It seems daunting to fight the saturation of condos in Toronto, but residents of Bayview Village have managed to ward off a condo developer’s plans — for now.

In December 2011, Amexon Development Corporation filed a proposal to establish six condominiums from 1200 to 1220 Sheppard Avenue East. The towers would range from 27 to 43 storeys and contain 2,098 units. “The density of the proposal goes way beyond the maximums for that site,” said Eric Bristow, chair of the Bayview Village Association’s (BVA) subcommittee to address the issue with the condos.

Toronto’s neighbourhoods continue to intensify. But information compiled by Toronto Hydro showed that Bayview Village is still at a mild to moderate density. Amexon’s application requires three times as many dewllings per square foot  than what the city’s official Sheppard subway intensification plan will allow.

Dissatisfied, residents from the BVA sought the support of councillor David Shiner. With Shiner’s support, city council voted to reject the application in June 2012.

Shiner said that the developers were given the opportunity to alter their application, which they did not take prior to the rejection.

“They were insisting upon what they had submitted,” he explained. “So the city staff took the unusual step, with less than 120 days after they submitted the application, of saying it’s the wrong application, that it should be refused.”

Amexon has appealed the decision to the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB), where a single individual appointed by the Ontario government will adjudicate a preliminary hearing on Nov. 22. Both the city and the BVA will act as parties in the hearing. “I would hope that the OMB would respect the community’s and the city’s wishes,” said Bristow.

Shiner, however, remained less optimistic: “I’m frightfully scared of the OMB, [which] never seems to support the residents.”