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Council Highlights
Archive
February 2010 |
 The
Council Highlights are provided as a service to
residents of Ward 25. The following is a summary of the
City Council meeting February 22 and 23, 2010.
1. Don Mills Centre
Settlement Includes a new Community Centre (CC46.2)
Council
approved, on a 37-3 vote, a settlement of the appeal of
Cadillac Fairview’s (CF) Phase II development
application – which will include a $17 million
publicly-accessible community centre built and paid for
by CF. With the aid
of Provincial Facilitator Paula Dill, the settlement was
negotiated by city staff, CF and the Don Mills Residents
Inc (DMRI). The settlement provides for essentially the
same density as previously proposed, but will result in
different heights of some buildings – some being higher
and others lower. The current city-owned arena lands
will be swapped for land at the corner of Don Mills Road
and the Donway West to accommodate the new community
centre. The current Civitan arena can operate until
2020 on its current site while the City seeks a new site
for a twin-pad arena. The settlement also includes a
payment by CF of about $4 million, partially in lieu of
parkland dedication, to assist in paying for the new
arena.
2. Toronto Marathons
(PW30.2)
Council approved a plan to change the
timing of one of Toronto’s two annual marathon runs so
the city will no longer have two marathons taking place
in the fall. Starting in 2011, the community-based Good
Life Marathon will be held in May. The Scotiabank
Waterfront Marathon will continue to be held in the
fall. Council directed City officials to work closely
with race directors to minimize the negative effects of
street closings and to maximize the charitable, economic
and tourism potential of the two events.
3. HST for taxi fares
(LS27.2)
Council
approved new taxicabs rates and fares to reflect the 13%
Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) implementation on July 1,
2010. Council also directed that the Tariff Card in the
back seat of taxicabs be amended two months in advance
of that date to provide notice of the inclusion of the
HST in fares. For example, waiting time will now be
charged at 25 cents for 29 seconds (instead of 25 cents
for 31 seconds).
4. Security Requirements
2010 G8/G20 Summits (CC46.3)
Council authorized City staff to
enter into funding agreements with the federal or
Ontario governments for the reimbursement of costs the
City will incur when the Group of 20 (G20) Summit is
held in downtown Toronto on June 26 and 27. Among other
steps, Council decided to ask the federal government to
post a bond to cover expenses for potential property
damage that could occur during June’s G20 Summit.
London and Pittsburgh faced such costs as a result of
protests during the world economic summits those two
cities hosted in 2009. Council also asked the federal
government to post a bond to cover any costs incurred by
local businesses.
5. Water Connection
Funding - Thackery Park Cricket Pitch (EX40.11)
Council
approved $350,000 to connect water and sewer services to
Thackery Park cricket grounds in north Etobicoke – in a
surprisingly hotly-debated item. The issue under debate
was not whether those services should be provided, but
the source of the money to do so. City staff advised
that the correct source of funds for new Parks
infrastructure should be the 2010 Parks Capital Budget.
However, since those monies were previously fully
allocated, the Mayor’s Executive Committee chose to
redirect the funds from the year-end 2009 Water
Operating Budget surplus. To a disinterested observer,
this may appear to be a picayune debate - shouldn’t the
City should be able to spend on whatever it wants, after
all, money is money? And a slight majority of
Councillors accepted that expediency. But other
Councillors, including myself, believe in a more
responsible approach. Water users have experienced 9%
rate increases annually for 6 years. Their increased
payments should not be used to create a slush fund to
cover un-related capital shortfalls – shortfalls
resulting from development charges foolishly frozen by
Council at 2005 levels. Residential water rates have
increased over 50% in the meantime.
6.
Jolly Miller Lands (GM28.7)
Council
approved the conversion to parkland of about half of the
existing Toronto Parking Authority (TPA) lot at 3885
Yonge Street. This land will be added to the abutting
valley/open space lands and operated as a park. The
expanded park will be improved this year in consultation
with the neighbouring community using $425,000 of funds
from the TPA. This will finally bring to fruition an
initiative of my predecessor Joanne Flint and the York
Mills Valley Association – to preserve this land as
parkland.
