Bloor West Village Residents Association

Saturday February 4

The High Park Community Advisory Council is inviting members of the community to join a planning session on the future of High Park.

Here is the HPCAC notice. Note that space may be limited, so please call the contact number listed below.

The park is important to all of us. When issues come up relating to dogs, buildings, traffic, the natural environment, maintenance, and programs, we want to present a clear voice about what’s important. When we think about changes to the park, what values count the most? What principles should guide these changes? And what improvements would you like to see?

Help determine the future by attending a Planning Day on Saturday February 4, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. We’ll meet on the second floor of the Howard Park Tennis Club. It’s in the park, just off Parkside Drive, near the first lights south of Keele and Bloor.

We’ll use a facilitated process to guide discussions and come to a consensus on important issues. Your leader will be Mark Ellwood, vice chair of the High Park Community Advisory Council and an experienced facilitator. Lunch and refreshments will be served.

Your opinion counts, so please join us for a lively discussion and a chance to share some ideas with other friends of the park. Let us know if you can attend by emailing: highpark@getmoredone.com. You may get a follow up call from Mark’s assistant, Barbara Lang.

We hope to see you February 4th. If you have questions, feel free to call Mark Ellwood at (416) 762-3453.

High Park Community Advisory Council

Monday January 30 (tonight!)

There have been some concerns raised recently about the Keele Correctional Centre, a federal transitional living centre for federal parolees, located near Keele and Dundas. According to some media reports, the Centre may have changed policy from that of housing non-violent offenders to holding some convicted of violent crimes, and that the Centre may not have adequate security.

Four area City Councillors: Bill Saundercook, Sylvia Watson, Cesar Palacio and Frances Nunziata are co-hosting a public meeting to allow area residents to get more information about the Centre, and raise any of their own questions and concerns. Representatives from Correctional Services Canada will be on hand.

Keele Community & Recreation Centre
182 Glenlake Ave. (at Keele, just north of Bloor)
Mon. Jan. 30, 7:00pm

The developer of the old Humber Odeon theatre site, Paul Wynn, has submitted a final set of plans that City staff are analyzing. Their comments, and Wynn’s plans are expected to be presented to the Toronto West Community Council meeting in April. That is when the developer’s request for upgraded zoning will be considered.

This meeting is open to the public, and we will circulate the date once it is confirmed.

The latest plans were reviewed by members of the BWVRA Executive with Councillor Bill Saundercook on January 16, 2006. They show no changes to the key features of the building: its height; its blank sidewalls; its setback from the sidewalk on the upper floors.

Councillor Saundercook pledged to again contact the developer to urge him to reconsider the options that would result in some of these changes.

In the meantime, members of the BWVRA Executive have contacted the City staff reviewing the project to determine what changes might be requested at the Community Council hearing.

It is clear that the project cannot be rejected outright by the City, given that no significant negative impacts have been identified. These are needed in order for refusal to re-zone to be upheld by the Ontario Municipal Board.

Former Mayor John Sewell will kick off a series of lectures on February 6th on the history of Toronto’s development. If you are interested in development, in history or in architecture, see this flyer (PDF, 100kb) for details. Sewell is a community activist, commentator and journalist. He’s also a gifted public speaker.

The lecture series is being hosted by UrbanSpace and by the Toronto Society of Architects, which is inaugurating regular bi-monthly meetings to generate discussion of the issues facing our city.

Thanks to the federal candidates Sarmite Bulte (Liberal Party), Lorne Gershuny (Marxist-Leninist Party), Jurij Klufas (Conservative Party), Peggy Nash (New Democratic Party), Terry Parker (Marijuana Party), Robert Rishchynski (Green Party) and the 300+ BWVRA residents who made the BWVRA All-Candidates Meeting Tuesday night such a success.

Photos of the event are posted here.

Information about the January 23 election is available on the Elections Canada site.

You can read several comments about the meeting. Feel free to add your own comments — your feedback is always welcome!

Toronto has had no shortage of tall building controversies: the Minto towers, the ROM condo, the Sapphire tower and the East Bayfront lands to name a few. While there is agreement that Toronto must grow upward, there appears to be little agreement on where tall buildings should go and how tall is too tall. Instead, decisions are being made in the wrestling ring of public opinion, with developers, planners, councillors and citizens duking it out building by building.

The Province has responded to this vacuum, proposing changes to the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) and giving new powers to City Council to oversee development.

Will these changes be enough to address the problems Toronto has been experiencing? How will City Council balance the interests of developers and residents? How do we ensure that tall buildings, when built, contribute to the making of a great neighbourhood? What is the appropriate role of Council, planning staff, developers, community groups and the OMB?

with

Kyle Rae: Toronto City Councillor

Tony Coombes: Principal, City Formation International

Steve Diamond: development lawyer and Partner, McCarthy Tétrault

Mimi Fullerton: urban activist; Board Member, Annex Residents’ Association

Ted Tyndorf: Chief Planner for the City of Toronto

Moderator:
Ted Barris: freelance broadcaster and Professor of Journalism at Centennial College; author, most recently of Behind the Glory: Canada’s Role in the Allied Air War

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 25, 2006

7:30-9:30 p.m.
FREE ADMISSION

St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts capacity 500, first come, first seated

27 Front Street East – 2 blocks east of Union Station

http://forum.stlc.com

Co-sponsored by St. Lawrence Centre Forum and The Toronto Society of Architects.

If you are a resident of the Bloor West Village area, with a particular interest and/or some expertise in architecture and urban planning, and would like to attend on our behalf – please contact us at info@bwvra.ca.