By SHANE DINGMAN | PUBLISHED DECEMBER 9, 2020 |
The entire purpose of Toronto’s Committee of Adjustment is to make exceptions to the restrictive zoning rules that govern what gets built where in the city. But a recent decision highlights how what we accept, or deny, can affect housing affordability and inequality.
On Dec. 2, the committee – which is made up of residents appointed by city council – denied a P & R Developments application for consent to sever a 50-foot lot at 2165 Gerrard St. E. and replace one home with two semi-detached buildings and two laneway suites that would have added 10 family-sized rental units to the neighbourhood.
“I don’t believe dividing the property is in the best interest of the community,” said committee member Carl Knipfel, himself an architect and planner who complimented the beauty of the existing house and critiqued the design of the new buildings. “What is proposed is too dense … I really have serious concerns as to where this consent may lead us.”