Taste Test: Toronto’s Top Spring Salads

By

-

4:03 pm

This month Grant van Gameren samples eight of uptown’s top spring salads — from classic Italian to an Asian chicken slaw. Find out which greens have enough crunch and creativity to keep him coming back for more.

WINNER:
JOEY, 15 O’Neill Rd., The 500 Salad, $17
Chef eyes the salad, rattling off the ingredients: chicken, quinoa, almonds.… “I’m seeing things we have in our salad, like the raisins and cauliflower,” he says. “There’s a lot of good texture going on — it’s nice to get bitefuls of different things.”

Classic Italian
PAESE, 3827 Bathurst St., Arugula Salad, $13
“The oven-dried tomatoes with the portobello mushroom and the Parmesan is a classic pairing,” chef says. He enjoys the fresh arugula and the side of focaccia but would improve the salad with a balsamic — as opposed to the red wine — dressing.

Seed-isfaction
LIVE, 264 Dupont St., Big Bowl, $12
“How does one eat this?” chef queries. Besides finding it a touch tricky to eat (the hummus in particular), van Gameren enjoys this pick — especially the sprouts and seed components.

Tasty Cobb
HOTEL GELATO, 532 Eglinton Ave. W., Cobb, $16
“I love Cobb salads,” van Gameren notes. The tarragon dressing impresses: “I really like that kind of green, herbaceous quality of the tarragon. A+ for originality.”

Heathy twist
FRESH, 90 Eglinton Ave. E., All Star, $13
Chef dives in. “I’m really digging the salad,” he says. “There’s a lot of texture — I feel healthy just eating it.” Noting that he’s never had a goji berry in a salad before, chef says it would be great if the sweet potato were worked into the salad, rather than sat to the side. This pick was a close second.

Sweet surprise
DELICA, 1440 Yonge St., Asian Chicken, $9.50
“It’s hard not to like the combination of ginger and sesame,” chef notes. The pumpkin seeds wow further, adding a nice texture and nuttiness to the dish. “Not all salads work with sweeter dressings, but this one does.”

Primo pork
TERRA, 8199 Yonge St., Crispy Porchetta, $17.95
Van Gameren enjoys the generous size of the porchetta hunks, noting that they’re moist to boot. However, he finds the pink peppercorn dressing too strong, suggesting a mustard-based one instead.

Charismatic kale
TRATTORIA NERVOSA, 75 Yorkville Ave., Kale Salad, $13.99
“I love kale,” chef says. “If it’s a trend, then keep it going!” He likes that they’ve used the dinosaur variety and points out the generous serving of pricey pine nuts.

Gord Downie and The Sadies form new Toronto supergroup

By

-

10:42 am

0

This is the first interview Travis Good has given regarding the new collaborative project that sees Toronto band The Sadies team up with Gord Downie of the Tragically Hip fame. And, true to the anarchic nature of the seven-year project, he’s having trouble explaining how it all came together so brilliantly.

Who knew these Canadian roots and rock veterans could be so punk?

“I don’t know what to say about it,” says Good, with a laugh and an explanation. “We’re just kind of showing up. We’re not going on tour per se, but we’re taking shows, which is different than we’d done in the past. This is the first interview; really the band doesn’t even quite exist yet.”

Dubbed Gord Downie, The Sadies, and The Conquering Sun, the 10-song album delves exuberantly into youthful punk-pop hooks and melodies that turn back time. The end product is far from what most would expect from such a collaboration. Even Good was surprised.

“We didn’t mean to do that, and kind of for me that’s one of the nice surprises of it,” says Good. “It could have easily turn into a Gord Downie roots, acoustic, country sort of direction. It’s kind of nice that it went completely the opposite way to where I even expected it to go.”

It all started approximately seven years ago when the Sadies were opening for the Hip on their World Container tour. The fellas got to talking about working together at some point. Then Downie and the Sadies collaborated for a CBC program and it clicked. There was no grand scheme, no songs were written. But as the years went by, they got together, wrote some tunes, put them down in the studio, and kept going.

“About halfway through when we had five songs down we thought were pretty good and cohesive, we thought we had something,” Good explains. “We sounded like a band, just something different than anyone was doing.… We didn’t have any set expectations before, and then it all started to shape up a lot heavier than I thought it would. That was a surprise. We didn’t say, ‘Let’s make this heavy.’ ”

The Sadies are no strangers to collaborations, recently working with such artists as American roots singer-songwriter Neko Case and legendary R&B singer Andre Williams. Downie has kept a busy solo career outside of his work with the Tragically Hip in addition to working with Dallas Green on some of his early City and Colour material. But, again, this project proved itself to be unique.

“It was different. Usually these people, we get together because they know exactly what we sound like. They are going after more of a sound,” says Good. “With Andre, we were more chasing his sound, always chasing after the sound of the artist we are working with. It’s good for the Sadies to be chameleons. Country for Neko, R&B for Andre, but this one is so different.”

Currently, the band is in rehearsals as they prepare for their first shows south of the border starting with New York City’s Bowery Ballroom on May 2. They will also be playing the Field Trip festival in Toronto, June 7.

The new album is set for release on April 15 via Arts & Crafts record label and was recorded at the Bathhouse Studio in Bath, Ont., and mixed by Bob Rock.

For more information go to www.gorddowniethesadies.com.

Laughs and lady parts: Toronto comedy legend Andrea Martin stars in new comedy series Working the Engels

By

-

9:34 am

0

The play on words Working the Engels — the title of the new sitcom starring Andrea Martin —couldn’t better describe the comedy legend’s approach to her career.

With an upcoming show on Broadway, a book set to launch this fall and the aforementioned TV show, Martin certainly is working all the angles and doesn’t appear to be slowing down any time soon.

Having recently finished shooting season one of Working the Engels, a half-hour sitcom created by Toronto natives Katie Ford and Jane Ford set to debut on Global TV this March, Martin says she revelled in returning to her comedy roots in the city where her career took off. “I had a ball,” she says. “I loved doing it — it was shot in Toronto, which is where everything started for me.”

Martin plays Ceil Engel, an overprotective and self-involved mother of three adult children who have decided to keep their deceased father’s law practice alive to pay off family debt, even though only one of them is a lawyer.

A mom to two adult sons, Martin says she relates to the overbearing love her character has for her kids. “I like that she’s a real mother. She represents all aspects of me and how I parented,” Martin says. “It’s genuine.”

Known for such quirky characters as the leopard-print-loving station manager Edith Prickley and sexologist Dr. Cheryl Kinsey on the beloved Canadian comedy series SCTV (1976–1984), Martin says she likes that the humour in her new show is character driven. “I love that the writing is not all dirty words and shock value.”

Working the Engels will also be a bit of an SCTV reunion, with Canadian comedians Martin Short and Eugene Levy set to appear in guest-starring roles. Short plays Chuck Pastry, a former lover of Martin’s character Ceil and the head of a baking corporation. Levy plays Arthur Horowitz, a lawyer and neighbour to the Engels who has his eye on Ceil. “It’s like being with family,” Martin says about working with Short and Levy again.

The show brings together a mix of new and familiar Canadian talent. Up-and-comer Kacey Rohl plays the only Engel family lawyer, and Benjamin Arthur plays Ceil’s ex-con son who is still her golden boy. Funnyman Colin Mochrie guest stars as Ceil’s long-suffering accountant, and Canadian actor Jason Priestley (of Beverly Hills, 90210 fame) took the helm as director of four episodes.

It was an ideal shoot for Martin who calls Toronto home though she frequently lives and works in the U.S. “[Living here] always brings me back to my roots, fills my soul and makes me calm,” she says. The Canuck at heart was born in Portland, Maine. From the age of nine, she says she knew she wanted to act.

She started performing in drama clubs and high school musicals and gradually started earning professional roles. Her first paid gig was as a singing chicken on the Captain Kangaroo TV show. She says, at the time, she didn’t have any professional goals, she simply wanted to perform. “One job led to another, and it didn’t make a difference to me what I was acting in. It just mattered that I was acting,” she says.

When Martin played Lucy in an American touring production of You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, she performed here in Toronto where she met and started dating a local actor. After a few visits she decided to stay, and shortly after her move, she landed a role in the now legendary 1972 production of Godspell. “[Godspell] was the beginning of my career,” she says.

“Martin Short, Eugene Levy, Gilda Radner, Paul Shaffer — none of us had done anything significant before, so it launched our careers and our friendships.” Martin continued many of those friendships on the Second City stage where she honed her comedy chops performing improv nightly for about five years, which continued later with SCTV.

“[Second City] informed so much of my comedy,” she says. “It allows you to develop your particular brand of comedy. When you look at work by Tina Fey, John Candy, Gilda Radner and Dan Aykroyd, you know immediately who those people are. “It allowed me to be as funny as I was as a person,” she adds.

Her Second City training, she says, has come back to help her throughout her career, especially for her roles in such films as My Big Fat Greek Wedding and Night at the Museum 3. “In film, they really improvise — it’s the Judd Apatow school of comedy,” she says. “Improv has really served me.”

Though comedy has often been thought of as Martin’s niche, the Emmy-winning actress has branched out into more dramatic work to great critical acclaim. Her recent turn as Berthe, the feisty grandmother in the 2013 Broadway revival of Pippin, won her a Tony Award for best featured actress in a musical. For the circus-themed production, Martin, 67, dazzled audience members by swinging high above the stage on a trapeze.

She says it was a role that’s been a highlight in her career and one that she felt close to. “It was meaningful to me because I was able to talk about getting older in a positive, inspirational way,” she says.

She also won a Tony Award for her Broadway debut in the musical comedy My Favorite Year and has garnered Tony nominations for her work in the popular musicals Candide, Oklahoma! and Young Frankenstein.

This month, Martin is scheduled to perform multiple parts in Act One on Broadway.

Martin credits time and age with her move toward more dramatic work and her ability to dig deeper into her roles. “The older I got, the more comfortable I was with me and the more depth I had as a person,” she says. “It interested me more in being able to utilize all of who I am — maybe parts of me I would have hidden before.”

It makes sense then that Martin is opening up about her life and career through a collection of stories entitled Andrea Martin’s Lady Parts, to be published by HarperCollins in September. For someone whose eclectic work has spanned decades, expect a lot of angles.

Working the Engels airs on Global Television.

Property Brothers’ Jonathan and Drew Scott on their runaway hit show and why Forest Hill is their home away from home

By

Andrew Mannsbach

-

11:55 am

0

What about the home renovation show Property Brothers has made it so insanely popular across international borders?

Maybe it’s that Aussies, Kiwis, Americans, Mexicans, Canadians, Spaniards and Brazilians are all equally interested in watching a fixer-upper’s value balloon with a bit of love from a few behind-the-scenes construction teams. Or perhaps, it’s simply that witty, alarmingly attractive twin brothers Jonathan and Drew Scott have global appeal. Men want to be them, while women (and some men) want to be with them.

While watching the W Network show, it’s easy to tell the Scott twins apart thanks to Jonathan’s longer locks. (Drew is always quick to poke fun at his brother’s “effeminate hair.” Ironically, it’s luscious-locked Jonathan that’s usually picking up a sledgehammer, not Drew.)

Walk away from the screen and you’ll quickly realize that not only are the two visual doubles of each other, but their voices are interchangeable. Producers must’ve noticed this little quirk, since they hired a single Spanish-speaking voice actor to dub the duo. In many interviews, Jonathan will jokingly offer to affect a British grandmother’s accent to throw audibly confused interviewers a bone.

When I dial into a conference call with the Scott siblings, however, it’s easy to tell the pair apart. “I was in Whistler filming something. Then I was in Seattle for a meeting, so I flew in [to Atlanta, Ga.,] at 6:30 this morning, and I’m running on empty,” explains a notably less-chipper-than-usual Jonathan. On this particular day, Drew’s managing to keep his pep-level at television par.

“Jonathan is getting all dirty with demo, and I’m running around with kids,” says Drew, who is in transit to a script-writing meeting for the pair’s side project Toddler vs. Toddler (a digital spin-off spoof of their show Brother vs. Brother, which pits two teams of mentored toddlers against each other).

“Finally,” says Jonathan. “Drew can work with talent of equal mentality.” The double-your-pleasure duo that made Property Brothers such a sensation is more than a pair of hazel-eyed hunks.

They are multi-talented, many-hobbied workaholics. Between filming four television shows (their newest show, airing later this year, will feature them renovating their own Las Vegas home), recording a radio program, writing their first-ever book, launching an indoor-outdoor furniture line, developing a home remodelling smartphone app and helming their production company, Scott Brothers Entertainment, the two are kept busy, to say the least.

On top of their work commitments, the Vancouver-bred twins make time for creative projects.

They have two fiction films they’re currently developing, Wingman and High September. The romantic comedy Wingman tells the story of professional hook up facilitator, Dax, who helps unlucky guys get, well, lucky. High September has been in the works since before Jonathan and Drew were born. Their dad dreamt up the story in the ’60s, and it wasn’t until five years ago that he, at his sons’ behest, actually penned the 120-page script about a wrongfully accused cowboy condemned to a 30-year prison sentence, then released to a society and a family who want nothing to do with him.

Although their dad is a film industry vet, it was actually the twins’ high school pal Tyler Labine who whetted the twins’ acting interests. (Dad actually advised against going into the industry!) Labine was basically on every popular kids’ show back then — Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Breaker High and Sabrina the Teenage Witch, to name a few.

As teens, the pair starred in an Air Miles commercial and even scored bit parts alongside Labine on Breaker High. Other acting credits include appearances on the televised Superman origin story Smallville (Drew) and The X-Files (Jonathan).

Although the two loved acting, they recognized that they’d have to have contingency plans so that they wouldn’t, as Drew puts it, “end up as starving artists.” Their plan paid off twofold. First off, they were successful in real estate from the get-go (they even made $50,000 flipping their very first house at the age of 18!). Little did the two know that it would be their playful fraternal banter combined with their real estate acumen that would get them a full-time TV gig.

Canadian television tends to be, well, overtly Canadian. It’s almost as if Canadian television writers have been forced to borrow from the Molson School of Writing.

Much native-produced content screams, “I am Canadian,” but not the Property Brothers. Torontonians may be quick to take note of an Annex red-brick, although the show never mentions where filming takes place (in fact, the whole first season was shot in Toronto).

The last time the busy twosome filmed a stretch of Toronto-based episodes for their show, they hunkered down in Forest Hill for seven months.

Now, they’re coming back to Hogtown for another five-month stretch. Although they have yet to find their temporary home here, the duo are once again planning to set up their pied-à-terres in Forest Hill. Unfortunately, they won’t make the move permanent. “Las Vegas has a few things that Toronto doesn’t, like much warmer weather in the winter,” says Jonathan.

“I like living in an established neighbourhood,” says Drew, who will be looking for a temporary pad to share with his GTA-raised girlfriend. “My living requirements,” pipes in Jonathan, “are that I need to be within three blocks of a sushi restaurant.” Last time he called Toronto home, he ate at Edo Sushi “like every day.”

If you hope to catch a glimpse of the Scott brothers while they’re in town, our advice is to develop an unhealthy addiction to sushi or to join a local sports league. The twins are treadmill averse, but pro-fitness, so you’re likely to find the Scotts shooting hoops with a local basketball league.

But they’ll mostly be spending their downtime hanging with their A-list friends, like Caitlin Cronenberg, who will be doing a few photo shoots of the brothers while they’re in town.

Leaside’s oldest home subject of dispute

By

-

12:06 pm

0

Leaside’s oldest home, the Thomas G. Elgie farmhouse, might be moving.

Developer Matthew Garnett took possession of the property located at 262 Bessborough Dr. in 2013 and wants to divide the land into three lots.

He plans to use a hydraulic lifting system to move the Elgie House forward on the 105-foot-wide space to make room for two more luxury homes.

But the Leaside Property Owner’s Association (LPOA) has opposed the move, and the City of Toronto’s committee of adjustment rejected the application in January, shortly after Toronto City Council adopted the heritage designation.

“What he is proposing to do will drastically change the face of the property,” said Geoff Kettel, co-president of the LPOA. “The property was listed as a heritage property, and this development would break that criteria.”

The house was listed as a heritage property only recently and, much to the surprise of its new owner, that designation is not allowing him to move the house anywhere.

Part of its heritage attribute has come from the physical location on the land. The house was built on the crest of a rise and overlooked the land before it. The LPOA says that moving the house will change that.

“I don’t think anyone saw that coming,” said Coun. John Parker. “I believe that the developer has the best intentions for the property and this is really a unique situation for the city.”

Garnett is taking the case to the Ontario Municipal Board on May 12.

“I think it’s a case of resistance to change. I really think that’s what it is,” said Garnett, who is also vice-president of development with Renaissance Fine Homes.

“Older, mature established areas don’t like change. They will use whatever mechanism they can to stop change, but you can’t stop progress.”

A new take on development

By

-

12:06 pm

0

If you find Toronto’s development approval process hard to understand, it’s not your fault. The most common question asked is “Why doesn’t the city just require the builder to respect the existing bylaw?”

The answer is mired in the land use approval provisions set out in the provincial planning act and the processes that subsequently evolved.

One byproduct of the system is that large-scale projects are typically dealt with on a site-specific basis. It is not hard to spot the flaw in a “planning” regime that puts such reliance on this approach. For one thing, the cumulative impact of each individual development becomes difficult to address — the very opposite of “planning.”

Appropriate area-wide infrastructure improvements become hard to put in place. Appeals to the Ontario Municipal Board get in the way of community benefits arranged via the approval process.

It all leads to misunderstandings, mistrust and suspicions of let’s-make-a-deal planning.

There is another approach: an area-based development permit system, putting updated bylaws in place before developers come forward with applications so that questions of size, height and density are decided in advance. This means allowing planners to do actual planning and for specific neighbourhoods, such as Leaside, to have their needs better served.

I have invited Toronto’s chief planner to come to our community this month to discuss the challenges and opportunities presented by our city’s growth. The benefits of adopting an area-based development permit system is one opportunity I have asked her to tell us more about.

Keeping the Hodgson rink open

By

-

12:06 pm

0

Our community’s ice rink at Hodgson Senior Public School is beloved by our local families. It sadly closed this year as a result of ammonia leaks. Components at a facility like Hodgson have a life cycle of 15 to 20 years, and the rink is now more than 30 years old. There is no doubt that the rink’s infrastructure needs to be completely replaced.

To ensure our kids had a place to skate, I worked closely with parents to build a natural ice rink nearby for this season. Although our rink’s been a great success, it’s reliant on weather and can’t replace an artificial rink.

The land on which the rink is located is owned by the Toronto District School Board (TDSB). The city earmarked $2 million for the Hodgson rink in its 2014 capital budget and is ready to begin construction. However, TDSB staff was only willing to commit its property to the rink for 10 years — to keep its options open for future uses — which is insufficient for a capital investment of this size.

I am delighted to report that there has been significant progress made by the city and the TDSB toward an agreement. The city is now moving forward with tendering a contract to refurbish and upgrade the rink. The facility will continue to be located at Hodgson, and, barring any inclement weather, the rink should now be ready for the next winter season.

To the parents and residents who have advocated for our local rink, not only were your voices heard, they were instrumental in what we’ve achieved.

When our community is presented with a challenge, we’ve always successfully faced it together. I look forward to seeing our kids enjoy our local ice rink again.

Gridlock is stalling Richmond Hill

By

-

12:06 pm

0

Rapid growth and continued lack of investment in transportation and transit infrastructure have made the GTA one of the most heavily congested regions in the world.

According to the Environics Research Group, the average Toronto commute in 2013 took 42 minutes, compared to Ottawa at 29 minutes and Montreal at 36 minutes.

Canada’s Big City Mayors’ Caucus recently warned the federal and provincial governments that, for Canadian cities to compete effectively in the global market, they need an investment strategy to improve transportation and enhance quality of life.

The costs of congestion include not only the loss of time and money spent moving people and goods, but also a negative impact on public health as well as face-to-face business and personal relationships.

In 2013, the Toronto Board of Trade reported that the GTA loses about $6 billion per year as a result of traffic gridlock. However, the C. D. Howe Institute reported that the actual loss, after adding the social impact to the economy, ranges from $7.5 to $11 billion per year.

The provincial plan, entitled The Big Move, adopted a regional transportation network for the GTA that is estimated to cost $50 billion.

The reality is, the GTA does not have the sources of revenue needed. Cities require the collaborative support of the provincial and federal governments to invest in both the capital construction and daily operation of an efficient transportation and transit network.

It’s time to stop debating and finally put this transit plan into action!

New facility for Yonge & Sheppard

By

-

12:06 pm

0

The children of West Lansing already have three playgrounds, and there are two more on the way. So the neighbourhood adults decided it was their turn.

Sometime around midsummer, Gwendolyn Park will be the home of an adult fitness circuit located around the perimeter of the park. The six stations will be connected by a 500-metre pathway with a natural mulch surface.

The concept was selected by residents from several options I presented at a community meeting in December.

Their initial choice was then refined at two subsequent meetings, at which community members selected the type and style of equipment and how it should be laid out.

Each station includes a piece of equipment, a sign showing how to use it and a bench for stretching or resting. An outdoor concrete ping-pong table — one of several we are adding to area parks this year — will be placed near the existing Gwendolyn Park playground, as will two new picnic tables.

This is an excellent example of local government and area residents working closely together to create a better community.

Notices for the community meeting were delivered to 1,400 households led by Kellina Horgan, daughter of West Lansing Homeowners Association president Phil Horgan and his wife Kathryn Atkinson.

I am also meeting with residents in the Edithvale area to plan a similar project.

Other parks improvements elsewhere in the ward will be planned this year, to be built next year.

Our local green achievements

By

-

12:06 pm

0

April is Earth Month!

A great way to celebrate this month is by highlighting some of the City of Markham’s environmental accomplishments.

One of our great achievements this year, that I am so proud of, is council’s approval of bird-friendly guidelines. Every year millions of migratory birds are killed or injured when they collide with glass windows. Each spring and fall they are attracted by light pollution, become disoriented and often collide with windows.

The guidelines will assist planners, architects, designers, and builders regarding available treatments that can be used to reduce bird strikes on both new and existing buildings. Markham was the first municipality in the world to implement these measures on an existing building and has received recognition from Fatal Light Awareness Program Canada (FLAP).

In addition, council recently approved the conversion of traditional street lights to LED lighting units on most collector and arterial roads and many residential streets in the city. Elimination of up light that produces obtrusive sky glow from these lights meets the dark-sky-friendly requirements of the International Dark-Sky Association. Exposure to light at night also directly affects our health and sleep patterns.

The LED lights will not only improve visibility for pedestrians and motorists, they will also reduce light pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and energy costs, and their life span is typically 20 years.

As your Thornhill councillor, I am always available to answer your inquiries at 905-479-7747 or [email protected].

Avenue Road property subject of conflict

By

-

12:06 pm

0

York Square at 33 Avenue Rd. is currently caught in a battle over local heritage. A rezoning proposal from Empire Communities could see the site demolished with a 38-storey mixed-use tower in its place.

A report from Mary MacDonald, acting manager for the City of Toronto, Heritage Preservation Services, says York Square, known for its iconic round windows, should be protected under the Ontario Heritage Act.

The decision to allow the report to reach Toronto City Council was deferred until the April 8 meeting in order to “allow the owner to better understand the contents of the designation,” according to an email from MacDonald.

Aside from the circular windows that make it recognizable, York Square is also home to a private high school, a hair salon and the well-known Italian restaurant Il Posto.

“The open square at its heart continues to provide an urban oasis with trees and plantings a few steps from these busy commercial thoroughfares,” said MacDonald.

David Lieberman, professor of architecture and urban design at the University of Toronto, asks whether it’s possible to build fresh and still retain some of the unique artifacts from Yorkville’s hippie heyday.

“Adaptive reuse is meant to circumvent the debate over preserving old buildings verses tearing them down,” said Lieberman. “It’s largely defined modern cosmopolitan Toronto.”

As the rezoning application and heritage designation processes continue, there is no way to tell if York Square will become yet another building overrun by the city that is growing around it at a rapid rate.

“Does one use the legislation of heritage designation to stop things in their tracks? Or is there a way to build something new and still have this fabric of the older city?” asked Lieberman.

Bayview development proposal opposed

By

-

12:06 pm

0

Some local residents are not happy about yet another townhouse proposal on Bayview Avenue.

Developers have applied to construct 11 townhomes at Bayview and Old Colony Road, between York Mills and Highway 401, where single-detached homes currently sit. Bayview between Lawrence Avenue East and Highway 401 has already seen a tremendous change in recent years, and local residents are concerned about how rapidly their neighbourhood is transforming.

“I’ve never seen in all my days one stretch of a neighbourhood under so much intensification pressure at one time,” said Coun. Jaye Robinson. She has created a design guideline for the neighbourhood that she hopes will be used to enforce the style, size and location of future developments.

“We needed to come up with a design strategy to try and pull back the reins here,” she said. “The OMB is really pushing our hand on this.”

The Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) has ruled in favour of several applications in this area that the city had denied. Robinson believes this has set a precedent on Bayview for the development of large buildings out of the set zoning regulations.

“There is a major concern from long-term residents here about loss of privacy, among other things,” said the John Nicholls, president of the York Mills Garden Community Association (YMGCA).

“The whole neighbourhood is changing.”

Nicholls said that the YMGCA and residents are also concerned with issues such as waste management and traffic, issues prone to disruption in areas where density increases.

“This proposal, along with the preliminary report, has gone to North York Community Council, and we are in the process of scheduling a meeting,” said Guy Matthew, the City of Toronto planner on the project.

“The outstanding issues listed in the city preliminary report will all need to be addressed before anything moves forward.”