Planner sets record straight on Islington-Norseman proposal

Monique D’Sa’s residents association’s recent victory of city-purchased greenspace in her neighbourhood keeps her mindful of development intensification.

“I’m concerned about development,” said the Royal York South resident and environment chair of West Kingsway Ratepayers Association. “Norseman and Islington is a good spot to bring more people. We can take more development because of the (Islington) subway. I don’t think we can be too selfish and say (the area) is just for us.”

Recently, Toronto council voted 43-1 to spend $6.5 million to purchase the Fairfield Seniors Centre parking lot and adjacent playing fields declared surplus by the Toronto public school board. Only leading mayoral hopeful Rob Ford voted against it.

Creative financing finds the city repaying $4.7 million for the Fairfield greenspace to the city’s land acquisition reserve fund from community benefits monies paid by developments in the ward over the next three years.

The election campaign has turned up several issues in the ward north of the QEW, including development intensification, traffic calming and road safety in residential neighbourhoods and revitalization of the Six Points area.

Second-time candidate John Chiappetta, 54, called for a “balanced” approach to development in the ward. Condos are best set at six storeys, the 24-year City of Toronto building official believes.

“If the idea is intensifying this area, which is just a matter of time, we need to try to forecast it. I believe in working with developers to benefit the community as a whole…It shouldn’t be ‘they build it, we comment on it,’” said Chiappetta.

Chiappetta proposes an above-grade Bloor-Danforth subway extension to The East Mall he estimates would cost $40 million.

Morley Kells put it bluntly. “Over-intensification” is how the former three-term Etobicoke MPP and local alderman in the late ’70s described the mostly condo builds in the ward in recent years.

Traffic delays and “impaired” community lifestyles result, Kells believes.

“Intensification comes from having the Bloor subway line there. But there comes a point where you have to say, ‘We’ve taken all (development) we can in Ward 5,’” said Kells, 74.

“My other concern about intensification is there’s tons of money going to the city in taxes (from new developments), but it never seems to show up anywhere. Services never seem to be upgraded.”

First-time candidate and business owner Justin Di Ciano, 32, argued the community doesn’t want ‘jungle towers.’

“I don’t think our community wants a continual increase of high-rise buildings in our ward,” Di Ciano said. “That seems to be the going trend…” said Di Ciano. “I’m not someone who likes high-rises. I like low-rise with retail on the bottom. New studies at the City of Toronto dictate buildings can no longer be (higher) than streets are wide. I’m going to follow that.

“When the sun comes up, people who are eating on a patio on Bloor Street or enjoying a walk won’t have shade all day long.”

Di Ciano said he would propose a Bloor Street West Avenue Study to cap building heights on the major arterial at four or five storeys.

Mary Campbell, director of Kingsway Park Ratepayers Incorporated wants the city to undertake the Bloor West study to protect adjacent residential neighbourhoods from future development.

“We’re in a (development) lull right now. But I think there’s a lot to do,” she said. “Now is the time to get an avenue study completed for Bloor Street (West) from Prince Edward Drive to the Humber River so when development picks up we’re prepared.”

An existing Dundas West Avenue Study sets strict height limits of five storeys; six storeys if the builder funds community development.

Ward 5 (Etobicoke-Lakeshore) incumbent Peter Milczyn said he has tried to limit intensification to a couple areas permitted under the city’s Official Plan where infrastructure can support it, namely in the Etobicoke City Centre area and on The Queensway.

Milczyn, 45, denied the charge Di Ciano has been making that he has only fought one development at the Ontario Municipal Board in 10 years.

“I’ve objected to a number of development applications in order to significantly reduce what developers are proposing to do,” Milczyn said. “Developers generally do not buy property they know they will under no circumstances be allowed to redevelop. The issue is they sometimes buy property that they try to do far more with than should happen. That’s where I think I’ve demonstrated over the years I stand up for (restricting development applications).”

Milczyn said he opposed thousands of condo units proposed for the Honeydale Mall and A&P sites on Dundas Street West. Five years later, no development on the properties has occurred.

Milczyn said he also opposed an original application to build 1,400 condo units on the southwest corner of Islington Avenue and Norseman Street. He said he would “not necessarily support” the developer’s new proposal.

In September, the owner re-filed a new application for the Islington-Norseman site for two shorter buildings combined with townhouses, said Pedro Lopes, a planner with community planning in the city’s west district.

“The original application received in 2008 was for 1,410 residential units in seven mid-rise buildings ranging from eight storeys in two buildings fronting Islington to 12 storeys elsewhere on the site,” Lopes explained. “Staff reviewed the file with the applicant and held a small staff charette. There were concerns in a bigger neighbourhood context on the west side of Islington Avenue.”

Currently, city planners are reviewing the developer’s revised application, Lopes said.

“The application proposal received Sept. 7 is for 394 residential units, of which there are 131 units in each of two, six-storey buildings along Islington Avenue along with 132 lower-scale, ground-level townhouse units at the rear of the site with a light industrial building out back,” Lopes said.

Rob Therrien declined a Guardian request for comment for this article.

- Tamara Shephard

Posted in Etobicoke, News