toronto condo

Toronto opposing new condo that would be 3 times taller than nearby buildings

For a city that seems to love putting new condos everywhere, this new proposal has rubbed plenty of Toronto residents the wrong way.

Plans for a new condo development at 4050 Yonge Street near York Mills Rd. are being opposed by the city and are headed to an appeal with the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal.

The proposed application calls for two new buildings measured at 21 and 35 storeys, with the two towers connected by a six-storey podium. Many residents and Toronto officials consider the proposed development completely out of character and a potential eyesore for the area.

"The tallest building in the whole area is 11 storeys and all of a sudden this one is way out of character where they want up to 35 storeys," Councillor Mike Colle told blogTO.

"It shouldn't be more than a mid-rise and that's why our planning staff doesn't like it either. Too much density and height for the area, and it doesn't suit the character of the area. The planning staff has not accepted it and that's why it's at the appeal tribunal."

Councillor Colle oversees Ward 8, the Eglinton-Lawrence region that the proposed development is found within. A number of residents in the area have expressed their concern over the development being out of character for the area and ruining the view for nearby homes.

According to Councillor Colle, changing rules from the provincial government are to blame for the rise in proposed condo developments that tower over local neighbourhoods.

"This is part of a familiar pattern where all the provincial rules have changed and now the sky's the limit on what you can build. That's why all the developers are coming back asking for extremely high buildings all up and down Yonge St," Colle explained.

"The problem is, the province now changed all the rules so they're allowing everything. They put the city in an impossible situation, that's why the developers are all going to the provincial appeal board which overrules whatever the city does."

While some have hoped height restrictions from the Mel Lastman-era would be able to stop such a development, Councillor Colle says that those rules go back to North York and are no longer applicable.

Colle and a number of other Councillors have received numerous complaints from residents upset with this development and others like it. 

He believes that the best way Toronto residents can move to stop their neighbourhood from being littered with eyesore condos is to contact their MPP since it's the province who often has final say over the heights of new buildings.

"They've changed all the rules and the public doesn't even know that, they've basically said the sky's the limit to build as high as you want," Councillor Colle explained.

"It's typical of what's happening everywhere because the new provincial pro-development rules, all the developers are appealing everything and literally going over the city's head. We have a fight on our hands and we don't control the final outcome. That's the provincial tribunal."

As Toronto continues to lose beloved stores, theatres, and neighbourhood spots to a swarm of condos, it can be nice to know that some people are trying to slow down the infestation.

Lead photo by

talkcondo.com


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