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On The Street

Big Hole Final Report To City Council

Here is the final report from the City of Toronto regarding the rezoning application of 2055/2057 Danforth.  As you’ll see, the City is recommending approval of the development based on:

  • the fact that it’s on a main artery and close to a subway station
  • it maintains adequate sunlight for residents on the Danforth and in the surrounding homes
  • the City’s belief that incremental redevelopments of this scale will not be problematic to nearby neighbourhoods
  • it’s proximity to retail, service, entertainment and places of employment, and
  • section 37 benefits that would be secured as a result including contributions toward three nearby parks. $100,000 each for the conversion of East Lynn and Stephenson Park wading pools to splash pads and $100,000 towards the redevelopment of Moncur playground.

The request will go to the Toronto and East York Community Council on Tuesday, August 17th, 2010 at 1:30 p.m. in the council chamber at City Hall, 100 Queen St. West.

You are invited to attend the public meeting to make your views known regarding the proposal.  If you wish to address the council on this issue, contact Rosalind Dyers at 416-392-7033 no later than August 16, 2010.  To submit written comments, forward them to:

City Clerk – Attention Rosalind Dyers

Toronto and East York Community Council

City Hall, 2nd Floor West

100 Queen St. West, Toronto, ON, M5H 2N2

or to teycc@toronto.ca or fax 416-397-0111

Detailed information about this proposal, including background information and material, is available by contacting Senior Planner, Leontine Major at 416-397-4076 or lmajor@toronto.ca.

A scanned copy of the official public meeting notice can be found here thanks to urbantoronto.ca

TTC Second Exits at Donlands and Greenwood

Thanks to Stephen for sending along these pictures from the public meeting a while back about the second exits at Donlands and Greenwood.  The TTC is looking to expropriate some of the homes to install the exits.  Folks were angry about that, but even more so, they were angry about the lack of consultation, the disregard for the fabric of the community and the heavy-handed approach.  The exits are in Case Ootes’ riding, but mainly it was TTC Chair, Adam Giambrone on the hot seat because of the form letters that were sent to residents whose homes may be expropriated.

Crossroads BIA Family Fun Festival

The Crossroads BIA begins at Victoria Park and runs east.  They’re having a fun fest on Saturday, August 14th at Oakridge Park (Danforth Ave and Danforth Rd.) from 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.  Check it out.

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Big Hole Public Meeting

The request to amend the zoning by-law for 2055/2057 Danforth (a.k.a. The Big Hole at Danforth and Woodbine) will go to the Toronto and East York Community Council on Tuesday, August 17th, 2010 at 1:30 p.m. in the council chamber at City Hall, 100 Queen St. West.

You are invited to attend the public meeting to make your views known regarding the proposal.  If you wish to address the council on this issue, contact Rosalind Dyers at 416-392-7033 no later than August 16, 2010.  To submit written comments, forward them to:

City Clerk – Attention Rosalind Dyers

Toronto and East York Community Council

City Hall, 2nd Floor West

100 Queen St. West, Toronto, ON, M5H 2N2

or to teycc@toronto.ca or fax 416-397-0111

Detailed information about this proposal, including background information and material, is available by contacting Senior Planner, Leotine Major at 416-397-4076 or lmajor@toronto.ca.

A scanned copy of the official public meeting notice can be found here thanks to urbantoronto.ca

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Sweet Summer Stuff

DECA Learns – Canning Cherries and Peaches

DECA’s next Bernadin canning workshop is tomorrow – July 21st with the delightful master of all things preserve – Emerie!  This week, peaches and cherries.  The workshop is at 7:30 p.m. at the Danforth Mennonite Church at 2174 Danforth.  RSVP to Mary-Margaret McMahon at spargy@rogers.com or 416-693-9276.  Suggested donation $5.00.

East Lynn Farmers’ Market

Oh we’re in the thick of it now.  My fridge overflows with local produce.  The bounty is rich and the atmosphere at the market is absolute delight.  At least that’s how it looks from the vantage point of my little boys…peaches, cheese curds, face painting, wading pool.  Does it get any better than that?

This week at 4:30 – unicycle tricks that will wow you.

Big Hole Update

Thanks to DECA member (and volunteer) Jon Isaak for sending along this update on the condodevelopment at Danforth and Woodbine from Tine Major at the City of Toronto Planning Office:

The rezoning application is almost ready to be reported on and the final report recommending approval may go forward to the August Toronto and East York Community Council meeting.

