The applicant Aurora Retail Corp. proposes a “Retail Trade, Shop,” which is a discretionary use if greater than 6,000 square metres per unit in this location and identified as buildings E4, E5, and E6 in Appendix A-2. The subject property is zoned MLM (H) - Mixed Large Market Zone with a H - Holding Overlay Zone. Removal of the H – Holding Overlay Zone requires City Council approval in accordance with Section 71 of The Planning & Development Act, 2007. The proposal supports the goals and objective of Design Regina: The Official Community Plan Bylaw 2013-48 (OCP).
Financial Impacts
The applicant will be responsible for the cost of any additional infrastructure or changes to existing infrastructure that may be required to directly or indirectly support the development, in accordance with City standards and applicable legal requirements. The applicant will be responsible for payment of any applicable levies.
Accessibility Impacts
The proposed development provides eight accessible parking stalls, which exceeds the minimum requirement of three accessible parking stalls.
Transit Impacts:
The proposed development is located in near proximity to the proposed Transit Center identified within the OCP Part B.16 Southeast Regina Neighbourhood Plan. The development of other commercial services within Aurora has increased demand for transit service to the area; however, the existing development has not yet created sufficient demand to extend service to the area.
Policy / Strategic Impacts
The proposed development supports the following OCP goals/policies:
· Section D5, Goal 3, policy 7.17 – “Require new large-format retail to be located on Urban Corridors or within identified Urban Centres and designed.”
· Southeast Regina Neighbourhood Plan (OCP Part B.16);
o Policy 4.9(b): “The Urban Centre should be comprehensively planned to integrate”:
§ Small, medium, and large format retail uses
§ Medium to high density residential developments
§ An amenity space
§ A transit hub
o Policy 4.9(g) “Residential and commercial development shall be appropriately integrated within the Urban Centre, providing compatible interfaces and transitions between uses”.
Administration recommends approval to remove the H - Holding Overlay Zone and the discretionary use application to accommodate “Retail Trade, Shop,” with area greater than 6,000 square meters.
Alternatives options would be:
1. Approve the application with specific amendments to the plan.
2. If City Council has specific concerns with the proposal, it may be referred back to Administration for further review. Referral of the report back to Administration will delay approval of the development until requested information is gathered or changes to the proposal have been made.
3. Deny the application. Development of “Retail Trade, Shop,” land use will not proceed on the subject property if City Council denies the application.
The applicant and other interested parties will receive a copy of the report and notification of their right to appear as delegation at the Council meeting when the application will be considered. The applicant will receive written notification of City Council’s decision in accordance with The Planning and Development Act, 2007.
Applicant’s Proposal
The applicant (Aurora Retail Corp.) proposes to develop a “Retail Trade, Shop,” with a combined floor area of 12,367 square metres on the subject property shown in Appendix A-1 and identified as building areas E4, E5, and E6 on the plans shown in Appendix A-2. The Regina Zoning Bylaw 2019-19 defines “Retail Trade, Shop” as an indoor land use intended for the sale or lease of food, beverages, goods, products, merchandise, articles or things to members of the general public but used or consumed off-site”.
The Buildings identified as E1, E2, and E3 are not part of this application and would be processed as separate development permits.
Zoning and Land Use
The subject property is zoned MLM (H) - Mixed Large Market Zone with an H – Holding Zone designation. A Retail Trade, Shop exceeding 6,000 square metres is a discretionary use in the MLM Zone. The Holding Overlay Zone was applied to the site at the time of rezoning of the broader area. The intent of the Holding Overlay Zone is to allow for rezoning of a site, but to withhold approval of specific developments until a servicing agreement is executed and the property subdivided. Administration recommends removal of the H - Holding Overlay Zone as subdivision and servicing of the site is being reviewed by the Administration consistent with the plan of proposed subdivision (Appendix A-3). The applicant will be required to fully execute the serving agreement and obtain an executed subdivision plan prior to the issuance of a development permit. This process is running concurrently with the consideration of the discretionary use application.
The land use and zoning details of this report are summarized in the following tables:
Land Use Details | Existing | Proposed |
Zoning | MLM-Mixed Large Market with Holding Overlay Zone | MLM- Mixed Large Market |
Land Use | Vacant | Retail Trade, Shop |
Zoning Analysis | Required | Proposed |
Min. Lot Area | 1,500 m2 | 46,553 m2 |
Building Area E1-E3 (Combined) | 6,000 m2 | 1,291 m2 (Permitted) |
Building E4-E6 (Combined) | 6,000 m2 | 12,367 m2(Discretionary) |
Number of Parking Stalls | 155 | 430 |
Loading Stalls | 2 | 3 |
Min. Lot Area (m2) | 1,500 m2 | 46,553 m2 |
Min. Lot Frontage (m) | 22.5m | 223 m |
Max. Building Height (m) | 30m | 8.5 m |
Max. Floor Area Ratio | 1.5 | 0.29 |
Max. Coverage (%) | 65% | 29.3 % |
Minimum total site landscaping area | 10% (4,653 M2) | 17% (7,945m2) |
The landscaping shown in Appendix A-2 complies with the Regina Zoning Bylaw 2019-19 that any lot in the Mixed Large Market Zone requires a minimum total site landscaping area of 10 per cent. The proposed development provides 17 per cent site landscaping which exceeds the minimum requirement.
This application is being considered pursuant to the Planning and Development Act 2007 (Act); Design Regina: The Official Community Plan Bylaw No. 2013-48 (OCP) and for suitability based on the prescribed evaluation criteria for discretionary uses established in Sub Part IE.3 of The Zoning Bylaw. The proposal has been assessed and is deemed to comply with all applicable policies, regulations and standards.
Aurora Concept Plan
The proposed development aligns with the approved Aurora Concept Plan (Appendix A-4) which identifies the subject property for commercial use. The surrounding land uses are Retail Trade, Shop (Costco) and Aurora Boulevard to the east; Anaquod Road and multi-use commercial currently under development to the north (Landmark Cinema); and undeveloped lands to the south and west. A landscape buffer will be provided along the south property line to reduce visual impact to the future residential development to the south (Appendix A-5).
Community Engagement
In accordance with the public notice requirements of The Planning and Development Act,
2007, neighbouring property owners within 75 metres of the proposed development
received written notice of the application and a sign was posted on the subject site. No comments were received from the community through the process.
On October 17, 2016, City Council approved the rezoning of the development area from UH - Urban Holding to MAC - Major Arterial Commercial and MAC (H) - Major Arterial Commercial (Holding Overlay) Zone (CR16-123).
City Council’s approval is required pursuant to Part V of The Planning and Development Act, 2007.
Respectfully Submitted, Respectfully Submitted,
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