All posts in 200 Keele Street

Etobicoke York Community Council recommends that:

1.            City Council refuse application No. 08  208726 WET 13 OZ to amend the Zoning By-law and Official Plan, at 200 Keele Street, and 195 and 203 Oakmount Road, and support the decision of the Deputy Secretary-Treasurer of the Etobicoke York District panel Committee of Adjustment to refuse consent to sever the rear portions of 195 and 203 Oakmount Road.

2.            City Council refuse application No. 08 208852 WET 00 RH for a permit under Municipal Code Chapter 667 to demolish rental housing at 200 Keele Street.

3.            City Council direct the City Solicitor and other appropriate staff to attend, if necessary, at the Ontario Municipal Board, to support City Council’s decision to refuse the Zoning and Official Plan Amendment applications and to support the decision of the Deputy Secretary-Treasurer of the Etobicoke York District panel Committee of Adjustment to refuse consent to sever the rear portions of 195 and 203 Oakmount Road, as represented by the proposal and appeals outlined in the report (December 16, 2009) from the Director, Transportation Services, Etobicoke York District.

2010-01-12 Decision Document link PDF hosted at the blog

………………….nice tree cover for how long?

THE REZONING application for 200 Keele st St in another modified form is up at the city council tomorrow. One of the important community related issues is Ravine Control and Tree Protection.

(see related posts for background on the development proposal)

from the staff report

Ravine Control and Tree Protection

The entire property at 200 Keele Street and the rear portions of the properties at 195 – 203 Oakmount Road are protected under the c. 658 of the Toronto Municipal Code – Ravine and Natural Feature Protection Bylaw (the Ravine Protection By-law). The purpose of the Ravine Protection By-law is to promote the management, protection and conservation of ravines and associated natural and woodland areas and to prohibit and regulate the injury and destruction of trees, filling, grading and dumping in defined areas.

The revised proposal would result in removal of at least 111 trees, injury to at least three other trees and the loss of approximately 1,900 square metres of available growing space in an area protected under the Ravine Protection Bylaw. The vegetation cover in this area is functioning as a natural area and is contributing to the overall canopy cover in the city.

With stewardship, this area could be improved. Urban Forestry RNFP does not support the application to allow the consolidation of the portions of the properties at 195 and 203 Oakmount Road with the property at 200 Keele

Street as the proposal to develop the consolidated land would result in the loss of tree canopy and growing area that is not in keeping with the purpose of the Ravine Protection.

a link contributed by a blog reader

City staff lawyers to be appointed to represent the City Planning position. Here is the link again: http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2010/ey/bgrd/backgroundfile-25771.pdf

The revised OPA/rezoning application received by the City on August 27, 2009 proposes to retain 14 of the 15 townhouse units (since there is considerable protection for mid-range and affordable rental housing). The new plan is to build 13 townhouse units in the rear yards of 195-203 Oakmount (some of the new building might be 200 Keele Street) and to access these by a private road along the north side of 200 Keele Street.

All of the concerns outlined in the City’s preliminary report are still valid, including rental concerns since the proposal amounts to an intensification of a rental site.

The matter comes before York Etobicoke Community Council on the morning of Tuesday January 12, 2010 (agenda pending).

From there it goes to the full City Council on January 26 and 27. Next comes the OMB prehearing scheduled for Tuesday, February 23 at 9:00 in the morning. The OMB hearing itself is scheduled for three weeks starting Monday April 12 at 10:00 am.

Ontario Municipal Board document PDF document download. (hosted here at the blog)

Ontario Municipal Board document PDF document download. (hosted at the OMB)

At Community Council the issue will be whether to release City staff to defend the City’s position at the OMB appeal. The councillors will hear deputations (maximum length 5 minutes each), so it’s important to attend this meeting (that’s Tuesday, January 12) if you possibly can.    City Council does not hear deputations.

By the February 23rd OMB prehearing, the City will have determined its position, and the newly formed Lithuania Ravine Residents and Ratepayers Association, a party to the OMB appeal, will have done the same. Residents have until 10:00 am February 23 to decide if they wish to shelter under the Ravine Association or if they wish to be participants and to inform the OMB of their decision.

At present, the city’s response to the new proposal is not posted. The issues (Neighbourhoods, Ravine protection, the Built envionment ie road access, and Rental housing), however, have not changed.
See you on January 12.

