🏭🏘🏢Sean Galbraith🗻❄️🥏
@PlannerSean
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Urban planner, photographer, disc golfer, skier, and occaisional bow tie maker. Typos and swear words are my own. Aggressively pro-winter.
Toronto
Joined June 2010
Don't wanna be here?
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Back when I was starting my career as a planner in Florida in the years leading up to the housing crash, I worked on sooooooo many projects like this. (Click image to see full extent)
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Losing a golden globe over zoom is so much more awkward and I love it.
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6 storeys next to a house is fine. We do not need to overthink and overplan this.
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"people are going to wake up next to a triplex next to their house" - Holyday
OMFG END OF THE FUCKING WORLD PANIC
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#Highway413
is a terrible idea and should not be built. I thought that it would be helpful for people to see what it would plough through, so I made this video. This is as close as I could get to the whole route from 400-401.
#onpoli
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JFC this is so staggeringly, laughably, demonstrably a lie that there needs to be a new word invented that goes beyond simply "lie". The utter contempt for anything remotely resembling what is commonly known as "truth" shown here is just breathtaking.
"There's no government in the history of this province that has done more for the environment than the PC government," said Premier Doug Ford just now.
#onpoli
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If this is the end of Twitter, you will find me at Yonge Dundas Square screaming about zoning to very confused and increasingly annoyed pedestrians.
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Matlow runs for mayor and strong mayor cancels Gardiner East?
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Not Wordle, just every midrise building in Toronto.
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⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️
⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️
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Buffalo reversing decades long population decline is a big deal. That’s a very difficult thing to do.
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Potential new client wanted to hire me for a bunch of new Chic-Fil-A restaurants in Ontario. Lucrative.
Hard no.
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The city traded away something they didn’t have much control over, and received a huge financial lifeline. It’s a good deal for the city. Hopefully the anti-spa lawsuit wins even more now.
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Always remember that Ford has been a complete NIMBY for his entire political career. The only development he actually wants is car dependent farmland eating sprawl… that’s it. He is not actually pro housing, he’s pro house.
The Ford government has often railed against NIMBYism.
But the Premier seems to siding with NIMBYs;
“You go in the middle of communities and start putting up four storey, six storey, eight storey buildings … there’s going to be a lot of shouting and screaming.”
#onpoli
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Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahasnortahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhbwahahahahahahahhhahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah
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“Germany is a juggernaut of adding apartments, rowhouses, and other homes. From 2010 to 2019, for every hundred people added to Germany’s population, the country gave permits for construction of 97 homes.”
Yes, Other Countries Do Housing Better, Case 2
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Painting one turbine blade black reduces bird fatalities by 72%, says study | Recharge
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Just had my first project (new 4plex) killed by the city's planned 50% development charge increase. My hunch is that it won't be the last.
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Visited
@EurodaleHomes
‘s amazing new triplex near Lawrence and Yonge. I helped with the TLAB approval for it. It’s so great.
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Here’s the full
#QuakerOats
ghost sign that was found through the
#HonestEds
demolition. Not sure which tailor that was. Layers of official and unofficial advertising.
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As Toronto floods all over the place tonight, remember that John Tory blocked a council-directed study into a stormwater charge.
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I absolutely love my condo building’s Facebook group. It’s entirely free of toxicity, and when someone posts that they need help with something it’s basically a race to see who can help first. Condos are communities.
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I can’t imagine not having Twitter at times like this.
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For the record, I’m “pro-knowing-a-restaurant-is-safe-to-eat-at”. I know this is a controversial position, don’t @ me.
Premier Ford on the purpose of public health units: “Those are the folks that go around and go into restaurants and put the little stickers on saying its safe to eat here.”
Quite a thread from
@ACarterglobal
:
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New rule: no banks on the first floor of new developments. Streetscape killers every time.
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Got approval for a nice project by a first time developer today. 3 lot severance, each will have a 4plex and garden suite. 15 new homes where none existed before. Possible because of multiplex permissions and development charge exemptions.
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SimCity should have a mode where as soon as you lay down some low density house zones it is forever locked in and can never be changed. If you try, the game deletes itself and gives you a mild electric shock.
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@LaurenPelley
Classic twitter responses from people who are unable to contemplate that someone might have different needs and preferences from themselves.
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The kerfuffle about *how the actual fuck are you supposed to use Presto exactly?” last night is so TTC. A terrible designed system that is poorly/barely understood but vigorously enforced.
