Councillor says religious facility may violate bylaws

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Following neighbours’ complaints, a City of Vaughan councillor said a residential religious facility may violate city bylaws concerning places of worship being run from private homes. Ward 5 councillor Alan Shefman wrote in an e-mail that the complaints about Ateres Mordechai, an Orthodox Jewish facility used mostly for learning the Torah and hosting religious gatherings, do not stem from its membership’s desire to worship in a residential home.

“That is not [the city’s] business,” he wrote. “But rather when there are attempts to establish a synagogue in a home. We believe that a religious institution cannot meet the zoning requirements, therefore leading to conflicts with the residents in the area.”

“Family and friends say they have never seen anything like it.”

According to a city bylaw, Vaughan allows houses of worship within private homes as long as there is enough parking to handle congregants. However, neighbours alleged that members packed Arnold Avenue with parked cars and blocked residential driveways at one point, Shefman wrote. The synagogue responded by trying to ensure its attendees — rarely exceeding more than 20 people — park legally, but the councillor does not think the property can support them.

A co-founder of the synagogue, Ed Schild, said he feels there is ample parking and any street parking is done legally. He said some “disgruntled” neighbours are taking a “not in my backyard” stance against the synagogue’s Rabbi Avrohom Bitterman, who could not be reached for comment. Schild said there would be a hole in the community if the synagogue were forced out of the neighbourhood.

“What makes Ateres Mordechai very special is their sincerity toward praying and studying,” Schild said, adding that members are respectful of their neighbours. “I have had family and friends from out of town say they have never seen anything like it.”

With a laugh, Schild said that, since the complaints started, Ateres Mordechai has received record support from Jews and non-Jews alike.

City’s most congested intersections in Bayview

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As Toronto tries to combat stalled traffic at the city’s top 10 most congested areas — three of which are in Bayview — Myles Currie, the director of City of Toronto: Transportation Services, is saying the best promise for real relief is an expanded rapid transit system. Until then, any strategies that Currie’s department presents to the public works and infrastructure committee in the fall will be geared toward traffic management. Measures may include co-ordinating construction projects and traffic signals, looking at bus station placement and road geometry, addressing a road repair backlog and encouraging carpooling.

“There’s so much development within the city and even outside the city that we have increasing demand on our roads, whether it’s through condos along these corridors, at Sheppard and Finch and the downtown core, as well, or outside of 416 and the 905,” Currie said.

“The city needs to be hit over the head with a two-by-four.”

Unless Willowdale gets the infrastructure (transit) to support it, the local councillors have said that the area can’t absorb any more development. Coun. John Filion blamed bad planning decisions made more than 20 years ago for the current situation in his ward.

“I think the city needs to be hit over the head with a two-by-four to kind of recognize what it has created at Yonge and Sheppard and not do any more of it by approving even more development in the area,” he said.

Bayview Avenue and Sheppard Avenue; Yonge Street between Highway 401 and Sheppard Avenue; and Leslie Street between Highway 401 and Sheppard Avenue top the list of the city’s most congested areas; City of Toronto staff said, however, that the list was not presented in any particular order.

Michael Shulman, who lives near Bayview and Sheppard, attributed the lack of any real solutions to a series of dysfunctional levels of government.

“It’s just wall-to-wall cars, and it’s worse now, and what we’re seeing is municipal politicians are finally coming around to agreeing that it’s worse,” he said.

‘Republic of Rathnelly’ goes cosmopolitan

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Toronto City Council recently approved the use of $7,000 in section 37 funds — monies secured from developers to put toward community benefits — for the installation of “Republic of Rathnelly” street signs in the neighbourhood at the foot of Avenue Road Hill.

The quirky area, a collection of streets including Rathnelly Avenue, made a mock declaration of its secession from Canada in 1967. Since then, the neighbourhood has celebrated its unique identity with biannual street parties.

Local resident Marnie Gold describes it as not quite the Annex, not quite Forest Hill and not quite Rosedale. The existing street signs were aging, Gold said, so it seemed like an opportunity to put their own twist on them.

