They were angry. Owner after owner of homes on Randolph Rd rose at a crowded meeting Monday night at the Leaside arena to condemn the project known as 146/150 Laird Drive. It calls for two buildings, seven and eight storeys to be owned and run by Viva Retirement Communities. Randolph sits behind and to the west of the proposed project and would be shaded by it. Residents also complained about the “100-foot wall” that would greet them in their backyard and the hundreds of balconies looking down on them. Dozens of speakers directed attacks on the size and height. Re-zoning from the legal limit of 12.2 metres to 32 metres is required. The rhetoric was impressive. Carol Fripp of the Leaside Property Owners Association said Laird Drive had to be saved from any more “Kremlin-shaped buildings.” Others spoke of a “tsunami” of such buildings that would line Laird as developers “did violence to the bylaws.” More than 400 people have signed a petition to stop the project in its present form. The anger generated by the development prompted a number of speakers to rail against developers in general, traffic and the change being brought to Leaside by the Eglinton LRT. There was also bitter futility as well because the Ontario Municipal Board might have the final say. Councillor Burnside took the floor to concede that developers have more influence than they should . He noted the annual land transfer tax yielded $430 million. It was a situation he said in which “developers have been getting away with things.” In conclusion the Councillor said he did not oppose development within the bylaws and rules set out. And then he turned to the developers and spoke directly. He challenged their opening remarks about wanting to be part of and integrated into the community. Clearly, he said, the community didn’t want this development. He left no doubt there is a fight ahead. (Monday, February 9, 2015)
