NEWS

Residents recall efforts to scale back development

Neighbours of 97 Sherwood
TIGHT KNIT: Neighbours Mike Mackenzie, left, Dushyant Vyas and Barbara Triskan in front of the 97 Sherwood Ave. home that is to be replaced by a larger semi-detached. They say they came together to oppose several of the original proposed changes.

The new semi-detached homes that will be built in place of the old house at 97 Sherwood Ave. could have been a lot bigger.

That’s the word from a group of neighbours, reacting to a March story in the Town Crier about the development being approved seemingly unopposed. They along with other Sherwood Avenue residents fought the proposal at the Committee of Adjustment, they say.

In the midst of an April shower, neighbours Dushyant Vyas and Barbara Triskan gathered on Mike Mackenzie’s porch, overlooking the soon-to-be-demolished home next door as they recalled their plight last November.

The trio were not opposed to the redevelopment itself, but to some of the requested allowances for height and depth — the same areas that saw changes in the final ruling of the Committee of Adjustment.

“They were going way up, they were going way back,” Mackenzie said of the initial plans. “It was quite concerning because it was this flagrant disregard for any of the existing bylaws.”

More than a dozen people on Sherwood Avenue wrote letters outlining their concerns.

On the day the case came to the Committee of Adjustment, the developer pulled back much of the height and depth from the original proposal. Those new numbers, though still beyond what the bylaws allow, were approved. The end result was something the neighbours felt they could live with.

Proximity of homes
TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT? Dushyant Vyas has concerns that the new house to be built at 97 Sherwood Ave. could affect his, given that it will be closer than the current home, seen here at left.

Concerns remain for Vyas, whose home is next door, on the west side. It is his first home, and shortly after buying it last year he learned of the plans for the rebuild at 97 Sherwood. Given the close proximity of the house being torn down — and the even closer proximity of the house to go up — Vyas said he’s worried about the structural integrity of his home once construction starts.

“I’m very concerned about what impact it’s going to have on the foundation of my house,” Vyas said.

Triskan, who according to Mackenzie is “the one who got everyone going,” said they feel like the process is flawed.

“We’re sitting here thinking if there are bylaws and there’s a plan for the city, why do people like us have to go through this every time a property changes hands?” she said.