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Council Highlights
Archive
May 2006 |
 The
following highlights of the City Council meeting held
May 23-25,2006 are provided as a service to residents of
Ward 25.
Don Mills Centre Site Plan (to be) adjudicated at
OMB – but parkland locked in
Council amended the Refusal Recommendation by North
York Community Council on the Don Mills Centre Site plan
to accept a partial settlement offer by Cadillac
Fairview. The partial settlement offer included two key
provisions to the benefit of the community – first, the
inclusion of public art in the project in an amount
approaching $1 million and second, the confirmed
conveyance of parkland (approximately half an acre) to
the City by deed in escrow. The confirmed parkland will
provide, along with the existing Civitan arena site, the
opportunity for a future community centre for Don Mills.
The settlement offer also narrowed the points of dispute
about the site plan – but did not diminish the City’s
position to seek a settlement which would include a
partially enclosed mall. The Ontario Municipal Board
commenced the hearing on May 29 and announced at the
outset, however, that it did not have jurisdiction to
order an enclosed mall. This confirmed the legal and
planning advice previously received. This is profoundly
disappointing, but not unexpected, for many in Don
Mills. A final OMB Board order should be issued next
month – and Cadillac Fairview will commence construction
activity for its new “Lifestyle Centre” to open in the
summer of 2008.
OMB Reform
Council passed a resolution to inform the provincial
government of its positions with respect to Ontario
Municipal Board reform. In particular, Council expressed
its concern that the OMB should be a true appeal body –
limited to determining whether Council decisions are
consistent with the Official Plan and Provincial
planning policy. The OMB currently conducts “de novo”
hearings on all matters – rehearing evidence previously
considered by Council and making its own decision on
development applications. Many are concerned that
non-elected (and thus non-accountable) persons are
making significant decisions about how the City will
intensify. The provincial government’s proposed reforms,
as currently drafted, are considered by most ratepayer
organizations to be ineffective in achieving an
accountable development application appeal process.
Bid to host World Expo
Council voted strongly in favour of Toronto mounting
a bid to host a World Expo event in 2015. If the bid is
successful, Expo 2015 will take place on 400 acres of
transformed Port Lands, bringing to life the “Spirit of
Ingenuity” theme. The next step is for the City of
Toronto to seek approval from the provincial and federal
governments. With their support, a not-for-profit
corporation will be formed to undertake the bid
submission project. I voted in favour of the bid after
having some initial reservations about the competitive
analysis performed to-date. For a competitive project of
this magnitude in the private sector, involving an
initial investment of several million dollars, a
rigorous analysis of the prospective competing bidders
would be a pre-requisite to making the decision to
compete. In response to my questions, the proponents
indicated that an informal analysis shows Toronto to be
in a favourable competitive position.
Taxi driver safety
In response to a recent fatal assault on a taxi cab
driver, Council directed staff to ask Toronto taxi
drivers for their views on the possibility of making
safety shields mandatory in cabs. Protective shields
installed between the front and back seats are an option
to help protect drivers from assault by passengers. City
staff will report back on findings of the consultations.
Memorial for Air India Flight 182
Council supported the City’s involvement in the
establishment of a memorial to victims of Air India
Flight 182, which crashed into the Atlantic Ocean as a
result of a brutal act of terrorism on June 23, 1985.
The tragedy claimed the lives of 329 people - the
majority of them residents of the Greater Toronto Area.
The memorial will be created in Humber Bay Park East
with funding provided by the federal government. Toronto
will contribute the parkland and staff support for the
project. Many family members of victims asked that a
memorial be established on the shore of Lake Ontario,
and have expressed support for the Humber Bay site.
Hiring of relatives
I supported a new city hiring policy making relatives
of Council members (spouses, children and parents)
ineligible to be hired by the City of Toronto for a list
of specific senior and sensitive positions. In response
to questions I raised in committee, staff indicated that
there had been fifteen instances of direct reporting
relationships between relatives in the City. All have
been resolved by transferring one or another of the
related persons.
Councillor communications in election year
Council confirmed guidelines on the sensitive issue
of the use of corporate and communication resources by
Councillors in election years. The guidelines generally
rule out the use of corporate resources and funding for
election campaign purposes, but councillors are allowed
to send notices about City business matters to residents
up until municipal election day. The 2006 election is
November 13.
Pedestrian crossovers
Council approved a project to replace or improve
Toronto’s 77 pedestrian crossovers on major arterial
roadways in order to improve safety. The City will
convert 24 of Toronto’s current crossovers to traffic
control signals due to high risk at those locations. The
City will improve the other 53 crossovers on major
roadways by enhancing their flashing beacons, signs and
pavement markings. The project includes a public
education effort to promote greater awareness of
drivers’ and pedestrians’ responsibilities for safe use
of the crossovers. Toronto has almost 600 pedestrian
crossovers on its roads and streets.
Voice for sport in Toronto
Council agreed to recognize the Toronto Sports
Council as “the voice of sport” in Toronto, serving as a
sports advocate and working with the City on a plan to
increase sport facilities and implement the City’s sport
strategy. In addition, the Parks, Forestry and
Recreation Division was asked to prepare a report on
opportunities to renovate and develop local sport
facilities such as swimming pools, ice rinks and sports
fields.
Garage sales
The City of Toronto will restrict the number of
garage sales to two per year at any individual
residential address. This is in response to nuisance
situations where recurring garage sales are effectively
operating as businesses in neighbourhoods.
Council Items Deferred:
Council did not have time to consider several items
of interest to many in Ward 25 and across the City.
These have been deferred to June 14 or a later session:
1. A proposal for (partial) re-imbursement of flood
damages resulting from the storms of 2005.
2. A proposal to prohibit construction noise on
Sundays and holidays in residential neighbourhoods.
3. A proposal to issue a tender for co-ordinated
street furniture (including benches, garbage bins, bus
shelters, etc).
4. A proposal to consider in-sourcing solid waste
collection service currently being performed by
independent operators in parts of the city.
Non-Council and other upcoming Items:
1. Wildcat Transit Strike on May 29. The TTC will
refund $4 to holders of Metropasses valid that day. The
TTC will also file a grievance against the union seeking
damages up to $3 million. In my view, the transportation
chaos ensuing from this illegal work stoppage likely
caused many times more damage to the City’s economy. As
the City continues to intensify, public transit
shutdowns become increasingly disruptive to the economy
and put lives at risk by hampering our emergency
services. Consequently, I believe we should be engaging
in a discussion with the provincial government and the
TTC union on determining mandatory mechanisms for
resolving labour disputes and ensuring no such
disruptions occur in the future. I welcome your input on
this matter.
2. The Policy and Finance Committee, chaired by Mayor
Miller, will hear deputations on the recommendations of
the Governing Toronto Advisory Panel at 10:00 a.m. on
Wednesday, June 20 in Committee Room 1, Toronto City
Hall. This will be citizens’ last chance to make their
views known on some very controversial recommendations
to create a “strong-mayor / weak-council” system for
Toronto. In addition to giving the Mayor very great
powers to appoint Councillors to Committees and to
appoint senior civil servants, the recommendations
include provisions which would delegate to Planning
Staff certain decisions with respect to development
applications. Many feel that these recommendations would
disempower citizens in matters concerning their own
neighbourhoods.
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