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Interesting to see the foundations of what used to be under the trees that were removed at Moss Park.
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Drove past this great 2 unit laneway suite for which I got the variance approved. Only triggered one variance (for the 2 units), rest was as of right.
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This Long Branch apartment building is good planning. It is illegal in the vast majority of residentially zoned land in Toronto. Some think that the single detached house(s) that likely preceded it should have been protected and that apartments only belong on main streets. Wrong.
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Almost missed that it was 10 years ago today that Rob Ford admitted to smoking crack. Simpler times.
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This is what Vision Zero actually looks like, and is why Toronto hasn’t made any progress on it.
"La nieve desvela cómo crear calles más saludables y seguras repartiendo el espacio de una forma más justa" por
@urbandata
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I totally agree that disbanding the Toronto Police Association would great improve community safety.
Let’s see a list of their accomplishments from 2023 alone.
Via Reddit
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I’m kind of amazed that this house with a front mullet toupee only has a 1 car garage.
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The word on the street is that the Oct 25 MMAH announcement will include:
-No 3rd party appeals to the OLT
-Any existing 3rd party appeals that don't have a date scheduled will be cancelled
-Strong mayor powers to all munis +100k pop
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Tear
the
fucking
Gardiner
down
already.
'It will no doubt be disruptive:' Yonge-Bay-York off-ramp from WB Gardiner to close
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How to lose an election and a generation of voters in 6 easy words.
It is in no way relevant if what he said is true or not. The context doesn’t matter. The bigger policy point doesn’t matter.
“Housing isn’t a primary federal responsibility”
Trudeau
In short, it’s their responsibility to triple 🇨🇦 population growth rate to supercharge the demand (and cost) for housing
But they couldn’t care less where people live because that’s not their “primary responsibility” 1/
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Illegal in Ontario too because of single stair, and it already exceeds the 6 storeys being contemplated for (only) major streets in Toronto.
Winner of Finland's NBO Housing Competition for affordable housing model, the HASO & HEKA Eskolantie Apartments in Helsinki, Finland by Matti Iiramo:
•7 wood-framed stories
•4 point access blocks
The project is illegal in the US due to the height of the single-stair buildings
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“Hey, I'm a grade 12 student who's been fucked over by Doug Ford's budget cuts. Here's what's up: - ontario”
So many classes got cancelled that they can’t get enough credits to graduate.
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Seriously what idiot would actually vote against sidewalk plowing.
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If you were planning on building a garden suite in Toronto you’ll have to wait a little longer. Unfortunately, and unsurprisingly, like 7 residents associations representing the already comfortably housed have appealed the garden suites bylaw.
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A lot of great planners did a lot of great work in there to get us much needed zoning reform. Great work
@CityPlanTO
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Great motion from
@anabailaoTO
proposing no DCs on low rise residential with 4 of fewer units. Align with city goals. "If we want missing middle, we can't burden it with these fees"
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Very happy to get variances for this new 14 unit apartment building in the Junction approved today.
@RAW_TO
are the architects.
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@ZenDonut
@consequence
Their band had a drummer who would not get pricked. He told them everyday.
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“Hi I own a legal rooming house and want to expand it to add more units. Can you help me with that?” - call I got today.
For record, if anyone out there owns a rooming house and you want to add more affordable units to your building, I will waive my fees to help you.
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Doug Ford is a threat to Ontario. Please unfollow me if you are even remotely considering voting for him. Doug Ford to open up Greenbelt
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Via Reddit, map of how TO council voted on multiplexes. Which ones want to keep people out of neighbourhoods.
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Corner stores can anchor a neighbourhood... so let's stop blocking them.
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It is remarkable that after 10 months the Province still can’t just fucking do what is actually needed for the pandemic: spend the money needed to make it fighting it successful.
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The OLT appeal for the affordable modular housing project at 175 Cummer has been dismissed without a hearing. The appeal was filed 1 day too late. So this project can go forward, with absolutely no thanks whatsoever to the Province and all credit to the city.
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In Toronto, if you consume a lot of water, but have a lot of pervious surface on your property, you pay lots into stormwater infrastructure.
If you have a giant concrete parking lot, and consume no water, you pay nothing towards stormwater infrastructure.
Makes no sense.
