The city has given Drake’s mansion the go-ahead

If Drake ever shoots a music video at his palatial Bridle Path home, or if the property’s home theatre, basketball court and chilled champagne chamber are featured in the pages of Vanity Fair, know that the rapper owes it all to the benevolent bureaucrats who pore over the finer points of shadow-impact studies and zoning bylaws.

The Globe reported earlier this month that a mysterious property owner plans to demolish a home at 21 Park Lane Circle and build a massive mansion in its place, complete with a jersey museum and spa. The parcel’s registered owner is a numbered Nova Scotia company, and while Drake hasn’t been definitively linked to the property, the company’s president is Drake pal Future the Prince.

Drake’s proposal to demolish an existing home at 21 Park Lane Circle and build his custom mansion in its place went before the committee of adjustment’s North York panel yesterday, as the plan will require several zoning variances—permission from the city, basically, to break zoning bylaws.

Acting as a representative for the Nova Scotia company, planning consultant Michael Goldberg outlined some changes to the original proposal aimed at limiting the number of required variances. The height of the building had been reduced by .81 metres; the area of a terrace had been reduced. Goldberg said the extra-wide driveway, a point of contention with city staff, is actually within the city’s zoning regulations for most of its length.

“It fits within the grand homes of this neighbourhood,” Goldberg said. “It’ll very much be in keeping with the character of homes within this neighbourhood.”

Goldberg’s presentation deflated most of the opposition to the project.

Maureen Wright of the Edwards Gardens Neighbourhood Association told the committee she was no longer concerned about the proposal’s height and driveway width. Another area resident came forward only to say his concerns had been addressed.

Because Drake’s name had not been mentioned during the proceedings, a reporter asked Wright, “Do you have any confirmation who owns this house?”

“No, I don’t,” she said.

Asked if her organization had any concerns about a still-unnamed celebrity moving into the neighbourhood, she noted that Prince and “many baseball stars” have lived in the area.

“This is not unusual. It’s not an anomaly,” Wright said.

The committee approved the proposal unanimously.