159 Chisholm Avenue

Me and my architect submitted the Committee of Adjustment application at the City Hall today. We are asking for 6 variances to the East York zoning by-law 6752.

1. The minimum required North side yard setback is 0.6m. The proposed North side yard setback is 0.3m. [7.4.3 – Side Yard setback]
2. The maximum permitted lot coverage is 35% of the lot area (99.6 square meters). The proposed lot coverage is 44% of the lot area (124.7 square metres). [7.4.3 – Lot Coverage]
3. The maximum permitted building height is 8.5m. The proposed building height is 9.8m. [7.4.3 – Building Height]
4. A driveway that passes through the front lot line requires a driveway with a minimum width of 2.6m. The proposed driveway (right-of-way) is 2.4m in width. (Section 7.1.4.)
5. A detached garage requires minimum side yard setback of 0.45m. The proposed South side setback is 0 meters. (Section 5.6.)
6. The maximum height of a detached garage is 3.6m. The proposed height is 4.0m. (Section 7.1.1 (4))

Variance request #1 is based on the current building setback, so really it’s to ask the city to keep the building where it was. #2 was grossly out dated. Not to mention that the building coverage is not that high, only 31%. It was the 20’x20′ garage that took the other 13%. #3 is the building height for my enclosed root top access which will probably be the biggest issue at the committee. #4 is again pretty much keeping it the way it was. #5 and #6 are both allowed in the draft zoning by-law for Toronto that’s still pending approval. So technically they really shouldn’t have any issue with it. Anyway I have a scheduled hearing date of March 27, 1pm. Wish me luck…

Finally the preliminary project review result is out, and interesting, even though City let you check the progress of the application online, as soon as the application is processed, the application can no longer be found inside the system. Instead I had to resort to telephone calling and in the end receiving a mailed piece of paper many days later. Now why wouldn’t they simply provide a online PDF for the application result? The city already requires all application to be in digital format, so I don’t understand why the result is not.

Here are the list of zoning by-law that I am violating with my design:

1. The minimum required North side yard setback is 0.6m. The proposed North side yard setback is 0.3m. [7.4.3 – Side Yard setback]
2. The maximum permitted lot coverage is 35% of the lot area (99.6 square meters). The proposed lot coverage is 44% of the lot area (124.7 square metres). [7.4.3 – Lot Coverage]
3. The maximum permitted building height is 8.5m. The proposed building height is 9.8m. [7.4.3 – Building Height]
4. A driveway that passes through the front lot line requires a driveway with a minimum width of 2.6m. The proposed driveway (right-of-way) is 2.4m in width. (Section 7.1.4.)
5. A minimum of 50% of the front year is required to be in the form of landscaping and a minimum of 75% of the front yard, excluding a permitted driveway, is required to be in the form of soft landscaping. The proposed landscaping has not been illustrated. (Section 7.1.5.)
6. A detached garage requires minimum side yard and rear yard setback of 0.45m. The proposed rear yard setback is 0.3m and the proposed South side setback is 0 meters. (Section 5.6.)

And so on to the committee of adjustment we got with these. I did miss one thing which is that

• The maximum height of a detached garage is 3.6m. The proposed height is 4.0m. (Section 7.1.1 (4))

Will have to add that to the committee of adjustment application as well.