Kids provide input on local park

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With summer not too far off, I offer an update on the status of the four parks that are in the process of redevelopment.

The work in Brookdale Park (located near Avenue Road) and Woburn Park (near Bathurst) will commence mid-May. It is anticipated that construction will last eight weeks. The majority of the park space will be cordoned off by metal fencing for the safety of the community, but some park pathways will remain accessible. Watch for a grand reopening in mid-July.

The design of Eglinton Park playground required minor modifications, which set back the construction start date by two weeks. Given the heavy use of this playground by local summer camps, our working group felt it would be better to commence construction in August to minimize disruptions.

With city funding for these three major playground renovations, there were only sufficient funds and resources for a fourth modest-sized project. The redevelopment of Snider Parkette fit the bill perfectly.

Located at Yonge and Lytton, this parkette is a unique transitional space between a commercial district and residential homes. A community meeting was held on April 24 to gather the ideas of local residents.

The design of this parkette will also reflect the input of a special working group: children. The Grade 5 students from John Ross Robertson are not only learning about the process of park planning but also providing input on the parkette’s amenities. If you have suggestions for this space, feel free to email your ideas to [email protected]. Construction is planned to start in mid-August.

City ups comment area for Yonge & Lawrence condo

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Because of the potential negative impact to the Chatsworth ravine and the outcry from residents in the surrounding homes, City of Toronto, City Planning has increased the notification area for people to make comments at a meeting on a condominium project slated for 41 Chatsworth Dr.

And with her residence now part of that catchment area for the Parkset Developments project on the former Fifth Church of Christ Scientist property, Coun. Karen Stintz has been compelled to declare a conflict of interest. She will hand over her duties as the ward’s representative for a potential May 13 planning review meeting on the issue to Ward 24 Coun. David Shiner.

“I’ll still be participating as a resident, but I have had to [on the advice of the city’s ethics commissioner] recuse myself from taking my seat at the planning review [meeting of May 13],” she explained.

Initially notice of the meeting was to be circulated to residents within about 100 metres of the subject property, but that has been expanded north to Lawrence Avenue, south to Glencairn Avenue and almost to Avenue Road to the west, mostly because of the potential impact to the ravine, she said.

“I’ll still be participating as a resident.”

The condo project proposes a six-storey, approximately 10,900-square-metre building with 114 residential units. Of those 114 units, 15 are proposed to be single bedroom, 51 single bedroom with den, 43 units of two bedrooms, and four units will have two bedrooms with a den. One additional studio unit is also proposed. The application requests 120 parking spots to be housed in three storeys of underground parking with the main entrance facing Chatsworth Drive.

Resident association Develop Areas Respectfully in Toronto (DART) member Carol Brennan said the group has mobilized and is raising funds to help support retaining lawyers expert in municipal law from Aird & Berlis. She said they are also retaining the services of an urban planner to help them argue against the size of the project at the planning meeting.

Brennan explained the meeting may be delayed beyond May 13, but residents within the new catchment area should receive notification of the exact date in the next few weeks.

Spring into environmental action

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With spring’s warmer weather, we can finally turn our minds to the outdoors and to our gardens and parks. It’s time to roll up your sleeves, put on your gardening gloves and get ready for some spring cleaning and planting!

There are two ways to get outside and help keep Ward 25 green this spring.

The first is to join me for my annual Environment Day on Saturday, May 31, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at York Mills Collegiate! It’s a great opportunity to get rid of unwanted household items dredged up during your spring clean. You can bring everything from computer equipment and electronics to fluorescent bulbs for recycling and disposal as well as small household items, sporting goods and books for donation.

The second help keep Ward 25 green is to help rebuild the city’s tree canopy by planting a new tree on your property!

In February, I moderated an excellent panel discussion on how to improve and protect our tree canopy, organized by For Our Grandchildren. It was an inspiring evening, and LEAF had some particularly pragmatic ideas, including its backyard tree planting program.

Through the backyard tree planting program, you can work with an arborist to select a native species tree and have it planted in your backyard. For more information, call LEAF at 416-413-9244. You can also request a free tree for you front yard through 311.

