Open space fight not over
[attach]1408[/attach]Residents opposed to a plan to build retail over an open square at Yonge and Eglinton may have lost a key battle, but vow to keep waging war.
On March 9, North York Community Council voted to recommend a bylaw change that would allow property owners RioCan to add five and seven stories to the existing office towers at the site and cover most of the open space on the northwest corner with additional retail.
The plan also includes renovations to the interior of the existing mall and a public garden on the roof of the three-storey retail
addition.
The issue will go to city council for a final decision in April.
Residents have been crying foul over the plan ever since it was introduced at council two years ago.
In spite of the public opposition, RioCan’s application is now in accordance with the city’s Official Plan, said North York planner Neil Cresswell.
“The city’s official plan designates Yonge and Eglinton as one of the growth centres within the city,” he said.
Area councillor Karen Stintz has recently come out in support of the redevelopment, sparking an outpouring of vitriol from some residents’ groups.
“If Karen Stintz … sees some reason to close in the space at Yonge and Eglinton she should have declared that a long time ago,” said Patrick Smyth, a member of Avenue Road Eglinton Community Association.
Stintz’s support of the project may leave a lasting impression.
In 2003, after a controversial development plan was supported by then-councillor Anne Johnston, Smyth was one of a handful of residents who took out an advertisement in the Town Crier seeking a new council candidate for the ward. After serving the ward for more than two decades, Johnston was ousted and replaced by Stintz.
Now, Smyth says he has his sights set on the current councillor who he helped bring to power in 2003.
Stintz was away from the office and unable to comment on the matter as of press time, but her assistant Adeh Pettingill defended the consultation process, saying that several elements of the plan reflect the public input RioCan received, including public access to an open rooftop green space and a $250,000 contribution to public art.
But during those two years of public consultation Stintz never revealed a position on the issue, citing a lack of facts prior to receiving a planning report.
Pettingill, who called the proposal an improvement over what is currently on the site, said in an email that the councillor supports the community’s right to express their opinions on the issue and emphasized that the decision is still not finalized as it must go before city council.
But the project’s opponents aren’t planning on going down without a fight.
On March 17, Smyth helped organize a demonstration at the open square.
“RioCan has a favourable planner’s report and a councillor that’s in support of their application, (but) disgruntled citizens often congregate and that’s what today’s about,” Smyth said afterwards. “If this morphs into something bigger with a bigger bite, then I think councillor Stintz has a problem.”