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Windermere-by-the-Lake
Community Liaison Committee (WLCLC)
A Joint Undertaking of the City of Toronto and REON Development Corporation
Meeting
Swansea Town Hall
7PM, Monday September 30th
Chair: Barry Brooks
MINUTES
Present:
Community: Robin Sorys, Sibyl Wilkinson, Norm McLeod, John Leeson, Gary Hunt
(representing Peter Chown)
REON: Bob Leech, John Davies, Bob Willes, Helen Aitkin,
City: Barry Brooks
Regrets: Paul Didur, Tony McGrath, John Hockin, Adrian and
Dahlia Holzscherer, Mary Ellis, Ron Braun, William Roberts
- Review of Agenda
The Committee welcomed Sybil Wilkinson and Gary Hunt to the meeting.
- Review of minutes from previous meeting
Bob Leech noted that his name was missing from the list of attendees. John Leeson
moved that the minutes be amended to include Bob's name. Seconded by Bob Leech.
- Business arising from previous meeting
- Committee of Adjustment Decision
John Davies noted that the application for increased density on account of purchase
of CN Lands was approved unanimously by the Committee of Adjustment (CoA). However, there
was an appeal submitted to the OMB by Frances LaBelle. REON met earlier in the day with
Frances, and other members of the "Ripley Area Residents Group", to further
discuss the appeal and measures to address the concerns raised. The appeal to the OMB was
made in the name of Francis LaBelle, and not the Ripley Area Residents Group. The concerns
of the Group are partly related to the Windermere By-the-Lake development, but have arisen
also because there are a lot of other things going on the neighbourhood. Concerning the
appeal, there will be a hearing on Oct. 3, 2002 with a motion to dismiss, brought by REON,
stating the appeal has no merit. If this is not granted, then a further hearing date will
be set. Barry Brooks asked if REON would attempt to have further discussions with the
group from Ripley. John Davies indicated that they have already come to some terms which
may result in an agreement. If this is successful, REON and those backing the appeal to
the OMB will attempt to dismiss the motion and withdraw the appeal. Barry Brooks asked if
REON intended to have any City involvement. John Davies said he thought there would be no
need for the City to be involved. REON would like to collaborate with the community,
rather to have further confrontation. He indicated that REON shares similar interests to
those of the group, since REON now represents future residents in the community. Until the
matter is settled, REON cannot divulge the terms, though they are optimistic that they
will sort this out.
John Leeson said that he (World19) received correspondence
from Francis LaBelle as well, pointing out that some of her issues have not come up at the
Liaison Committee meetings. He said he said it was interesting that with this
communication consultation process going on for so long, that more issues didn't come out.
John Davies said he has been trying to explain to Frances,
that when REON started this whole process they were not going to submit a site plan at the
time they were applying for rezoning, since they hadn't even identified a builder-partner.
They did identify building envelopes and a well-defined set of urban design guidelines.
REON took the position that they were moving forward progressively towards a final plan.
This has been an evolutionary process, which included incorporating planning policies into
the development of the plan. So far City staff, the majority of residents, and the CoA
have agreed that this process is ok.
John Davies said that REON has made substantial progress in
their discussions with Frances LaBelle and other residents of 1 Ripley. There has been
discussion of issues related to resources for developing materials to provide information
and advice for future development situations. Community groups here and elsewhere have
problems because of lack of funding in order to respond to development situations. No
substantial change to any issues put to the Committee of Adjustment have arisen in these
negotiations. Similar discussions concerning the West site, and other possible issues,
will take place.
Barry Brooks asked if the group is aware that there will be
further discussions concerning the application for the site plan for the west site. He
advised REON that once this is sorted out, it would be a good idea to meet with City
Planning.
Bob Willes noted that Frances LaBelle was not a resident in
the community when the public consultation and communication process began. He felt that
she may have some catching up to do. John Davies said that REON will share information
after they put it on paper. He added that these discussions are not just with residents of
1 Ripley, but also with some from Southport, and other Ripley condos. Barry Brooks
commented that he thought this seemed to be a good approach.
Gary Hunt stated that the group supporting the OMB appeal
does not formally represent 1 Ripley, since, as president of the 1 Ripley Condo Board, he
represents the residents. The Ripley Area Residents Group was formed in response to an
issue concerning a gas station. Other 1 Ripley residents that Gary has talked to about the
appeal have made it clear that they are not part of an association, but were just
responding to the original issue that sparked the formation of the Group.
John Davies said that REON doesn't want to deal with any
group that pops up, since the community consultation and the development planning are many
months into the process. Unfortunately, the Ripley Area Residents Association has engaged
in a legal case against REON, so it cannot be ignored. However, he feels that the matters
REON is discussing with the group will have influence and a positive impact on other
matters in the community. He added that there are 35 members of the Ripley Area Residents
Group, which was incorporated and registered as an association in 1997, in response to the
issue related to a gas station.
- Section 37 Agreement
John Davies explained that this agreement is still in the process of being
implemented, with further additions. If the OMB approves the application for increased
density, there will be some additional funds for the community. Barry Brooks said that
once the CoA appeal is sorted out, there will be another $40,000 allocated to the Swansea
Town Hall, and other community enhancements.
- Sales Office Pre-launch Visit
Members of the Liaison Committee have requested a prelaunch visit to the Sales
Office. John Davies said that construction of the Office has been delayed because the
development community has been very busy. He estimated that it would be complete mid to
late October.
- Update on Demolition & Remediation
Bob Leech reported that demolition of all above-grade structures is now complete.
