Throughout 1998 and 1999, the West Lodge Tenants Association opposed the landlords' proposed city zoning changes that would have reduced the amount of underground parking so that they could avoid necessary repairs in the sub-basement, which was flooded and in need of structural repairs. We could only assume this was to save money, in spite of the fact that no matter what this would eventually have to be repaired because the basement parking rests on it.
Of extreme surprise to us was that this was fully supported by the City of Toronto's planner, Helen Coombs. One wonders why the city's planning department is so pro-landlord and pro-developer, even in clearcut cases such as this one.
You can see two City of Toronto documents on this issues here:
Preliminary Report on Application No: 197024 to amend Site
Specific By-law 22037 Jan. 6, 1998,
Draft By-law - Zoning By-law Amendment for 103 West Lodge
Avenue Apr. 13, 1999, and
Appeal regarding 103/105 West Lodge Avenue Adobe PDF file from March 2001.
It was such an absurd situation to have gone on so long, but with the logic of the situation, eventually the tenants won out and the City did not make the zoning bylaw changes the landlord, Wynn Family Properties, wanted.
Go back to the West Lodge (Toronto) Tenants Association home page.