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Written by Gordon Prentice

Published: 13 March 2017

We are told a picture says more than a thousand words. So let's test the proposition. Here is 1011 Elgin Street at the time of its sale on 8 October 2015.

And this is what 1011 Elgin Street looks like today.

And here (below) are the immediate neighbours to the left of the Monster Home on the same side of the street.

I am left wondering how we got from A to B.

With this new Monster Home invading the street and setting the precedent, I should imagine the rest of Elgin on the north side will, given time, fall like dominoes.

It is all very strange. I recall the discussions about construction at Glenway and how new buildings and their immediate neighbours should, if at all possible, be like-with-like.

Clearly, on Elgin Street like-with-like wasn't part of the conversation.

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Details

Written by Gordon Prentice

Published: 13 March 2017

As I am driving down Elgin Street towards Leslie I notice this mega-structure under construction, sticking out like a sore thumb in a street full of neat, well-ordered bungalows and low rise buildings.  

It is in Jane Twinney's Ward 3.

When I get home I consult the Town's Zoning By-Law (as one does) and discover the area is designated RC-1 (which I presume is the same as R1-C) which is shorthand for Residential Detached Dwellings.

The maximum lot coverage is supposed to be 35% though this monster home at 1011 Elgin Street seems to be shoehorned into a tight space.

Detached dwellings come in zones with many permutations.

Lilliputian

The ones in this part of Elgin Street seem to be governed by a  zoning by-law specifing a maximum height of 10.7 metres or 35 feet even though neighbouring buildings all appear Lilliputian by comparison.  

Of course, the Town's consolidated Zoning By-law 2010-40 allows exceptions to the general rule. Where would we be without them, the exceptions? 

If a developer doesn't want to conform with a particular zoning by-law, it seems to me it is much simpler to put in for a "site-specific" exemption. The Town's Zoning By-Law has trillions of these exemptions which explains why it is a big fat tome running to 197 pages.

Space Invaders

These monster homes seem to be sprouting up everywhere. They are the new space invaders. 

If they tower over neighbouring properties then, perhaps, the area zoning was wrong in the first place.  Is the object to protect and preserve existing stable residential neighbourhoods or is it to promote "intensification" and the efficient use of land?

Different agendas  

If it is the latter we all need to get real. If you think zoning is designed to protect the public you better wise up fast. It is something for the developers and planning professionals to worry about. And they have their own agendas.

I am sure the new monster home in Elgin Street got all the necessary permissions.

I have absolutely no reason to doubt all the relevant boxes were ticked and everything was properly signed off.

And that is precisely what is so worrying.

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Details

Written by Gordon Prentice

Published: 07 March 2017

Joanne Barnett, the matriarch of Marianneville and developer of Glenway, was at her soothing, reassuring best yesterday (6 March 2017). She was centre stage at the Site Plan meeting at the Town Hall seeking approval for the latest tranche of Townhouses which will soon cover the fairways and putting greens of the now defunct golf course.

The fairways are now, of course, a distant memory. Today, they are churned up and muddy, much like Paschendale.

Ponds, like bomb craters, dot the landscape where future basements will be.

My spies tell me water continues to be a problem for the developer. I am told it doesn't seem to run away.

But inventive  engineers and hydrologists will surely solve the problem and make the water disappear.

Fewer Townhouses

As I am thinking about this, I hear Ms Barnett announce without ceremony that Marianneville is cutting the number of Townhouses in Block 160 (the area where she is seeking site approval) from 153 to 140. There will be 22 buildings with three to eight units in each. Later she repeats:

"There are fewer than the number permitted."

Why is she doing this? What is in it for her?

Ms Barnett explains:

"...although it is zoned for 153 Townhouse units we, because of considerations with respect to buffering and the appropriate amount of green, we are proposing to develop 140 Townhouses."

As a result, the saintly Joanne will be foregoing the profit from 13 Townhouses.

Will she lose sleep over this? I doubt it. After all, Marianneville bought the Glenway lands - the entire shooting match - for $9.9m on 21 January 2010 from the Glenway Country Club (1994) Limited - a sum which Dave Kerwin later described as

"a fantastic buy".

Defining issue

For me, from the outside looking in, Glenway is one of the defining issues of this current Council term – and, indeed, the one before. Hundreds of people have been dramatically affected as their once quiet and leafy neighbourhood is transformed before their eyes.

Unfortunately - as I have repeatedly said - we have never had an honest answer from the Mayor on his role in the debacle. He thanked people at the Glenway "Lessons Learned" meeting for their contributions but, other than that, said nothing himself. It was only afterwards, and in the context of the Clock Tower, Van Bynen revealed his true colours.

"We learned from Glenway that polarity doesn't help anybody."

Translated, this means his preference is always to cut a deal with developers.

Ironies

There are, too, the ironies.

