'Policies in place for a bloody reason': Mississauga rejects 11-storey condo near waterfront

Thestar.com
Dec. 13, 2021

Mississauga’s planning committee has rejected a proposed 11-storey condo development near the waterfront, but the city may soon have to defend its decision before the province.

The city’s planning and development committee (PDC) voted down a development application at 420 Lakeshore Rd. E. on Monday, Dec. 6 that would have seen an 11-storey, 166-unit building go up where a Beer Store currently resides.

Ward councillor and PDC member Stephen Dasko pointed to city zoning, which currently permits around four-storey buildings, and said local policies take years to develop through community and city staff consultations.

“We have got a planning regime and policies in place for a bloody reason,” he said. “And you know, this is again something that we should be sticking to.”

In June, developer 2828778 Ontario Inc. (formerly known as Starbank Group of Companies) appealed to the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT), which has the power to override the city’s decision.

The development was initially proposed to have 12 storeys, one more than what’s currently planned, and 29 additional dwelling units.

Lawyer Mary Flynn-Guglietti of law firm McMillan LLP represented the developer at the meeting and said they’re open to mediation with the city and that “major changes” have been made to the project since it was initially proposed, including introducing ground floor retail units and relocating the planned driveway.

“Our client has made very strong efforts to try to address comments and concerns, and we are interested in coming up with a proposal that we think is acceptable, but also would be an appropriate development for this particular site.”

The PDC vote echoes city staff’s recommendations. Mississauga planning staff said in a report that the revised development “represents a level of intensification that does not appropriately reflect the city’s urban structure,” and that site wasn’t “intended for tall buildings.”

The Beer Store at the proposed development site is two-storeys tall, while neighbouring single-detached homes on Enola Avenue are also two storeys.

There are other development applications nearby ranging from 12-15 storeys and older apartment buildings on Lakeshore  are between five to eight storeys.

Boris Rosolak lives right next to the proposed development and called a planned driveway for the 166-unit building a “road” that’s “five feet from my house.”

“We've been there 20 years,” he said at the Dec. 6 meeting. “This is absolutely abhorrent, and it boggles my mind that developers can push council into making decisions that are so incongruent with the existing neighbourhoods.”

If the proposed 11-storey building goes before the OLT, which settles land use disputes between developers and municipalities, there’s a good chance Mississauga may lose.

Between 2014 and October 2020, Mississauga had one successful development appeal out of seven cases at what’s now the OLT, costing $748,390 for lawyer and planner fees, according to a 2020 city report.

Rosolak said he would prefer that the development application goes before the OLT instead of mediation. That way, he said, affected residents will have the chance to argue their side in a public hearing instead of a brokered deal between the city and developer.

Lakeview Ratepayers Association president Deborah Goss told the PDC committee that the size of the proposed development was “excessive” and said it would have a big impact on nearby residents to the south.

She also said that approval of the project as it stands may encourage developers to disregard local planning rules as the city is developing its Lakeshore Road East Corridor, which is proposed to set maximum heights in the area at eight storeys.

“Approval of this development will set a precedent for all other tall buildings along the corridor,” she said.

As of Dec. 6, there was no first OLT conference scheduled between the city and developer.