planning/urban design brief - barrie.ca hall/planning-and-development/proposed... · urban design...

Tel: (705) 812-3281 Fax: (705) 812-3438 Email: [email protected]

1 5 0 DUNLOP S TR E E T E A ST , SU I TE 2 0 1 , BA R R I E ON TA R IO L4 M 1 B2

PLANNING/URBAN DESIGN BRIEF

309 Bayfield Street

City of Barrie

INNOVATIVE PLANNING SOLUTIONS

planners project managers land development

URBAN DESIGN BRIEF

SITE PLAN APPLICATION

Tel: (705) 812-3281 Fax: (705) 812-3438 Email: [email protected]

1 5 0 DUNLOP S TR E E T E A ST , SU I TE 2 0 1 , BA R R I E ON TA R IO L4 M 1 B2

309 Bayfield Street

City of Barrie

COUNTY OF SIMCOE

PLANNING/URBAN DESIGN BRIEF

PREPARED BY

INNOVATIVE PLANNING SOLUTIONS

150 DUNLOP STREET EAST, SUITE 201

BARRIE, ONTARIO L4M 1B2

TEL: (705) 812-3281

FAX: (705) 812-3438

February 2017

URBAN DESIGN BRIEF


IPS File No. 17-676 February 2017

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1.0 Purpose 1 2.0 Content 1 2.1 Introduction 1 2.2 Urban Design Guidelines 5 2.3 Site and Architectural Design 8 3.0 Summary and Conclusion 13

FIGURES

FIGURE 1: 309 Bayfield Street – Current Condition FIGURE 2: Subject Lands FIGURE 3: Shell Gas Station FIGURE 4: Red Lobster and Crock & Block Restaurants FIGURE 5: Two-Storey Commercial/Retail Plaza FIGURE 6: Canadian Tire and Bayfield Mall FIGURE 7: Site Plan FIGURE 8: 3D Perspective Drawing FIGURE 9: Landscape Plan

APPENDIX

APPENDIX 1: Site Plan APPENDIX 2: Landscape Plan APPENDIX 3: Photometrics Plan

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Planning/Urban Design Brief – 309 Bayfield Street February 2017 IPS File No. 17-676 Page 1

1.0 Purpose This Planning and Urban Design Brief, addresses the various guidelines and policies developed to direct urban design within the City of Barrie. The guidelines and policies have been reviewed and contrasted against the proposed development demonstrating that the built form is consistent with the intent and objectives of the City’s direction for Urban Design. This Brief is part of a larger submission for Site Plan Application.

2.0 Content

The purpose of this application is to develop a high quality commercial development, located along Bayfield Street. The scale and design of the proposed commercial building is a vast improvement to the area and character of Bayfield Street. The design of the proposed commercial building will create a pedestrian friendly interface, providing additional services to the area. This Urban Design Brief, for 309 Bayfield Street, addresses issues of urban design relating to:

Land use

Urban built form

Building placement

High quality design and materials

Streetscape and landscaping

Pedestrian scale and walkability

2.1 Introduction/Context Analysis

The subject lands are located at 309 Bayfield Street, in the City of Barrie, in the County of Simcoe. The site is located on the east side of Bayfield Street, just north of the Highway 400 interchange. The subject land has a total area of 0.91 ha (2.25 acres), with 74.9 metres (245.7 feet) of frontage on Bayfield Street. Bayfield Street is identified as an arterial road, as identified on Schedule ‘D’ of the Official Plan. The site is serviced by municipal water and sewer.

The subject lands are designated General Commercial on Schedule ‘A’ Land Use of the Official Plan and are zoned General Commercial (C4) in the Comprehensive Zoning By-law. Within the General Commercial designation and zone a number of commercial uses are permitted.

The development proposes to build a Starbucks coffee shop with an area of 182m² (2000ft²) with a drive-through facility. A Starbucks is considered a restaurant use, which is permitted within both the General Commercial designation and the C4 zone.

