Save the Date - Jan. 18 for CCQLD Annual General Meeting

Hi everyone,

We wanted to give you an early heads-up that CCQLD's 2011 Annual General Meeting will take place on Tuesday January 18, 7:30 pm., at Birchcliff Bluffs United Church (behind the library, corner Warden and Kingston Rd). We will be electing the CCQLD Board for 2011 and providing an overview of where things stand. Scarborough Southwest Councillor Gary Crawford, who made the Quarry Lands issue a top priority during the recent municipal election, will be present to share his thoughts.

Also at the AGM, there will be lawn signs available for purchase for $10. If you had put your name on the sign list previously, we encourage you to pick your sign up (and pay the $10 if you haven't already) at that time.

A quick update on recent developments:

You may recall that in August, the Ontario Municipal Board instructed Gerrard Clonmore Developments (GCD) and the City to try to work out mutually acceptable modifications to a site plan for one of GCD's proposed high rise tower buildings by Dec. 31 of this year. While the two parties have talked, no mutually acceptable changes have been agreed upon. City planning staff, like CCQLD, continues to believe the proposed development is inappropriate for this property and flies in the face of good planning and community-building.

As a result, it is possible that GCD and the City will appear before the OMB in late January or February to present separate submissions. We will be monitoring the situation in upcoming weeks and will let everyone know as soon as a new OMB date is set.

Build Toronto -- the city's arms-length development arm that has been assigned responsibility over the large piece of city-owned property at the northwest part of the site -- is also exploring its options. CCQLD is working to arrange a meeting with Build Toronto to get a better idea of their intentions, and to reiterate the unanimous sentiment within our community that whether it be on city land or private land, there must be responsible development across the Quarry Lands site, with utmost attention paid to serious environmental concerns and the needs and existing character of the surrounding community.

That's the short version for now. We look forward to providing a complete update on Jan. 18

Thanks as always for your support, and all the best for the holiday season,

Board of Directors,
Concerned Citizens of Quarry Lands Development

November 2010 Update

Hi everyone,

It has been a while since our last update so we have a bit of catching up to do.

First off, thanks to all candidates for Ward 36 Councillor who participated in the CCQLD-organized all-candidates debate prior to the recent municipal election, and to all CCQLD members who came out to make their views heard. The event showed once again how strongly members of our community feel about ensuring responsible development on the Quarry Lands. Congratulations go out to the winning candidate Gary Crawford, who takes over as Councillor from the retiring Brian Ashton on Dec. 1.

The CCQLD executive met with Gary shortly after the election to further brief him on relevant issues and the Quarry lands process to date. Gary has also met already with Brian Ashton and Derek Ballantyne, the head of Build Toronto. As a reminder, Build Toronto is responsible for the second-largest piece of land on the full 49-acre site. We have been concerned that, like the private developer GCD, Build Toronto may also be seeking to maximize value through inappropriate high density development on their lands. We are hoping to meet with Mr. Ballantyne in the near future and will keep everyone posted.

Gerrard Clonmore Developments (GCD) and city planners also have been in touch in recent weeks. We are told that the door has been opened to some new site plan ideas that are a departure from the relatively narrow adjustments both parties were directed to discuss coming out of this summer's Ontario Municipal Board decision. We will stay in touch with the planning department and will pass on any new information as soon as it becomes available. As
always, we continue to stress the importance of community input and consultation as critical elements within any productive planning process.

A final note: We're finally moving ahead with ordering the next batch of lawn signs. For those of you who have already put your names on the list, we will be in touch once the signs arrive. If you haven't asked for a sign but would like one, please make an email request to karen.direkze@rogers.com. Signs cost $10, to be paid upon pick-up. In coming weeks we will also be sending out a save-the-date notice for our Annual General Meeting in January -- stay tuned for more information on both fronts.

Thanks as always for your support.

CCQLD Board of Directors

CCQLD Hosting Ward 36 All-Candidates Meeting Oct. 21

Hi everyone,

This is to let you know that Concerned Citizens of Quarry Lands Development will be hosting a Ward 36 All-Candidates meeting, Thursday Oct. 21 at Variety Village (3701 Danforth Ave), from 7-9:30 pm.