Glenway is being built over at a time when the Town now recognises there will be a shortage of public open space in this part of town - the so-called North West quadrant. In its decision on Glenway, the OMB remarked that by 2010 the Town knew the golf course was available for development but took no steps:

"...to acquire these lands for public open space and public park purposes."

We also wait to see what, if anything, happens to the GO Bus Terminal at Eagle Street. There is - and always has been - a very strong case for co-locating it with the GO Rail station at the Tannery.

However, at the OMB Hearing, much of the argument in favour of the Glenway redevelopment was predicated on the Bus Terminal staying where it is.

Not a shred of evidence

Indeed, the developer's lawyer, Ira Kagan, told the OMB on 27 March 2014:

"There is not a shred of evidence that the Town, Region or GO Transit want to move this bus terminal."

But now that the long awaited Metrolinx/Town “mobility hub study” of the GO Rail station at the Tannery is under way, the Bus Terminal could be on the move too.

If so, much of the rationale for the Glenway development goes with it.

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A site plan meeting looks at the design and technical aspects of a proposed development to ensure everything is in compliance with all the relevant rules and regulations.

Details

Written by Gordon Prentice

Published: 02 March 2017

As a frequent visitor to York Region Elementary School on Yonge Street I feel I know the boys and girls quite well.

There's Jack Heath from Markham, always with his hand up, dying to tell us how much he knows. Then there is Frank Scarpitti, the boy who gets the most pocket money, but he contributes to the life of the school, always asking questions about school projects.

Playing with his Apps

And then there is Tony Van Bynen from Newmarket who sits at the back of the class, rarely saying anything. More often than not he is playing with his apps under the desk.  

Personally, I think he gets far too much pocket money for his own good.

Take this example from earlier today.

The School had invited Mr John Jenson and two of his colleagues from Metrolinx to give a slide presentation on Regional Express Rail and how it would impact on York Region.

Van Bynen caught napping  

Up comes a slide which tells the class that the Barrie line will be twin tracked all the way up to the Allandale station in Barrie itself. I wait in vain for Van Bynen to correct this obvious error but, yet again, he is snoozing at the back of the class.

Clearly, he hasn't done his homework or prepared for this important presentation. Van Bynen - or Van Trappist as they call him in the staff room - lives in his own little private world.

Now Mr Jensen is talking about level crossings and grade separations. This is an important issue in Newmarket where the rail tracks cross Mulock Drive, Water Street, Timothy Street and Davis Drive. At the moment, the 15 minute service zone (that is, up to Aurora) is the top priority for Metrolinx. Newmarket is an afterthought.

A diligent, inquisitive and spirited boy from Richmond Hill, Vito Spatafora, tells us level crossings are a major issue in his neighbourhood and he demands to know what is going to happen and when.

Mr Jenson assures him there will be talks later this year but there is little in the way of detail. Van Bynen is not paying attention to any of this. He says nothing.

The mistake

Afterwards, as Mr Jensen and his colleagues are leaving the school, I stop them and say their presentation was wrong in one very important respect. The Barrie line is ­not going to be twin tracked all the way up to Allandale. Yes, they say. I am correct. I am told the slide should have referred to the environmental assessment that is being carried out along the full length of the line. Twin tracking will end at Aurora.  

Now the class is learning about water and wastewater. We also touch on sewers which the boys in particular find hilarious. The head boy, Wayne Emmerson, has a fondness for lavatorial humour and can be heard laughing loudly at his own jokes, slapping his thigh.

Now the class is being introduced to the wonderful world of trees. Mr Lane and Mr Buchanan are talking about the "State of the Forests" in York Region.

This should be of interest to Van Bynen because of a raging controversy in Newmarket where a developer is chopping down perfectly healthy mature trees to make room for two monster homes on a lot he has just purchased and which he intends to sub-divide.

A knowledgeable girl

Margaret Quirk, a knowledgeable girl from Georgina, tells the class the Emerald Ash Borer is a particular threat in her neck of the woods where a staggering 16% of trees are Ash. This is the highest in York Region. In Van Bynen's area, for example, only 3% of trees are Ash.

We learn that the Emerald Ash Borer is an invasive wood-boring beetle. All untreated Ash trees are expected to die as a result of this infestation.

Margaret speaks of the huge cost of removing dead Ash trees in Georgina and believes the Federal Government should be asked to contribute to the cost. She says it is not just about Georgina - the problem extends right across the country.

She appeals to Van Bynen who sits on the Association of Municipalities of Ontario which represents the views of municipalities across the Province.

Goldfish

Now Margaret is looking directly at Van Bynen:

"Has this been an issue at AMO?"

His mouth gulps open like a goldfish but no words come out. He has been daydreaming again! It is left to Emmerson to say the matter will be looked into.

If Van Bynen carries on in this way he may well find himself expelled from school.

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