background paper: downtown revitalization · strategic plan..... 8 3.7 objectives of the 2005 urban...

BACKGROUND PAPER:

DOW NTOW N REVITALIZAT ION

TOW N OF BRADFORD W EST GW ILLIMBURY

OFFICIAL PLAN REVIEW

For OPA Adoption | December 2016

TOWN OF BRADFORD WEST GWILLIMBURY | OFFICIAL PLAN REVIEW i

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DOWNTOWN BRADFORD REVITALIZATION BACKBROUND PAPER | DECEMBER 2016 ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................. 1

2. THE DOWNTOWN BRADFORD BOUNDARY .................................. 2

3. TOWN INITIATIVES RELATED TO DOWNTOWN BRADFORD ...... 3

3.1 Downtown Bradford Revitalization Strategy (DBRS), 2011 ................................ 3

3.2 Downtown Bradford Community Improvement Plan (CIP), updated 2014........ 5

3.3 Implementation Work Plan (2012-2014) for Downtown Bradford

Revitalization Strategy (IWP) ................................................................................. 6

3.4 Holland Street Reconstruction .............................................................................. 7

3.5 Objectives of the Bradford West Gwillimbury Development Charges By-laws

and Background Studies (DCBS) .......................................................................... 7

3.6 Objectives of the 2015-2018 Bradford West Gwillimbury Council

Strategic Plan ........................................................................................................... 8

3.7 Objectives of the 2005 Urban Design Guidelines Community Plan Area 2 &

2011 Design Guidelines for Downtown Bradford ................................................ 8

3.8 Objectives of the 2015 Bradford West Gwillimbury

Economic Development Strategy .......................................................................... 9

4. ISSUES TO BE ADDRESSED IN AN

OFFICIAL PLAN AMENDMENT ...................................................... 10

4.1 DBRS Implementation ........................................................................................... 10

4.2 A Unified Downtown Boundary ........................................................................... 12

4.3 Further Research Required .................................................................................. 14

APPENDICES

Appendix A – Downtown Bradford Policy and Zoning Boundaries

TOWN OF BRADFORD WEST GWILLIMBURY | OFFICIAL PLAN REVIEW 1

1. INTRODUCTION

Through the 20th century, Downtown Bradford was the shopping, social, and cultural centre of the Town of

Bradford West Gwillimbury. The Downtown was the site of the community’s public institutions, landmark

buildings and major festivals. Holland Street, the Town’s main arterial route, centred on the Four Corners

and served as south Simcoe’s premier shopping street and gathering point for young and old.

New growth is transforming the form and layout of the Town. In the course of a few decades, it is projected

that Bradford West Gwillimbury will grow from a smaller agricultural centre to an urban centre of over

50,000 residents complemented by additional growth in employment—both on employment lands and

throughout the community. Recent development has been concentrated in greenfield communities along

the edges of urban Bradford, with corresponding commercial development. Activity along Bradford's

traditional commercial core has suffered a gradual but marked decline in both market and social activity.

In response, Town Council has undertaken a number of studies to focus on the role of Downtown Bradford

to find out how to stimulate further reinvestment in the area. The updated Downtown Bradford Community

Improvement Plan (DBCIP) will complement the earlier Downtown Bradford Revitalization Strategy

(DBRS) that created a vision for supporting growth, redevelopment, and pedestrian activity in the historic

core. In addition to inputs from other studies approved by Council in recent years, there are a number of

policy directives considered in those documents that, together, would benefit from being included in the

Town’s Official Plan.

The implementation plan for Downtown Bradford, however, cannot be completed without corresponding

updates to the Town’s Zoning By-law 2010-050 and other municipal by-laws. These action items are

noted throughout this report.

DOWNTOWN BRADFORD REVITALIZATION BACKBROUND PAPER | DECEMBER 2016 2

2. THE DOWNTOWN BRADFORD BOUNDARY

What exactly is meant by “Downtown Bradford” differs based on the conversation. Figure 1 summarizes

the two boundaries as well as the C1 Commercial Core Zone (See Appendix A for full Map). The

designated Commercial Core lands generally front onto Holland Street between Thornton Avenue in the

west and Dissette Street in the east, and include Holland Court. The second boundary, shown as a

dashed, orange line, is the boundary from the Downtown Bradford Community Improvement Plan (DBCIP).

