Ward 13 hopefuls talk development
Question:
The Humber Theatre is set to re-open next month, but at one time there were plans to re-develop the site into a 10-storey condo tower. The theatre’s one-time potential for redevelopment is emblematic of many projects in the ward. As councillor for Ward 13, how would you balance the needs of residents, developers and city staff so projects move forward in a timely manner and without controversy.
[attach]2340[/attach][url=https://streeter.ca/communities-need-hubs.html]Sarah Doucette[/url]:
We have to get the developers, the community and the city councillor all together at the very beginning, even before the plan goes into the city. The developer needs to come and meet with the community which is up to the councillor to host the meeting.
Let’s talk to the community, the community will say, at this location we’d like a daycare, ‘at this location we’d like a drugstore … so come to us now, before you put anything to paper and let us help you develop something which will fit into the community.’
City councillors shouldn’t just be looking at their wards, they should also be learning about what’s going on in other wards because they have to vote on (all development applications).
[attach]2341[/attach]Nick Pavlov:
You have to get consultation from the community right from the outset and not once you’re midstream. My proposal to that is to make sure that consultations are done right from the beginning and we set certain guidelines in terms of density and height (for) what would fit into the neighbourhood. And that would be a much easier way to go than trying to fit something in there that no one wants.
So I’d like to meet with the constituents and get a mandate from them as to what type of density and what type of height would fit into the neighbourhood and then send that back to any potential developers so that they’re aware before they come into our neighbourhood that this is what we’re looking for.
[attach]2342[/attach][url=https://streeter.ca/saundercook-and-perks-plan-to-run-again-in-october.html]Bill Saundercook[/url]:
It’s all part of the planning process. The most effective approach is having an effective communication of ideas from all three parties: the community, the planners who are in charge of bringing forward the official plan for the city and zoning regulations, and then the ideas of the person who is the putting the money in there — the developer.
[attach]2343[/attach][url=https://streeter.ca/stagnant-pool-led-to-candidacy.html]Redmond Weissenberger[/url]:
The best way is to have a councillor who is very good at communicating, to make sure that everybody’s involved.
The way the bylaws are written it’s quite hard. Citizens don’t have a lot to do. Once somebody gets the land and gets it approved, not much can be done, really.
We need intensification … within reason. The reality is that … we need to think about the next 50 years in Toronto. Intensification has to happen. It brings a lot of potential customers to local businesses.
Candidate [url=https://streeter.ca/healthcare-safety-top-priorities-for-council-hopeful.html]Jackelyn Van Altenberg[/url] could not be reached for comment.