7.
Ice Allocation in Arena Boards of Management (CD30.5)
Council approved a compromise
proposal to revise the processing of applications for
ice time at the City’s 48 arenas. Ten of the arenas are
run by eight local boards of management; the others are
run directly by the City. Recreation staff will receive
all applications for ice time, forwarding applications
for ice time at community-run arenas to their respective
boards for their recommendation allocations. The City
will then review the proposed ice-time schedules of the
board-managed arenas for compliance with the City’s ice
allocation policy.
8. Addressing
alcohol-related violence in nightclubs (LS27.1)
Council directed staff to work with
relevant associations and businesses to implement best
practices for reducing violence and nuisances associated
with the operation of nightclubs and other entertainment
establishments. Council wants staff to co-ordinate
enforcement activities among various City divisions and
agencies in order to deal with problem operators
effectively. Council’s action supports a bylaw adopted
in 2006 requiring nightclubs and other entertainment
venues to provide safety and nuisance controls.
9. Biogas
facility for Toronto Zoo (EX40.16)
Council approved
the construction of a biogas facility at the Toronto Zoo
- with construction conditional on zoo management
reporting back on any unexpected budget impacts that
become apparent during the construction bid process.
The goal of the project is to generate clean, renewable
energy from organic waste (fuel) in order to meet the
zoo’s goal of becoming carbon neutral. The project will
be designed to demonstrate to visitors the benefits of
biogas technology in producing heat and electricity.
10.
Garbage chutes in apartment buildings
(PW30.9)
Council approved a program to permit
apartment building management to apply to close garbage
chutes in some Toronto residential buildings starting
May 1. The intention is to improve recycling rates in
multi-residential buildings, which overall have a much
lower recycling rate than single-family homes (15% vs.
59%). Closing a building’s garbage chute will encourage
residents to package their waste and recyclables
separately and use the appropriate containers. This
would assist multi-residential buildings in
increasing diversion to realize environmental goals -
and possibly deliver monetary benefits to tenants.
City staff will report back on the
program’s success a year from now.
11. Greenbelt
designation for Humber and Don Valleys (PE28.1)
Council voted
to ask the Province of Ontario to add Toronto’s Don and
Humber River Valleys to southern Ontario’s protected
Greenbelt - an addition that will connect existing parts
of the Greenbelt to Lake Ontario. The provincial
government has indicated it welcomes Toronto’s request.
As a result, Toronto is likely to become the first
municipality to have land added to Ontario’s permanent
Greenbelt of protected watersheds, forests and farmland.
This will reinforce existing Official Plan policies,
land use designations and regulations of the TRCA that
protect these valley corridors from inappropriate
development.
12. Donation
of used ambulances (EX40.6)
Council decided to donate one
surplus City ambulance a year for the next four years
(2010-13) to the Caravan of Hope, which will deliver the
vehicles to El Salvador in Central America. Toronto has
had a partnership with the City of Soyapango, El
Salvador since 1998. Council also approved giving
not-for-profit-organizations in Toronto the first right
to purchase other decommissioned, surplus Emergency
Medical Services ambulances, with prices based on fair
market appraisal.
Non-Council Items:
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The Traffic Control Signal
located at 1105 Leslie St just north of Eglinton Ave
was activated on Thursday March 4, 2010 at 12:00
p.m. – providing safer entrance and egress for
residents of the adjacent condominium buildings.
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The Planning & Growth Management
Committee will hold a statutory meeting on
Wednesday, April 21 to consider an Official Plan
amendment to implement the provincially-mandated
Urban Growth Centre for the Yonge-Eglinton area.
While the community and staff are in general
agreement on most policies, they differ on the
proposed location of its northern boundary and on
transition policies to the stable residential
neighbourhood at Keewatin and above.
If you wish to comment on any
issue, please call or write to me: 416-395-6408 or
councillor_jenkins@toronto.ca.
Please feel free to forward these Council Highlights to
others who may be interested in these municipal issues.
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