The DBCIP boundary includes all aforementioned streets as well as the properties fronting on and

identified within;

Holland Street from Professor Day Drive in the West to Dissette Street in the East;

John Street West and John Street East;

Bridge Street to Canal Road; and,

Barrie Street to Queen Street in the north and Simcoe Road to Thomas Street in the South

The Commercial Core (C1) Zone from Zoning By-law 2010-050 includes additional lands on the north side

of John Street and along Barrie Street.

Figure 1. Existing policy and zoning boundaries applying in Downtown Bradford.


3. TOWN INITIATIVES RELATED TO DOWNTOWN BRADFORD

The Town has undertaken a number of projects focused on the Downtown, with an eye toward

encouraging redevelopment and improvements within the current built environment. Through these

studies, the Town has demonstrated its strong intent to create a vibrant downtown.

3.1 Downtown Bradford Revitalization Strategy (DBRS), 2011

The Downtown Bradford Revitalization Strategy (DBRS) evaluates current conditions in the core and

identifies a plan to return investment, activity and people to the Downtown. The plan articulates both a

twenty-year vision of transformation in the Downtown and specific initiatives to reach that goal. Initiatives

are prioritized for short -, medium -, or long-term. The DBRS envisions the Downtown as a walkable urban

village that offers an expanded mix of locally-oriented retail, dining and entertainment and an increased

residential population housed in a range of tenures and dwelling types with higher density mixed-use

development located at the Transit Node around the GO Station, located on Bridge Street.

The guiding principles from the DBRS are outlined in Section 2.2 of that study are summarized below:

Create the necessary conditions to attract beneficial private and public investment in the Downtown;

Sustain and encourage a variety of businesses and professional services, offering the Town and

region a unique commercial mix;

Accommodate an increased Downtown residential population in a range of residential unit types;

Display a coherent, high- quality, made in-BWG visual identity, supported by Downtown urban design

guidelines;

Enable preservation and adaptive reuse of buildings of historic value; and,

Achieve appropriate transitions between new development, Holland Street’s existing main street scale

and adjacent neighbourhoods.

The DBRS also includes a redevelopment vision, featuring multi-storey development in a number of key

locations as illustrated in Figure 2, below:


Figure 2. The refined land use vision from the Downtown Bradford Revitalization Strategy.

The DBRS notes that six storey development (18.0 metres) is permitted broadly throughout the Core

Commercial (C1) Zone (See Appendix A). The vision of “nodes” anchoring growth and redevelopment

along the Holland Street corridor foresaw increased height in the following locations, as shown in Figure 3,

below:

In proximity to the GO Station;

The intersection of Holland Street and Professor Day Drive;

The intersection of Holland Street and Toronto Street; and,

South of the Four Corners intersection of Holland Street and Simcoe/Barrie Street.


Figure 3. Current (Zoning By-law 2010-050) and proposed maximum heights from the Downtown

Bradford Revitalization Strategy.

To make efficient use of existing infrastructure and create vibrant, urban centres.the DBRS also included a

detailed policy analysis of Provincial plans and policies, noting the considerable direction of documents

such as the 2005 Provincial Policy Statement, 2006 Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, and

2008 Simcoe County Official Plan

3.2 Downtown Bradford Community Improvement Plan (CIP), updated

2014

The updated Downtown CIP is one vehicle approved by Council to implement the vision of the DBRS. The

original CIP was approved by Council in 2009, and the most recent update undertaken in 2014.

The overarching goal of the CIP is to leverage private sector investment in the improvement of properties

through the provision of incentive programs and goes hand in hand with the broader public investment

strategy of capital infrastructure and public realm enhancements. The financial incentives offered through

the Downtown CIP are intended to support and augment the work of private property owners and business

tenants in the downtown core.

