Vaughan council rejects Muslim housing development

cjnews.com
Sept. 10, 2014
By Sheri Shefa

Vaughan City Council has unanimously passed a motion to reject a controversial proposal for a Muslim condominium and townhouse complex in the predominantly Jewish suburb of Thornhill Woods.

Earlier this year, the Islamic Shia Ithna Asheri Jamaat (ISIJ) applied to build subsidized housing in the form of two 17-storey towers, 61 townhouses as well as assisted living facilities for seniors on its 30-acre property adjacent to the Jaffari Centre mosque at 9000 Bathurst St., south of Rutherford Road.

According to a statement on the Preserve Thornhill Woods Association Facebook page, Vaughan City Council voted last week to reject the ISIJ’s development plan “on the grounds that insufficient progress was being made and that it wasn’t fair to the community to keep dragging this issue out.

“City council then tabled a motion to reject the application and invited the applicant to resubmit a new application that was much more closely aligned with VOP 2010,” or the Vaughan Official Plan, an initiative that is part of the city’s growth management strategy.

Many Thornhill Woods residents have opposed the ISIJ proposal, citing zoning bylaws and the impact that hundreds of new living units and residents would have on the suburb’s infrastructure, traffic and parking, as well as local schools that are already at capacity.

The Preserve Thornhill Woods Association residents’ group was set up to oppose it.

The proposed development was reportedly originally intended to be Muslim-only, but after the backlash, ISIJ representatives subsequently said it would be open to all.

In February, a community working group was set up to allow the ISIJ to present a revised proposal in line with the area’s designation as a low-rise neighbourhood.

In the wake of the council vote, options for the ISIJ include appealing to the Ontario Municipal Board, a process that can take years, or to come back with an alternative proposal.

Vaughan City Councillor Sandra Yeung Racco said the proposal that ISIJ presented did not reflect the community.

“There were still a lot of issues like density and height [of the condos] and traffic, things that weren’t addressed to my satisfaction,” Yeung Racco said.

She added that council offered comprehensive guidelines to help ISIJ come up with a more comprehensive conceptual master plan.

“We have set certain principles that we had already developed with the working group, and we want them to stick to those principles, and we spelled out that we want the character of the community to be reflected,” Yeung Racco said.

ISIJ has until Nov. 15 to submit a revised plan.

“The city also imposed a limit of five months on the review process and committed to writing a final staff recommendation report on any revised proposal by March 15, 2015,” the Preserve Thornhill Woods Association Facebook page said.

“We are pleased with this motion because it sends a strong message that the city stands behind their official plan and that the applicant must stick to the current zoning and must address the concerns of our community.”

ISIJ spokesperson Shabbir Jaffer said the organization has “consistently demonstrated our willingness to work collaboratively with the area residents and city staff and will continue to do so as we prepare a revised proposal for submission on or before Nov. 15.”