When Toronto City Council met early this month to discuss, among other things, the removal of the McLeary Park garbage transfer station that has so irked studio owners in the district, the motions to move the garbage depot were rejected. But the case is not closed.

Although the 50,000-square-foot facility is there to stay, council requested that the Toronto Economic Development Corporation meet with the acting commissioner of Public Works and the Environment, Planning and Development, and Parks and Recreation to find a way of reconfiguring the transfer station to protect McLeary Park from environmental hazard.

‘They’re looking at ways like improving truck circulation and looking to soften the impact (of the station) through design and landscaping,’ says tedco director of planning Mark Conway.

A letter from the Ministry of Environment and Energy appears to be behind council’s agenda. The document, dated Oct. 25 and addressed to Metro Works, lays out the determining factors for allowable odor emissions (essentially they must be undetectable) and then states: ‘We cannot approve your proposal since it is likely that the operation of the waste transfer station would result in an adverse affect,’ which is a violation of the Environmental Protection Act.

The letter set a deadline of Nov. 10 for submissions from Metro Works, threatening to ‘close the file’ if the deadline was not met.

Showline Studios head Peter Lukas says the station will have a deleterious impact on his business.

‘The traffic is not so much a problem, although they are planning to bring trucks through there at a rate of one per minute. What is more damaging is the smell,’ says Lukas.

Lukas claims the facility would effectively supercede the recently resolved environmental problems of the area (it was once devoted to heavy metal industry).

‘Our intent is to effect a revitalization by way of an overall improvement in the caliber of industry in the area. What (Metro) is doing is effectively replacing one noxious industry with another.’

The facility, once an incinerator, is about 5% away from being complete, says Conway.

One criteria for deciding whether to move the station was the expense, a cost of $15.7 million, of which Conway says $8 million is available, leaving $7 million the City would have had to find.

At its November meeting, council also requested the moee hold a public meeting regarding Metro’s application for the operation of the station.

The issue is on hold until Metro gets approval from the moee.