Results tagged “ontariomunicipalboard”

like a city council scorned? North York Community Council, fed up with the Ontario Municipal Board in general and piqued at their recent approval of a new condo development in particular, has taken a novel approach to expressing its discontent. The name that's been assigned to the road leading into the complex? OMB Folly. The motion was introduced by Councillor John Filion and passed in a 7-2 vote. Hallstone Homes is developing the 36-unit complex of townhouses and is so far failing to see the humour in this turn of events. The OMB, set up by the province to administer municipal planning, has been frequently criticized by City Council and local community groups for favouring developers over neighbourhood well-being. North York Community Council's pith has apparently rendered them speechless: as of yet, the OMB has made no comment on their Folly.

The proposed big box development in Leslieville has been getting a lot of attention lately, and not because it's a welcome addition to the retail streetscape in the east end. The land, the soon-to-be-former home of Toronto Film Studios, is currently zoned for employment purposes, which means that it's supposed to be used to provide jobs that pay better than retail.

"Honest Ed" Mirvish dies at 92. As the man himself would say: He may be gone, but his bargains sure aren't. Torontoist's obituary for him can be found here. Details on the funeral are here.

Welcome to Bad Buildings, Torontoist's new resident (anonymous, outspoken) architecture critic. Bad Buildings will appear every Wednesday.

Picton residents cautiously unshuttered their windows and unbolted their doors after a 20-pound Japanese snow monkey was successfully sedated by police and returned to his home at a roadside zoo.

Last Thursday's 20th Anniversary bash for Artscape was a who's-who of Toronto arts philanthropy: the guest list boasted big names from around the city like Councillors Joe Mihevc and Gord Perks, Toronto Arts Council Executive Director Claire Hopkinson, Poet Laureate Pier Giorgio Di Cicco, and more. It was an evening of being seen, sampling a whirlwind of savoury hors d'oeuvres and trading congratulatory speeches with some of Toronto's most influential arts personalities.

Last week, we covered the Ontario Municipal Board's approval of a plan to build several condo buildings in the area of the Queen West Triangle. The plan has been controversial from the beginning, and has been strongly opposed by a residents group called Active 18.

Drake, you ho, this is all your fault. The Ontario Municipal Board has approved a high-rise residential project on Queen Street West at 48 Abell Street, just steps from the Gladstone and everything hipsters cherish about Toronto's arts scene. Developers intend to build 7 condos in total with affordable housing, and the ratio of "normal people" to "artists with cool hair" will be thrown into upheaval. Unfortunately, there's not much that we or neighbourhood-preservation groups like Active 18 can do. The condo developers officially have the green light.

Artists Jenn Goodwin and Jessica Rose are known around town as the artists behind the Movement Movement, a series of art performances that involve running around art venues like the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, or the Theatre Centre and even non-art venues like City Hall.

The TTC has gotten approval to start construction on the St. Clair Right of Way. Hopefully this ends the protracted legal squabble that had more twists and turns than a John Grisham novel, including a decision overturned because one of the judges had a conflict of interest. Torontoist, has strongly supported faster, better transit and honestly doesn't feel that a ROW will destroy the neighbourhood like the folks at Save Our St. Clair claims. Inconvenience cars and deliveries maybe, but destroy a whole neighbourhood? Last time I checked the best way to do that was not fixing gridlock and by pushing a heavy amount of traffic onto your streets.

Young urbanites who want to own property have two choices. The first is to scour Toronto neighbourhoods for neglected houses that may prove to be financial albatrosses in need of repairs and renovations. The second choice is the condo. Or at least that's what Toronto Life would have you believe.

At a party last Saturday night, I ended all my conversations with the snappy phrase, "You're Fired!" I thought this was a pretty funny way to exit a conversation, what with the popularity of the Donald Trump's new show The Apprentice. You see, in The Apprentice, Trump asks losing contestants to leave the show by telling them "you're fired" at the end of each episode. So I just took the line "you're fired" and put it in the context of a conversation. For example, I would be talking to someone, and he or she would say something like, "it was nice talking to you," and I would reply, "you're fired!"