Deadline for comments regarding 182 Queens Ave. is Tuesday, March 16, 2021 at 4:30 pm. Please write a letter, if you haven’t already done so.
Update: Correction: 182 Queens Ave. in Mimico was built in 1902, new evidence indicates, not around 1898 as earlier noted.
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A previous post regarding Queens Ave. is entitled:
182 Queens Ave., Mimico
Just a brief note to let you know that the city has sent out the official notices for the next Committee of Adjustment meeting regarding 182 Queens Ave., and residents have new deadlines for comments and speaker registration. If you have already submitted comments, they are on file, and you needn’t resubmit them. If you wish to speak, you will need to register again.
The meeting will take place on Zoom on Tuesday, March 23, at 3:00 pm. This is the time for the session in which the 182 Queens Ave. file among others will be discussed. The file will almost certainly not come up right at 3:00 pm, so please allow lots of time to be available. You can also simply observe via YouTube: https://www.youtube.
The deadline to register to speak is Friday, March 19 at 4:30 pm. An amazing number of eight people lined up to speak at the last meeting. It is our hope that everyone will be able to register again. If you were ready to speak at the last meeting, or wish to add your voice to the number of speakers, please email coa.ey@toronto.ca or call 416-394-8060 and leave a message. In either format, please leave your name, address, phone number, and email, and reference the following file numbers: B0016/20EYK, A0141/20EYK AND A0142/20EYK.
If you wish to add any comments to the file, the deadline is Tuesday March 16 at 4:30 pm. Send your comments, in PDF format, to coa.ey@toronto.ca, again referencing the above file numbers. If you need help converting your letter to PDF, please contact me at jpill@preservedstories.com and I can help. Copying Councillor Grimes’ office at councillor_grimes@toronto.ca would also be helpful.
Finally, a note about the history of the house. The builder, Robert Murray Herod, started as a bricklayer, then became a contractor and formed his own construction company, Herod Construction, which built many homes and public buildings in Mimico and elsewhere in Toronto, and in Port Credit in Mississauga as noted at the History of the Town of Mimico website:
Robert Herod House – 182 Queens Avenue – Under Threat
Sample letter
To write your own letter, please feel free to copy the text below or adapt it to create your individualized version. Your participation is much appreciated. Every letter matters hugely.
Etobicoke York Committee of Adjustment
Re: 182 QUEENS AVENUE
File Numbers: B0016/20EYK, A0141/20EYK, A0142/20EYK,
We oppose the application to sever 182 Queens Ave. into two undersized lots and the associated variances. The impact of the lot severance and variances would not be minimal.
The developer does not have enough land to properly build two detached houses that respect the need for space. The impact on 182 and 184 Queens Ave. would be significant.
The proposed variances do not have sufficient frontage and do not respect the layout of a neighbourhood that recognizes the need for space. Queens Avenue provides this by working with the setbacks, driveways, and window orientations — by the creation of an overall layout that has been planned and thought out — in such a way that the neighbouring houses and neighbourhood are kept closely in mind. The proposed structures do not respect such a layout.
The proposed split frontage is 30% less than the minimum allowance. The proposed homes are tall narrow structures that follow neither the character of the neighbourhood, nor the spirit of the Toronto Official Pan. The reduced lot area would impact the neighbouring houses by creating a crowded space that is out of synch withe the readily evident openness of the streetscape.
The proposed side setbacks are .61m, 29% less than the minimum required setback of .9m. Under an older code, the 1911 home next door at 180 Queens Ave. was built this close to the lot line, but 182 Queens Ave. currently has a large driveway, which provides distance.
The proposed variance would reduce the distance between the houses to about 4 feet. This would significantly block light to the 8 windows on that side of the property, and make roof maintenance difficult.
The maximum permitted height of all side exterior main walls facing a side lot line is 7 m. The proposed dwelling will have north and south side exterior main wall heights of 8 m, facing a side lot line. 180 Queens Ave. has a short dormer for the attic loft at about this height. Matching that height with a wall the entire length of the new structure (now only about 4 feet away) would block out much of the needed light to that room.
A tall structure would also block much of the southerly light from reaching the small one storey home and garden at 184 Queens Ave. on the other side of 182 Queens Ave.
Looking at Google Map’s street view of Queens Avenue we can see that each of the houses was planned and laid out to respect the need of the next property to have light. Each was built with at least a driveway on one side to allow light to filter in. Windows are strategically placed on the side walls were these spaces exist.
Even though there are houses that are two storeys beside one storey houses, they are spaced or angled in order to allow sufficient light.
The proposed variances would have a significant adverse impact on both 182 Queens and 184 Queens Ave. Plans such as these do not benefit the neighbourhood. If tall narrow structures continue to diminish the lot spaces and open space between homes, the community will be strongly impacted. It will no longer feel like a healthy space to relax and enjoy walks around the neighbourhood.
We wish to also strongly underline that a significant amount of local history — aside from the history of the thoughtful and well-planned layout of houses as described above — is connected with 182 Queens Ave., built in 1898. The builder, Robert Murray Herod, started as a bricklayer, then became a contractor with his own construction company, Herod Construction, which built many homes and public buildings in Mimico and elsewhere in Toronto, and in Port Credit in Mississauga. We strongly believe that the heritage features of the house, and the history related to its first occupants, also warrant being closely taken into account.
YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS
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