Quote:
Originally Posted by Dado
I'd like to know where all these nimbys you guys keep talking about are.
All I see are people opposing a development that exceeds what the CDP envisages. THAT'S NOT BEING A NIMBY.
If Ashcroft had proposed something that was in keeping with the CDP - i.e. 6 storeys along Richmond, 4 in the back - and people were opposing that, then yes, there would be a reasonable case that people were being nimby. But Ashcroft didn't do that. So we have no way of knowing under the present circumstances whether this alleged nimbyism actually exists or not. In fact, to date, there has not been a single major redevelopment proposal on Richmond Rd in Westboro that has conformed to the general intent of the CDP. Until there is, there are absolutely no grounds on which to base a charge of nimbyism because thus far there have been no circumstances in which there could be evidence of it.
More to the point though, you guys really don't get it. This is not just about a proposal in Westboro. It is more fundamentally about the very role of community development plans and citizen participation in creating them.
The CDP was produced to avoid the kind of controversy we're seeing. It was put in place so everyone, from citizens to developers to staff, knew and understood what was and what was not permitted so that development could proceed in peace. It had a fair amount of buy-in and it envisages quite a bit of intensification. Yet, despite that, the intent, if not the word, of the CDP is being violated in its very first application. Loopholes and dodgy rationales are being put forward to justify a clear violation of the intent of the CDP. That's why there is such sound and fury - because everyone knows that if it fails to survive this first test, then the CDP is basically a worthless piece of paper and the community participation in creating it was a sham.
It's kind of ironic that the City is running one of its Planning Primer electives this Saturday & Monday on CDPs while at the same time its own staff is going out of its way to violate the most prominent of them.
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I think you don't get it. The CDP did not properly consider the possibility of redevelopment of this site - if it had been envisioned as a significant possibility at the time the CDP was developed, the property would have been more appropriately dealt with, and we wouldn't be having this fight. Additionally, city staff have made some very credible arguments regarding how this proposed development actually does comply with the CDP.
The NIMBYism is not evidenced by the complaints regarding the CDP (I agree it could have been better handled). It is evidenced in how people interpret it - for example the argument that because we are near the 2021 targets for intensification, there should be no more intensification in Westboro until then. These were TARGETS that we were hoping to achieve. Surpassing a target is a good thing.
NIMBY attitudes are also evident in the arguments against the driveway accross the linear park. This driveway exists because the residents of Shannon did not want the entrance off their street. Yet everyone else protests - why - because rather than considering the wider interests (seniors need a convenient drop-off zone, by not forcing traffic to cross the site you enable the creation of pedestrian zones, and this solution better protects the more truly vested interests of those living on Shannon Ave) they are arguing for a limited but personal interest.
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