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CHURCH WELLESLEY
NEIGHBOURHOOD ASSOCIATION
Representing the residents of the Church Wellesley area of Downtown Toronto
[email protected] www.cwna.ca c/o 2202-22 Wellesley Street East Toronto, ON M4Y 1G3
February9,2016TorontoPreservationBoardTorontoCityHall100QueenStreetWestToronto,OntarioM5H2N2DearMembersoftheTorontoPreservationBoard,HistoricYongeStreetHCDPlanCWNAwishestoplaceonrecorditssupportoftheHistoricYongeStreetHCDPlan.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. TherearedifferencesbetweentheHCDandOPA183andtheNorthDowntownYongeUrbanDesignGuidelines.TheStaffReportofJan272016suggests:“Itisanticipatedthatthesedifferencesmaybeaddressedandreconciledinafuturestaff"RequestforDirections"reportontheOPA183OntarioMunicipalBoardappeal.”WestronglyurgeTorontoPreservationBoardtomakefullandurgentreferencetothisreconciliationinitsrecommendationstoTEYCC.Ifthesepoliciesarenotfullycongruent,weareconcernedthatthosewhoopposeanyoneofthesepolicieswillmakeuseofthediscrepanciestoweakenand/oroverturnanyorallofthepolicies.
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-CartwrightDialogDavidOikawa,CouncillorWong-Tam,Ward27
