TORONTO

Residents in a downtown neighbourhood say they’re starting to feel boxed in by their new neighbours — and want City Hall to do something about it.

Members of the Ossington Community Association are taking issue with a city zoning bylaw change that they insist provides a “loophole” for developers intent on building “mega houses and condominiums on residential streets.”

Around 10 such homes have popped up in the area bounded by Bathurst and Dupont Sts., Dovercourt Rd. and Lake Ontario since the change was made in 2013, said the association’s Jennifer Wilson — one of around 50 residents who gathered at a community centre in the Ossington Ave.-Dundas St. W. area Tuesday night to discuss their concerns with city officials.

The issue, according to the group, arises when developers tear down existing houses and construct large and expensive vertically-divided duplexes — two dwellings that run deep into a single lot, boxing in neighbouring yards with high walls.

They also say that it is making neighbourhoods less affordable, and that the new duplexes are reducing the amount of affordable housing in he area.

“What we’re seeing with the new permissions ... is (allowing) the sorts of things that were not allowed under the old bylaw,” said Wilson. “It is introducing a host of problems into our neighbourhood.”

She added while the city made the bylaw change to permit shared staircases between homes, developers have used it to build the vertical duplexes, and then sell them for “enormous” profits.

Trinity-Spadina (Ward 19) Councillor Mike Layton, who represents the area, said he will talk to city officials about the issue.

“There is merit in testing some of the assumptions (being) made on both sides,” said Layton, who attended Tuesday night’s meeting. “I get that some people don’t want to look at giant walls in their backyard.”

City officials Tuesday night could not say if this is an issue in other parts of the city.

terry.davidson@sunmedia.ca