As outlined in Section 2, the expected outcomes of the CIP include:

Encourage intensification;

Support a mix of new commercial/retail and residential development and revitalization;

Support development that takes advantage of transit opportunities;


Maximize existing investment and reinvestment in existing infrastructure and services;

Promote an appropriate scale of infill and densification, and longevity existing building stock;

Promote social, economic and physical enhancement of Downtown Bradford;

Promote investment in the private building stock of Downtown; and,

Enable Downtown to become a destination for citizens and visitors alike

The Downtown CIP provides a number of financial incentives and programs to achieve these goals, many

of which are available to single-use properties and buildings, including residential . (excluding owner-

occupied dwellings) These include:

Façade, Landscape and Signage Improvement Grant Program;

Building, Restoration, Renovation and Improvement Program;

Planning Fees and Building Permit Grant Program;

Development Charge Grant Program; and,

Tax-based Redevelopment Grant (TIG) Program.

Many of these programs were set up to support five years of growth. In the 2014 update, the

implementation program for these plans was extended.

3.3 Implementation Work Plan (2012-2014) for Downtown Bradford

Revitalization Strategy (IWP)

The Downtown Revitalization Committee met on June 3, 2015, to discuss and prioritize a set of action

items in the DBRS that should be undertaken or initiated within the next few years. This became the

Implementation Work Plan (IWP).

In order for senior staff to integrate the aforementioned action plans within departmental priorities and

budget plans an endorsement of the Downtown Revitalization Committee and Council is required. The

exercise is to be repeated on an annual basis in order to review the status of projects underway, celebrate

completed projects and identify any new set of initiatives that should be added to the program. This update

was most recently completed in 2015, and identified the need to amend the Official Plan and Zoning By-

law 2010-050 to ensure those documents were consistent with the vision outlined in the DBRS.

The IWP identified a number of public space improvement priorities and as a result have created a

separate plan for public space improvement. These projects highlight the necessity for the Town to deliver

vibrant public spaces within and in close proximity to the Downtown area and to provide formal and

informal areas for public gatherings, relaxation and celebration. For example, the proposed visioning

exercise for the future use of the Community Centre at 125 Simcoe Road will contribute to this project.

Also, opportunities to accommodate a Farmer’s Market will be explored. The expected timeline is three

months and is intended to start mid-2016.


3.4 Holland Street Reconstruction

This project involves the design, reconstruction and “furnishing” of Holland Street between Dissette Street

and Professor Day Drive. The intent is to deliver a refreshed “main street” with improved aesthetics and

state-of-repair, with a conscious shift in priority from vehicular to pedestrian traffic—particularly within the

downtown core.

A conceptual design was completed detailing lane and intersection configuration, traffic modell ing and

vehicular movement options. Out of this process, a number of options were identified through extensive

public consultation, traffic impact studies and costing exercises.

As part of the Holland Street Reconstruction, the Town is currently undertaking a Class Environmental

Assessment and a number of alternatives are being examined. Currently, there is no investigation of

water, wastewater, and stormwater capacity planned as part of this work.

The study is tentatively scheduled for completion in 2016. Once this is complete, a committee-endorsed

and council-approved option will emerge as well as a detailed design. The detailed design will be

comprised of detailed engineering and landscape plans for the purposes of detailed costing and tendering.

This component will include an assessment of below-ground infrastructure to ensure they are of adequate

size and condition to accommodate the scale of new development contemplated within the corridor. A

business continuity plan will also be developed in order to assess construction impacts on businesses and

determine mitigation measures. Finally a construction plan will follow after the award of a contract.

Construction is expected to start in 2019 with expected completion in 2021.

3.5 Objectives of the Bradford West Gwillimbury Development

Charges By-laws and Background Studies (DCBS)

The Development Charges Act (DC) allows municipalities such as Bradford West Gwillimbury to levy DCs

on new developments to recover the capital costs of servicing and developing new areas (e.g., roads,

sewers, municipal services). According to Section 2(7) of the Act, municipalities can establish city-wide or

area-specific DCs that reflect the different nature or levels of services required or planned to be provided

in different areas within a municipality.

Section 5(1)10 of the Act also enables municipalities to provide exemptions, reductions and phasing in of

DCs. Since developers typically bear the initial one-time costs of development, it is possible that the

reduction or elimination of DCs on an area-specific basis could have the impact of promoting development

in areas where development is preferred by the Town. This one-time reduction would result in a lower

contribution to infrastructure funds in the short-term and in the long term, new development that could be

encouraged through this measure would help recover the lost revenue through the generation of additional

property tax revenue and the stimulation of economic and employment growth.