She compared the branding to that of the Church Street and Wellesley Street signs, decked out with rainbows. The Republic of Rathnelly’s coat of arms, which will be featured on the street signs, has martini glasses, reflecting the area’s fun and social side, and train tracks, referring to its physical location.

The street signs are slated to be installed in the spring of 2013.

Townhouse-like York Mills proposal appealed to OMB

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St. Andrew’s Ratepayers Association is considering enlisting professional representation after a proposal to squeeze five houses onto four lots was appealed to the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB), fearing the precedent the proposal would set for the neighbourhood.

The application was rejected at the North York committee of adjustment late this past spring.

The proposal for 184, 186 and 190 York Mills Rd. would have seen lot frontages reduced from the minimum of 18 metres to 12.19 metres, and the first floor height would increased from the maximum of 1.5 metres to 1.8 metres, requiring 11 exterior steps to enter the homes.

Cindy Weiner, president of St. Andrew’s Ratepayers Association, said that an agent for the owner originally brought designs for 11 townhouses and later a revised design of eight townhouses, to the ratepayers, both of which were panned.

She didn’t hear anything else until she got notification of the application for minor variances.

“In the drawings we saw, each home was of an identical design, resembling a townhouse development,” she said. “We’re concerned that this is completely uncharacteristic for the neighbourhood.

“He [the applicant] does have three lots currently, and one is a double, so if he wanted to subdivide the existing lots and build four homes, there would be no opposition to the severance,” Weiner said.

Comments from City of Toronto staff indicated that the first floor height would not be in keeping with the character of the neigbhourhood, as required in the official plan.

The 0.61 metre setbacks were also described as “inappropriate.”

City staff recommended that if the committee of adjustment were to entertain the minor variancs, that both the first floor height and side yard setback be amended to better reflect the zoning bylaw.

Coun. Jaye Robinson requested that the city send a planner and a lawyer to attend the hearing.

The agent listed on the application is Reza Akbari.

A person by the same name was involved in the application for eight three-storey townhouses on the corner of Bayview Avenue and York Road.

That application was turned down by the City of Toronto but subsequently approved at the OMB provincial appeal board.

Akbari did not respond to requests for a comment before press time.

A hearing date for the current application has yet to be scheduled.

Ex-landfill may officially become unique urban park

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Markham City Council rejected a proposed plan to install a methane-reduction system at a former landfill after a local councillor and the nearby community pushed to have the plan scrapped. At the same meeting, Ward 4 councillor Howard Shore, who worked closely with Settlers Park Residents Association to bury the methane-reduction system proposal, introduced a motion to include the verdant former Sabiston Landfill area in Markham’s park system as German Mills Meadow and Natural Habitat.

Despite a 12 to one rejection of the $500,000 system for pumping air and water into the waste to speed its decay aerobically, the park designation motion failed and was deferred to city staff. Coun. Shore said it is only a matter of time before the city designates the area as parkland. However, he said German Mills Meadow would be more than your average park.

“It makes it more unique, in fact, to call the western portion the German Mills Meadow and the other Settlers Park. They’re connected, but they’re different,” he said. The meadow would be allowed to grow freely, to establish a natural habitat teeming with plant and animal life.

Coun. Shore said the Town of Markham does not have the authority to redesignate the area, now officially zoned as a methane-producing landfill. However, a staff report, due in September, will advise whether or not to bring the matter forward to the Ontario Ministry of the Environment. Shore said it seems to be just a formality.

“We’re being silly and making this a bigger issue than it is,” he said. “Regardless of what’s on a piece of paper, people will come to know this as German Mills Meadow.”

The president of the Settlers Park Residents group, Artem Pozdnyakov, said some town records call it a park.

“It says it in all the old documents. If you [go to] Google maps … and look at our park, it is right at the place the aerobic project was planned,” he said of the meadow area. With methane levels at safe levels nearest residential homes, Pozdnyakov agreed the designation is the group’s last hurdle.

“We hope [the designation] won’t be forgotten,” said Pozdnyakov. “We look forward to the September session and hope it will be included in the agenda.”

55 & 69 storeys eyed for Green P site in Yorkville

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A local city councillor is raising the alarm over an application by development company Minto to plunk two massive condo towers down on a parcel of land in increasingly crowded Yorkville, currently occupied by a nine-level parking building.

