| updated: Mar. 11, 2002 | Stelco
site development |
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Minutes Third Meeting A Joint Undertaking of the
City of Toronto and REON Development Corporation
Attendance: Agenda: 1. Review of Agenda
4. Community communication
update - Bob Willes
The meeting began at 7:15 pm. Barry Brooks welcomed participants. Bill Roberts moved adoption of the Agenda. All were in favour. Barry Brooks asked participants to review the minutes of the previous meeting. Minutes were approved. The Committee welcomed new member, Lina Volpe. Barry Brooks reported that several parcels of land along the CN line will be added to the Stelco Swansea Works property to allow for the required set-back from the rail line, and to allow for the construction of the protective berm. This is an additional 0.92 acres along the full length of the site, adjacent to the rail line. The size of the site will now be almost 12 acres (4.8 hectares). In addition, the property will be sub-divided into seven separate lots in order to accommodate condo ownerships of the buildings to be built on the properties. The request for sub-dividing the property has been sent to the City of Toronto Committee of Adjustments for approval. Jamie Bell noted that he is aware that some community members living within 120 metres of the proposed severance did not receive notice from the Committee of Adjustment, as required. Barry Brooks said that proper notice had been given to the adjacent owners, however, he would ensure that City staff forward the notice to anyone attending the meeting who had been missed. Barry Brooks explained that there have been ongoing discussions and negotiations between the City's and REON's Legal Counsel up until late last week concerning Section 37, which secures all the community benefits. Because of this, planning staff asked for a deferral of the approval of the zoning application agreement until Section 37 is signed. He invited participants to approach the City if they have further questions on this. Bob Willes offered to post notice of the severance on the world19 web site in addition to the official notice given by the City. Barry Brooks listed some of the provisions included in the Section 37 agreement. These include: $75,000 for playground equipment for local schools; $50,000 for a boathouse on the Humber; $35,000 for the Joy Station; $25,000 for an expansion of the basement of the Town Hall; $120,000 for reconstruction of TTC shelters on the Queensway; $1 million for a Daycare Centre onsite with 52 spaces; streetscape improvements; landscaping on the open space on Windermere and Ellis Park. He pointed out that once the Section 37 agreement is finalized, a committee will be set up and a budget developed. Bill Roberts asked for clarification on the bypass, and conditions related to the park. Barry Brooks suggested that he call Steve Bradley, the City Solicitor who is drafting the agreement, to see the provisions, including those for liability. Norm McLeod asked for an update on the plans for the location of the boathouse on the Humber. Barry Brooks explained that they are looking at two sites. One is at the site of the former Lackey's Marina, where they identified the need for some remediation. The other site, which is further south, could have problems due to flooding potential, which could be expensive to amend. Norm McLeod stated a concern that neither site interfere with the historic "Rousseau" site. Barry Brooks noted that any construction would have very little impact, since there would be no underground construction, and the footprint of the boathouse would be very small. Barry Brooks asked the Committee members whether they had received the project update, which was distributed this time via Canada Post's "admail" system. Even though Don Richardson did meet with Canada Post's local distribution office and used a procedure they claimed would ensure thorough distribution, many residents did not receive the update. Jamie Bell reported that neither he nor his neighbour received it. Those at 22 Southport did. Bill Leeson did. Further efforts will be made to improve distribution. Bob Leech said that he had reports on the remediation process, which he will make available to World19 in electronic format for posting. He reported that the above-ground demolition is now complete, with just the extreme south-west remaining. The demolition contractor is trying to sell the structure on the extreme south-west as a "working building" which could be moved to a new location. The materials from the demolition are being sorted into different metals and types of scrap. These will be taken away. He noted that there have been no incidents during the course of the demolition. The work is on time and on budget. The start time of work has been delayed to 7:30 from 7:00 am, in response to the request for this. Jamie Bell said that the vibration he had experienced before is still continuing. He said that he and his neighbours have noted that it is felt when the equipment is rolling across the site. His concern is not that there will be damage done to his building, but that this may be an indication of the nature of the underlying soil. He thought it might be useful to record this activity with a seismograph. Bob Willes noted that there has been vibration identified from passing trains. Bob Leech reported that the materials from the slab removal on the west side are currently sitting in piles. A hydraulic crusher will lift the slab, cut through the rebar, crush the concrete and pick out the rebar. The remediation is taking place on the east side, and progressing well. The slag which is being removed from the site will be taken to a secure landfill. Soon there will be excavation close to Windermere. REON has applied to the City to put down a haording on Windermere for one week to allow for proper cleanup. Remediation on the east side will be completed by the end of March. Gartner Lee will provide soil samples to the Ministry as required. Remediation on the west side will likely be by excavation and transportation of waste. They have applied for a bioremediation approach, though this decision will not be made for another couple of months. It will take the better portion of the year to complete the west side. Jamie Bell noted that he has detected an odour similar to creosote from the site. Bob Leech said that there is no creosote, or substance even close to creosote at all on the site. The smell may be from a petroleum hydrocarbon. Bob Leech said that they couriered the annual groundwater monitoring report to the City on Friday, to the attention of Barry Brooks. Once Barry receives it he will forward it to Ted Bowring at Public Works. There has been a groundwater monitoring plan in place since REON first started working on the site. Jamie Bell suggested that REON and the City reconsider the Traffic Report. He pointed out that the traffic route from the Gardiner to the South Kingsway is a very inefficient use of land. Although this was studied earlier, he felt that the traffic engineers should take another look at the possibility of altering the current cloverleaf to allow for an entrance to the site. Barry Brooks responded that this option had been studied and considered to have some merits, even though it was not approved. He asked Jamie to sketch out his idea with a brief description, and send it to his attention. Bob Willes reported that REON has received many calls from people interested in purchasing condos. Calls for condo sales should be directed to 1-866-442-REON. The site plan application will be submitted by next fall, though likely earlier. Floor plans for residential units will not be available until after the site plan approval. Peter Zimmerman provided an update on the plans for the Joy Station. The Preservation Board would like the building to remain on-site, although there is a need for cleaning up residual oil from the soil under the former garage space. They are trying to negotiate a settlement to allow them to move the building onto a new foundation to allow for the cleanup. This would be costly to do while protecting the integrity of the building, which would be required by the City. Barry Brooks showed the participants a research paper on public consultation for Brownfields developments, prepared by a graduate class at the University of Toronto, which uses the Stelco project as a case study. This paper is available upon request to Barry.
Next meeting - Tuesday, April 9th, 7:00 PM sharp at the Swansea Town Hall. |