Councilor calls for an end to developers requisitioning sidewalks and city streets

Construction sites that swallow sidewalks and nearby roads, creating traffic jams and serpentine detours for pedestrians will be in the line of fire at the Toronto City Council meeting this week.

Midtown Coun. Josh Matlow wants city staff to study the possibility of forcing developers to use their own land – not public roads – as transit areas for equipment.

He said that this practice is one of the main causes of bottling. our roads, get off our sidewalks, build on your property, "said Matlow last week. "You earn money there, let us circulate here."

But proponents say city policies that demand the highest possible densities in new residential developments force them to build on every square centimeter that they own. , chairman and CEO of BILD-GTA, a group that speaks for developers, warns that while they are forced to use their own land as storage areas, construction costs will increase. And this cost will be pbaded on to home buyers.

"One of our members said it could cost between $ 20,000 and $ 30,000 per unit," he said. Other promoters will be tempted to go out of the real estate together.

In addition, he says, the city earns money when developers take sidewalks as staging areas, charging rents of up to hundreds of thousands of dollars, depending on the duration of the project .

He said that the industry is ready to work with advisors to find a compromise. But Matlow's motion "was presented without badysis, without consultation and without understanding of the impact it would have on the supply and affordability of housing in the Greater Toronto Area" , according to Wilkes.

But Matlow is not convinced that forcing developers to use only the lands that they own would allow them to scare away the builders of houses

but in reality, the developer was a speculator who decided to make a lot of money on a certain property, "he said.

" Why should they just badume that they are not the same? they should be able to invade our streets and sidewalks. [19659002] "It's their right to grow, but it's our right to move around our city, and that should be respected too."

City staff say 115 construction projects are underway course in Toronto. 19659002] Since Matlow's motion is brought directly to council, it will not be considered unless we can get the support of two-thirds of the councilors.

If he can not, the motion will be referred to the executive committee and will probably not return to council until next year.