Minto’s plan is to build 55- and 69-storey towers at the Green P at 37 Yorkville Ave. as well as an adjacent property.

Coun. Kristyn Wong-Tam said she has grave concerns about the proposal, ranging from density and shadowing impacts to how it will affect the pedestrian experience in “iconic” Yorkville. She has spoken with City of Toronto Planning staff to see if the application can be considered in the context of three other major applications in the area, including the 83 storeys proposed at Holt Renfrew.

“We’re also asking the crucial question, that is, ‘How do we make sure that we don’t overdevelop Yorkville [to the point] that we actually develop out the desirability of a neighbourhood that’s currently seen as one of the best neighbourhoods to live in?,’” Wong-Tam said.

A planner handling the file said that he has considered applications in tandem before, and that what Wong-Tam was requesting could be done. The site is designated as mixed use under the official plan, permitting a combination of commercial and residential uses.

The site is only zoned for up to 30 metres, however, which is roughly nine or 10 storeys. And the adjacent site is only zoned for 18 metres, or five to six storeys.

The proposed development would have an 11-storey base and contain 1,166 residential units. The first two floors would be dedicated to retail and floors three through nine would be allocated to a new 802-space Green P lot. The developer purchased the Green P from the city for a combination $44 million in cash and the $32 million replacement of the existing nine-level Toronto Parking Authority lot.

Residents of the development would be accommodated in three levels of underground parking containing 370 spaces.

The planner said a preliminary report is slated to go to Toronto and East York Community Council early this fall, which will trigger a community consultation meeting.

Minto could not be reached before press time.

Residents claim area airplane noise has ramped up

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Local residents are appealing to the federal transport minister not to approve an application by the Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) for an increase in its night flights budget. They fear it will contribute to what they say has been worsening noise from airplane flyover in the area.

Greg Russell, the president of the South Eglinton Ratepayers’ and Residents’ Association (SERRA), said the existing problem spread to the Davisville Village and Bathurst Street and St. Clair Avenue West areas after a local flight path was moved 1.8 kilometres southeast earlier this year.

Scott Armstrong, a spokesperson for the GTAA, which is also responsible for noise abatement and management in the Greater Toronto Area, said it is simply trying to accommodate increased demand, while being sensitive to area residents. The GTAA is looking for more leeway to add night flights without lifting the current cap.

Armstrong describes airplane flyover as a fact of life for those living in the Greater Toronto Area. The GTAA has a number of policies in place to reduce any impact on residents, as well as a community environment and noise advisory committee (CENAC).

Russell, however, believes the process is broken, and would like to see the minister of transport, infrastructure and communities, Denis Lebel, step in.

A spokesperson for Minister Lebel indicated that a decision had not yet been made regarding the GTAA’s request for an increase in its night flights budget.

Renowned southern Ontario research facility to face the axe

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Canada is blessed with an abundance of lakes and rivers and has a global responsibility to manage them well. But if we really want to protect freshwater supplies and the ecosystems they support, we must understand how human activity and natural disturbances affect them.

The world-renowned Experimental Lakes Area (ELA) in southern Ontario has served as an outdoor laboratory for this purpose since 1968. By manipulating and studying conditions in 58 small lakes and their watersheds, scientists there have made many discoveries about the effects of human and natural activity on freshwater ecosystems and fish. Over the past 45 years, they’ve taught us about the impacts of acid rain, mercury pollution, nanoparticles, nitrogen overload, climate change, fish farming and many other issues.

That’s about to end. The federal government announced it will close the unique facility in 2013. It’s an odd decision, especially considering that it costs just $2 million a year to operate — one-tenth the cost of Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s security detail and about the same amount the government spent during the 2010 G20 Summit in Toronto to build a tourism pavilion with a fake lake. To make matters worse, it will cost taxpayers $50 million to shut the ELA down!

In an open letter to government, senior scientists point out that “research conducted at the ELA has been instrumental in the development of environmental policy and legislation both nationally and internationally.” They also note that “ELA scientists have been recipients of numerous prestigious national and international awards, and the scientific output from ELA has been impressive — more than 1,000 scientific articles, graduate theses and books.”

