Sunlife Towers | 2x 24 fl | Proposed

[MidTowner]

[quote pid='42403' dateline='1506117453']
In a condominium in Ontario, each unit gets a single vote. Each unit also has responsibility for a specific fractional share of the common expenses, as specified in the declaration of that specific condominium.

Note however that may be possible to knock together multiple units, and as far as I can tell the owner would still be considered to own each of the individual units and would therefore have the appropriate number of votes. In the future they presumably could un-combine the units and sell them off individually.

As to the commercial issue, I definitely agree that commercial would be desireable, but I would rather we stop forbidding stuff before we start requiring more stuff. For example, parking minima absolutely should be abolished, setbacks should be a matter between the property owner and adjacent properties, and there should be no commercial-only zones: it should always be legal to occupy a commercial storefront residentially, or to construct apartments or offices above commercial.

I might be convinced that zoning should require the ground floor units to have a floor height that matches the street and that they should in some sense “face” the street and maybe even that they be constructed to a standard that would allow commercial use. But actually requiring that they be used for commercial purposes is nonsense (although in practice the result would almost certainly be commercial use).

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I disagree with the statement "it should always be legal to occupy a commercial storefront residentially." The way I see it, retail and commercial space add value to a neighbourhood and city in a way residential space does not. Converting ground-floor commercial units on what should be a busy retail street could in a very real way threaten the continues viability of that street.

I generally think that restrictions on development should be eased (parking spot requirements and segregation of uses especially). But I don't think it's illegitimate for the municipal government to require certain things from a development, especially since a site like this is in the busiest part of the city, and its value and the viability of the proposed development has been driven by a lot of public investment.