To put a new spin on a well-worn phrase, the best time to plant a tree is 30 years ago and the second best time is this spring!

What keeps North York together

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Twenty-five years ago, community leaders along both sides of Yonge Street were sitting across the table from Mayor Mel Lastman, who wanted to keep his populist reputation intact and was willing to negotiate neighbourhood protections in order to get residents to support his “Downtown North York.”

With my election to Toronto City Council in 1991, the neighbourhood associations had one of their own to negotiate from the inside while they were working their way in from the outside. Those who think (as I do) that we have ended up with too much development can only imagine how bad it could have been if the developers had totally had their way. Picture the Avondale community with twice the number of high-rises instead of a large park.

Today, city government is bigger, more complex and, sadly, sometimes more distant. That’s all the more reason why, in 2014, we need organized groups of residents to work alongside their local representative to make sure community views are respected.

Now, in addition to homeowners’ associations, we have coalitions of condo boards such as the Yonge Corridor Condominium Association (YCCA). These groups were recently instrumental in helping me secure the city’s share of funding for a Yonge/401 traffic solution. Other groups, such as the West Lansing Homeowners Association, have worked with me on a large number of local improvements. If your neighbourhood has a homeowners’ association, think about becoming a member, if you aren’t already. If you’d like to get something started in an area that doesn’t have one, contact us at [email protected].

Closing of Allen up for consideration again

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Metrolinx is revisiting the idea to close a portion of the northbound Allen Expressway after announcing last year that it would not close. The provincial transit agency is attempting to ease congestion caused from the construction of the Eglinton Crosstown light rail transit line.

“We are currently looking at alternatives to help ease congestion on Eglinton,” said communications specialist Anne Marie Aikins.

According to Aikins, ongoing construction on Eglinton Avenue has caused a large number of inconveniences for residents and merchants.

“We know that traffic management on Eglinton has been dire over the past year,” she said. “It’s great news that they’re going to get transit, but [the neighbourhood] is experiencing difficulties.”

City of Toronto’s director of transportation, John Mende, first asked Metrolinx to look into alternatives in order to keep the Allen open more than a year ago.

“I can’t recall a similar closing of such a major facility for such a long period of time,” said Mende.

“Businesses would just fall apart. It would just make more congestion.”

Local merchants are also not fond of the idea. Dr. Alan Pintaric, of D.C. Solutions, said that the Upper Village BIA stands opposed. “I think businesses would just fall apart here,” he said. He fears that the closure of the Allen’s northbound lanes will result in traffic spilling over onto already-crowded streets. “Bathurst would be crazy, Avenue Road would be a mess. I think it would just make more congestion,” he said.

However, Pintaric is hopeful that Metrolinx will make the decision to not close the arterial road. “I believe they’ll listen to us,” he said.

Councillor Josh Colle, whose ward contains many of the affected intersections, has been actively involved in meeting with Metrolinx over the issue.

“Yes, there are benefits to the construction timeline. I just don’t believe the assessment has been done on the impact on the other arterials,” said Colle. “The Allen is crowded enough as it is, and then Bathurst, Dufferin and Marlee.… I don’t know how it would work.”

Granite Club to grow again

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North York Community Council has recommended approval for a new and extensive outdoor recreation area project at the Granite Club in Bayview.

The proposal is to add a new outdoor field space at 2374 and 2378 Bayview Ave., two lots already owned by the Granite Club but currently housing rental homes. Those would be demolished to make way for 2,275 square metres of recreation space, including four tennis courts that would be covered in the late fall and winter months by a bubble. If approved by Toronto City Council during its next meeting on May 6, the club must ensure the bubble is removed from May until October, according to City of Toronto, City Planning, and meetings with the club and surrounding property owners must be held to discuss measures to protect and strengthen the ravine immediately adjacent to the Granite Club. The project would also include a small maintenance building and a one-storey pavilion with a roof viewing area for people to watch the tennis action.

“Currently the rezoning application is not yet through the full process and there are no plans in place for any development,” said club COO James DiRenzo.