…submitted in comment by reader Leslie, links and images added by the  blog

                                          This development goes before council Thursday

Excerpts from various city reports…

Urban Forestry Ravine and Natural Feature Protection (RNFP)

Urban Forestry RNFP does not support the proposal to consolidate the portions of the properties at 195 – 203 Oakmount Road with the property at 200 Keele Street

the regulations affecting said properties….

The entire property at 200 Keele Street and the rear portions of the properties at 195 – 203 Oakmount Road are subject to provisions of the City of Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 658 – Ravine and Natural Feature Protection

The plans of the developer that relate to the above regulations

STAFF REPORT ACTION  200 Keele Street, 195 & 203 Oakmount Rd.

This development proposal has a lot to do with the discussion of density and the unusual plan to sever the  rear portion of yard.This Google search of the sever issue indicates this request is not put forward by applicants much at all.

While the west end of Toronto is going into a new and long phase of greatly increasing the density, severing backyards will somehow greatly change the characteristic common size yard in the community. This will affect the spatial characteristics and site provisions  … Minimum lot size, building height, bulk, setback, and yard requirements that are ..requisite to maintaining the vernacular of the built community 

Want the developer wants  a excerpt from city staff report…

The applicant is proposing to sever the rear portions of 195 and 203 Oakmount Road and add it to the property at 200 Keele Street to construct a two block, three-storey, 24-unit condominium townhouse development. The existing 15-unit rental townhouse block will be demolished

and a reminder this application has stated that 119 trees are slated for removal

Commenter Brandy posted this comment today about the 200 Keele St. development., She  is reporting on the community meeting held last week

…here is Brandy’s comment thanks again Brandy

Glad there is interest out there. Thanks for posting! (I’ve never “posted” to a “blog” before)There is good reason to be concerned. Many, many points were made at the meeting which lasted over 3 hours! And there are many substantial concerns ranging from safety and traffic issues, soil remediation, geotechnical issues, historical creek identification, historical value of property and nature of the neighborhood, destruction of ravine, complete lack of replacement of rental housing, serious human, social and environmental issues should any of this application be allowed. For many questions, the developer’s people did not have answers. (more detail later) On the trees, I believe the developer’s arborist stated that 119 trees are slated for removal should this application be allowed. Although 3 times that would be required to be planted by the developer in the “neighborhood”, apparently only about 56 would be planted on the subject lands. So much for Ravine designation.

Thanks for your interest and response. The developer is pushing the City to move forward with the severance applications for 203 and 195 Oakmount and this hearing is now scheduled for April 23, 2009 — notice to those within 60 meters should be here any day! Although the City planners strongly recommeded the severance should move in tandem with the re-zoning and Official Plan amendment applications as a comprehensive package, the severance is being pushed and so interest and attendance will be very important! Brandy

Update from Brandy Sat 11:29am

In addition to seeking Demolition and Conversion permission re: existing 200 Keele St townhouses, and in addition to seeking severance of rear yards of 195 and 203 Oakmount Rd (severances appear to be on consent), there are also now applications to reduce the landscaped open space at 195 Oakmount Road, and to convert 203 Oakmount to duplex (developer’s people were not clear on this and didn’t appear to even know about it at the meeting, but this was included in notice and the architect thought he could make 203 Oakmount into 2 x 1400 sq. ft. living spaces without touching the exterior!), to “eliminate required parking” at 203 Oakmount Rd (like parking’s not already bad enough!), and then the applications to add rear yards to 200 Keele, and to build 22 townhouse condos and 4 rental townhouses, with associated variances, exemptions etc.  Point of interest from the meeting, there is not one example in our neighborhood vicinity where development has proceeded by acquisition of back yards! I would attach photos of the Notices posted this morning, but not sure how. My thanks to the moderator: I don’t actually know how to blog, but this matter is important enough to figure it out!

Commenter Brandy posted this comment today about the 200 Keele St. development., good thing she did because we forgot to post the info we have about it thanks.

…here is Brandy’s comment 

This is to let people know there is a community consultation meeting this evening, Thursday, April 2, 2009 at 7pm in the cafeteria at Humberside HS, regarding the development proposal to build condos at 200 Keele (n/w corner Glenlake & Keele) as well as the backyard slope and ravine lands of 203 and 195 Oakmount Roads. Any and all interest and attendance of community is important. The developer, their lawyer, their agent, Councillor Saundercook, as well as City staff are all expected to be present. 

…and here is the info the blog had and forgot to post sorry!

Information provided by city planning re the format of the meeting.

There is no formal agenda for the meeting, however it will generally follow our usual format being: