NRRA Newsletter – Winter 2017

 

Volume 15 | Issue 1

The Village in the City Issue

Heritage Designation Controversy

 

In the months ahead, City staff will need to decide whether to approve or block a luxury low-rise condo development on Dale Avenue in South Rosedale. The NRRA opposes this
development as an adverse precedent, potentially opening the door to future tear-down condo development in Rosedale. A public meeting held on November 6 attracted around 150 attendees, and the vast majority also expressed their disapproval to the Dale development.

As Heritage Districts, both South Rosedale and North Rosedale are protected. Heritage plans allow for demolition of lower grade houses, but the intent was not to pull down whole sections of streets as proposed by the Dale development. Rosedale’s heritage character is defined by its unique quality single family homes nestled in a garden landscape. It is not defined by a specific style of home, because there are many excellent examples of different styles from Toronto’s history.

The heritage plans were put in place to protect an important pocket of residential dwellings from overdevelopment and to stop the construction of apartment buildings in the area.

Despite protestations to the contrary, this will create a precedent. There are several locations in Rosedale where the opportunity to tear down homes on larger lots to increase development exist.

Furthermore, the development will have an adverse impact on the Rosedale Valley ravine, which if allowed would degrade the integrity of Toronto’s ravine protection rules that are more important today than ever. The NRRA has made its case to both the South Rosedale Residents Association, Councillor Wong-Tam and City planning staff.