To CORRA
Members and RA Executive:
Thank you to
those groups who wrote to Planning and Growth Management Committee (P&GMC)
in support of CORRA or raising your own group’s concerns.
The
Statutory Public Meeting on March 6, 2013 lasted the entire day beginning with
presentations and ending with the Committee moving the proposed November 8,
2013 version of the New City-wide Zoning By-law with amendments including
amendments brought forward from the January 2013 P&GMC meeting.
Unfortunately,
CORRA’s request seeking the Committee to direct Staff to meet with CORRA and
affected residents and ratepayer groups prior to the first reading is not part
of the package of amendments going forward to City Council.
CORRA on
behalf of member groups and other affected groups resident groups will continue
to seek meaningful dialogue with Staff to consider our concerns.
Link to
P&GMC recommendations to City Council:
IT’S TIME TO
PROTECT YOUR RIGHTS BY WRITING TO CITY COUNCIL
We strongly
urge that your group WRITE to City Council. Your group’s letter will
reserve your right to continue the dialogue, review, and assessment of impacts
that your group is undertaking as the New City-wide By-law makes its way
through to Council’s final passage.
Mayor Rob
Ford and Members of Council
Toronto City
Hall,
100 Queen
Street West,
Toronto,
Ontario M5H 2N2
Attention: Ms.
Marilyn Toft, Manager Council Secretariat Support
Fax: 416.392.2980
RE: PG21.1
Proposed New City-wide Zoning By-law
Preserving
Your Right to Appeal:
Filing a
letter now does not mean that your group is appealing to the OMB. Filing
now retains your rights to an appeal. Your group remains part of the ongoing
process. Should the final By-law passed by Council remain unacceptable to
your group and residents, that letter to City Council will allow you the right
to file an appeal to Ontario Municipal Board should your group wish to
object. This is important as your group should not inadvertently
waive or surrender your right to appeal,
NEW NEWS:
At the
Statutory Public Meeting, CORRA learned that the Ontario Association of
Architects (OAA) and its members are opposing the residential chapters of the
zoning by-law.
Here is a
summary of issues the OAA raised at the Statutory Public Meeting:
1. Remove and GFA or FSI restrictions
in the by-law;
2. If GFA or FSI stays, remove the
inclusion of attic space and allow the FSI to rise to 70/80% of the lot area;
3. Measure height from the mid-point of
the roof rather than the ridge, or add a meter to the overall height
restriction;
4. No height restrictions on
flat-roofed buildings;
5. No restrictions on the width of
dormers in a roof above the second storey;
6. Remove the maximum height of
specified pairs of main walls;
7. Remove restrictions for a detached
house with a flat or shallow roof;
8. Remove roof Slope for detached
houses in R areas; and
9. Allow below grade parts of buildings
and structures to not comply with setback requirements.
This is
another reason why you need to write to Council. The OAA wants the City
to remove or significantly amend many of the residential zoning standards that
are proposed in the By-law. It is likely the OAA may appeal to the OMB.
While there
are improvements in the proposed By-law for our perspective, CORRA believes
there are general provisions that require further assessment and strengthening
from its current base. Furthermore, groups like Teddington Park RA,
Swansea and others have identified issues unique to their areas that also
require amending. But with the OAA position, we certainly do not want to
be back peddling on hard won issues by resident and ratepayer groups.
For property
owners under the former City of Toronto and the other municipalities that
included a GFA/FSI zoning standard—retaining the GFA/FSI standard on a
go-forward basis was the linchpin. Even the OP Chapter 5.6.13 identifies
the importance of height and density as key standards.
CORRA will
be writing to City Council.
CORRA will be preserving its rights. And again CORRA will be seek Council
to direct staff to engage with CORRA and other affected resident and ratepayer
groups prior to the final passage of the Zoning By-law.
WRITE to
City Council supporting CORRA’s position and outline your group’s
concerns. This letter will preserve your rights.
COPY your
letter to CORRA and to your local Councillor (Visiting Councillors
present at the Statutory Public Meeting were focused on other issues).
ATTEND
CORRA’s WORKSHOP—MARCH 30TH AT THE SWANSEA TOWNHALL. CORRA
would like to help groups understand their maps and zoning. And CORRA needs
your help and support to ensure the zoning by-law is not weakened before it
takes full force and effect.
Please attend the Workshop:
Date:
Saturday, MARCH 30, 2013
Time:
1:30 pm Session One
3:00 pm Session Two
Place:
Swansea Town Hall
95 Lavinia Avenue
East of Windermere and South of DeForest
(See directions provided below)
MEETING DETAILS:
Please
confirm your attendance (maximum number of attendees is two
per group) by identifying the Session tocorratoronto@gmail.com.
Space is limited and it is the Easter long weekend—please let us know as soon
as possible.
Please bring
a lap top. WIFI is available and this
will allow us to focus on your local concerns and queries as well as facilitate
a discussion on the general provisions that affect us all. In addition, we can walk you through
the maps for your area to assist you in understanding how the general and
special rules interact.
The New
City-wide Zoning By-law is advancing to Council in April (more on this is a separate CORRA
Update soon).
DIRECTIONS:
If traveling
by TTC, you may exit at either the Jane or Runnymede subway stations.
Walk to Windermere and head south to DeForest and Lavinia. Also, you can
take the Runnymede bus south to either DeForest and walk to Lavinia or get off
at Windermere and Morningside and walk east to Lavinia and then north to the
Town Hall.
If driving,
follow the green signs to the Town Hall on Windermere and turn onto either
DeForest if driving from the north or Morningside from the south and to
Lavinia. The Swansea Town Hall is between DeForest and Morningside.
We encourage
all to write to Council and attend our Workshop. Thank-you for your continued
support.
Sincerely,
Eileen
Denny, CORRA Vice-Chair
William
Roberts, CORRA Chair
corratoronto@gmail.com
