There’s an old saying, “Rome wasn’t built in a day.”
And neither will Toronto’s housing shortage be solved in a big rush, despite frequent new pieces of legislation with dramatic names like “The Protect Ontario By Building Faster and Smarter Act” – legislation promising to remove barriers and red tape to fast-track dense residential high rise development. The key criterion has become speeding up the planning process.
Toronto’s housing situation is indeed a crisis.
But important considerations are reduced when speed is the number one factor. There’s no time for sober second thoughts about maximum densities and heights, and real community building.
If you look at the wording in much of the new legislation, you will also note a troubling new trend. Much of it is so-called “as of right.” This term reduces any local municipality’s previous zoning requirements to consider important site-specific factors (traffic consequences, infrastructure issues?), in the name of accelerating the approval process itself.
With as-of-right zoning, the process is streamlined. There are fewer hoops for an applicant to jump through. Public consultation meetings take place less often or are even eliminated in regard to draft site development plans. And once an application has been approved, appeal rights are limited to the developer.
There is a lot to be said for residents’ input on development in our neighbourhoods. We know our communities and can point out flaws in one-size-fits-all development proposals which might otherwise lead to unintended problems later. It is useful information, not “red tape.”
As-of-right status gives a developer too much power. Each application to build should be examined on its own merits, as well as impacts on the location. It should not come at the cost of diminishing local democracy. The speed of the planning process is important but protecting and enhancing neighbourhoods like Leaside are important too.
The Leaside Residents Association board meets on the first Wednesday of each month. We invite you to join us and join in! Our next meeting is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Wed., Oct. 1st. It will be in person, at the Trace Manes building on Rumsey and Millwood.
