Oca Mission

7/31/2019 Oca Mission

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OSSINGTON COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION:OUR MISSION

(extracted from OCA provisional bylaws)

The "object", or mission, of the Ossington Community Association is stated in theprovisional bylaws as follows:

to Promote the Flourishing of the Neighbourhood and its CommercialZones.

Here is what the bylaws mean by this.

Neighbourhood

By this we mean the region bounded on the south by Queen Street West, on thewest by Dovercourt Road, on the north by Harrison Street, and on the south byCrawford Street.

We don't include anything on Queen. We include only the south side of Harrison.We include both sides of Dovercourt. And we include both sides of Crawford,with the exception of any part of Trinity-Bellwoods Park.

Commercial Zones

By this we mean the Ossington Strip and the Dundas Bend.

(We realize that Dundas is already under a BIA, but we also think it is arbitrary tocut our focus off at Main Drug and the CIBC branch, because commerce flowsnaturally around the corner.)

Flourishing

By this we mean the following (not only the following, but including the following):

The stability of the lands of the Neighbourhood The quality of life for residents of the Neighbourhood

The Vibrancy of the culture of the Neighbourhood, where this includes, butis not limited to:o The Neighbourhood's persisting and historical importance as a

locus of Toronto's Portuguese communityo The Neighbourhood's persisting and historical importance as a

locus of Toronto's Vietnamese communityo The Neighbourhood's persisting and historical importance as a

locus of Toronto's arts and letters community

LRCuesta, PRP http://www.roberts-rules.com 06/07/2012 1


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o The friendly, cooperative, and neighbourly relationships among

residents from among all Neighbourhood communities and acrossgenerations

o The experimental spirit that has animated the development of the

Commercial Zones of the Neighbourhood into a leading City dining

and nightlife destinationo The by-and-large cordial and cooperative relationship between the

business community of the Neighbourhood and its residentso The supportive and engaged participation in Neighbourhood

institutions, especially the Givins-Shaw and Santo Cristo schoolso The supportive, safe, and enculturating upbringing available to the

children of the Neighbourhood and the respectful, safe,compassionate, and stimulating community life available to theseniors of the Neighbourhood

o The beauty and pride displayed in the Neighbourhood's many well-

maintained homes and gardens

o The cordial and cheerful relationships among residents on displayin the Neighbourhoods sidewalks, porches, parks, and laneways

o The sustenance and development of civic engagement among all

participants in Neighbourhood life The Vigour of the business climate of the Commercial Zones of the

Neighbourhood, where this includes, but is not limited to:o The economic viability of existing businesses

o The generation and sustenance of a mix of businesses serving the

daily needs of residents of the Neighbourhoodo The continuity of the status of the Ossington Strip as a regional

destination

o The preservation of a mix of commercial and employment useso The preservation of the largely exceptionless pattern of local

business ownershipo The continuation of the prevailing independent, creative, and

entrepreneurial spirit among local business owners The Appropriateness of the built form of the Commercial Zones of the

Neighbourhood, where this includes, but is not limited to:o The maintenance of the Official Plan designation of the lands of the

Ossington Strip as Lowrise and of the function of the OssingtonStrip as a regional "piazza" or outdoor gathering-place framed withplaces of commerce catering in significant part to entertainment,

relaxation, socializing, and cultural development and transmissionand of the currently unobtrusive interface with the great manyresidential lots backing onto its Mixed-Use lands

o The fit with existing built form and contribution to the Flourishing of

the Neighbourhood of new development of the Dundas Bend inlight of the Official Plan designation of Dundas West west ofBathurst as an Avenue slated forMidrise development



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o Any other considerations that may bear on the ability of the lands of

the Commercial Zones of the Neighbourhood to promote anyaspect of the Flourishing of the Neighbourhood and its CommercialZones

The safety, cleanliness, and environmental health of the Neighbourhood

The congenial and cooperative relations among residents of theNeighbourhood, among businesses located within the Neighbourhood,between the residents of the Neighbourhood and the businesses locatedwithin the Neighbourhood, between these Neighbourhood bodies andvisitors to the Neighbourhood, and between this Neighbourhood and itsbodies and abutting Neighbourhoods and their bodies

The Diversity of the Neighbourhood, where this includes, but is not limitedto:

o The Neighbourhood's habitation by residents of a wide range of

ages, ethnocultural affiliations, income levels, occupations, andfamily-styles

o

The Neighbourhood's status as a historically Portuguesecommunityo The Neighbourhood's status as a historically Vietnamese

community The congenial and cooperative relations between City and Provincial

agencies (including, but not limited to, the Police Services) and theNeighbourhood, its institutions, its businesses, its residents, and itsvisitors.

Promotion

What we mean when we say the OCA is to "Promote the Flourishing of theNeighbourhood and its Commercial Zones" is that the OCA will take appropriateaction as necessary to add to the sorts of "flourishing" discussed above.

In particular, the provisional bylaws interpret this to include at least the following:

Researching institutional, commercial, or governmental activities, bodies,conditions, proposals, or possibilities bearing on the Flourishing of theNeighbourhood and its Commercial Zones

Generating or promoting public awareness of institutional, commercial,and governmental activities, bodies, conditions, proposals, or possibilities

bearing on the Flourishing of the Neighbourhood and its CommercialZones Communicating or negotiating with institutional, commercial, or

governmental bodies or taking legal action in regard to commercial andgovernmental activities, bodies, conditions, proposals, or possibilitiesbearing on the Flourishing of the Neighbourhood and its CommercialZones



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Hiring such experts or professionals or purchasing such services orproducts or making any other transactions as the Society orders in serviceof such investigation, research, generation, promotion, communication, ortaking of legal action or any other activity prescribed under this Section orotherwise ordered by the Society

Communicating, negotiating, entering into partnership or collaborationwith, or otherwise interacting cooperatively with other associations ororganizations concerning institutional, commercial, or governmentalactivities, bodies, conditions, proposals, or possibilities bearing on theFlourishing of the Neighbourhood and its Commercial Zones, or about anyother matter contributory to congenial and cooperative relationships withsuch associations or organizations.


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Oca Mission