Jan 19 - Housing, Yes / Skyscrapers, Not So Much

Our first meeting on the El Ad development proposal in Parkway Forest since the developers held their own open house at Eunice's Swim School and community Centre. City of Toronto Planning staff will not submit their preliminary report, informing my fellow councils of this application in process until February 8th Community Council but we hold a meeting to give tenants the facts and also to make sure they understood rights and responsibilities under the circumstances. The preliminary report from staff will be posted on this blog the minute I have it in my hot little hands! It will be a public document at that point. The proposal is aggressive (currently the largest development application in town) and we will need to get the whole Parkway Forest Community together to develop our own position on what is proposed. It will be a very busy year of community meetings before anything final is ever brought before council. Remember that this plan calling for 10 new buildings between 17 and 48 storeys and requiring the demolition of the George Henry apartment buildings and the Townhouses of Forest Manor is strictly a proposal. Check back to this blog for updates on meeting notices and be sure to drop us an email so we can put your name on the Parkway Forest email distribution list. Later that same evening: Here is the most bizarre part of the day. I had to leave the meeting at 8:00 p.m. on the dot to race back downtown and appear on Our Town with Adam Vaughan on City-TV. I was there to defend the Mayor's homelessness proposal, coming before council on February 1st. In a curious twist, the homelessness advocates are opposed to the Mayor's plan to increase the funding to outreach and supports to the homeless in an effort to end the camping at Nathan Phillips Square. The controversy arises from the last of 26 recommendations which allows the City to enact the bylaw that prohibits camping on the public square. The other 25 recommendations refer to the numerous initiatives designed to better support these people in finding permanent solutions rather than enabling long term residence in the square. Tonight, Adam Vaughan doesn't want to talk about the fact that there is $600 million in housing money sitting in a Federal reserve account because the Feds won't send it to Ontario until the Province can agree to exactly how it will apply the money to the crisis in social housing supplies. Adam doesn't care that there are about 700 new affordable units coming available in Toronto by the end of 2005 and there are a few hundred rent supplements coming on line early this year to be used in some of the vacant apartments across town. Never mind that this plan is an $18 million attempt to see that some of these new units might actually make a difference to those still out in the cold. Tonight he wants to take pot shots at the Mayor because it makes good TV and I'm designated to take the shots for the team. Whatever! I'll support the plan because I have faith in the people that will be charged with executing it.