Haydain Neale, 1970–2009
Transit City and Transit Cities
Peeve Patrol
Newsstand: November 23, 2009
The Making of a Medley
Well, we're pretty sure that members of the "No Big Box in Leslieville" advocacy group and the heroic East Toronto Community Coalition are gushing right now. Almost a year after their battle to prevent SmartCentres from developing a property—allegedly big box, allegedly Wal-Mart–anchored—on the former home of Toronto Film Studios started heating up, and long after an official decision was expected, the City issued a press release a little more than an hour ago (quickly picked up by the Post and Spacing) declaring that the Ontario Municipal Board has "upheld the City’s right to maintain the area South of Eastern Avenue as an Employment District without large format, stand alone retail outlets" and that the Board "found that the functioning of other economic activities within this district would have been undermined if the Smart Centres application had been approved."
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While I understand the merits of not wanting a big box store in the area, I'm afraid this are will become a wasteland and no development will happen due to the zoning restrictions set out by the city. Liberty village seems have filled the purpose that the city (and community groups) intend for this baron strip. I personally would have been fine with the big box store in the area (I'm a resident there) for a few reasons:
-really convenient (ample parking, almost impossible on queen east) and low prices (in these "doom and gloom" times)
-those smaller local shops tend to be much pricier, and offer limited selection
-employees of these stores tend to be (but not almost) snotty, hipster types who offer very poor customer service, almost like they are doing you a favour letting you browse the store they are employed at
The grassroots hippies really need to get a grip on the economics of the matter, and the real effect it has on their community. I really hope that something good comes out of this.
^^incredibly foolish.
nothing would stimulate the economy more than by shopping at WalMart instead of independent businesses, where money goes into a taxpayer's pocket instead of a megacorporation's profit-stuffed pockets, right?
parking on Queen East - I go there 3 times a month for shopping, lattes (at Mercury, not Starfucks, natch), etc. Never have I had a problem finding a free or paid parking spot. Not sure where you are trying to park. but walking more than 60 seconds from a side street to Queen never killed anyone. and that giant parking lot is a huge load of concrete and nothingness. green space or stores could occupy that space instead and infuse some flavour/culture into the area.
Employees being snotty and hipster? sounds like you're more uncomfy with your own skin and not of others. of course, the blue-vested loving souls at WalMart offer amazing minimum-wage, zero-benefits customer service to you because they are passionate about their work, right?
I am definitely not a hippy, but i am grassroots. I am also an indie business owner to boot, but I still have the ability to ask a simple question: how can WalMart keep the prices so low? do the math to figure out why WalMart's depicted as an evil. I have not entered there to buy anything for 13 years and I sincerely hope i never am forced to buy anything from there for decades to come.
if you want to support faceless, miserable entities, shop on at WalMart. but if you actually want to put money back directly into a community, try shopping indie.
"if you want to support faceless, miserable entities, shop on at WalMart. but if you actually want to put money back directly into a community, try shopping indie."
That is your viewpoint, you fail to mention that Wal*Mart supports each community it is in with fundraisers bringing in hundreds of thousands of dollars for said area. Wal*Mart would employ more people than all of those owners in the Leslieville area, directly putting cash in the pockets of the people as well as providing an inexpensive option to the over-charging small ma and pop stores.
You may think they are faceless and miserable but that is because you have mentioned yourself you have not given Wal*Mart a 2nd thought for 13 or so years. Wal*Mart is not some beast that destroys the local economy but actually makes life easier for the whole community. Even from an environment stand, why drive and walk yourself all up and down Queen/Gerard for that one store when you can make one quick trip to Wal*Mart.
I for one welcome our new & blue Wal*mart overlords.
Yeah...no thanks.
This is good news, but the OMB still needs to be replaced. Too often they make the wrong decision for the wrong reasons.
#1, solid development-minded citizen, vs #2, our anti-development grassroots hipster. It was always thus in this argument. But we never hear seem to hear from that third category, our neighbours who aren't leaving yet aren't exactly embraced by our happy indie vibe, shops or hopes. They could use the jobs created and the real day-to-day savings offered by retailers and service outlets bigger than your average collection of eclectic locals. I'd call THAT putting money back into the community... and I'd hoped there was room for both approaches #1 and #2. Anyway, it's sad to see a proposal to invest capital and opportunity in this area and in this city in these freakin times turned down. Here's hoping that the flavour/culture infusion that "could" happen might indeed magically happen. Because you don't get anything at all without either money or magic, and there's little enough of either around these days.
Sadly, the OMB is the best functioning part of our planning system. Go watch a Council debate on a major development application, and then go listen in on part of the OMB hearing. 9 times out of 10, the only careful consideration and analysis of the applicable provincial policies and local Official Plan will be at the OMB. The OMB is a symptom of a planning process at most municipalities that is beyond broke. As long as City Council insists on exercising its powers under the Planning Act on the basis of good politics rather than good planning, we'll always have the OMB.
And take a minute to read the actual Leslieville decision - the City wins, but Council comes across as a bunch of buffoons (this was the City's case to lose, and Council's inept handling of the issue almost resulted in a loss). Leslieville was not well served by the City in this case. In the end it was the right result, but very little credit should go to Council.
That was intended to be a reply to Paul @3.
"This is good news, but the OMB still needs to be replaced. Too often they make the wrong decision for the wrong reasons."
Or maybe the lesson from this is that the OMB is not all that bad, it's just the city have never bothered to put up a properly resourced fight before. Now if they could only staff Planning enough so they don't hand developers automatic appeals because they don't respond within the 180 days the law allows.