The timing is also odd. The ELA is being shut down as the government eviscerates laws and regulations designed to protect freshwater and marine habitat and resources with its omnibus budget bill. Included in the bill are changes or cuts to the Fisheries Act, Navigable Waters Protection Act, Species at Risk Act and Canadian Environmental Protection Act and the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act.

One can’t help but notice that many recent cuts and changes are aimed at programs, laws or entities that might slow the push for rapid tar sands expansion and pipelines to the west and south, along with the massive sell-off of our resources and resource industry to Chinese state-owned companies, among others.

The National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy, for example, warned that failing to address climate change would have both economic and environmental consequences. The government also axed that arm’s-length agency, under the guise of saving $5.5 million a year.

Development is important, but when it’s focused on a single polluting industry, at the expense of other economic priorities and the environment, it doesn’t make sense. When industry and government go to such extreme lengths to promote a short-sighted and narrow interest, it’s an affront to the democratic traditions that Canadians of all political stripes have built over the years.

David Suzuki is the host of the CBC’s The Nature of Things and author of more than 30 books on ecology.

Upscale grocer pegged as tenant for Leaside site

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After rumours that an upscale grocer and liquor store would move into the former Brennan Pontiac car dealership at 1860 Bayview Ave., the lead tenant has been confirmed as a Whole Foods Market. The upscale organic grocer is slated to open a 50,000-square-foot store in Leaside in 2015, according to a recent press release.

Plans to redevelop the site faced a number of obstacles, starting when the applicant tried to sidestep North York Community Council by going through the committee of adjustment and continuing when the applicant appealed to the Ontario Municipal Board. This happened amid local concerns about the traffic volume this type of development would generate.

Coun. Jaye Robinson didn’t expect that residents were surprised at all about Whole Foods being the lead tenant or that they have strong feelings about it one way or the other. They have been opposed to the overall development from the beginning, she said. But, after it seemed the dust had settled, the property changed hands, and the new owner is contemplating changes to the approved development plan.

“They’re thinking of altering the design,” Robinson said. “They haven’t made a decision yet.”

Frugal Fashion Week brings its savvy shoppers to Summerhill and Rosedale this year

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We’ve all heard of the locavore food movement, and Frugal Fashion Week is Toronto’s fashion equivalent, billing itself as “a charitable, community-based initiative created to support Canada's retail/design communities.” This year’s festivities are centered on boutiques in Summerhill and Rosedale — marking the organization’s fourth successful year.

The event kicks off Thursday evening with a shopping event at Roots, appropriately called “Made In Canada.” The Rosedale location will host stylish revelers in a cottage-y and, dare we say it, Canadian atmosphere. The event is open to all, with tickets costing $10. The proceeds will go to The Stiletto Project’s 1000 Acts of Frugal, an organization that collects clothes from Toronto’s stylish women to donate to those in need. Guests will sample homemade sodas from Nyood’s Ariel Coplan and sandwiches from Fran’s Restaurant. Signs also point to some seriously covetable gift bags courtesy of, you guessed it, Roots.

Trendy resto-lounge Nyood is stepping up again on Saturday and playing host to Le Pop!, a brunch and pop-up shop that will feature established and emerging Canadian collections. Brunch reservations are recommended, but one and all are welcome to drop by and shop from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. as midtown’s stores are brought to the Queen West Crowd. One such shop is Homegrown Boutique, a Yorkville space that sells only Canadian designers, including LABEL, Sarah Stevenson and Emily Woudenberg. All of the wares at Le Pop! will be sold for less than $100, with scarves at $50 and leather wrap bracelets at 50 per cent off.

Other economical fashion events include cocktails and tons of savings on clothing at The Narwhal on Friday, and then on Sunday, there's a DIY Shop crawl where shoppers explore the darling boutiques of Rosedale and Summerhill.

Do as “frugalistas” do and arrive early to get the best of the deals.

