SRRA's Position Paper on North St. James Town

South Rosedale Ratepayers Association

Position Concerning Proposed Development of North St. James Town

By Lanterra Developments

Official Plan and Zoning Amendment

Application File No.: 10-247063 STE 28 OZ

Date:  October 27, 2011

North St. James Town (“NSJT”) lies directly to the south of South Rosedale, separated only by the Rosedale Valley Ravine and Bloor Street East.  In many ways, NSJT and Rosedale are closely connected.  Each is visually predominant to the other, Rosedale residents participate in religious and community institutions in NSJT and Rosedale residents patronize St. James Town businesses.

Not only will a development of the nature proposed for NSJT by Lanterra Developments (“Lanterra”) directly impact the privacy, comfort  and enjoyment of hundreds of South Rosedale households from Castlefrank Crescent to Mount Pleasant Road, occupants of the development will weigh heavily on an already taxed public transport system and dramatically increase traffic on South Rosedale streets.

South Rosedale welcomes a redevelopment of NSJT from its current state.  In that regard, South Rosedale, as an adjoining neighbourhood, has much to offer, including:

• The peace and beauty of its leafy, historical residential neighbourhoods
• parks and recreational areas
• consumers to support retail, service and restaurant businesses
• taxpayers to help fund public improvements
• professionals and businesspeople, generous with their time and money, ready, willing and able to help out other residents of Toronto

For all of the foregoing reasons, South Rosedale should be called upon to consider and assist in the review of and to make recommendations concerning the development improvements proposed for NSJT by Lanterra.

The South Rosedale Ratepayers Association (“SRRA”) was incorporated in 1933 and has since acted in the interests of the residents of South Rosedale on all matters pertaining to and potentially impacting the community.  On behalf of South Rosedale, the SRRA has considered the materials distributed publicly concerning the proposed development, attended each City-organized public meeting, consulted with members of the St. James Town community and considered presentations by St. James Town representatives and the Bloor Street East Neighbourhood Association (“BENA”).

From this perspective, SRRA requests that each of the following be taken into account in the evaluation by City Planning Staff of the proposed development:

1.  Size and Height

Much hinges upon the size and height of the major buildings proposed by the current Application.  The buildings proposed are too large and too tall, both in relation to the site and in relation to the surrounding areas.  As proposed, the buildings would leave little, if any, natural space and would threaten to completely dominate the skyline for many St. James Town and South Rosedale residents.  The buildings would loom over South Rosedale residences and cast shadows across the Rosedale Valley into South Rosedale throughout the year.  The site simply cannot accommodate the massing of built form as proposed.  The applicability and relevance of the City’s Tall Buildings Guidelines is most obvious to this development opportunity.  In accordance with those Guidelines, a tall tower would be more acceptable on Sherbourne Street, limited to a maximum of thirty-five (35) storeys.  The eastern parts of the development sites (Bloor/Parliament/Howard) should not be expected to accommodate three (3) buildings of the size contemplated in the current Application.  Buildings of the size contemplated by the Application would be disastrous for all residents in the southeastern quadrant of South Rosedale.  No building in the eastern portion should be permitted a height of more than twenty (20) storeys and attention must be given to a gradual ramping/step-up of the height of each of those buildings from the surrounding streets.

2.  Retail Component

The development must include both retail and service components, to respond to the needs and desires of the communities on both sides of Rosedale Ravine, and both sides of the Don Valley.  Restricting the development to residential uses would deprive the site of association with its neighbours and would eliminate the prospect of the interaction of communities.  The incorporation of retail facilities and restaurants will invite integration with the surrounding neighbourhoods and create a vitality that a strictly residential use cannot offer.  Without retail space and restaurants, NSJT will be a continuation of the sterile and inhospitable streetscape that currently characterizes Bloor Street east of Yonge Street.  The 2,200 South Rosedale households are longing for a quality greengrocer and comfortable restaurants.  Build them and South Rosedale residents will come.

3.  Sherbourne Subway Station and Glen Road Pedestrian Bridge

The condition of the public entrance to the Sherbourne Subway Station at Glen Road is deplorable.  Most South Rosedale residents avoid the Glen Road pedestrian bridge over the Rosedale Valley Ravine due to fear of harm at the hands of those who tend to frequent the south end of the bridge.  These conditions should not be acceptable in this City.  The deserted nature of the development site is as much a factor as any, in contributing to the prevailing circumstances.  The development must include the refurbishment of the public access to the Subway Station and enhancements to the south end of the pedestrian bridge.  The Subway Station entrance and the bridge must be made safe and secure.  South Rosedale will not tolerate the continuation of the crime and apprehension that are the current hallmarks of this area.

4.  The St. James Town Community

The residents of St. James Town will be directly affected by the development and many of them are most in need of the enhancement of their environment.  The developer must lend assistance to the residents of St. James Town, many of whom are less fortunate than residents of South Rosedale, and marginalized due to the rental nature of the existing apartment buildings.  This can be accomplished through a joint venture with the owners of properties in St. James Town to improve the public spaces in the vicinity and to make available recreational areas that can be enjoyed by the residents of the entire neighbourhood.  Financial support should be offered to the Church of St. Simon-the-Apostle and contributions for the improvement and future upkeep of the Wellesley Community Centre should be part of the overall development plan.

SRRA supports the development of NSJT, but the development must be sensible and a resolution of the current abysmal conditions.  A thoughtful development with collateral augmentation will be an immense benefit to those on both sides of the Rosedale Valley Ravine.  The erection of the enormous residential towers presented by the Application will be strenuously opposed by SRRA.  This is an opportunity for a major redevelopment that SRRA cannot allow Lanterra and the City to squander.

 
Respectfully Submitted

On Behalf of the Residents of South Rosedale

By The South Rosedale Ratepayers’ Association

Per:     “Signed”              

   David Townley, President

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People Plan Toronto

A Great Planning and Development Information Resource

For SRRA members interested in planning and development – how it does and doesn’t get done – a great resource is available at www.peopleplantoronto.org. The website contains a wealth of information as well as blogs and a Facebook page where you can exchange ideas and comments on these processes.

Although some contributions are pragmatic and even technical, most never stray far from the recognition that planning is a political activity, and thus must be interwoven with the democratic political process.

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