Mediation possible for Art Shoppe condo proposal

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Following a mid-March Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) hearing over a proposed high-rise condo development at the long-standing Yonge Street Art Shoppe location, all sides are now considering if they will seek mediation and a compromise.

“There’s an opportunity right now to see if the parties can come to a compromise that’s agreeable for everybody,” explained the ward councillor, Josh Matlow. “It looks like it’s headed to mediation, but nothing’s concrete.”

He added that any further OMB hearings will not be scheduled until all sides decide if mediation is possible or “if they’ll just fight it out at the board.”

If mediation is chosen, a member of the OMB will oversee the discussions at no cost to either party.

“As far as the current proposal goes, it flies in the face of the city’s official plan, but the residents would support a reasonable development there without much issue,” Matlow said.

The current development application, presented by Freed Developments, is seeking a two-tower high-rise, one of 38 storeys and the other reaching 29, with a common base at 2131 Yonge St., just south of Eglinton Avenue and outside of the Yonge-Eglinton official plan growth node.

“Somewhere in the six- to 15-storey window would be the more appropriate scale there,” Matlow said.

Community group SERRA (South Eglinton Residents and Ratepayers Association) member Terry Mills agreed mid-rise would be far more palatable.

“There are sides to this issue, and in particular, the residential neighbourhood along its eastern flank is not to be deteriorated,” Mills said.

The Art Shoppe will be moving to a new location but as of press time had yet to announce exactly where.

Representatives from Freed Developments declined to comment.

Park future unclear

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The federally owned Downsview Park has become the centre of a heated debate between Coun. Maria Augimeri and the federal government. It’s also shaping up to be a recurring theme in this year’s municipal election as she and her opponent for the Ward 9 seat take opposing views on the subject.

In April, the Toronto Star reported that it obtained a private memo from Public Works and Government Services deputy minister Michelle d’Auray dated December 2012.

In the memo, d’Auray allegedly expresses disapproval of the recent handing of Downsview Park to the Canada Lands Corporation (CLC), a Crown corporation with plans to redevelop the park’s Stanley Greene neighbourhood.

Following the publication of the Star article on April 18, Augimeri began to publically call on the government to clarify their intentions with Downsview Park.

“Stop selling our parkland,” said Augimeri. “Either keep your promise to create ‘Canada’s first urban park’ or hand it over to the city … we see huge potential here, but all the federal government sees is dollar signs.”

A “Set Downsview Free” petition created by area residents emerged soon after.

But Downsview resident and Ward 9 councillor candidate Anthony Fernando thinks that Augimeri is creating a sense of hysteria. “I think this was a very interesting political stunt to raise the councillor’s profile,” he said.

“Could [the sale] have been more transparent? Absolutely,” said Fernando. “But does there continue to be a NIMBY sentiment? Yes. We’re operating in a period of deficit on all levels of government,” he said. “It was the most rational decision available.”

Representatives from the federal ministry of Public Works did not return calls for comment at press time.

Bayview traffic group being formed

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Bumper-to-bumper, white-knuckle commutes along Bayview Avenue will hopefully be a thing of the past if a new traffic working group has the impact it’s driving toward. North York Community Council has approved the forming of this new committee to take on the task of calming traffic along Bayview, specifically between Lawrence Avenue East and Highway 401. The motion was put forward by Ward 25 Coun. Jaye Robinson during the April community council meeting. She is now seeking out members of the public to join in the discussion and be part of the group. She said, with new, higher-density developments springing up along the stretch constantly, the key focus of the group will be figuring out how to mitigate traffic impacts. Along with her representation as the ward councillor and some planning staff and local business representatives, Robinson is hoping members of the public at large will show interest in joining the group by contacting her at her office to be part of it. The intention is to set up group meeting dates later this spring.

The ABCs of Summerhill traffic

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Summerhill residents are hoping to effect some calm on their streets and pump an increasing flow of through traffic back to the main arteries. Since September 2013, members of the ABC Residents Association have been studying and counting traffic through their residential streets, focusing mainly on the east-west flows along Roxborough Street West, Macpherson Avenue and Marlborough Avenue between Yonge Street and Avenue Road.

