Settlement reached on variance, but residents still concerned
By Bill Rea

The proposed airsupported structure over a playing field at Country Day School has passed another hurdle, but an Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) hearing officer wants to consider input from residents before issuing a final report.

The school, located on the east side of Dufferin Street, north of King Road, was granted a minor variance in November by King's adjustment committee to allow a the temporary structure to go at the front of the property. The variance was needed because such accessory buildings are usually supposed to go behind the main structure, and because of the fact that it's slated to be about 50 feet in height, more than the 36-foot maximum normally permitted by the Township.

Neighbouring property owner Dr. Robert Madronich appealed the variance to OMB, but lawyer Ellen Pefhany, representing the school, announced at Thursday's hearing that a settlement had been reached. It calls on the school to move the structure to a permanent location behind the buildings, while the height remains as planned.

Hearing Officer Jan Seaborn announced Madronich was out of town, but she had minutes of the settlement. She also pointed out the variance regarding the location was not longer required because the the revision complied with Township regulations.

But there were people in the audience with concerned, including representatives of Concerned Citizens of King Township (CCKT).

Planning consultant Angela Sciberras testified that the air-supported structure, which she referred to as a "dome," will be going behind the main building, adding the agreement between the school, Madronich and some of his neighbours was reached March 9. As well, all sides have agreed to accept the height.

Sciberras said she has viewed the property, seen both the old and new location for the "dome" and spoken to Country Day's Head Master Paul Duckett.

She also said the proposal complies with various regulations, including those involving the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan, and the bylaw the Township passed to bring its documents into conformity with the Moraine plan.

King's Official Plan designates the site as rural, Sciberras said, adding a school is among the uses permitted there. Township bylaws zone it institutional, but she said there's also a site-specific document restricting its use to a school, with one dwelling unit permitted to house a caretaker for the site.

Sciberras stated there are four tests called for in the Planning Act regarding variances, and she said this proposal meets all four criteria.

She stated the variance could be considered minor in nature because the proposed height is not excessively more than the surrounding buildings. She added the impacts will be reduced by the fact the land is low-lying, compared with the original location. It is considered desirable for the development of the property because it's going near parking facilities and sports fields, allowing for enhanced use of the site. As well, she said it complies with the general intent of both the local zoning and Official Plan.

Debbie Schaefer, speaking on behalf of CCKT, had a number of problems with the proposal.

She charged the variance allows the height restrictions to be exceeded by some 41 per cent, and she wondered if that was really minor.

She also said the development was of an "unsightly nature," adding she had seen no data to say it conforms with the Moraine plan.

Despite the agreement, Schaefer said she still had problems, stating the structure will have an area of some 3,500 square feet, and arguing that's not minor either. She added if more residents of the 15th Sideroad had realized there would be a five-storey "huge white dome" in the sight lines from their homes, there would have been more people at the hearing.

"The structure will be in their sight lines," she declared. "They have not been given due process."

A site plan for the development will have to be approved, and Schaefer asked if the board approves the variance that King council's okay be required.

She also cited the Moraine plan, which she said allows for the expansion of existing uses, as long as land uses don't change and there's no impact on the ecological integrity of the area. Schaefer wondered how the school planned to demonstrate there would be no such impacts.

As well, she said the school property is partly in a regulated area of the Humber watershed, pointing out the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) has to issue a permit for this. She agreed TRCA staff would have looked into the original application, and wondered if they had checked the new site for the structure.

Councillor Jane Underhill also addressed the board, asking that council be the body that approves the site plan.

The board also heard from 17th Sideroad resident Peter Schneiders, who declared he has a "vested interest and strong support for maintaining the integrity of the Green Belt legislation, which includes the oak ridges moraine."

He added he is dismayed when the spirit of such legislation is compromised by what he called narrow interests.