Credits are available under both Town By-Laws and the Act in the case of a demolition or redevelopment

of a residential, non-residential, or mixed use building or structure, provided that the building or structure

was occupied and a building permit for the redevelopment of the land was issued within five years of the

issuance of the demolition permit. Currently, there are no other up-front credits or reductions in

development charges beyond those in the Downtown CIP downtown of Bradford West Gwillimbury.

3.6 Objectives of the 2015-2018 Bradford West Gwillimbury Council

Strategic Plan

Bradford West Gwillimbury Council established a vision in its 2015-2018 Strategic Plan for the Town to be,

“a complete and healthy community where there are opportunities for everyone to contribute and to

benefit.” The mission is to create and facilitate opportunities to support the ambitions of residents and

businesses in an effective and efficient manner, and is to be achieved through the following six objectives:

Promoting sustainable job growth;

Encouraging a range of housing that meets the needs of our residents;

Improving and expanding recreational and cultural programs and services;

Improving the Town’s transportation system;

Providing/facilitating infrastructure that meets the Town’s current and future needs; and,

Effectively engaging residents and businesses in the Town’s activities, plans and priorities.

Under the heading of promoting sustainable job growth, Council identified, as desired outcomes, lower

vacancy rates in the downtown as a measure of monitoring progress. Strategic actions include updating

the Downtown Bradford Revitalization Strategy, updating the Town’s Economic Development Strategy,

and identifying opportunities for Council and staff to engage in economic development activities.

3.7 Objectives of the 2005 Urban Design Guidelines Community Plan

Area 2 & 2011 Design Guidelines for Downtown Bradford

The 2005 Urban Design Guidelines were prepared to assist the Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury in the

Community Plan process for Community Plan Area 2. Area 2 is one of 5 new Community Plan Areas

within the Town’s Urban Area identified in the Official Plan. The Area 2 boundaries are Holland Street to

the North, Melbourne Street to the East, Line 6 to the South and Side Road 10 to the West. These

Guidelines and the 2011 Guidelines are part of an overall Town strategy to provide an exemplary standard

for future development including built form, open space and streetscapes. The 2005 Design Guidelines

were intended to be flexible in responding to specific features of the various developments in the

Community Plan Area.

Both Guidelines identify Holland Street as the major arterial route. They detail that the development of

Holland Street and its adjacent areas should collectively define a new gateway image and community

focus to the Town. The anticipated commercial use provides a land use context that will allow the area to


evolve as a vibrant community area. Opportunities to include ‘mixed use’ would permit a combination of

residential and commercial uses to front directly on to Holland Street West and support a concentration of

active at-grade uses including local shops, restaurants and convenience destinations that will serve the

developing residential community to the south and eventually to the north creating a strong community

framework. The potential for Holland Street to be surrounded by a vibrant, compact, mixed use and

commercial centre will increase through the development of the road as a civic tree-lined boulevard

defined through elements including a planted central road median, street parking opportunities at off -peak

hours, pedestrian scaled amenities (e.g. lighting, seating, feature paving) and transit.

The 2011 Downtown Bradford Design Guidelines were created to further assist the Town’s Downtown

Revitalization Plan. The 2011 Downtown Guidelines serve to support the DBRS through a number of

functions for the Town analysis including:

An analysis for By-law updates;

A policy implementation and development tool;

A tool for community discussions and reviews; and,

A guide for development in the community.

3.8 Objectives of the 2015 Bradford West Gwillimbury Economic

Development Strategy

The Economic Development Strategy serves to prioritize the Town’s economic development opportunities

and support them with clear action plans. The Economic Development Strategy is a necessary addition to

the planning framework for the Town’s Strategic Plan and forthcoming Official Plan. The strategy

addresses the challenge of achieving balanced growth, providing a roadmap for the Town to proactively

shape an economy that effectively mixes residential growth with new job-creating investments in a range

of industrial and commercial sectors. Each action item presented in this Strategy has specific timelines so

they can be prioritized and resourced appropriately.

One of the major action plans identified in the Strategy is the critical need to rehabilitate the Downtown.