If you would like to know more or comment on this, contact Councillor Sandra Bussin at councillor_bussin@toronto.ca or and/or her executive assistant, David McCully at dmccull@toronto.ca.

Toronto Police Services and You

Whenever we speak with the community policing officers at 55 Division (south of the Danforth) and 54 Division (north of the Danforth) they always tell us the same thing: if you see something untoward, call us.  Even if they don’t come that time, it gets filed and the more calls they get, the more likely they will be to pay attention to this particular area.  If you’re like me, however, you might not always call because you don’t want to deal with the hassle or you don’t have the time.  When DECA met with other residents’ associations in the east end last month, we learned that you can also e-mail these sorts of non-urgent complaints.  Genius.

For 54 Division (north) – use this form or call 416-808-5400

For 55 Division (south) – use this form or call 416-808-5500

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Official Big Hole Community Consultation

A community consultation meeting will be held regarding the development application proposal for 2055-2057 Danforth Avenue (formerly Woodbine Building Supplies).  The meeting will provide an opportunity for the community to have input on this project, view the plans and ask questions.  If you cannot attend the meeting, you can still make your views known by sending a fax (416) 392-1330 or by writing to Raymond David, Toronto and East York District Planning Division, 100 Queen Street West, Floor 18E Toronto Ontario, M5H 2N2.

Attending the meeting will be: Councillor Bussin, representatives for the developer and City of Toronto Planner, Tine Major, lmajor@toronto.ca.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010 – 7 – 9 p.m.

Terry Fox Community Centre, 2 Gledhill Ave.

For more information, contact Councillor Sandra Bussin’s office at 416-392-1376 or councillor_bussin@toronto.ca

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Big Hole Summary

It was lively.  And there was a range of opinions – to say the least – which is going to make writing this particular entry a bit tricky but I’m going to put on my old reporter’s hat and try to represent it best I can.

The first thing to know is that this was not part of the formal consultation process. I understand that there are two tentative dates for future meetings.  The first is Feb. 17th for the immediate neighbours including the developer, Councillor Bussin and a representative from the City.  The second (once again tentative) date is March 3rd for a formal public consultation meeting with the same folks.  Watch your physical mailbox if you are an immediate neighbour or this space for information about those meetings.

Thank you to Councillors Bussin and Davis for coming out, the fifty or so people who braved the snowy night and to Kimbourne Park United Church for hosting.

The current status of the project, according to Councillor Bussin, is that the City’s planning department is encouraged by the sophisticated design of the building that takes into consideration Toronto’s Official Plan for increasing density along main thoroughfares and transit lines, is stepped down on the Danforth as it backs into the residential part of the property and a developer who seems willing to accommodate local requests for things like types of fencing and green space.  The only way to lower the tower would be to extend the building further back into the more residential part of the property, says Bussin, because if you lose too many units in the building it quickly becomes not worth the cost of developing it.  (The current application is for 141 condo units, 107 one bedroom and 34 two bedroom.)

Some of the immediate neighbours said they disliked the idea of twelve stories primarily because it wouldn’t fit in with other buildings on the street, and they definitely would not want the building to come back any further into the neighbourhood. In addition, there was a lot of discussion about what the impact would be on parking around the building as parking can already be a challenge on the side streets.  Parking for condos is worked out by a formula and in this case the building proposes 120 parking spaces, including 14 visitor spaces.  There was also some discussion about how much shadow the building would cast.  (A shadow study is being done, apparently.)

On the other hand, there was plenty of support for the building and the height.  Many thought the building was aesthetically pleasing, close to transit, adding density that is much-needed to support our struggling commercial strip and a good option for single people and seniors who may want to stay in the neighbourhood but have few options.  One person even suggested that the view from many of the units is going to be spectacular and that this building could be a real catalyst for the kind of Danforth that we are all hoping for.

Putting aside the issue of height and looking at the first ten feet of the building there were a number of interesting suggestions including:

  • building the main floor retail with tall, fourteen foot ceilings and big windows so they would appeal to a higher-end tenant
  • parking for customers of the main floor retail
  • a green, eco-friendly building that meets the City’s Green Standards with plenty of native trees and vegetation at the front, back and top of the building, bike friendly and possibly a bioswale.
  • a well-designed, well-maintained building that is welcoming and adds beauty to the street.

We also talked a little bit about Section 37 community benefit funding, which developers sometimes provide for projects that will benefit the community, essentially in exchange for increasing the zoning density.

Read here for more comments from others who attended.