Local Planning Appeal Tribunal refuses permission to allow >6 storeys on 2915-2917 Bloor St. West, just west of Prince Edward

Yesterday’s Local Planning Appeal tribunal (LPAT) decision in favour of the Sunnylea-Kingsway Community Assoc. is of interest.

As Pamela Gough of Toronto has noted:  “A precedent-setting victory for a small community group.”

Click here to access the LPAT decision regarding 2915-2917 Bloor Street West >

An excerpt reads:

[68] In closing, planning documents evolve slowly over time and require periodic
review to remain current. In the case at hand, despite the relative longevity of the ZBL and BK Guidelines, their contents were developed with intention based on
community input, and, at least for the implementing ZBL, passed after the new OP was adopted and in conformity with it. All of these documents allow for a potential wholesale transformation of The Kingsway from a traditional 2 storey main street to an intensified corridor of mixed use buildings rising 6 storeys. With that redevelopment will come measured and acceptable effects on the adjacent residential areas and on the quality of the retail environment. These changes are supported by the PPS and GP, and while conformity exercises may evaluate potential changes to current standards along The Kingsway, the current requirements, determined in accordance with the OP, allow for a level of intensification consistent with the PPS and in conformity with the GP.

[69] There is no doubt that the Midrise Guidelines, thoroughly researched and widely vetted, represent a state-of-the-art set of standards for the design of city-building along the Avenues. And yet that study itself recommended not imposing its guidelines on Avenues with their own standards already in place. The Kingsway, albeit an early example, underwent an Avenue Study that led to the BK Guidelines and the ZBL that remain relevant today.

[End of excerpt]