The precedent-setting Ontario Municipal Board (OMB)/Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT) hearing on the proposed 8-storey condo development at 2915-1917 Bloor Street West in The Kingsway is now completed
Last Friday (December 7) was the twelfth and final day of the proceedings (the initial phase took place over eight days in June). Lawyers for the developer (Fieldgate Homes), the City, and the Sunnylea-Kingsway Community Association (SKCA) presented their summaries to the Chair of the hearing. Based on all the evidence he’s heard, he will make his decision within the next six months.
In this last stage of the contentious hearing, your SKCA professional advisors did a good job of presenting their evidence. Prompted by our lawyer, Bruce Ketcheson, then cross-examined by the developer’s lawyer, our urban planner David Butler, and our urban designer, Rick Merrill, spoke strongly in support of the City of Toronto’s position that bylaw 941-2003, with its six-storey maximum building height, should remain in force in The Kingsway.
During the hearing proceedings, the developer’s hired experts and lawyers criticized our community’s well-planned development guidelines and actually made a number of inaccurate statements to the Chair hearing the case. For example, the Park Lawn Cemetery was suggested as a “green space” adjacent to the proposed condo even though it is a private property and not immediately adjacent to 2915-2917 Bloor Street.
Now we await the written outcome of the hearing, which will likely come down to the Chair having to decide if bylaw 941-2003 should stand, or whether the Mid-Range Guidelines used in some other Toronto neighbourhoods, plus the province’s Growth Plan (which encourages intensification, especially around subway stations), should guide development in this area.
The Sunnylea-Kingsway community should be proud that a very effective opposition to over-development on Bloor Street was mounted, including the support of the Kingsway Park Ratepayers Inc., the Thompson Orchard Community Association and Councillor Mark Grimes. Few other Toronto neighbourhoods have banded together with such focus and fundraising strength. We are very thankful that so far, well over 300 donors – all listed on the SKCA website (https://skca-to.com/donor-list/) – have stepped up to help preserve the esthetic of The Kingsway. The financial support of these concerned citizens has been crucial to our efforts to stop over-development, with its many negative consequences, along Bloor Street West between Prince Edward Drive and Mimico Creek.
We continue to need additional funds to pay the bills of our professional advisors for their recent work, and we want to include as many names as possible as contributors to the defence of our community. If you haven’t contributed to SKCA yet, now is the time to get your name on the list. And if you have made a previous contribution, please consider doing so again.
Donate by credit card by visiting our website at www.skca-to.com and clicking the Donate button; or
Write a cheque payable to SKCA and mail or drop it off to:
Penny Moles, 22 King George’s Road, Etobicoke, ON M8X 1L1; or
Tom Gough, 36 Meadowvale Drive, Etobicoke, ON M8Y 2N9
A tip of the hat and a big thank you to some of the biggest names in real estate in the Sunnylea-Kingsway area. Recent donations from Christine Simpson and Joanne Gludish, in addition to those previously received from Linda Tickens, Jane McKaig and Ana Santos are very much appreciated. Please consider their support of our community when choosing real estate services in the future.