This will be an opportunity for the community to hear directly from candidates running to replace Councillor Ashton and represent our interests at City Hall. The meeting will be focussed primarily on the Quarry Lands issue, although there will be some opportunity to address other issues of concern to area residents.

As you know, the opposition to the proposed development on the Quarry Lands site is overwhelming from within our community, the city planning department and elected representatives from all three levels of government. Not surprisingly, all Ward 36 Councillor candidates have come out against the proposed development and have vowed to stop it. That said, it is in our collective interest to elect the candidate we feel is best able to deliver on this promise. The all-candidates meeting will help us all make that assessment.

It is also important that we continue to reinforce CCQLD's position that municipal politicians already have the tools to determine what happens on this site -- provided they see responsible development and community-building as top priorities for the next municipal government. (The recent Ontario Municipal Board decision does nothing to change this fact.) It's up to our community to hold all our elected officials accountable in this regard, and to make it known to the Conservatory Group once again that 1960s-era planning has no place in our community.

Space at Variety Village may be limited, so we encourage you to arrive early in order to ensure seating. CCQLD will have an information table on-site and will be accepting donations to help cover space rental and other costs. If anyone has access to a sound system and microphones that we could use for the evening, please let us know as this will help reduce our expenses.

We look forward to seeing you on Oct. 21.

Warmest regards,
Board of Directors, CCQLD

City to Assert Zoning Rights; Will Not Seek Leave to Appeal OMB Decision

Hi everyone,

Based on incorrect information provided to us, we reported earlier that the City would seek leave to appeal the OMB's recent decision. Apparently, this is not the case, as the City is unable to argue there was an error in law made in the OMB decision. The city will be writing to the OMB, we are told, to restate its ability under the Planning Act to initiate planning changes such as zoning. Please read below for a note from Councillor Brian Ashton.


Dear Residents:

Very recently I informed you that the City of Toronto was intending to seek Leave to Appeal the Decision of the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) in favour of the Rezoning Application for the GCD lands within the larger "Quarry Lands" precinct.
I was premature in stating that we would be proceeding by way of the Courts. My statement was based on an understanding flowing from a preliminary meeting with City Planning and Legal. I assumed that the legal opinion given originated from the City Solicitor and her Litigation Division. This was not the case.
This was my fault for not being absolutely sure of the Staff's position before informing the community.
Following further discussions and consultation with the City Solicitor, it was felt that seeking Leave to Appeal would in all likelihood fail and leave the City's long-term position exposed and vulnerable. It was agreed that the City would not proceed through the Courts but would write to the OMB asking it to clarify and rectify the wording in the Decision that suggests that City Council could not pass a new zoning bylaw following the conclusion of the Quarry Lands Study that might rezone lands including the lands owned by GCD.
It is an important to reinforce the City's position by advising the Board that under the Planning Act, municipalities, as well as individuals, can initiate planning changes such as a zoning, subject to proper notice and rights of appeal. And that the ability to do so is not fettered by the Board's Decision.
Strategically this would serve to give notice of the City's position and protect the integrity of City Planning's mandated responsibilities and authorities.
I hope this clarifies the City's actions and corrects my previous miscue.

Regards,

Councillor Brian Ashton

City Seeks Leave to Appeal OMB Decision

Hi everyone,

We're pleased to report the City of Toronto is seeking leave to appeal the recent Ontario Municipal Board decision regarding the Quarry Lands to Divisional Court.

A Member of the Divisional Court will decide on the appeal request. If leave is granted, the appeal will be heard by a three member panel.

Stay tuned for further updates.

CCQLD

Ontario Municipal Board Decision

The Ontario Municipal Board released its decision yesterday from the Quarry Lands hearing. (A copy will be posted here soon, and should be available shortly on the OMB website (www.omb.gov.on.ca, case number PL070317). A quick reading shows that, in general, the OMB has ruled in favour of the developer.

Before getting into the decision, a few points:

1) Regardless of which way the decision went, it was always our belief that the OMB hearing in February was one more step in a long-term process. The fact that the OMB has sided against the position of the community and the City will not dampen our determination to find a solution that results in reasonable and appropriate development on the Quarry Lands. We are as resolutely opposed to the developer's position as we have ever been, and will continue making our case that as a community and a City, we can and must do so much better than what has been proposed thus far.

