"At the time, the company claimed there's a national security risk having hundreds of residents able to look down on its facilities, where vaccine research and development takes place. Now Vic Fedeli, Ontario's minister of economic development, job creation and trades, is asking the housing minister to issue a minister's zoning order (MZO) to limit building heights at the property to 33 metres (or about 10 storeys)."
"The developer, Tenblock, says the height limit would kill the project. The site needs the density of market housing to help pay for and make the whole project viable together. So we just can't proceed at that reduced height, said Stephen Job, vice-president of Tenblock. The current, four-storey complex, in the foreground, is aging and lacks many amenities, Tenblock says. The new development would add more than 800 new rental units."
"MZOs are issued at the discretion of the housing minister to regulate land use and override municipal bylaws. They're usually used to facilitate and fast-track development, not limit it. It's not entirely clear if national security concerns are motivating the province."
Ontario is considering using a minister's zoning order (MZO) to cap building heights at 33 metres (about 10 storeys) for a proposed three-building rental project at Steeles Ave. W. and Dufferin St. Sanofi Pasteur, adjacent to the site, claimed national security risks from residents overlooking its vaccine research facilities. Vic Fedeli requested the housing minister issue the MZO; his press secretary said it would protect against unnecessary delays to future expansions. Developer Tenblock contends the height limit would make the project unviable, opposing the security rationale and warning that an MZO would set a harmful precedent. The project would have added over 800 rental units.
Read at www.cbc.ca
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