City council agreed unanimously tonight to delay a planned hearing aimed at rezoning an illegal rooming house in the former East Side Church of Christ building at 99 Melville Rd.
Mangesh R. Shende applied to legalize an unauthorized 12-unit rooming house on the property, located about 230 metres southeast of the intersection of Trunk and Dacey roads.
But city staff say Shende didn't follow the advance-notification rules when he held a public information meeting on April 24, and they asked council to defer its decision until July 14 to allow him to conduct a proper meeting with neighbours.
"Building division records indicate that the owner/applicant converted the existing building into a 12-unit rooming house without the benefit of building permits or zoning approvals," said Nicholas Cicchini, a junior planner with the city, in a report prepared for tonight's meeting.
"At least one unit was also offered as a short-term rental without the benefit of a license. Therefore, this application was brought to staff’s attention as a result of a neighbourhood complaint.
"Among other concerns raised, it was brought to staff’s attention that public notices for the applicant’s neighbourhood meeting may not have been received in a timely manner.
"In fact, there is evidence that the applicant may not have circulated certain notices until the day before the meeting. It is noted that planning staff attended the neighbourhood meeting on April 24 and no neighbours showed up.
"Given this, planning staff is recommending that this application be deferred so that another applicant hosted neighbourhood meeting can be held, with proper notice so that residents have an opportunity to properly engage. Planning staff will ensure that proper notices are given in a timely manner," Cicchini said in his report.
The city requires notices to be distributed to all property owners within 120 metres of a subject property, at least two weeks before a neighbourhood meeting.
The city will mail out the notices itself.
After tonight's meeting, Mr. Shende emailed SooToday to advise us that the rooming house "was stopped as soon as I was notified about being not allowed."