Just received a notice from developer's lawyers (as I assume most of the nearby residents have) that The Ontario Land Tribunal will conduct a Concurrent Case Management Conference by Video Conference on October 26, 2021. Original proposal by developer called for 14-storey residential with 64 dwellings. Now they are proposing 11-storey and 30 units.
I know that this property is only a very long block north of the Yonge-York Mills subway station but there are a lot of issues with building in this area and specifically on this site. As can be seen from the photo above by
@bilked, the site is at the bottom of a fairly steep hill and is also sloping southwards. The site is quite small and the back of the building would be no more than three meters from the bottom, if you could call it that - since the land is still sloping south and west toward the intersection of Yonge and William Carson, of the hill. Every time there is a major rainfall or snow melt, there is large puddle across half of William Carson Rd, so that the only way to drive east on William Carson when entering that intersection, is to drive through the left turn lane exiting west on William Carson. This is dangerous for vehicles going both ways, but those entering have no other alternative other than risk stalling their engine going through a puddle two feet or higher in depth. The large puddle results from the earth that is eroded when the rain or ice melt flows quickly down the hill and clogs up the sewer grate. This area is environmentally sensitive and one of the main reasons why buildings in the vicinity do not exceed 6-storeys. The office building across the street from this lot , which backs on to William Carson and not the base of the hill, I would estimate covers no more than 60% of the lot it sits on.
The back end of this lot is where street parking starts on the same east side of William Carson (there is no parking on west side). Unfortunately there is barely enough room for another vehicle going east to pass by these parked cars (which are packed in all paid spaces during the workday) so that often these cars are driven half on the other lane for cars driving west leaving William Carson, not to mention that the sidewalk on the east side ends from the driveway of the last condo building on the east side so people still often keep walking on the east side beside the parked vehicles or on the street when they reach the back of the 4155 lot. In addition anyone who knows this area knows how often vehicles travelling south on Yonge wanting to make a left onto the 401 east ramp, rather than get in line on the left turn lane which often backs up almost from the light at Florence Ave during rush hours (or they just mistakenly miss the ramp at anytime) and wait 3 or 4 light changes, go south to William Carson and make a left turn, going east, and then make a U Turn, because there is a no U Turn sign at the intersection, and turn right on Yonge to go back north to the 401 East entrance. William Carson is about 300 meters long and it has 4 large condo buildings, a firehall and a large office building (on corner with Yonge St). It is a very busy and frankly dangerous street and adding a large condo building makes no sense. This may be the developer's motivation for proposing only 30 units now. Nevertheless anyone who lives in a condo building knows the amount of traffic, besides tenants and visitors, including maintenance, inspection and deliveries is constant. This building is in the most vulnerable and dangerous part of the street. The maximum height I could see here is 8-storeys, with a smaller footprint, and that is stretching it. That may not provide the developer with enough sq ft to make a profit but it is not the function of the city or the neighbors to provide him/her with a profit.
By the way, the authority that is in charge of this environmentally sensitive area objects to this proposal as do the residents and St John's York Mills Church that sit at the top of the hill, who at 14-storeys, as initially proposed, would definitely be looking at the top of the the building instead of treetops.