Residents of Westbury Crescent were awarded a small victory on March 27th when Etobicoke/York Councillors unanimously decided to defer the exemption to the fence by-law as requested by GB Scrap at 96 Hyde Avenue.
GB wanted to erect a 25 foot metal fence on the south and northeast sides. Although a 25 foot fence seems like a good idea, residents were oppose as they feared this is a band aid solution and that the noise might be even worse. Also, there were fears that this fence would do nothing to block out the bright lights that shine in some homes. Residents argued that noise absorbent and fire retardant material be used and council agreed. GB now must consult engineers to propose an absorbent material that could be used and to discuss fire retardant material as well.
Vince spoke with the owners of GB Scrap Metal afterwards and they claim to want to work with residents, but that remains to be seen.
Below is a summary of our position on the matter
Although the residents in our community would love to see a high fence constructed around this entire scrap yard, we believe that the current proposal for a 25 foot metal fence on two sides will not solve our noise and fire concerns, and might make the situation worse.
We believe that the only way an exemption should be granted is with the stipulations that the fence be at least 40 feet high, consist of sound absorbing and fire retardant material, and include the entire north side of the yard if not the entire perimeter of the property
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1 comment:
Wow, this brings back memories.
I lived at 75 Westbury Crescent for over 30 years, and the junkyard and other industries on Hyde Ave were a constant pain in the neck. Noise, pollution, fires, fumes -- I had forgotten what psychological torture it was to be woken daily at 6 am by crashing metal, but reading this blog brought it all back.
I remember some of the residents tried on various occasions to get City Hall to intervene, but after years of meetings and negotiations all that was achieved was having the scrapyard operator grudgingly replace their fence with a "more scenic" green one.
It's discouraging to see that the same crap is still going on. But it's heartening to see that the residents of Westbury Crescent are still battling. Give 'em hell, guys!
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