Vaughan condo proposal receives interesting about-face
A planned 17-storey building development on Highway 7 at Kiping Avenue has recently been the subject of much controversy between local residents and ratepayers groups, politicians and developer alike.
On the one hand, you have local residents concerned primarily with the overall traffic safety which they contend is quite conceivable with the approval of a development of this magnitude in this particular location.
According to an intial article published on Yorkregion.com on May 15th, West Woodbridge Ratepayer’s president Nick Pinto was quoted saying “They (Municipal Council) don’t have the male attributes to stand up to the developer. They’ve surrendered. They’ve put up the white flag.”
On the one hand, you have local residents concerned primarily with the overall traffic safety which they contend will likely be compromised with the approval of a development of this magnitude in this particular location. On the other hand, are several Vaughan counsel members who contend that the project is in keeping with the overall intensification plan mandated within recent provincial Places to Grow Act.
Regional Councillor Joyce Frustaglio said if the issue goes to the Ontario Municipal Board, Vaughan could lose and an even bigger development might end up approved.
“Let me tell you, ladies and gentlemen, the provincial policy on Places to Grow is very clear on intensification of major corridors and there is no bigger corridor than Hwy. 7 in Woodbridge,” said Ms Frustaglio, who is also chairperson of the region’s rapid transit committee. “It is of major interest for the region of York. We can’t talk from both sides of our mouth and say, ‘Yes, we want the subway and rapid transit and then say that we don’t want intensification, not in our back yard’.
The interesting point about that quote arises when we fast forward to the same topic during this week’s council meetings, as reported in this article by YorkRegion.com. According to the article, Regional Councillor Frustaglio, along with her other colleagues said they wouldn’t support the proposal in its current form.
To summarize then, last week it’s thumbs up, this week it’s thumbs down. It was a dramatic turn of opinion for a Council who only a week earlier pontificated about how “we ought not to talk from both sides of our mouth.”
So why the U-turn of support you might ask?
Those who subscribe to the power of the collective would point to the massive turnout of public protest at Vaughan City Hall as being one reason. Then again, those who subscribe to the power of partisan politics might point to fact that among those residents present and opposing the development was former Mayor Michael DiBiase.
Interesting eh?
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