OMB to decide controversial Roehampton proposal
The neighbours of 426 Roehampton Ave., northeast of Mount Pleasant Road and Eglinton Avenue East, are awaiting Nov. 25.
That’s the day a proposal to demolish the existing house on the site and replace it with a new two-storey detached home with an integral garage will appear before the Ontario Municipal Board, after being rejected by the city’s committee of adjustment and despite the opposition of nearby residents and Ward 22 councillor Josh Matlow.
“It’s too tall,” Matlow said of the proposal, which at 9.5 metres exceeds the area’s height limits by 0.5 metres. “There are houses like that popping up here and there, but it’s not the prevailing character, and we’re concerned that it would set yet another precedent for the next developer that comes along.”
The application was originally rejected at a committee of adjustment hearing on July 8.
On WSept. 30, city council authorized staff to oppose the proposal at the OMB hearing.
“The more that [similar proposals] are approved, the more it becomes the ‘prevailing character,’” Matlow said. “Right now it’s the exception rather than the norm. We want to keep it that way.”
