Bay ward Coun. Theresa Kavanagh is moving to have a controversial Woodroffe Avenue student residence rezoned to prevent it from ever becoming a rooming house.

The zoning change goes before the planning committee next week and would remove "rooming house" as a permitted use for the site.

"I worked with our department here, planning department, and we just took that out. We're not touching what they are doing now because we can't," Kavanagh said.

Bay ward Coun. Theresa Kavanagh is asking the planning committee to rezone the residence on Woodrofe Ave. to prevent it from ever becoming a rooming house. (Laura Osman, CBC News )

The 97-bedroom development at 975 Woodroffe Avenue has been controversial for the Glabar Park community.

The project began as a plan for eight townhouses but the property was sold to Smart Living Properties before the townhouses were built.

The company then filed multiple permit applications in order to develop 16 units with three, four and eight bedrooms.

Local residents described the changing plan as a "bait and switch" but the city determined the changes were legal under previous rules.

City council passed new rules

Since then city council has passed new rules limiting residences to four bedrooms unless they file for an "oversize dwelling" permit.

The changes Kavanagh is pushing for would mean each unit would have to be rented as a whole rather then as individual rooms.

Smart Living Properties didn't respond to a request for an interview about the rezoning.

Kavanagh says her office has continued to work with local residents who have concerns about the development, but said that most have accepted it.