Toronto City Council recently voted to accept a settlement offer on plans to redevelop the old Brennan Pontiac dealership into a two-storey retail space. Local councillor Jaye Robinson amended the motion to say that if the city could not agree with the developer on the details of the site plan city staff would be directed to attend the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) hearing next month. “If indeed it [the settlement] was approved — and it was that day — there was a safety net for residents,” she said. “It’s really not a done deal.”
If accepted by the appeal board, the settlement would see the building’s lot coverage, floor area and parking spaces reduced. Setbacks would be increased and some of the density would be shifted to the ground floor.
Michael Goldberg, a lawyer for the developer, said the hope is to settle with everyone. “There was discussion amongst city staff, with the project team, and there were compromises of various sorts made to address comments from the city staff,” he said.
Ben Daube, president of the Sherwood Park Residents’ Association, said his group has three minor suggestions it would like to see incorporated into the plans.
“If the applicant can agree to those … then we are all going to be able to save ourselves a bunch of money,” he said.
Daube couldn’t get into specifics because discussions between parties are subject to confidentiality at this stage. But, he reiterated concerns about traffic as well as the compatibility of building a big box–like store near an established neighbourhood.
In the meantime, Robinson said the city is undertaking a traffic study, so there is a measure of what the flow is like before any development occurs. Should it get approved, she intends to ensure the strictest of parking and traffic enforcement in the area.