Proposed luxury home in Toronto drawing controversy
A proposed home in Toronto that originally would exist mostly underground, and received pushback from the area’s city councillor, has had its plans revised.
The owner of the property, located at 7 Knightswood Road in the Don Valley’s Hogg’s Hollow neighbourhood, applied in 2020 for permission to build a new home with a two-storey basement.
Toronto real estate agent Marco Momeni told CTV News Toronto the decision to build extensively underground, is “a luxury trend that is often used to bypass height limits on construction.”
“In cities such as Toronto, there are so many restrictions when it comes to constructing … homes — one of them is the height,” Momeni said. “So sometimes, they build a multi-level basement.”
The original application for 7 Knightswood proposed that the home be permitted to extend almost 8 metres deeper than City of Toronto bylaws usually allow.
Currently, homes are permitted to be 19 metres deep and the original proposal for 7 Knightswood had a depth of just over 27 metres.
The original application also requested permission to extend the length of the home by 10m more than city bylaws usually allow.
That application was approved in November 2020— the city deemed the variances to be minor.
However, after the application to extend 7 Knightwoods 8 metres deeper was approved, the developers changed their plans, resubmitting the design and proposing the basement be only one storey with a 10 ft ceiling.
City Councillor for Don Valley West, Jaye Robinson, says that homes that are built too deep have “serious environmental impacts.”
“The serious environmental impacts are well-documented,” Robinson told CTV News Toronto on Friday, adding that they could result in “reduced soil permeability, increased runoff, compromised foundations in neighbouring homes, and added stress on stormwater infrastructure.”
Robinson says the original plans at 7 Knightswood were approved “despite objections from Urban Forestry and the community” and that she will be bringing the issue in front of city Council at the next opportunity.
However, Momeni says that, because such homes are a thing of luxury, you shouldn’t expect to see a surplus of them in your neighbourhood anytime soon.
“It's not for everybody … I don't believe it could be built everywhere.”
Correction
UPDATE: This article was updated in February 2022 to reflect the revised development plans for 7 Knightswood.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canada's most wanted fugitive arrested in P.E.I. in connection with Toronto homicide
A suspect in a fatal shooting in Toronto’s east end last summer has been arrested in Charlottetown, just one week after he topped a list of Canada’s most wanted fugitives.
BREAKING Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
Concerns about plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall plexiglass barriers.
Plane overshoots runway at airport in St. John's, N.L., no injuries reported
Investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada are headed to St. John's, N.L., after a plane overshot a runway at the city's airport this afternoon.
Poilievre unrepentant over calling Trudeau 'wacko' as his MPs say Speaker should resign
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Toddler of Phoenix first responder dies after bounce house goes airborne
A two-year-old child died after a strong gust of wind sent the bounce house he was in airborne and into a neighbouring lot in central Arizona, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office said.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh confirms his party will support the Liberals' federal budget
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says his party will support the federal budget, ending any speculation that the party could pull out of its deal with the minority Liberal government.
Dental care program accepting claims for 1 million seniors
Citizens' Services Minister Terry Beech says 1,200 seniors have already visited a dentist and had their claims processed by the federal government's new dental care plan.