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Figure 1 – 309 Bayfield Street – Current Condition Source: Google Street View

Currently, there are two commercial buildings located on the property (Figure 2 below). The new commercial building will be built between the two existing buildings, where a commercial building was recently demolished. The site is fairly flat with very minimal tree and vegetation coverage. The surrounding lands to the north, south and west comprise of existing commercial development. To the east are single detached dwellings. The site is located in the Bayfield Planning Area, according to Schedule ‘B’ of the Official Plan.

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Figure 2 – Subject Lands Source: Simcoe Maps

Bayfield Street is comprised of a variety of commercial and retail uses. Along the east side of Bayfield Street just south of the proposed development is a restaurant (Flashback Diner) and Shell Gas Station, which will be demolished when the Bayfield Highway Interchange is reconstructed. North of the development are a number of restaurants (KFS, Red Lobster, and Crock & Block) and a two-storey commercial building containing both restaurants and retail stores. On the west side of Bayfield Street is Canadian Tire and the Bayfield Mall. Along the street are a few restaurants (Applebee’s, Burger King and Baton Rouge) as well as the Canadian Tire Gas Bar.

The current design of the surrounding area reflects mainly one storey commercial/retail developments. The buildings along the east side of Bayfield Street are set closer to the street with the majority of the parking at the side and rear of buildings. Whereas

Subject

Lands

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the buildings on west side of Bayfield Street are set to the back of the lot with large parking lots along the street. The images below provide reference of the current developments along Innisfil Beach Road.

Figure 3 – Shell Gas Station, to be demolished.

Figure 4 – Red Lobster and Crock & Block Restaurants, both buildings are set close the street with parking at the side and rear of the buildings. The buildings define the street edge.

Figure 5 – Two-storey commercial/retail buildings located at Bayfield Street and Ferris Lane.

Figure 6 – Canadian Tire and Bayfield Mall, with the majority of the parking at the front of the building, along Bayfield Street.

Access to City of Barrie Public Transit routes Line 1 and 4 are available along Bayfield Street. The bus stop is located less than 100 metres from the development. These routes provide access to various locations throughout the City including Georgian

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College, the Downtown Bus Terminal, Allendale and South GO Stations; as well as interacting with all other transit routes in Barrie.

2.2 Urban Design Guidelines

Within the City of Barrie’s Official Plan, Section 6.5 discusses Urban Design Guidelines, which are policies and guidelines that provide the framework for development and maintenance of a healthy, safe, convenient, efficient and aesthetically please urban environment. They intend to improve the appearance of developments across the City incorporating boulevard landscaping, street furniture, and lighting, signage, sidewalks and park/plaza development.

In addition, the City of Barrie’s Urban Design Manual was revised in 2014 and provides direction for many design elements within urban developments. The Urban Design Manual has been “established in order to implement the existing urban design policies contained within the Official Plan, to provide a framework for establishing Barrie’s future urban form, and to ensure that new development is consistent with the City’s vision for urban design.”

These policies have guided urban design decisions for the redevelopment of 309 Bayfield Street. The proposed site plan attempts to incorporate many of the design directives found within this document specifically relative to this development proposal and site plan. Both documents have been reviewed and comments are provided as they apply.

Section 6.5.2.2 of the Urban Design Guidelines provides the following recommendations, which provide guidelines for the subject site;

Building and Siting;

The massing and conceptual design of buildings should complement and contribute to a desirable community character;

The building’s roof design should screen mechanical equipment from public view and contribute to an attractive streetscape;

All visible sides of buildings should be finished and treated with a high quality of architectural design. Landscaping can be used as additional screening of exposed blank walls;

Building entrances should be well-defined and accessible to pedestrians and the handicapped persons;

Pedestrian links should be designed to ensure safety and provide accessibility between buildings and properties;

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Parking Areas;

Parking areas and driveways should be linked, to reduce the number of turns onto and off a major road;

Adequate disability parking shall be provided;

The visual impact of parking areas should be buffered through landscaping;

Landscaping;

Planting strips shall be provided along the street frontage;

Environmental Features;

The protection of trees, where possible, is encouraged;

Signage;

Signs shall complement the architectural design and materials of the buildings;

Utilities;

Utilities shall be clustered or grouped, and provide appropriate easements where possible;

Energy Efficient Urban Design;

Energy efficiency shall be encourage through site and building design including building materials, energy conserving landscaping, building orientation etc.; and

Energy efficiency is promoted through the development of a compact urban form that encourages the use of transit, cycling and walking, and focusing major developments on transit routes.

