NEIGHBOURHOOD UPDATE - November 10, 2020
Additional Information
Membership Renewal — $10.00
If you have not already done so, please renew your IRRA membership. PayPal is available on our website at: islingtonratepayersassociation.com or you may print out the renewal form attached and mail it along with your cheque to: IRRA, PO Box 3, Toronto M9A 4X1. Please do not mail cash.
Updates re: Major Developments in our Community
(a) Burnhamthorpe Townhouse Proposal
The proposal by Distrikt Developments to build 123 stacked and back-to-back townhouses at the corner of Burnhamthorpe Road and Burnhamthorpe Crescent was turned down by Toronto City Council at its meeting on September 30, 2020. This matter will now be decided at a hearing before the Local Planning Appeals Tribunal (LPAT). The hearing is scheduled for March 2, 2021. A large number of residents will be represented at this hearing through local resident Chris Grant who has hired a planning lawyer. IRRA is monitoring this situation. Stay tuned for further information as this case progresses.
(b) Amica Proposal for Seniors Building
A virtual community consultation meeting took place on October 15, 2020 regarding a proposal by Amica to build a seniors facility on the site of 4916-4946 Dundas Street and 4-18 Burnhamthorpe Road (north-west corner of Dundas and Burnhamthorpe). The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the Official Plan and Rezoning By-law amendments required by this application which proposes 10 storeys with 210 retirement units, 51 parking spaces (48 underground and 3 above-ground).
The applicant proposes to retain the front portion of the designated heritage building (the old police station) which is now the Fox and Fiddle on Dundas. Plans and material submitted by Amica are available at: http://aic.to/4916DundasStW
(c) Proposed Developments on North Side of Dundas at Jopling & Beamish
Amdev Development has applied for rezoning of two sites on the north side of Dundas to allow the building of a 31-storey tower at 4-8 Beamish and two 35-storey and 38-storey towers at 8-26 Jopling. The current zoning allows tall buildings only on the south side of Dundas, and approval of this rezoning would set a dangerous precedent for all neighbourhoods north of Dundas.
A virtual community consultation meeting took place on November 3, 2020. Plans and materials submitted by Amdev are available at http://aic.to/8JoplingAveS
Traffic Safety
The IRRA and the residents who live along Burnhamthorpe Road have made repeated requests to Councillor Grimes (and Councillor Di Ciano before him) for safety measures to be put into place to deal with the stretch of road from Kipling to Dundas which has seen 17 incidents in the past six years involving damage to private and/or city property. The City’s response to our concerns has been to paint double lines in the area of the S curves, to attach yellow reflective tape to the guardrails (which started to peel off within two weeks) and to install Watch Your Speed monitors on a couple of occasions. These attempts have had little success in addressing the safety concerns of those of us living along this stretch of Burnhamthorpe. The City claims that because Burnhamthorpe is an arterial road, few options are available. IRRA finds this argument unacceptable. This is a residential road; it always has been and measures are needed to ensure residents are safe.
In September 2019, following numerous requests from the IRRA, the City advised that Transportation Services had Burnhamthorpe Road in queue to be assessed for speed reduction, following which a Community Safety Zone designation would be reviewed. However, after over a year, this study has not been conducted and we are in queue with hundreds of other studies to be conducted, notwithstanding that a report was to go to Etobicoke York Community Council in June of this year.
Please Get Involved!
As you can see, there is much going on in our community and IRRA needs your help. Please consider joining the Board of Directors to help us in preserving the residential character of our community. The task is not onerous; we meet five or six times a year and conduct most of our work by email.
You can also get involved by letting your Councillor and the Planning Department know how you feel about any of the above issues. Their contact information is:
Planning Department Jennifer.Renaud@toronto.ca
Ward 2 — Councillor Holyday Councillor_Holyday@toronto.ca
Ward 3 — Councillor Grimes Councillor_Grimes@toronto.ca
When writing to any of the above, feel free to forward a copy of your email to islingtonratepayers@gmail.com
