A contentious plan for a shopping centre in Leslieville - derided as a suburban-style "big box" with Wal-Mart as a likely tenant - has been quashed by the province's planning tribunal, after a five-year fight by local councillors and residents.
The Ontario Municipal Board, often accused by critics of favouring developers, sided with the city and struck down an application to convert the Toronto Film Studios site on Eastern Avenue between Carlaw Avenue and Leslie Street into a 600,000 square-foot retail complex with 1,800 parking spaces.
Objections to the plan, outlined at hearings last year, included fears of increased car traffic, the effect of a mega-mall on local small businesses and the low-wage jobs critics said the development would create.
But the OMB's 56-page ruling rests only on its finding that the city's official plan had designated the area as industrial or employment lands, disallowing substantial retail as it could "destabilize" the area as more retail flooded in, land values increased and other employment uses were crowded out.
Moreover, in his ruling, dated Mar. 3, OMB vice-chairman James McKenzie also slammed moves by city officials and local city Councillor Paula Fletcher to try to kill the development, striking down planning amendments he called "knee-jerk" reactions passed on a "political whim."
In the current economic climate, it looks likely that instead of a new shopping centre that proponents said would create close to 2,000 jobs, very little will be happening on the lands, now largely vacant after Toronto Film Studios moved to a new location to the south.
Still, Ms. Fletcher and Mayor David Miller praised the decision as a major victory, arguing that once the economy recovers, better-paying jobs will be created on the site, such as those in the film industry, which the city believes is a key sector in the new "creative" economy of the future.
"It's not just a win. It's a big win," Ms. Fletcher said, calling it a "thoughtful, measured decision."
Vaughan, Ont.-based SmartCentres said in an e-mail statement that it was considering its options: "All the voices have been heard, and we lost. While disappointed, we respect the process and the decision of the board. At this time, we have no immediate plans for other development or use of the property and will assess all available options to us."
Kelly Carmichael of the East Toronto Community Coalition, which fought vehemently against the SmartCentres plan, said she was "thrilled" with the decision.
"It's just great. It feels like democracy won today," she said. "Now we have an opportunity to work with the city, and hopefully create a vision [for the property] rather than having to be behind the eight ball all the time."
Victoria Dinnick, owner of Gadabout, a vintage clothing store on Queen Street East, praised the decision and said the development would have hurt Leslieville's eclectic small-business strip.
"I think it would have killed the incentive for other businesses to move in," she said. "We already have three big boxes. If you put one more in there, what you're going to see is what you've seen in the United States, where it turns into a shopping wasteland."
With a report
from Josh Wingrove
Jeff Gray