These recommendations provide a guideline to designing sites within the City of Barrie. They have been reviewed and considered in the design of the subject lands.

The Urban Design Manual provides the following recommendations;

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Physical Environment and Building Siting

Ensure compatibility of the development with the existing area developments. The visual character should be enhanced;

Buildings should be designed at a scale that is compatible with adjacent structures/development while respecting the established heights and setbacks in the neighbourhood;

Locate open storage, loading and garbage enclosures where they are not visible from the street or public space;

Design the building setback at a pedestrian scale, which contributes to a desirable streetscape;

Site buildings to reduce the visibility of parking areas, or treat parking areas with visual breaks such as landscaping;

Provide a variety of reliefs and architectural elements within the façade to enhance and diversify the visual presentation of the structure;

Locate buildings close to the street with unobstructed views of the street and neighbouring buildings;

Orient building entrances and windows toward the street to enhance surveillance;

Site Circulation

Provide safe, convenient and accessible pedestrian network from street to building, parking area to building and building to building;

Provide signage, pavement markings, bollards, trees and lighting where required to identify pedestrian routes;

Minimize pedestrian and vehicular crossings on site;

Provide sufficient signage and lighting in parking areas;

Locate parking areas, especially barrier free parking spaces, in close proximity to building entrances;

Clearly define primary vehicle routes on the site through the use of signage, curbing and line painting;

Provide walkways and/or landscaping around the building/structure;

Provide landscaping to screen parking areas, while ensuring views of approaching traffic, pedestrians and the street are not obstructed;

Provide appropriate snow storage areas that do not interfere with parking or site circulation;

Provide sufficient on-site vehicle stacking spaces for drive-through facilities;

Locate stacking lands to minimize disruption to internal traffic flows, site access and pedestrian routes;

Ensure that emergency vehicles can access the site;

Site Services

Ensure loading areas and garbage areas are located away from the street or screened through the use of landscaping, walls and buildings;

Design on-site circulation to eliminate reversing on public streets;

Locate recycling and garbage handling within the primary building or within an accessory structure;

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Provide interior waste storage areas for restaurants and commercial buildings providing food services;

Lighting

Select exterior lighting fixtures based on compatibility with the architectural design of the buildings;

Design and provide site lighting that considers all buildings and user needs;

Feature lighting is encourages to high-light building and/or landscape features;

Architectural Design

Ensure that the architectural design is compatible with the developing character of the neighbouring area. Design compatibility includes complementary building style, form size, colour and materials as well as height and scale;

Locate the main building façade towards the street. Avoid blank walls;

Enclose or screen rooftop mechanical equipment;

Ensure that main entrances to buildings are prominent and identifiable from the street;

Effective use of building materials, architectural details and lighting is encouraged;

Signage

Architecturally integrate all signs with their surroundings in terms of size, shape, colour, texture and lighting so they complement the building design;

Incorporate landscaping around ground signs;

Provide logical sign areas;

Landscape Design

Promote an attractive landscape treatment of the site to soften and improve the visual character of the development;

Ensure soft landscape areas on the perimeters of the site to establish streetscape appeal; and

Use landscaping to screen parking areas or driveways.

The proposed development attempts to incorporate many of the design directives found within both the Official Plan and the Urban Design Manual. The policies and guidelines highlighted here have been reviewed and summarized as they relate to the 309 Bayfield Street Starbucks development. The following section, 2.3 Site & Architectural Design, discuss the specific design elements of the proposal.

