It was a close call for residents outraged by a proposal for a massive new build for 10 Astor Ave. Committee of Adjustment (CoA) members were generally okay with the plan presented by the applicant. One raised a concern about the side yard variances. A second member raised a concern about the access to the lower unit which was at the rear, and involved stepping over a grate across a window well. He felt that was not safe or appropriate and made a motion to refuse the application, which passed three to one.
The applicant, a “frequent traveler” at North York CoA, will need to decide whether to appeal the refusal to the Toronto Local Planning Appeal Tribunal and make changes to the plans. So, the next step is unclear, but for now the application cannot proceed in its current form.
The experience with this application (to date) is notable for two reasons – the application’s “duplex deception” and Astor Avenue residents’ remarkable demonstration of an engaged (and enraged) community.
The application stated that a duplex was being built; this statement, a “waiver” of a complete review, permitted the application to move forward with limited review. However, on examination the proposed development involves constructing a detached house with a secondary (basement) suite, just as every residential property in the zone is entitled to do. The definition of a duplex states it is a “building that has two dwelling units….” and that “a detached house that has a secondary suite is not a duplex.”
The applicant’s zoning waiver declared that there were only two variances (both side yards), thereby taking advantage of the recently expanded permissions of the multiplex bylaws. However, in the opinion of the planner hired by the street, the application is for an “oversized detached house with a secondary suite, subject to maximum permitted building height of 8.5m and maximum permitted building length of 17m.”
An engaged community
This is also the story of a street as an engaged community. Astor Ave. residents came together united in opposing an application for a new house that did not fit the street – in height, massing, materiality and design, with an oversized garage and without a ground floor front window. And with an overriding concern that “now everyone can stretch their home to build a bigger mansion.”
A letter of opposition was submitted on behalf of 35 addresses, and some residents sent separate letters of objection. Nine residents (plus yours truly for the LRA) spoke at the CoA hearing in opposition.
This application struck a chord with Astor Ave. residents – but the secret sauce (to mix a metaphor) was the strong relationships among the residents, fostered through events like the annual street party, and their ongoing communications. And, of course, it spoke to the issue and the strong leadership of individual residents.
For me this application raises deeper questions, which need to be raised with the City, about such things as:
- -whether the zoning bylaws, amended to encourage “missing middle housing” are being gamed to produce much larger single-family houses, departing from the intent of the revisions, and
- -whether the CoA can refuse to consider an item at a hearing if there are questions about the veracity of the zoning waiver that is at the heart of the application under consideration.
