Last chance appeal
Leasiders are celebrating the Ontario Municipal Board’s rejection of a developer’s plan to tear down the heritage Talbot apartment complex on Bayview.
However, their victory cries have been somewhat muted as the site’s owner is seeking leave to appeal the board’s decision to the Ontario Divisional Court.
Before the court rules on anything, a judge or a panel of judges must decide if there are legal reasons for this appeal, and if so, determine if those issues are significant enough to warrant an examination of the board ruling, said Councillor John Parker, a lawyer by trade.
“The court can’t overturn the decision,” said Parker. “But they could send it back for a whole new (board) hearing, which would be a long and expensive process.”
The residential complex is made up of three properties: Kelvingrove, Glen-Leven and Strathavon, known locally as the Talbot apartments because they were built by former Leaside mayor Henry Howard Talbot.
Context Development, the group driving the appeals, sent the Town Crier a statement regarding the appeal.
“Context and the owner of the Kelvingrove apartment complex sought community involvement in designing a large re-investment in rental apartment (an eight-storey building) and grade related family housing on Bayview Avenue (54 townhouses),” wrote director of development Lewis Poplak on April 27.
“Our proposal is an enhancement of Leaside. Where misdirection has occurred, we hope to cure that and in so doing, bring to the community a good development that has merit.”
Not everyone agrees with Poplak’s assessment.
The Leaside Property Owners Association, which fought the redevelopment at the Ontario Municipal Board and was instrumental in leading the city to designate the apartments as heritage properties, was hoping that the Ontario Municipal Board’s decision would be the final word on the matter.
“We are disappointed to hear of the motion for leave to appeal, and will be consulting our lawyer,” said Carol Burtin Fripp, chair of the Leaside Property Owners Association’s Talbot Committee.
I think the LPOATC is in denial. If this goes to Appeal the big property owners will finally have their way with ‘Talbot Towers’.