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There is an article in
@TorontoStar
today about development in the Dundas Jarvis/Church area. If you haven't been in the area in a while... yeah it has changed. The top is 2013 and the bottom is today.
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Happy that P&R Developments’s 10 units of zero variance housing (which I helped get approved) is coming along nicely.
When finished it will be a pair of semi-detached 4plexes with laneway suites in the back of both.
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I don't usually talk about projects of mine, but this one I really like (for reasons that will be evident). The project is by P&R Developments and will be looking to change a single detached house to 10 residential rental units with zero variances. (small thread)
#missingmiddle
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It’s not too late for Scheer to run for President.
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Got inquires from easily 10 people wanting to know about doing new multiplexes on their properties in Toronto this week alone. Maybe 1 will need to retain me to help. Solid bylaw. The word is getting out.
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From what I hear, living in these buildings suck (Mississauga’s ICE), but they really are pretty.
Were a nightmare to do permit drawings too, because every floor is different from the one above and below.
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“ducking” … damn autocorrect
Ontario is ducking the biggest thing that would keep students safe this fall: mandatory vaccination
#StarOpinion
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I wonder if there is a GTA equivalent. “Longest walking distance between two adjacent properties”
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I don’t normally tweet about projects I work on, but when it involves a Committee of Adjustment denying a variance to maintain an entirely existing (not legal) triplex containing 3 units of affordable housing bc the new owner wanted the fire department to make sure it was safe...
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Hearing concerning things about the upcoming Ontario housing bill. It was drafted and shown to Cabinet… and Cabinet lost their shit about it. So when it eventually drops, keep your expectations low because it’s been NIMBY’d already.
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Toronto council voted to keep these illegal, so obviously that solved the problem and such arrangements no longer exist. Success!
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Oh we’re still doing this stupid ass shit are we?
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How it started / How It’s going.
Went from 4 units in duplexes to 2 units in oneplexes. Easy to go this way. Harder to go the other way, because zoning.
#MissingMiddle
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Local councillor thinks council vote approving project 20-1 was undemocratic and the rich neighbours appealing it aren’t NIMBYs. Thinks poor people moving in are a risk to seniors.
Regarding the motions moved for 175 Cummer Ave. proposed supportive housing location:
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The contrast between
@SteveClarkPC
's comments on the greenbelt development vs. his personal NIMBY stonewalling on the 175 Cummer affordable housing MZO is so blatant.
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This
@EurodaleHomes
triplex is coming along nicely. Rejected by CoA, approved (with me as expert witness) at TLAB.
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Had to say goodbye today to our little old man, Napoleon.
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Pretty much everything you need to know about trying to provide more housing in Toronto in one tweet.
The city councillor Mike Colle just bragged about "defeating a development proposal"... working together with the community "we were able to save the parking lot!"
WHAT IS GOING ON?!?
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Wife just got her first vaccine shot at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. Appointment booked this morning for an afternoon slot. Incredibly impressed with the speed and efficiency of the operation. Really well done. Done in under 30 min, including the 15 min monitoring time
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Irony has lost all meaning
NEW - Asked about the federal government’s $5B housing fund for provinces if they adopt a fourplex policy, Ford says “I don’t believe enforcing municipalities” “I’m going to leave that up to each municipality to decide”
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The long abandoned, and now restored, Michigan Central Terminal is staggeringly incredible restoration project. I think I first got inside in 2006.
1: My 2006 photo
2: Historic photo from when it was first in use
3: Newly restored
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Wild seeing planners from the generation that built a lot of the sprawl being so opposed to fixing the problems it created.
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Rooming houses happen if they are legal or not. When Toronto city council voted to keep them illegal in most of the city (and hard to build in the rest of it), all they did was vote to keep them unsafe.
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If the city is looking for a new place to open a safe injection site, I think there is a vacant place in Cabbagetown that would work. No parking required for that use.
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Guy who helped make the situation worse is concerned that the situation is very bad.
Coun. Holyday on city’s long term financial woes: “The chickens have come home to roost.” Says the city has been cutting cheques it can’t cash.
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Day after major streets apartments gets passed and am already working on one, maybe 2.
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My wife is taking her citizenship oath today with 120 other people. Even over zoom, it’s still amazing to witness.
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Update: the TLAB approved this project today.
I write often about the need to add big new buildings in central Toronto. Why? Because privileged neighbourhoods like
@HarbordVillage
fight new growth relentlessly and shamelessly. 1/
#Topoli
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