A potential Yonge Street condominium development is facing several planning hurdles because a portion of the site is on conservation land regulated by the Toronto Region Conservation Area (TRCA).
The site just north of York Mills Road is zoned in two sections. The western portion is zoned for commercial use, and the eastern portion is zoned as greenbelt (G), permitting primarily recreational and agricultural use. The western portion was approved for an office building back in 1990 but has since been used only as a parking lot.
Now the developers, Ire-Yonge Developers Inc., want to proceed with a 12-storey, mixed-use building, but their application needs amendments, as the new proposed building will encroach on the protected area.
Coun. Jaye Robinson is holding a meeting later this month with the developer and local residents. “I think the two most prevalent issues are the height of the building and the heavily treed area on the eastern portion,” she said. “That’s something that the neighbourhood wants protected.”
Doug Farley, president of the Yonge Ridge Homeowners’ Association is also concerned about underground parking and soil stability.
“They’re going to have to dig deep for five levels of parking,” he said. “That’s going to be a nightmare.”
The developers are still required to submit a Natural Heritage Impact Study before the application is processed.
“Because of the complex slopes and historical developments that have occurred, we try to be quite careful when there’s any new development,”said Carolyn Woodland, director of planning and development for the TRCA. “We go through a very stringent site-planning process.”