Let's sit down together, Hoppenheim urges

Howard Hoppenheim, a resident of The Boulevard who lives behind the now-vacant lot where Dr. Shatwa Al-Musawi intends to build a large home, made the request during last Monday's city council meeting — a few minutes after the adjournment of a lengthy public meeting where council voted unanimously against the latest plans for Al-Musawi's house at 3283 Cedar Ave. "I don't feel that Mme Al-Musawi should be going home tonight feeling that she's been defeated," Hoppenheim said. "That's not the purpose of our objections here. Our objections are very straightforward and there are ways of reconciling."

Referring to the long history of Al-Musawi's ongoing attempts to build a house that does not obstruct the neighbours' view as an "agonizing process that we've been going through now for almost 10 years," Hoppenheim pointed out that since there is a lot of land on the T-shaped property, there should be some way of drawing up a set of plans that pleases everyone. "I think it might be helpful if Mme Al-Musawi — who one day, hopefully, will be a neighbour of ours — and we, on The Boulevard, sit down with her architects and the (Urban Planning Commission) people and try to come up with some kind of solution that works in a win-win situation," Hoppenheim said. "I totally agree with you," said City Councillor Cynthia Lulham, who currently serves as the City's commissioner of Urban Planning. "I will certainly ensure that we extend that invitation to her."