These were important questions too, if a poorly planned idea was to be exposed. The community was hoping that, if enough councillors noticed the error, the Council would not approve it. However, it was beginning to look like that wouldn't happen. Ward politics and apathy were too prevalent.
The following two videos are examples of what was going on that day.
The first video exposes the dark side of this issue. Michael Walker asked about the type of housing (rental) that existed on the site prior to it becoming a parking lot. Mr. Keefe claimed ignorance of the facts, killing that line of questioning. Next Councillor Walker asked about the remaining buildings on the site. Mr. Keefe claimed there are no buildings remaining. This was wrong - there are still two rental dwellings on the property. Councillor Stintz knew this but remained silent. If she had corrected the error on a point of order it might have weakened the chances of success for the developer.
The second shows how useless it was to question Mr. Keefe. He just couldn't, or wouldn't, provide answers on setbacks. Building setbacks are elements of urban design that are policies that govern height and density. Like the angular plane tests, Toronto adopted these policies to protect stability in neighbourhoods. Mr. Keefe didn't seem to know anything about them.
"The problem is amplified by City Staff being corralled around Community Councils, un-reflective of the incremental Ward-terrain. It's a practise expressed in the self- serving term of: 'keeping staff from going native' - bureaucracy's parallel term to the derogative expression: 'NIMBYism'"
