Chair: Barry Brooks

Review of discussion from previous meeting.

Presentation of concepts for site design. This was demonstrated through the use of a scale model with existing housing and a variety of moveable pieces representing the new housing. All the concepts equal two times density of site. The concepts were presented as starting points for discussion. Member participants were able to move and rearrange model pieces.

1. Two storey sprawl

Not a desirable design. No open spaces. Not attractive. REON would probably not be willing to build such a site. It would result in low-end housing, not consistent with Swansea area values.

2. Scenario One:

Three towers on west side: 15 storey 25 storey 15 storey. Plus low-rises and town houses.

3. Scenario Two:

Three towers on west side: 18 storeys each. Plus low-rises and town houses.

4. Scenario Three:

Three towers on west side: 15, 18 and 25 storeys. Plus low-rises and town houses.

Peter Swinton (City of Toronto Designer) was asked to comment on the different scenarios. Some of the streetscape considerations relative to the City Design:

• importance to address and design the streetscape
• Queensway more of a green parkway
• should have building setbacks
• safety at street-front an important issue
• importance of keeping the development site integrated with the local neighbourhood as opposed to a separate enclave
• The REON proposal seems to be moving towards these goals.

Q – What are the price points for the units?
A – Around $250/sq. ft. There will be townhouses and apartments. No plans for small studio apartments (less than 900 sq. ft.)

Q – How many new people to the neighbourhood?
A – 2,000 – 2,500

Q – What about parking?
A – Parking all underground. 1.4 spaces per residence plus 15% visitor parking is the City general guideline.

Q – Proximity to Railroad?
A – There is a 30 m setback required for residential housing. No residences are planned for the first two levels of the apartment towers. A berm will be constructed up against the railroad bridge. This will be "greened up". As we progress there will be acoustic studies.

John Quinn, Landscape Architect with the firm Ferris-Quinn, explained that there is a great opportunity for naturalizing the embankment. (John has worked on the Humber River pedestrian bridge project) The park at the east end and the connections to the lake will all be landscape opportunities, as will the Queensway frontages.

Q – Once approved, how long before the development is complete?
A – 3 to 5 years for build-out if the market remains strong.

Q – Will the extended streetscape (e.g. Southport towards the development) be real or visual?
A – Visual

Q – Where will there be vehicle entrance?
A – Primary entrance on Windermere, and one off the Queensway for each site. Right in, right out likely for these.

Transportation
Chris Middlebro, Traffic Consultant, said that the increase in traffic will amount to approximately 300 car trips in the busiest hours, but in three directions. The City Transportation Planner agreed that these numbers were in line with City estimations, and added that most turns would be right turns.

One resident described the current noise and congestion of traffic, which is especially bad between 7:30 and 9:00 am toward Gardiner and Lakeshore. Traffic is also congested for parents driving children to school. Another resident emphasized the importance of public transit, and said that ridership would improve only if service were improved. Traffic issues are a real concern.

David Miller suggested the possibility of adding bus service, and/or adjusting routes. He suggested REON should talk to the City about this. Maybe there could be express GO busses. He said there is room for significantly improved service in the neighbourhood, given the proposed site. However, the TTC has had a 250 million dollar budget decrease, and any new service must pay for itself. REON will look into these issues as the traffic study progresses.

One resident asked what percentage of people use public transit. A small percentage of people attending the meeting were regular TTC users. However, rising car costs – gas and parking – may affect public transit use.

Q – What impact will the development have on local taxes, given the services required for 2,500 new residents?
A – David Miller answered that the developer has the obligation to service the site. The new residents will be paying tax at market value, and the tax implications will be minimal, but positive. John Davies added that there are development levies of 2 million dollars up-front. He added that infrastructure capacity exists for densification. Leon Kentridge stated that various studies he had done showed that medium density housing was a net revenue producer not a drain on the area.

Q – What about tax implications for schools?
A – There are very positive tax implications for schools, because there will be a relatively low percentage of children in the development.

Q – What will be the height of the towers?
A – approximate 10feet per floor. Highest could be near 250feet.

REON would like to submit an application before the end of the year. John Davies pointed out that the review process is lengthy, and the community consultation will continue throughout the review. David Miller said he would like community input reflected in the first proposal. Barry Brooks advised that there should be an open community meeting prior to submission of the proposal (early December?).

Working Groups were formed to focus on issues:

1. Site Form Aesthetics
   Chair: Ron Braun

Members: Lina Volpe, Jamie Bell, Norm McLeod, Paul Dider. Peter Swinton to attend as resource.
This group will also address history, environment, recreation

2. Transportation

Chair: Victoria Masnyk
Members: Jim Bloom, Robin Sorys. Nigel Tahair to attend as resource.

• Potential to make good decisions
• Good process. Not everything from the Walkabout has been discussed – e.g. the Stelco Office
• Very positive.
• Just fine
• Very impressed with process. Very encouraging. Anything better than Stelco
• Hope there is flexibility, or are there parameters? Need to know limitations.
• Great process. Good thing being direct and up-front. Can it be lower density? (D.M. comment – "No.")
• Encouraged by process. Still skeptical, based on track record in the community. Don’t like being patronized.
• Happy so far. Good cross section of community interest. Developer straightforward so far. Important to develop Swansea. Some concerns about relationship between both sides of street.
• Been involved in a number of these processes. Largely very successful. Would like to set precedent from this experience for other Brownfields developments.
• Trust level between REON, community and City is good. Most significant site in Swansea. Gateway to "old Toronto". First significant sight after crossing the Humber.
• Given scale of development, confident we can deal with traffic
• Process is great. Concern with park as hangout.
• Encouraged by process. Challenge of integrating that number of new people to community.

Next meeting:
Wednesday, November 22, 2000 7:00 pm