The Plan identifies that the Downtown plays a central role in shaping the life of its residents and is a

reflection of the town’s traditions and aspirations. Accordingly, there must be a commitment to enhancing

the standards of new developments and revitalizing those areas which have fallen behind. Over the next

three years a series of critical actions will be taken to execute the Downtown Bradford Revitalization

Strategy. These activities are reflected as part of the Economic Development Strategy to reinforce their

urgency and importance.


4. ISSUES TO BE ADDRESSED IN AN OFFICIAL PLAN

AMENDMENT

Downtown Bradford is intended to play a central role in shaping the life of its residents and is a reflect ion

of the Town’s traditions and aspirations. Investing in the Downtown is a necessity to ensure the continued

growth and prosperity of Bradford West Gwillimbury for generations to come. In June 2015, the Downtown

Revitalization Committee met to discuss and prioritize the action items within the DBRS. It remains the

Town’s intent to see these action items incorporated as possible into the Official Plan and Zoning By-law.

Likewise, there are other strategies and plans requiring implementation and harmonization in the Town’s

planning framework. Consultation to date has nearly unanimously been supporting of efforts to bring

people and services to Downtown Bradford—provided it is done in a manner that is sensitive to context

and history.

The intent behind this proposed OPA is threefold:

Complete the mission of the DBRS by implementing action items, as applicable, into the Town’s

Official Plan (and identifying subsequent matters for inclusion in Zoning By-law 2010-050);

Harmonize the policy approaches from the various Town studies to identify a single “Downtown”

boundary as the basis for future work;

Identify matters where further research and study is required.

4.1 DBRS Implementation

Items from the DBRS that relate to land use planning can be incorporated as policies within the Official

Plan. This would provide strong support for corresponding zoning regulations, and would provide direction

to various public works on lands within that designation:

1. Direct reference to the Downtown Urban Design Guidelines should be incorporated into the Official

Plan. This would clarify to developers how the guidelines are to be applied in evaluating

redevelopment applications and, if desired, the Downtown CIP.

2. Reference to “complete streets” policies should be incorporated into the Official Plan respecting

the redesign of Holland Street. Concepts produced to date affirm these policies, and introducing

these policies should not frustrate the road redesign process. Such designs are intended to

consider the form and function of the public realm during and after redevelopment.

3. Additional policies related to the redevelopment and expansion of existing public plazas, plus the

creation of mid-block linkages for pedestrians, should also be considered, to require developers

and staff to consider alternatives for providing such spaces.


4. While a prohibition on driveways accessing Holland Street, Simcoe Road, or Barrie Streets was

initially recommended, upon further research it is instead recommended to target parking spaces

in undesirable locations—namely, in any yard abutting a street. This remains consistent in

implementing the urban design direction on this matter, but better provides flexibility where an

applicant demonstrates, through a planning application, how the existing and planned streetscape

is not unacceptably adversely affected, maintains the scale of the urban environment, and does

not compromise the safe and efficient movement of pedestrians and cyclists.

5. Revisions to the use permissions in the Commercial Core designation are recommended to clarify

the full suite of uses currently permitted in the Official Plan and contemplated by the DBRS. Along

Holland Street, existing mixed use permissions should continue to apply. This corridor has long

been planned for intensification and remains a key area of focus in the DBRS and other design

initiatives in Bradford. Amendments that clarify permissions and built form, including compatibility

requirements, are are also recommended.

a. These compatibility policies would incorporate matters with respect to transitions in height,

that may result in adjustments to maximum building height in zoning.

b. This also includes an addition of two new “Special Policy Areas” into the Official Plan. The

first, in proximity to the GO Station, is detailed in the Lands Needs Background Report.

The second includes the vacant lands and two adjacent lots at the northeast corner of

Holland Street and Professor Day Drive, as well as corresponding lands on the south side

of Holland Street. All of these lands are located to the west of Thornton Avenue. These

lands are already designated Service Commercial and contain policies enabling mixed use

development. The proposed changes allow for single use residential development at key

locations—away from Holland Street and potentially allowed along much of Professor Day

Drive on the northern lands, and away from the intersection of public streets on the

southern lands—to provide for a range of housing forms that meet the Town’s housing mix

requirements and to ensure greater compatibility along the edges of existing residential

lands and support the Town’s intensification goals.