URBAN DESIGN BRIEF



2.3 Site and Architectural Design

The proposal consists of the addition of one (1), single storey commercial building, with the area of 186m² (2000ft²). There are two (2) existing commercial buildings on the parcel, a KFC/Taco Bell and Flashback Diner. In total, there will be three (3) commercial buildings on the site. The design maximizes the sites efficiency, use of land and the City’s infrastructure. See Figure 7 Site Plan below.

The future intent is to severe the lands which contain the new building (Starbucks) and the Flashback Diner, referred to as the South Parcel, from the remainder of the property, referred to as the North Parcel. A “shared area” will remain (which can be seen in the Site Plan below) which will require easements for parking, parking access, fire route access and above and below grade service from the south parcel and north parcel. In addition, this “shared area” will contain one entrance off Bayfield Street.

In total, the parcel has three (3) entrances off Bayfield Street. One provides primary access to the South Parcel, one provides primary access to the North Parcel and the third is a mutual shared entrance. The site provides adequate site circulation and traffic flow between each of the three buildings.

All three buildings, including the new building, are oriented toward the street. All buildings maintain a similar setback to the street. Starbucks provides two entrances, one located at the front of the building and the second at the south side, adjacent to the parking area. Sidewalks are provided which are accessible to all pedestrians. The walkways provide pedestrian links and ensure safety is provided. This provides an aesthetically pleasing and pedestrian friendly interface with the street and parking areas. In addition, the new building compliments the adjacent character through height and massing. As seen in Figure 8, the roof is flat with a built up parapet to screen mechanical equipment from the street and public view.

High quality architectural design is proposed. All sides of the builder are finished and treated with high quality materials. The south and west façades are mainly constructed of windows, creating a visual connection between the interior and exterior space, providing surveillance of the street and parking areas. Blank walls are avoided. A variety of reliefs and architectural elements within the façade are proposed to enhance and diversify the structure. Façade finishes include black brick, natural colour concrete block, dark grey Exterior Insulation and Finish System (EIFS), black prefinished aluminum flashing and black prefinished aluminum banding.

As mentioned, the site provide adequate vehicular circulation between each building. Barrier free parking is provided at each building entrance. The visibility of the drive-thru is reduced through landscaping and building orientation. Stacking spaces have been provided to minimize disruption to internal traffic flows, site access and pedestrian routes. Landscaping has been provided to buffer and screen the parking areas. On site lighting has been located within the parking area as well as on the building itself.

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Figure 7 – Site Plan Source: Lintack Architects Incorporated

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Figure 8 – 3D Perspective Drawing

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Figure 9 – Landscape Plan Source: Greenland International Consulting Ltd.

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High quality landscaping, trees and decorative paving will be provided throughout the site to enhance the streetscape and surrounding character, and promote pedestrian comfort. A number of the existing trees that run along the property lines will remain as they are not affected by the construction. They will continue to provide a buffer between the adjacent properties to the north and south. In addition, the trees and vegetation at the rear of the lot will remain. Again, this provides a buffer between the commercial developments and the residential lots backing on to the site.

New landscaping will including hardscaping along the front of the property with impervious concrete unit paving to match the buildings. In addition, a variety new of trees and shrubs will be added to the site. Five large concrete planters will be added along the street, which will contain a variety of plantings. These features will enhance the streetscape and provide a buffer to the parking. A patio will be located in front of the Starbucks which will be finished with impervious concrete unit paving to match the building and a decorative fence will be provided (Figure 9).

3.0 Summary and Conclusion

The proposed commercial development will be an appropriate addition to the existing developments along Bayfield Street. The proposal is aligned well with many of the Urban Design Criteria established by the City of Barrie. With a strong urban streetscape, coupled with quality design as required by the City’s Urban Design Guidelines and an appropriate transition in massing and built-form to adjacent uses, this development is poised to become a functional component of the urban fabric of the existing and planned neighbourhood.

Respectfully submitted,

Innovative Planning Solutions

Darren Vella, MCIP, RPP President & Director of Planning

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APPENDIX 1

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APPENDIX 2

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APPENDIX 3

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