The association’s traffic study committee representative, Donna Lacavera, said they have taken the results of those studies and created a “tentative proposal” with some 10 recommendations for area residents to consider as traffic calming measures. Some of the ideas being considered include allowing left-hand turns onto Davenport Road from Yonge and either eliminating or restricting left-hand turns onto Roxborough from Yonge during rush hour to prevent through traffic.

“We can not afford to have the through traffic continue like it has,” Lacavera said, adding that until consensus is found with the residents no proposals will be brought forth to Toronto City Council.

New developer for Bayview townhouses?

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Once swirling in controversy as a housing development too intense for the quieter neighbourhoods of Bayview, the seemingly defunct Alexandria townhouse project, originally owned by Hush Homes, may have found new life.

The 20-unit project, slated for occupancy in January 2014, went bankrupt late in 2013 after failing to find enough buyers for the townhomes that began in the $2.5 million range. Located along Bayview Avenue at Post Road and along the Bridle Path, the project was also the bane of local residents who felt townhouses did not fit into the nature of the neighbourhood.

“I and the residents here want to maintain the character of single-family dwellings and lush green spaces,” said Ward 25 Coun. Jaye Robinson about initial opposition to the development that eventually led to an Ontario Municipal Board hearing.

The residents and city lost the bid to reduce the intensification of the project at the OMB, and it was given the go-ahead, but lack of sales saw to its temporary stalling. Robinson said it is her understanding that the project has now been purchased out of receivership.

“People here certainly want to see it returned to its origins.”

“I’m confident in saying it’s been sold, but at this point, staff has not been in contact with any developer about what their future plans may be for the site,” she said. “People here certainly want to see it [the property] returned to its origins of single-family dwellings.”

The plans were for 20, three-storey, high-end townhouse units, each between about 3,700 and 3,900 square feet and each served by its own two-car underground garage. Robinson said the OMB ruling that stood by the project would still stand, regardless of any new owner.

“The OMB created an unfavourable precedent allowing the townhomes where they simply don’t match the character of the neighbourhood,” Robinson said. “Maybe a new developer will have new ideas that will suit the neighbourhood better.”

Calls to the potential purchaser were not returned by press time.

Bold vision for revamped Eglinton

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There may be some pain before the gain, but businesses and residents along Eglinton Avenue stand to have one of Toronto’s finest streets when all is said and done.

The Eglinton Connects comprehensive planning study is ready to be presented to Toronto City Council for consideration May 6 and includes strategies for ways to vastly improve traffic flow while creating an attractive streetscape from Black Creek Drive to Brentcliffe Road.

“It’s a vision for refining and revisiting of Eglinton,” explained Lorna Day, manager for the study. “Over time we will see protected bike lanes, wider sidewalks and large lush trees."

Focusing more on the stretch between Allen Road and Mt. Pleasant Road, Eglinton Way BIA executive director Monique Drepaul said she and the membership are excited about the potential changes to the street once construction of the Eglinton LRT nears its end underground.

“The Eglinton Connects team did a fantastic job dealing with our concerns,” Drepaul said, explaining that she and membership were fearful of losing customer parking spaces for the sake of expanded bike lanes and sidewalks. “Through the discussions and getting to see the plans laid out, that was all addressed very well.”

With the culmination of more than two years of public consultations and studies, Day said the study’s recommendations will vastly improve the appearance of an area now under heavy construction preparing for the LRT. Metrolinx, in charge of the LRT, would be responsible for improving the street-level subway station areas, to the tune of about $100 million, including one at Avenue Road and the other at Chaplin Crescent in that Allen–Mt. Pleasant stretch. The City of Toronto, if recommendations are approved, would be responsible for $150 million in improvements. Day explained the plans will be subject to about a year of capital expenditure debates at council before the financial aspects become firm for the 2015 financial year.

“It’s an exciting proposal, and certainly Eglinton could be something very unique and new for the city,” Day said.