An application to tear down the home on the site of 1 Hedgewood Rd. has some residents along the street in an uproar, despite the North York Committee of Adjustment’s (COA) unanimous decision to reject the application on Oct. 20.
Residents occasionally see a new home go up that is larger than what is set out in the applicable bylaw. How can this be? Why doesn’t the city just come along with a wrecking ball and demolish the offending structure? Welcome to the Committee of Adjustment.
While Last Month the committee of adjustment (COA) voted down development plans for a proposed Bayview Avenue and Broadway Avenue grocery store and LCBO site because of size and traffic concerns, most say the decision was the first battle in what will likely be a long war.
A proposal to build a two-storey grocery store and LCBO on the former Brennan Pontiac site has been deferred. At a Feb. 17 committee of adjustment meeting, approximately 50 community members showed up to express concern over the proposed plans.
A proposal to construct a small apartment building near Bathurst and Bloor has been rejected for the second time this week. As we reported back in April, the developer, Green Street Flats, applied to construct a new three-storey, eight-unit apartment building at 91 Barton Ave. However, this proposal was rejected in a 2–1 vote, particularly
A proposal to expand the size and height of a mixed-use development at Bayview and Broadway is facing significant pushback from local residents. Both the Leaside Residents Association (LRA) and the Broadway Area Residents Association have expressed strong opposition to the plan. Back in 2021, an application was made to the City of Toronto for
A couple years back, when East Coast company Terra Bruce decided to buy the old Regent Theatre on Mount Pleasant and return it to its previous life as a beloved live theatre, everyone seemed thrilled with the notion. The facade and much of the theatre would be preserved, it would be modernised and enlarged. And,
A new business on the Ossington strip, dubbed a social bar, that garnered significant interest and criticism from the local community, which took over from a long-standing Home Hardware store that shut down in 2021, is getting closer to opening. IDK Social Bar, self-declared as “Toronto’s first social bar”, is under construction at 172 Ossington
A proposal to construct a new three-storey apartment building at 91 Barton Ave. near Bathurst and Bloor has been shut down after resistance from neighbourhood residents. After the decision, some expressed the belief that this type of conflict between developers and residents, who are at odds as decisions are made about what buildings are erected
A business dubbed a social bar set to take over from a long-standing Home Hardware store on Ossington Avenue has been the subject of intense scrutiny and concern among local residents. The hope is that the venture is not the thin edge of the nightlife wedge for a neighbourhood going through a transition. The journey
A proposed development at 29-39 Pleasant Boulevard in Toronto has undergone significant revisions, with the latest resubmission pushing for a 50-storey residential tower. The project, dubbed The Notable, has seen several modifications since its initial proposal in 2016. Despite receiving city council approval for a 35-storey structure, subsequent revisions have led to an increased height
An approved tall and thin 46-storey Yorkville condo tower at the southwest corner of Yonge and Scollard currently occupied by a charming vape store is adding an additional three storeys in addition to minor parking space changes. The development application dates back eight years to 2016 when the developer originally proposed a 59-storey condominium tower.
A recent development application for a property at 316 Bloor St. W. has hit a roadblock with city councillor Dianne Saxe and local residents raising concerns. The original plan included a 29-story mixed-use building, at a height of 98 metres. However, the developer later sought permission from the city’s committee of adjustment to increase the
The key person Olivia Chow should talk to for the provision of affordable housing is Jagmeet Singh. He might not be the prime minister, but he has a formidable card to play, the same card played by the NDP leader David Lewis in 1972. Fifty-one years ago, Pierre Elliott Trudeau was caught after the election
These days, there is a new trend emerging in the planning department of the city of Toronto. More and more developers are revisiting approved applications and asking for additional storeys. As the housing crisis continues and it looks more likely that the Ontario government will fail in its housing pledge, developers pushing up heights and
When the city was looking to promote laneway suites across the city as one way to help with the housing crisis, one slice of Toronto was allowed to opt-out and laneway homes are still not permitted in the area bounded by Avenue Road, the Canadian Pacific (CP) Limited rail corridor, Yonge Street, Rosedale Valley Road,
A developer is proposing to build six townhouses in an Annex laneway after earlier plans to build an apartment building had to be scrapped. The proposal for 661-665 Huron Street by Originate Developments calls for six three-bedroom townhouses behind two buildings that have been protected by the city due to a heritage designation. The site
Hogg’s Hollow residents Shannon Rancourt and Laura Lamarche knew something strange was happening in their neighbourhood after a heritage home was demolished without a city permit during the May 24 long weekend. “It really rattled us that things like that could easily happen,” Rancourt said. Then one day in July, while they were both walking
Hogg’s Hollow residents Shannon Rancourt and Laura Lamarche knew something strange was happening in their neighbourhood after a heritage home was demolished without a city permit during the May 24 long weekend. “It really rattled us, that things like that could easily happen,” Rancourt said. Then one day in July, while they were both walking
An early 20th-century Hogg’s Hollow home may be saved from the wrecking ball after Toronto City Council adopted a motion from the Toronto Preservation Board to include the building on the city’s Heritage Register. The home, located at 19 Plymbridge Cres., is a two-storey stucco-clad structure built in 1912 as stables for the Boultbee family
A local coffee shop that opened after over a year of legal wrangling is still facing legal challenges from a neighbourhood residents association that opposes it. Sula Kogan had hoped to open No. 211 Coffee House, located at 211 Avenue Rd., in May 2019, when her business licence was rejected just before opening day due
Last May, Sula Kogan was ready to open a little coffee shop on Avenue Road, just north of Davenport Road. She had renovated the space and purchased the necessary equipment after checking with the city that a café would be permitted. It was all going according to plan until the shop’s business licence was rejected
City looks to expand program across city as homeowners eager to add units
Leaside residents are concerned about boxy new monster homes and have found flaw with a proposal for a new house at 39 Sharron Dr., the current site of a revival-style brick bungalow.
Residents’ group argues local councillor isn’t doing enough for the community
