The Toronto Star spoke to Ron Kanter about an agreement signed by Don Mills residents more than a decade ago for a new community centre that has yet to be built

The Toronto Star interviewed Ron Kanter of our Municipal and Land Use Planning Group to discuss the agreement reached in 2010 by Don Mills residents to abandon their opposition to Cadillac Fairview, who wished to build residential towers in the heart of their neighborhood, in exchange for a community centre. They signed a legal agreement with the City of Toronto and Cadillac Fairview in 2010. While Cadillac Fairview has since built The Shops at Don Mills as well as the condo towers that residents had opposed on the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB), the community centre promised to residents in exchange for abandoning their opposition to the towers has yet to be built.

Residents have been informed by Councilor Denzil Minnan-Wong that they must decide by November 9 whether to accept a much smaller version of what they had successfully negotiated or risk losing the community centre entirely. Residents are concerned that the legal decision, if left standing, could affect any community group in Ontario that reaches an agreement with the City and a developer.

“I don’t think it’s a great precedent,” says Kanter, a former Toronto councilor and member of the Metro Toronto Council.

“It’s pretty consistent with the way planning disputes are handled. Respect the words of the agreement, but also look at the public interest to see if it is in the public interest. And the court said here that the public interest has evolved or changed. And I think it makes sense under the circumstances."

To read the full article, visit the original source online, The Toronto StarThe Toronto Star.

This article has also been published in The The Canadian.

This article is not intended to serve as a comprehensive treatment of the topic and is not legal advice. All legal matters are dealt with pursuant to their specific facts and circumstance. Nothing replaces retaining a qualified, competent lawyer.