Frugal Fashion Week runs from July 26 – 29

Theatre Review: Hello, a bizarre 10-week production at Kensington Market’s The Electric Theatre

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2:54 pm

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As a former die-hard X-Phile, I wanted to believe in Hello, the extra-terrestrial electronic extravaganza playing in Kensington Market. Its story, about an alien enthusiast who has to deal with a real alien invasion, seemed like it had Mulder and Scully written all over it. Heck, even its digs — the newly-minted The Electric Theatre — has a gigantic alien airbrushed across it. The truth (of a good show) had to be ~~out~~ in there. Somewhere. But, it wasn’t.

Hello is pretty ambitious and pretty weird. It’s bizarre enough that it’s an original electronic musical about an extraterrestrial invasion. But throw in a half dozen dancing, black-unitard-wearing “shadow people,” with one of them portraying the protagonist’s thoughts (who is aptly-named X) with ridiculous gusto, and, well, you’ve got yourself a smorgasbord of strangeness.

The plot is basically one of those “be careful what you wish for” stories: a group that likes to create fake crop circles gets a big surprise when a real alien invasion begins, first in China, then spreading to the western world, scaring the bejesus out of everyone. Throughout the chaos, upbeat dance breaks (again with those shadow people) and musical numbers are commonplace; unfortunately, most of the cast falters either due to poor acoustics or just feeble talent.

Kudos must be given to writer and director Mandy Leon for creating such an ambitious project, though. Her passion is evident throughout the show. Whether it’s the use of visual aids — like a news ticker or the illuminated HELLO sign that, at one point, changes to HELL, because it breaks loose — creating hypnotizing lighting that would make any raver feel at home, or having the cast members live-tweet, it’s evident that Leon made efforts to create a unique production. And bagging a BlackBerry deal — which provided phones for the show — is pretty genius too (though the company probably didn’t hesitate for the free publicity).

However, because it’s such a wide-reaching spectacle — is it a musical? A concert? A rave? — the production as a whole is weak. Though it’s surely commendable to run a show for 10 straight weeks, I can’t help but think that Hello would be better off suited for a Fringe run, or a workshop, so it can find its voice and story. (But would a Fringe show allow a 20-minute intermission where guests can peruse the eccentric artwork that’s heavily displayed throughout the theatre? Probably not).

There’s a scene from the first X-Files movie when Mulder asks Scully: “After all you’ve seen, you can just walk away?” Scully replies, “I have. I did. It’s done.”

That pretty much sums up my feelings for Hello, the original electronic musical.

Hello, The Electric Theatre, 299 Augusta Ave. Runs until August 31

What I Wore: casual summer wear with a white tank, high-waist shorts and a sweet Salvation Army find

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As much as I live for acquiring designer clothing, there really is something to be said for the thrill of a thrifty find. I mean, selecting your size from a neatly arranged rack of Helmut Lang at The Room really can’t compare to digging something amazing out of a pile of crap at the The Salvation Army.

That’s how I felt when I stumbled upon this jacket, which fits perfectly, hardly believing that it could really have an ancient Grecian battle scene embroidered onto its sleeves. What I love most about it, to be honest, is that it reminds me of an ’80s blazer of my mother’s that is covered in a print of black and white Dalmatians — only this version’s shoulder pads have been cut down to about an eighth of the size of hers. It is just the piece to smarten up a casual summer look while still keeping it fun.

These days, it’s hard to get me out my white eyelet crop tank from one of my favourite up-and-coming local designers, Leilanni. While I am generally a firm believer of the “the little white cotton top” in the summer months, there’s just something about this one that seems to work so well with everything in my wardrobe. Perhaps that’s because my summer wardrobe mainly consists of high-waist shorts, just like these by Gentle Fawn.

So if something as simple as slipping on a $4.99 jacket can allow me to look ready for a night on the town without having to disrobe from my preferred daily uniform, I guess you could say it is a truly great find.

What I Wore: vintage blazer from The Salvation Army, white eyelet top by Leilanni, shorts by Gentle Fawn, shoes by Aldo, vintage leather mini-purse.

Grace Carroll is a Toronto-based freelance writer whose work has appeared in ELLE UK, ELLEcanada.com, Plaid magazine and FILLER magazine. Keep up with her daily blog at www.graciecarroll.com.