Toronto Planning Expert Thinks You Should Pay for Nice Views From the 6ix

You may soon have to pay for those beautiful Toronto #views.

At least, that’s the opinion of one prominent Toronto planning expert, who believes Toronto’s scenic vistas should be monetized.

“Condo developers are promoting, pushing and selling based on views,” said Gail Dexter Lord, co-president of Lord Cultural Resources. “And in the meantime, the organizations that provide those views are starved for money.”

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So if someone has a view of the Royal Ontario Museum, for example, the museum should be paid for the optic pleasantry it provides.

And who’s going to pay for it? Condo developers, ideally, though they’ll likely filter those fees down to buyers. With condo fees already hovering anywhere between $600 to $1200 monthly, such a plan certainly won’t go over well.

“Municipalities need creative solutions to address their ongoing financial issues, but solutions … should not make the region’s housing affordability challenge worse,” said Bryan Tuckey, president of the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD).

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Another major issue is Toronto’s lack of ordinances for view protection. An 80-storey tower can arise at any given moment, complicating any sort of initiative that charges developers or homeowners for their views.

But this is all kind of a moot point because, in 10 years or so, we won’t have to worry about seeing anything beyond a neighbouring building’s facade anyway.

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