Richmond Hill residents poised to fight 28-storey building proposed at Yonge and Elgin Mills

'The developer is clearly only interested in making a quick profit at the expense of the community'

Yorkregion.com
July 16, 2020

A new residents group has formed in Richmond Hill to fight yet another high-density development proposed in the city’s suburban neighbourhood.

About 100 area residents are coming together to call into question a 28-storey rental apartment building application in a community which primarily consists of single-family detached homes, at the southwest corner of Yonge Street and Elgin Mills Road.

“I feel threatened,” said Layla Rahbar, a resident living on Arten Avenue, just behind the lands to be developed.

Rahbar, who has lived in the area for seven years, said the feeling of “fear” instantly hit her when she learned in late May that a highrise building might come to their “lovely, quiet neighbourhood.”

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The landowner, Sabella Ridge Estates Inc., is seeking to amend the city’s official plan and zoning bylaw for the land at 10684 and 10692 Yonge Street in order to allow for the construction of the highrise apartment building, according to a notice issued by the city on May 28.

The tower will have 284 residential units and 273 parking spaces on the surface, above ground and underground, including a driveway in the back of the building that leads to the curvature of Arten and Creekview avenues.

The landowner aspired to significantly increase the height and density that was set out in the 2010 official plan, according to an application summary obtained by the Liberal on July 8.

“It’s disheartening,” said resident Max Haroon, who has been working with Rahbar to garner public support to push back the development.

They’ve started an online petition --"STOP High-density Development in Richmond Hill (Greater Toronto Area)!!" --and created a GoFundMe page to raise money to hire professionals to help with their battle. The group has also created social media accounts on Twitter and Facebook.

“The developer is clearly only interested in making a quick profit at the expense of the community,” Haroon, who initiated the residents group with Rahbar, wrote in a press release on July 6.

The resident has listed a number of concerns gathered from affected families in the area, including traffic, parking and density.

Safety was their biggest concern, as Rahbar said the driveway planned for the back of the building would result in traffic from the busy Yonge Street to the neighbourhood and the limited parking in the building would cause an overflow of parked cars onto their residential streets.

“It would look out of place,” resident Robert Livingstone said, adding that he didn’t expect a high-density building to be proposed at the relatively small lot in the first place.

The residential tower is proposed to sit atop a 5-storey podium on the 0.5-hectare site, with a density of 4.12 floor space index (FSI) and 568 units per hectare, according to the application summary.

“It doubles the FSI and almost doubles the height limit set out in the official plan,” said Ward 4 Coun. David West, who was also not in favour of the development.

The councillor said on July 8 that he has received phone calls, emails and letters from dozens of people who are strongly against the development over the past month.

The area was not slated for this type of intensification, West said.

Meanwhile, residents also raised concerns over the potential flood risk, as the area is located in a Flood Vulnerable Area identified by the city.

The 28-storey building is just one of many development proposals in Richmond Hill that have come under fire over the past several months.

The city has received a number of applications for highrise buildings, especially along the Yonge Street corridor, since the start of COVID-19.

At least two protests have taken place in Richmond Hill, where residents fought against over-intensification during the ongoing pandemic.

Most recently, some 50 residents and supporters of the Richmond Hill Umbrella Residents Group (RHURG) took to the streets to protest the development plans along Yonge Street.

West said the city is expected to hold a council public meeting on the 28-storey building in early fall, where the residents are encouraged to make their concerns heard.

The councillor said he would like to see a “significantly modified and more appropriate application” instead of the current one.