Notes taken at Neighbourhood Meeting Re:
U of T Student Residence Proposal at 698-704 Spadina Ave.
Monday, November 28, 2016
7:00 PM - 8:30 PM
Jewish Community Centre
Toronto, ON
Chaired by Bob B.
Attendance: 50+ residents.
Representing Councilor Joe Cressy: Raymond Ngu, Raymond.ngu@toronto.ca
Representing MPP Han Dong: ____________
Representing HVRA: Sue Dexter and Carolee Orme
1. Bob asked everyone to introduce themselves and where they lived. Streets represented: Robert Street, Major Street, Sussex Ave. and Spadina Ave., especially 720 Spadina Ave.
2. Sue Dexter presented an overview of building proposals currently under review in the immediate vicinity: intersection of Spadina and Bloor, Madison and Bloor, Sussex and Spadina,
the east side of Spadina between Bloor and Harbord and Spadina and Harbord.
- General concern re: the number of projects and the large size of the projects expressed by several residents.
3. Bob presented the university's proposal using slides. He outlined some of the concerns and also raised some questions:
Is the volleyball court within the proposal site zoned as residential?
Zoning by-laws stipulate residential use for this site, not commercial or use as a student residence.
Wherever there is a development next to a neigbourhood, a 45° angular plane should be observed in order to determine the appropriate height of the proposed new building. This recommendation has not been adhered to in the current proposal.
Density of the proposed residence far exceeds the allowable coverage of 1 times the area of the lot. The proposal is 9 times the allowable coverage.
The allowable height on the site is 12 meters or about 40 feet high, which equals 4 storeys. The proposed building is 23 storeys in height including a mechanical penthouse.
4. Bob presented excerpts from Bousfield's Planning & Urban Design Rationale which describe the proposal as both appropriate and desirable and in keeping with both municipal and provincial official plans for growth and development in that it "optimizes the use of land" in "transit rich" areas.
5. Bob told the group that a city of Toronto planner, Michelle Knierem, has presented a Staff Report on the proposal and the report outlines deficiencies in the plan with respect to maintaining adequate light and privacy for surrounding residents, mitigation of wind, attenuating the need for parking, the fact that 698 Spadina Ave. is being considered for heritage designation and thus could not be torn down, as well as all the zoning by-laws and planning by-laws re: density, massing and height and use of land.
6. Bob then opened the floor to comments and questions from the attendees.
Should the university expand across to the west side of Spadina Ave.?
The university has the right to purchase any property for sale including 698 Spadina.
The residence would be more acceptable if it were for married students with or without children.
The married couples' residence on Charles St. is in poor repair.
Residents at 720 Spadina Ave. experience noise and wind effects from the Mosaic building; one attendee described a large plastic lid as landing on her balcony on the 12th floor
U of T President Meric Gertler is on record as wishing to be a good neighbour and that he cares about the neighbourhood
Should the proposal be allowed by the city, taking the university to the OMB would cost a lot of money; previous efforts resulted in neighbourhood groups running out of money before being successful
There is an OMB ruling that U of T should not build or expropriate land west of Spadina Ave.
The residents should come up with 4 - 6 priority concerns and points for negotiation
Is there a way that the neighbourhood will gain green space as a result of this proposal being built
Let's deal with the playing field after we have dealt with the density
Delaying the project year by year may see interest rates go up and the project may become less financially attractive to the developers
Incorporate the facade of 698 Spadina into the building
30% of students come from outside the GTA, and many students take courses online, this may affect the numbers of beds for first-year students that the university has to provide in the future
7. Bob then went through the 22 problems as outlined in the letter to the community. Discussion ensued re: existing problems that will be made worse by this development, eg., poor mix of retail on Bloor, no clothing or shoe stores, no medical/dental services. He described with diagrams the 45 degree angular plane concept.
8. Suggestions for what residents can do:
1. Attend public meetings and speak up making your concerns known
2. Write to the city planner in charge of this project expressing concerns: Michelle Knieriem, Planner, telephone: 416-338-2073, Email: mknieri@toronto.ca, quoting Reference Number: 16-194679 STE 20 OZ in all correspondence
3. Contact Councillor Joe Cressy: Toronto City Hall, 100 Queen Street West, Suite C50, Toronto, ON M5H 2N2, Phone: 416-392-4044, Email: Councillor_Cressy@toronto.ca
4. Contact other downtown Councillors, as they will be voting on this proposal
5. Attend Community Council meeting; look for notification in your mailbox, and make views known
6. Help us go to the OMB
7. Write to U of T President Meric Gertler: Office of the President, University of Toronto, 27 King’s College Circle, Room 206, Toronto ON, M5S 1A1, Email: president@utoronto.ca
8. Copy of any correspondence with people above to Harbord Village Residents Association, PO Box 68522, 360A Bloor St. W., Toronto ON M5S 1X1, Email: chair@harbordvillage.com
9. Copy Councillor Cressy on any letter
10. Write articles; this is the neighbourhood that stopped the Spadina Expressway
11. Start a website devoted to fighting this proposal
9. Bob informed the group of the process: the city will hold a public meeting and representatives of the developer, the architect and the university will be there to take questions and comments. Residents are advised to be clear and concise in their comments, sticking to the points that the group feels most strongly about.
They are:
Density: acceptable density would comply with zoning, 12 meters
Height and internal use: demographic mix, not just students
No. 8, strongly supported
10. Raymond Ngu from Councillor Cressy's office advised the group that letters to the Councillor become part of the public record and are reviewed by Council.
Notes compiled by Carolyn F.
December 4, 2016