He will send photos of the demolition of the final building to Norm McLeod, as per his
request. On the land surface, almost all the slab has been removed, except for one piece
which is being used as a staging and storage area.
Remediation is progressing as well. A considerable amount of
material has been shipped off the site, though there is still a fair bit to go. They hope
to have it done by the end of November. The east portion of the West Site is complete, and
there is not a whole lot of contamination on the far west. Most of the remediation will be
in the centre of the site. They are installing sheet piling on the Queensway side so that
they can excavate safely. There will be dewatering, so that they can work in dry
conditions below the water table. The groundwater monitoring program is still in place, as
per the agreement with City (Section 37 environmental portion), with tests now increased
to once a week. If they see any effects, they will further increase the monitoring,
although there have been no effects to date, apart from regular seasonal fluctuations of
groundwater.
There have been some bad dust days, but this has now been
dealt with that by planting grass on the East Site. Watering of the West Site a couple of
times a day, and apply calcium chloride has helped dust blowing from the property. Keeping
the dust down has been difficult because of the truck and machinery traffic. Now there is
also a truck wheel-washing facility in place. There is not a whole lot they can do on a
really windy day, but there is a watering contractor on call for emergency situations. It
has been an unusually dry and hot summer, and this has exacerbated the situation.
REON has been dealing with odours, since the excavations have
an oily smell. There have been some complaints, and they have responded to all of those.
Specialists have come in to do chemical analysis of materials, which have all tested at
very much below the impingement guidelines, though there is a smell nonetheless. REON has
changed its operational practices to minimize the amount of stockpiling of materials at
any one time, and sometimes cover them with tarps. Also, they have begun to spray chemical
compounds onto the affected areas, which "sterilizes" the oily smell, like
perfume. This has been very effective, and there have been no odour complaints since.
Although smelly, there is absolutely no health risk associated with the odours.
The East Site remediation is complete and is ready for
building. The timetable for construction is Cresford's not REON's.
There will be a report submitted to the City and the MOE by
the end of November. At that point the Ministry should sign off on the order, though they
may also choose to audit the report. There have been ongoing on-site meetings with the
Ministry, and they have been frequently apprised of progress.
The City has been causing some delay to the process, since
REON requires an encroachment permit for anchoring the shoring into the bedrock with steel
guidewires. The request has been filed, complete with engineering diagrams and signoffs
from utility companies. Barry Brooks said he would call the person at the City who is
responsible to see if he can help speed things up. Bob Leech said that it is Emergency
Services, and not the Works or Health Department.
Bob Willes added that the Toronto Public Health Department
requested a review of the health effects to ambient air from the remediation, and results
indicated that no adverse health effects would be expected from the air concentrations of
emissions that have been measured.
- Update on Site Plan
Barry Brooks reported that the site plan is not submitted yet. John Davies
explained that it cannot be submitted until final CoA applications are approved and the
appeal issue is resolved. They hope to submit the site plan application in November, once
issues are resolved. Two further CoA procedures are required: one will be heard October 29
re the CN lands; the other with respect to East Site minor variances, probably December 3,
2002.
- Public Art - Draft Plan
The Public Art Committee met earlier today. The Public Art Consultant, Karen Mills,
has drafted a plan, which will be submitted to the City mid-October, where it will be
developed more fully. The City's Public Art Committee must approve the plan. (Draft Plan
appended to minutes).
Highlights of the Public Art Proposal options include:
- CN underpass, lighting, safety
- Plaza on corner of Windermere and Queensway (SW)
- Plaza on NW corner
- Parkette on Ellis
- Gateway entrance feature - pedestrian
- Roadways through development - enhanced by artwork
There will be attractive settings for commissioned works of art on the East site.
The budget of $350,000 to $400,000 was established by the Section 37 Agreement, which
requires that 1% of the price of the building permits when applied for (35 to 40 million
dollars) be allocated to Public Art. There will be an additional budget for the West Site.
The Public Art component will likely be well over 1 million in total. Barry Brooks
explained that this designation comes from the Official Plan, and is applied to all City
projects.
- Discussion of Windermere By-The-Lake in relation to other
possible developments in Swansea
Barry Brooks said that there has been a proposal submitted to the City for the
Swansea Plaza development. The Developer has purchased the property, and will be
submitting an application. He expects that they will be approaching ROEN concerning some
of the engineering aspects of development.
John Davies said that REON did talk to Georgian Homes about
the possibility of partnering with them for the Windermere By-the-Lake development, but
felt that their objective might not square with REON's work to date. That is why REON went
with Cresford. He added that REON sees itself as a resource to the community, given that
they are now a property owner in the community. REON has spent a great deal of money
studying community values and concerns (e.g. MEOW Club, etc.)
Sybil Wilkinson asked if REON had an option to buy the
Swansea Plaza. John Davies said that REON is not in the retail development business, and
is busy with other things. There are a few concerns about the Swansea Plaza process. The
Developer has promised a number of things, such as a traffic study, etc., which they have
not done so far. Barry Brooks said the City cannot force them to follow through on the
promises. He added that he would look into whether they had the necessary permits for the
work currently underway. Sibyl noted that they have started to pull down the building.
There have been complaints about trucks, but they are still there. She said that it is
important that any development on the Plaza is integrated with community, since everyone
in the community has to live together. Norm McLeod added that the Plaza has always
provided free parking and that if it becomes paid parking there would be a mess of parking
on the street.
Next Meeting: November 18, 2002 7 pm.
October visit to the sales pavilion - date to be confirmed.
Minutes prepared by Helen Aitkin
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