,willconsistof
56multifamilyunitsaswellas5,000sq.ft.ofcommercialspace.
ThistransitorienteddevelopmentisadjacenttotheMetroTransitPark&RideSackvillehubproviding
anopportunitytoencourageresidentstotakeadvantageofthepublictransportationsystem.The
commercialspacewillalsoencouragemorepedestrianorientedusesinthearea.
BuildingForm
Theproposeddevelopmenthasbeendesignedinsuchawayastocreateavisuallyattractivelandmark
buildingfortheSackvilleDrivearea.Thedevelopmenttakesadvantageoftheextensiveroadfrontage
onWalkerAvenueandOldSackvilleDrivebyaligningthebuildingsalongtheroadandhidingtheabove
groundparkingfromstreetview.Theuniquearticulatedfaçadeandrooflineofthebuildingwillimprove
thequalityandimageofthestreetscape.
Thebuildingsare4storeyshighandarecomprisedofawoodframeconstruction.Construction
materialswillincludehorizontalfibercementsiding,premiumvinylshakes,compositemetalpanelsand
glass.Eachunitabovegroundlevelwillbeprovidedwithaglasspanelbalconywithaluminumrailings.
Aboveandbelowgroundparkingisprovidedfortheresidentialandcommercialspacetotalling218
spaces(94aboveground,124below).Accesstotheundergroundparkingwillbeviathenorthwestside
ofWalkerAvenue.AccesstotheabovegroundparkingwillbeprovidedonOldSackvilleRoadandthe
southwestsideofWalkerAvenue.Thesestrategicallyplacedaccesspointswillensuretrafficefficiency
toandfromthedevelopment.
Yourtimelyreviewandresponsetoourproposalismuchappreciated
YoursTruly,
ARMCOCAPITALINC.
Original signed
EmmaMcCully
PlanningCoordinator
4|P a g e Tri-Arm Holdings Ltd.
Attachments
ApplicationForm
Chequeintheamountof$2,600
ConceptPlan(site/buildingplans)–September20,2013
TrafficImpactStatement–August14,2013
ServicingSchematic–September20,2013
PotentialDevelopmentDensityAnalysis–May29,2013
5|P a g e

Download Report