A number of these items—in particular, building height requirements and maximums, recommended to be

set at three storeys in the historic core and area to the north, six storeys connecting outward to the two

new nodes at each end of Downtown, and higher within the nodes—need to be further implemented into

the Town’s zoning by-law, either as-of-right or through future zoning by-law amendments to establish

conformity. These are also not fixed maximums, but “zoning maximums” in order to provide flexibility in

additional height provided certain design criteria and met.

The earlier policy recommendation to set a “zero minimum” on parking spaces in Downtown Bradford has

been deleted, to fully evaluate the effects of such a strategy in a future Downtown Parking Strategy. The

scope of this study is discussed in Section 4.3 below.


4.2 A Unified Downtown Boundary

As noted in section 2.0 of this report, there are three different boundaries used in the Town planning

documents to identify “Downtown Bradford.” It is prudent to managing growth, that the approach to the

use of land, and municipal resources for these boundaries be aligned to ensure consistent and efficient

development

Matters of Provincial interest and the Simcoe County Official Plan are all generally supportive of

redevelopment opportunities. Any guidance on how to manage changes to land use designations should

consider matters of character and compatibility, which has been contemplated by Section 8.7 of the

Official Plan:

Development is to occur in a manner to ensure compatibility with surrounding areas and between

uses. In determining compatibility, the following factors shall be considered:

off-street parking and loading areas, and garbage disposal facilities shall be located in such a

manner as to minimize the impact on adjacent residential uses, with respect to noise, traffic,

emissions and visual appearance;

the extent to which fencing or screening or distance separation can be used to minimize

potential adverse impacts between uses; and,

Provincial guidelines relating to land use compatibility.

In the current Official Plan, commercial uses adjacent to residential areas are viewed as generating

negative impacts. Therefore, Council should be mindful of limiting the potential for new development to

encroach into established residential communities. This is best achieved by adjusting the boundary of the

Commercial Core designation to include lands with existing commercial uses and contiguous stretches or

blocks of commercially-used lands. Additional policies clarifying expectations on how to achieve

compatibility are additionally recommended.

Schedule ‘A’ of the draft Official Plan Amendment gives effect to the changes described above. This

boundary reflects further research undertaken after the statutory public meeting to reflect existing uses,

zoning, and intensification potential related to the DBRS west of Downtown. The effect of the revised

boundary is shown in Figure 4, below.


Figure 4. The extent of the proposed Commercial Core (Downtown Bradford) land use designation.

Similar to Section 4.1, above, this boundary would need to be reflected in the zoning by-law.

Consideration should be given to limiting heights on the newly designated properties to serve as

compatibility and transition between the two properties. Further discussion on this matter is contained in

the Lands Needs Analysis background paper and the draft OPA attached to that report.

Consideration should also be given to adjusting height maximums to align with the DBRS in the majority of

locations outside of the growth nodes. These maximums would serve to shape form in these locations.


4.3 Further Research Required

One item suggested in the DBRS is a further reduction in minimum parking requirements to facilitate

redevelopment. This is good policy, as the cost of providing parking can be a deterrent and disincentive

against redevelopment—particularly where lots only have access onto Holland Street. However, this does

not ignore the fact that there will remain a demand for parking spaces in Downtown Bradford.

The full implementation of this objective should be supported through a Parking Strategy Study. Such a

study would comprehensively evaluate parking supply and demand in the Downtown Core. It would

identify a strategy for securing and maintaining supply—and provide policy recommendations for

incorporation into the Official Plan.

As an interim measure, incorporating policies into the plan regarding securing a municipal supply of

parking should be included to allow staff to analyze future development for public parking potential in

advance of the completion of a study.

Other items (including, but not limited to, heritage conservation policies, property standards enforcement,

and compatibility and character policies) are planned to be considered as part of Phase 2 of the Official

Plan Review.


APPENDIX A Do wnt o wn Brad fo rd Po l i c y and Zon ing Boundar ies

background paper: downtown revitalization · strategic plan..... 8 3.7 objectives of the 2005 urban...

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