I have lived at Yonge and…

I have lived at Yonge and Eglinton for over eight years. I would like to start by saying I am not opposed to development at Yonge and Eglinton. Properly planned development brings many positive influences to a neighbourhood, but over development can have a long term drastic impact. As you are aware, Yonge and Eglinton development has already exceeded Provincial growth targets and because of this and the many concerns of residents living in the area, I ask that you vote in favour of the Yonge-Eglinton Official Plan Amendment No.405 (“OPA 405”) as presented. Over and above the fact that development already exceeds targets, I am sure you have been informed on many of the issues currently being faced in the area: Streets that are already too narrow to support current foot traffic and made worse by infringement of new development granted by the city to developers – Roehampton Avenue is a prime example of this; Shortage of school spaces; Drain on utility services; traffic and safety; lack of community amenities and green space;. over crowded subways and subway platforms; and several other issues All of these current problems can only become exacerbated by additional high rise building above that outlined in OPA 405. One concern I have, not mentioned above, and something I hope you will factor in to your vote, is the impact on daylight and sunlight. Constructing buildings higher than those outlined in OPA 405 will have a direct everlasting impact on residents currently living in the area. Construction of buildings, their positioning and distances from surroundings have a direct influence in their effect on quality of life – blocking daylight, lack of sunlight and obscuring the sky have irreversible negative consequences on quality of life and enjoyment of home. If you do not live in a high rise building it may be difficult to accurately imagine the importance of daylight/sunlight and sky and the impact of diminishing or removing these elements can have. We don’t have back yards, we don’t have parks and to take away our daylight and sky will take away a huge, huge part of enjoyment of life. At a time when we should be reducing electricity we would permanently need more to simply have adequate light inside our homes. Sunlight and sky promote mental wellbeing something that needs to be taken in to consideration especially in a high densely populated area where people live in such close proximity. OPA 405, which was overwhelmingly supported at recent community meetings, will allow our neighbourhood to thrive and continue to form as a community of people together. OPA 405 supports 20 and 15 storey building development, which is significant – many residents would like zero development so OPA 405 is a huge compromise for a great number of current dwellers in the area. This option, while still adding growth, will have reduced shadow impacts on homes and important public open spaces in the area, ease the stress on our infrastructure and reduce requirements for school spaces in an already overloaded system. Any Option that will allow higher buildings will force the area to become an overcrowded condo Zone and as a result diminish our neighbourhood and community spirit. I urge you to think about the impact your vote has on the lives of everyone living at Yonge and Eglinton, vote like you live there and the quality of life you would expect for you and your family. Please support the Yonge-Eglinton Official Plan Amendment No. 405 proposal as presented. Thank you for your time