2) All three levels of government have stated unequivocally their support for the CCQLD position on this issue. It is up to all of us to make our voices heard in order to ensure that our elected representatives are also working hard to ensure a positive outcome. We came together as a community with more than 1,000 people at our rally in April. If we need to do it again with even larger numbers in order to show our strength, we can do that too.

3) The CCQLD Board has met with mayoral candidate George Smitherman on this issue, and we will continue to meet with others as we move forward. We will also be meeting with candidates for Councillor of Ward 36 and seeking opportunities for broad community engagement through all-candidates meetings. Discussions continue between city staff and Build Toronto, which controls the second-largest parcel of land on the Quarry Lands site. This is all to say that while we haven’t been handed a favour by the OMB (and none was expected), this process still has a long way to go.

More on the decision:

As outlined in the document, Gerrard Clonmore Developments had been seeking approval for an amendment to a zoning bylaw that would allow for smaller unit sizes in two blocks of the proposed high-rise development; and approval for a site plan application on one of the buildings. The City of Toronto had not made a decision on either the bylaw amendment or site plan application, arguing such decisions would be premature. CCQLD agreed with the City's position and argued as such as a Participant before the Board.

The OMB has ruled in favour of the developer on the zoning amendment. On the site plan application, the Board agreed the City has some valid concerns and so did not grant approval; however, the Board stated clearly that it expects any changes to the site plan agreed to by both parties would be minor; if the parties cannot agree, the Board will hear submissions early in the 2011 and will make a decision at that time.

We will be in touch again soon with further thoughts and next steps.

CCQLD Board of Directors

July update from CCQLD

Hi everyone,

We hope you're enjoying a relaxing summer.

It has been a while since our last update, so we wanted to take this
opportunity to keep you informed of a few recent developments.

As all of you know, the most significant development of late has been the
announcement by Ward 36 Councilor Brian Ashton that he will not be running
in the municipal election this fall. Brian has been an invaluable source
of knowledge, guidance and level-headed insight for CCQLD over the past
seven years, so we'd like to take this opportunity to publicly thank Brian
for his tireless work for the community and specifically relating to this
issue. For all your efforts, Brian, please accept our sincere thanks and
appreciation from the entire CCQLD membership and broader Birchcliff
community.

We are pleased to report that Brian has told us this issue is personally
important to him and will continue to be so after the election; he will
continue to be a supporter of CCQLD, our objectives and our community's
determination to ensure responsible development of the Quarry Lands site.

Looking ahead, we are starting to reach out to the declared candidates
running to succeed Brian in Ward 36. We will be making all candidates
aware of the importance of the Quarry Lands issue to the Birchcliff
community and beyond. We are continuing as well in behind-the-scenes
efforts to ensure this issue is on the radar for Toronto's mayoral
candidates. Thanks to all the CCQLD members who have written with their
comments and reported back with thoughts from several of the candidates.

A few other matters: For those of you who have put your name on the list
for ordering signs, we need 100 people committed to purchasing signs at
$10 each before we can place an order. So far we have 29 requests. If
you'd like a sign, please send an email to Karen Direkze at
karen.direkze@rogers.com. We will collect the $10 after we have enough
requests to make the order. Also, we're making a final door-to-door
petition push so we can present our signatures at the final council
meeting in August before the election, so if you haven't yet signed,
hopefully you'll have an opportunity soon. Thanks to all the volunteers
spearheading this effort.

On the Ontario Municipal Board front, we still have no indication when the
Ontario Municipal Board will be announcing its decision from the OMB
hearing in February. It has taken far longer than anyone expected, but
we're not reading anything into the delay and there has been no change in
the status of the Quarry Lands since that time. We'll make sure to let
everyone know as soon as we hear of any developments.

CCQLD will have a booth at Scarborough Southwest MP Michelle Simson's Community BBQ, Saturday August 7th between 12 noon and 2:00 pm at Variety Village parking area (3701Danforth Avenue). Thanks to Michelle for allowing us to be there. It's another opportunity to sign the petition or order lawn signs, so we hope to see you there.

That's it for now. Enjoy the rest of the summer and as always, thanks for
your ongoing support.

Best regards,
Board of Directors, Concerned Citizens of Quarry