cwna hcd lettertoteycc 20160221 - toronto · church wellesley neighbourhood association...

CHURCH WELLESLEY

NEIGHBOURHOOD ASSOCIATION

Representing the residents of the Church Wellesley area of Downtown Toronto

info@cwna.ca www.cwna.ca c/o 2202-22 Wellesley Street East Toronto, ON M4Y 1G3

February21,2016

TEYCCTorontoCityHall100QueenStreetWestToronto,OntarioM5H2N2

DearMembersoftheTorontoandEastYorkCommunityCouncil,

HistoricYongeStreetHCDPlan

CWNAwishestoplaceonrecorditssupportoftheHistoricYongeStreetHCDPlan.Webelieveitisavitalfirststepinpreservingthevaluablephysicalassetsthatchroniclethemanyarchitecturalstylesevidentinthedevelopmentof“Toronto’sMainStreet”,andcreatingaunique,liveableandvisit-ablelocationthatwilldelivereconomicbenefitstotheCityofToronto.

Firstandforemost,asacommunity-basedassociation,weareconcernedwiththelivedexperienceofourconstituents.Developersandotherstooeasilyforgetthatourdowntownareais,infact,adenselypopulatedcommunitythatishometoagreatvarietyofpeoplewithanequallybroadrangeofincomes,employmentandrecreationalinterests.TheeclecticmixofstylesandusesofbuildingsintheidentifiedstretchofYongeStreetencouragesabroaddiversityofresidentsandvisitorsalike,andisavitalfoundationforacompletecommunity.

Wenotethatsomedevelopers,forexampleGraywood/MODDevelopments,havemadeconsiderableandsuccessfuleffortstopreserveandenhanceYongeStreet’suniqueambience,inthespiritoftheHCD.Itcanbedone,andwearedismayedthatotherdevelopersplacetheirprofitabilityaboveanysenseofcommunityresponsibilityandcontinuetopropose“could-be-anywhere”cookie-cutterdevelopmentsalongthisstretchofYonge.TheHCDisanecessaryfirststepinforcingthemtoaddresscommunityconcernsandbuildacityenvironmentthatlookstothefuture,buthasasenseofplaceandpurposethatisrootedinitsheritage.ToquoteJaneJacobs:“Oldideascansometimesusenewbuildings.Newideasmustuseoldbuildings.”

CWNAalsonotes:1. TherearedifferencesbetweentheHCDandOPA183andtheNorthDowntownYongeUrban

DesignGuidelines.TheStaffReportofJan272016suggests:“Itisanticipatedthatthesedifferencesmaybeaddressedandreconciledinafuturestaff"RequestforDirections"reportontheOPA183OntarioMunicipalBoardappeal.”WestronglyurgeTEYCCtooffereveryassistanceinreconcilingthosedifferences.Ifthesepoliciesarenotfullycongruent,weareconcernedthatthosewhoopposeanyoneofthesepolicieswillmakeuseofthediscrepanciestoweakenand/oroverturnanyorallofthepolicies.

TE14.4.13

2. The65propertiesspecificallynamedinRecommendations4-44MUSTbeplacedontheCityofToronto’sHeritageRegisterwithoutdelay.Wehavealreadyseen(attheformerStollery’ssite)thatdevelopersarepoisedtoexploittheslightestopportunityand,unfortunately,thevastmajorityofthemappeartohavelittleregardfortheCity’sheritage.

WewishthatDraftReportcouldhavebeenmoreinventiveandcreativeinitsrecommendationstoenhancetheHCDarea’sfacilitiesforlocalresidentuse(e.g.bycreatingpublicmeetingandrestingspaces,andinsistingonpoliciesthatwouldfirmlyreinforcethecurrentfine-grainretail)andforvisitoruse(e.g.byreinforcingYongeStreet’suniqueroleasacelebratoryandparaderoute).Wewish,too,thattheproposalscouldhavebeenmorecomprehensiveinre-imaginingthefutureusesofthestreet,forexamplebyrebalancingtheemphasisfrommotorizedtransporttowards(thealreadymoreprevalent)pedestrians.Thesewillhavetobeaddressedinfuturediscussions.Nonetheless,weagainwishtostateoursupportfortheHCDPlan,andcommendittoyouasthecurrentbestwayforwardforrevitalizinganimportantpartofourneighbourhood.Yoursfaithfully,AndrewHorberryPresident,ChurchWellesleyNeighbourhoodAssociationCc: MaryMacDonald

TamaraAnsen-CartwrightDialogDavidOikawaCouncillorWong-Tam,Ward27