(11-18-2014, 12:38 PM)Owen Wrote: With all that said - I'm not too upset by the decision. I get it - council is focused on attracting and facilitating development. If this is going to the OMB either way, why not maintain the city's good reputation with developers and let the OMB be the bad guy. Similarly - as a tax payer, I agree with the decision - if it's going to the OMB either way, why involve the city (and OMB hearing would probably cost the city $50k-$100k at least.). At the end of the day, it was a rational decision, but definitely not "the right thing to do". In my mind, the right thing to do would have been to a) move the tower back to 10m setback, b) somehow incorporate Arthur Place into the development (i.e. buy the one side of Arthur Place and put million dollar town homes on it like they did with the 144 Park condos), or c) redesign the project in some other way (i.e. flip the whole thing) - and I don't fault momentum for not doing these things, I fault whoever told them they didn't have to.
Welcome to WR Connected, Owen. This is often the case in Toronto, where Council essentially passes the buck to the OMB, ridding themselves of having to make politically unpopular planning/development decisions. Often times the development proposals before Council comply with planning legislation, yet Council still rejects it... but that rant is for another time .
(11-18-2014, 12:42 PM)Owen Wrote:I hope that you and Momentum will be able to settle on a tower setback that works for both of you. Based on what you've stated earlier in this thread, I believe that your appeal is credible (you're not some NIMBY) and the Board will take into consideration what Momentum has done to address your concerns.(11-18-2014, 12:27 PM)Spokes Wrote: Thanks Owen! So will you be going to the OMB against Momentum?
That's the plan - again, not to oppose the project - but to ask for the south tower to be set back further to allow for proper tower separation so that Arthur Place can be redeveloped and intensified in the future as per the OP. Lots of paperwork and process we have to sort through.
My feeling is that that should you proceed with an appeal, the case will likely end in a settlement, with Momentum meeting you halfway on the tower setback issue (adding an additional meter or two to their current tower setback for a total of approximately 8 meters; 16 meters total between their tower and a future tower on a consolidated Arthur Place lot).