St. Andrew’s Ratepayers Association is considering enlisting professional representation after a proposal to squeeze five houses onto four lots was appealed to the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB), fearing the precedent the proposal would set for the neighbourhood.
The application was rejected at the North York committee of adjustment late this past spring.
The proposal for 184, 186 and 190 York Mills Rd. would have seen lot frontages reduced from the minimum of 18 metres to 12.19 metres, and the first floor height would increased from the maximum of 1.5 metres to 1.8 metres, requiring 11 exterior steps to enter the homes.
Cindy Weiner, president of St. Andrew’s Ratepayers Association, said that an agent for the owner originally brought designs for 11 townhouses and later a revised design of eight townhouses, to the ratepayers, both of which were panned.
She didn’t hear anything else until she got notification of the application for minor variances.
“In the drawings we saw, each home was of an identical design, resembling a townhouse development,” she said. “We’re concerned that this is completely uncharacteristic for the neighbourhood.
“He [the applicant] does have three lots currently, and one is a double, so if he wanted to subdivide the existing lots and build four homes, there would be no opposition to the severance,” Weiner said.
Comments from City of Toronto staff indicated that the first floor height would not be in keeping with the character of the neigbhourhood, as required in the official plan.
The 0.61 metre setbacks were also described as “inappropriate.”
City staff recommended that if the committee of adjustment were to entertain the minor variancs, that both the first floor height and side yard setback be amended to better reflect the zoning bylaw.
Coun. Jaye Robinson requested that the city send a planner and a lawyer to attend the hearing.
The agent listed on the application is Reza Akbari.
A person by the same name was involved in the application for eight three-storey townhouses on the corner of Bayview Avenue and York Road.
That application was turned down by the City of Toronto but subsequently approved at the OMB provincial appeal board.
Akbari did not respond to requests for a comment before press time.
A hearing date for the current application has yet to be scheduled.
