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Council Highlights
Archive
April 2006 |
Yorkville Hotel/Condo to tower over nearby
homes/schools
A developer’s plan to construct a 30-storey residential
condominium and a 46-storey hotel/condo received
Council’s approval after a debate about the tall
buildings effects on the Yorkville neighbourhood. As an
early test of the new Official Plan’s ability to protect
residential neighbourhoods from the negative effects of
massive intensification, many would say that, in this
case, city planners and Council opted for
intensification at the expense of neighbourhood
protection. In addition to almost $4 million in
residential development charges, the developer agreed to
contribute $5 million for local community projects
involving the Toronto Reference Library, Jessie Ketchum
School, the local fire hall and streetscape
improvements. Unfortunately, the development will
generate municipal infrastructure requirements much
greater than the seemingly large local benefits. I
opposed the application for all of the above reasons.
Green Roof incentives
Council approved the terms of reference and an
application process for a Green Roof incentive pilot
program. Administered by Toronto Water, the two-year
pilot program will offer grants of up to $20,000 as an
incentive for property owners to plant vegetation on
building roofs, subject to a qualification process and a
limited program budget. The City would like to see the
construction of a variety of green roof types on a range
of buildings, from industrial to single-family
residential. The program will showcase different green
roof technologies and planting styles. For more
information on green roofs: www.toronto.ca/greenroofs/
Work plan to address basement flooding
Council approved a work plan to help prevent basement
flooding. The approach taken in the past concentrated
on providing enough sewer capacity to handle storm
flows. Last, year, two rain storms resulted in numerous
flooded basements in Toronto. The new approach will
focus on first preventing surface flooding and reducing
the amount of stormwater that enters sewer systems, then
assessing the sewer capacity needed to handle remaining
storm flows. The City offers programs to help people
protect their homes from potential basement flooding.
Details: www.toronto.ca/water
Improvements to City programs
Council approved recommendations that followed audits of
the Fire Services and Technical Services divisions and
the City’s management of information technology assets.
The Technical Services recommendations are intended to
improve the management of construction contracts. The
operational review of Fire Services identifies steps to
strengthen management controls and enhance the
cost-effectiveness of operations. The review of
information technology asset management proposes changes
in the City’s procedures.
Water quality at Toronto beaches
Council approved new measures and the expansion of
existing programs to better manage local beaches and
control the gulls, ducks and geese that are polluting
them. Five Toronto beaches consistently experience poor
water quality - in large part because of bacteria
produced by gulls, ducks and geese. The City will take
specific steps this year to address the bird problems at
Centre Island Beach and Bluffer’s Park Beach while
improving maintenance at all major City beaches. The
City will also promote public awareness that it is
important not to feed gulls, ducks or geese.
Toronto’s plan for pandemic influenza
Council endorsed the Toronto Board of Health’s pandemic
influenza plan. The goal of the plan is to minimize the
impact of a potential influenza pandemic on Toronto's
residents and visitors. The plan is aligned with
existing provincial and federal pandemic plans, and was
developed in consultation with stakeholders. It will be
updated regularly, and will help the City respond to
other emergencies as well.
Petition concerning U.S. air pollution
Council agreed to endorse a legal petition organized by
the Sierra Legal Defence Fund with the aim of reducing
air-pollutant emissions from coal-fired power plants in
the United States. The petition will be presented to
the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The
City of Toronto and the Government of Ontario are making
many efforts to reduce local emissions of pollutants,
but Toronto’s air quality is also affected by emissions
from U.S. coal-fired power plants.
Alcohol and drug abuse
Council agreed that the City of Toronto, as part of its
drug strategy, will work to advance priorities of mutual
concern identified in a federal report called “National
Framework for Action to Reduce the Harms Associated with
Alcohol and Other Drug Substances in Canada.” Council
endorsed the document, which encourages partnerships
with municipalities such as Toronto.
Promoting Toronto’s drinking water
Council adopted a motion encouraging the operators of
all Toronto municipal facilities to distribute City of
Toronto tap water rather than commercially-bottled
water. The City wants to promote awareness of the high
quality of its municipally-produced drinking water -
which has been found to meet or exceed the quality of
most commercially bottled water on the market.
City’s 2006 operating budget
At the budget meeting on March 30, Council continued the
recent trend to set tax increases above the rate of
inflation. The $7.6 billion budget does limit spending
increases in many City programs to two per cent and
protects basic services. The 2006 budget provides for
an increase in the number of front-line police officers,
improvements to Toronto Transit Commission services,
continuation of the Clean and Beautiful City program,
and further efforts to make Toronto neighbourhoods
strong and safe. Unfortunately, the budget provides for
a 3% increase in the residential property class – and
for single-family homes in particular, the increase will
be 3.4%. I believe that basic efficiencies are
possible, but not being pursued vigorously enough –
consequently, I opposed the increase again this year.
Details of the budget are provided on the City's website
at www.toronto.ca/budget2006.
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