Many of you may have received a notice of the Ontario Land Tribunal Case Management Conference to be heard on September 21, 2021. This notice was mailed to many people and emailed to others. We here at South JT Grows wanted to explain a little bit about this notice and help you understand how you may get involved.
Brad Lamb purchased an allotment of land (1405, 1407, 1409 and 1409A Bloor Street West and 229, 231 and 231A Sterling Road) to build an 18-storey mixed-use building which steps down to 12, and 4-storeys to the south. His development will consist of 326 residential units, 101 vehicular parking spaces on three levels underground (the below grade parking is proposed under the 12 and 8 storey building component accessed by two car elevators facing Ruttan Street), 330 bicycle parking spaces and a very tiny POP park.
This is an application that was launched in September 2020 and shortly after a Community consultation meeting, Lamb launched an appeal of the City's failure to make a decision. The failure to make a decision isn't really the issue here although the City has yet to formally make a decision on the development, it has released a preliminary opinion rejecting the application for non‐compliance with many of the Zoning By‐laws and Official Plan. By appealing this non‐decision Lamb has taken the decision on the application out of the hands of the City and put it in the hands of the Ontario Land Tribunal. This isn't great for us but it is what it is. Before you start blaming the City for taking its sweet time, you should be aware that the City had launched a Planning Study (Bloor Street Study (Perth ‐ St. Helen's) That study was to address the issues in our area and to provide a framework for all of the new development in the area. These things take time and Lamb wasn't interested in waiting to hear that his building didn't fit the criteria for the neighbourhood ‐ he thought he would take his chances at the OLT. It's his right and to be honest he would've ended up here anyway.
The Case Management Conference scheduled for September 21 is the first official step in getting the appeal. The questions the Tribunal will ask at this preliminary stage are:
Who are the parties? What are the issues? When can we schedule this hearing?
The official hearing will be sometime in 2022. We'll send out updates as the information presents itself to us.
The first issue concerns us ‐ the people who live in the neighbourhood. After speaking to the lawyer, we have decided that SouthJTGrows should register as a "party" to the appeal.
By applying to be a party we have the right to speak, to make arguments, to call witnesses and to cross‐examine the witnesses other parties call. We definitely want to be able to do that as a neighbourhood association.
You may be wondering if you should be a party?
A party gets to speak, call witnesses and cross‐examine witnesses.
A party is an involved participant at the hearing
A party must have a legitimate interest in the appeal
A party must show up for all appearances
A "participant" by contrast is only permitted to file a written submission. That's not bad and will give you an opportunity to support many of the things that the group is saying while also adding your own concerns. We encourage everyone to register as a participant ‐ the more voices from the neighbourhood the better.
Finally ‐ if you are applying as a party you will need to state your reason or interest in the proceeding. If you are a resident adjacent to the build that is important to mention. You may also wish to raise your concerns about the development, here are some of our ideas:
too close to existing homes
impact on privacy ‐ proposed wall of windows
impact on existing structures (foundations)
impact of construction (noise, vibrations, pounding)
shadows/view/access to sunlight
noise from pool on the top
increased traffic demands (no stoplight at Bloor, increased traffic on tiny Sterling ‐ 10 second light)
increased pressure on TTC (pre‐pandemic TTC was crowded at Dundas West)
insufficient parking for residents will put pressure on existing parking shortages on Sterling Rd.
impact of increased density on all aspect of community living
lack of community services in the neighbourhood to support increased population (schools full, no daycare spots)
no green space in area ‐ insufficient green space proposed
cumulative impact of surrounding developments already approved (Sterling Junction, Loblaws/Dundas West developments) and upcoming projects
no real employment/business/community space proposed
no affordable housing proposed
emphasis on bachelor and one‐bedroom spaces doesn't consider the needs of community (needs are larger condos for families).
See the City's rejection report.
You can add concerns specific to your location and pass on suggestions to us at info@southjtgrows.org
If you are reading this BEFORE September 10 at 4:30 P.M., you have time to submit either as a "party" or "participant": PARTY: party status request form
The forms must be filed by September 10, 2021 (by 4:30 pm) by email to: benjamin.waters@ontario.ca
Case Information
Tribunal Case No.: PL210238
Date of Case Management Conference/Hearing: Tuesday, September 21, 2021
LINKS TO IMPORTANT INFORMATION
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