Rally participants call on city and conservation authority to ‘fight’ for the protection of the Glen Stewart Ravine
By ALAN SHACKLETON
There was a reason more than 100 local residents came out on Monday morning for a rally to protect the Glen Stewart Ravine.
That day, Aug. 11, marked the first of three scheduled days of mediation meetings regarding a proposal for an 11-storey residential building on the ravine’s northern edge – near Kingston Road and Beech Avenue.
“You are here because you love this ravine and to stop inappropriate development,” said Sheila Dunn, one of the rally’s organizers.
While any development near the ravine is of concern to the rally’s organizers, the Friends of the Glen Stewart Ravine, the proposal for the 11-storey building has especially raised the ire of the community given that it’s southern wall be right at the line of the ravine’s stable slope edge.
“The Glen Stewart Ravine is vulnerable to many threats,” said Sylvie Dion of Friends of the Glen Stewart Ravine as she told rally participants about some of the environmental history and challenges facing the area. “The slopes are sandy and dry, and over the last years, many trees were lost from caterpillar infestation. The loss of trees contributes to soil erosion, which can cause slope destabilization.”
The rally began at the ravine’s entrance on Beech Avenue but moved further west to the Kingston Road entrance due to construction work taking place on stairs into the ravine and hydro crews across the street. Participants marched along the sidewalk carrying signs calling for the protection of the Glen Stewart Ravine.
Speeches were made at the Kingston Road entrance to the ravine, and a table was also set up for those wishing to sign a petition regarding their concern about the impact of the proposed 11-storey building.
Teacher Sean Hurley-Hart and some of his students from the Toronto Nature School attended the rally. The student’s had hand-made signs about protecting the ravine, and Hurley-Hart spoke about its importance to the school’s students and for environmental education.
“This is our living classroom,” he said of the Glen Stewart Ravine.
“This isn’t a vacant space for building. It’s a vital place for kids to learn and we use this space everyday.”
Hurley-Hart said students at the Toronto Nature School have documented more than 800 species of plants, insects and animals within the ravine and he expects there are hundreds more still to be discovered.
Dion said the Glen Stewart Ravine is already recognized as an Environmentally Significant Area (ESA) by the City of Toronto. She said it contains trees that were part of the original Carolinian forest which was once prevalent across southern Ontario prior to the arrival of European settlers.
Some of those tree species include oak, maple, American beech and sassafrass. Dion said the ravine contains significant flora and vegetation and fauna species including the wood thrush bird.
Those at the rally said they are not against development or building more housing, but they are against development plans that ignore long-term environmental sustainability.
The proposal for the 11-storey building on Kingston Road west of Beech Avenue is asking for a zero-metre setback from the ravine’s long-term stable slope. That proposal goes against the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority’s (TRCA) rules regarding set backs from ravine slopes which call for a 10-metre buffer.
The developer, Gabriele Homes Ltd., has taken the proposal to the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) citing the lack of a decision by the City of Toronto. Both the city and TRCA oppose the proposal. Mediation meetings between Gabriele Homes, the TRCA and the city are scheduled for Aug. 11 to 13. Those meeting are not open to the public.
If an agreement between the city, TRCA and the developer cannot be reached, the proposal will go to the OLT for a hearing in April of 2026.
Participants at Monday’s rally were cynical about what might happen at this week’s mediation meetings and about what the result of the OLT hearing would be next spring if it went that far.
“We are here to say that City of Toronto and TRCA rules are not up for negotiation,” said Beach resident Mike Genin of the Protect Our Ravines Initiative.
He said one of the purposes of the rally was to make sure officials understood that residents wanted the city and TRCA “to fight for those issues” at both this week’s meetings and at the OLT hearing if necessary.
For more information on the Friends of the Glen Stewart Ravine, and the online petition to protect the ravine, please go to https://www.change.org/p/protect-our-ravine-from-overdevelopment
