Decision on city’s next steps on Glen Stewart Ravine building proposal deferred until Toronto Council’s December meeting
By MATTHEW STEPHENS
Toronto Council has deferred an agenda item pertaining to the next steps of a development proposal to build an 11-storey residential building on Kingston Road near the north bank of the Glen Stewart Ravine until its December meeting
During the Thursday, Nov. 13, Toronto Council meeting, Beaches-East York Councillor Brad Bradford had initially held the item as he awaited legal details. Later in the meeting, he called for a deferral of the item until the upcoming Dec. 16, 17, 18, 2025 meeting of Toronto Council.
In his community newsletter sent out be email on the morning of Saturday, Nov. 15, Bradford said he called for the deferral due to new information he had received from city staff during the meeting.
“I want to thank everyone who wrote in regarding the development application at 847-855 Kingston Road. Reading all of your messages allowed me to reflect on the wonderful moments I’ve shared in the ravine with my girls, and how we all want to do what we can to preserve the ravine for future generations. Of course, all of this is made more challenging with how provincial planning legislation operates,” said Bradford in the newsletter.
“During the Council meeting, city staff informed me that new information had come forward about the potential use of the ravine as a ceremony site for the Indigenous community. On the advice of city legal, I moved to defer the item to the December Council meeting so staff would have more time to look into this. I will continue working with neighbours and staff to secure the best possible outcome for our community.”
Prior to this week’s council meeting, it had been expected that councillors would make a decision on giving “further directions” to the city’s legal staff in advance of an Ontario Land Tribunal hearing slated for April of 2026 regarding the Kingston Road proposal.
Prior to the meeting, the item was deemed to be “urgent” and it was stated that it could not be deferred due to the contents of a Confidential Agreement.
The fate of the project proposed for 847-855 Kingston Rd. has been a contentious one among many residents, including those with the Friends of the Glen Stewart Ravine, who have expressed concerns regarding the environmental impacts to the area.
Concerns have also been expressed regarding a zero-metre setback for the proposed building from the long-term stable slope at the ravine’s northern edge.
In August of this year, a confidential mediation meeting was held between the City of Toronto, the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority and the developer, to determine if an agreement could be reached prior to next April’s OLT review. Due to the confidentiality of the meeting, results were not made available to the public and officials are limited in what they can say publicly about it.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This story has been changed from the original filed on the afternoon of Nov. 14 to include new information from Beaches-East York Councillor Brad Bradford’s community newsletter which was sent out by email on the morning of Nov. 15.
