Don Mills Residents Inc.

DON MILLS GARDEN AWARDS 2010

barbh — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 17:34:11 +0000

Congratulations to the winners of this year’s DMRI Garden awards.
Thanks to all who submitted nominations and to our judges, Gino and George, and to our prize sponsors Sheridan Nurseries and Lee Valley Tools. Thanks especially to all of the gardeners who keep Don Mills beautiful and a pleasure in which to live.

1st place - 24 Chatfield	Honourable Mention - 4 Norden
2nd place - 6 Park Glen	Honourable Mention - 29 Chipping
3rd place - 9 Park Glen	Honourable Mention - 62 Langbourne

Don Mills Blog

barbh — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 23:56:50 +0000

Jane – who also calls herself ‘Duchess of Don Mills’ authors some lovely anecdotes about our community, Don Mills. “This blog is my love letter to Toronto’s best neighbourhood, Don Mills. I’ll talk about anything and everything DM – old and new.”

Have a look. Add your contribution to Jane’s retrospective about life and times in Don Mills, then and now. ‘Don Mills: Rediscovering the Suburban Dream; Life in Toronto’s First Mid-Century Modern Neighbourhood’ can be found by using this link.

The Aga Khan Museum – Overview

barbh — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 21:45:34 +0000

For an outline of this project slated to open in 2013 and located on Wynford Drive west of the DVP overpass, please click on this link.

Heritage Toronto ‘iTour’ of Don Mills

barbh — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 19:50:33 +0000

Heritage Toronto iTours let you visit areas of the city that are difficult to traverse with larger groups of people, and are a convenient way to discover our city’s history. iTours feature archival photographs and take you on a photographic journey of the people, places and events that have shaped Toronto.

“The Don Mills iTour was written and narrated by Dave LeBlanc, Architourist with the Globe & Mail, with the assistance of Gary Miedema of Heritage Toronto. Thanks also to long-time Don Mills resident Karl Frank and to Marta O’Brien, architectural historian and walk leader, for reviewing the iTour and providing feedback.”

You can access Heritage Toronto’s Don Mills iTour here.

TORONTO ELECTION – MONDAY, OCT. 25, 2010

barbh — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 15:25:52 +0000

The positions of Mayor, City Councillor and School Board Trustee will be decided in this election. Important information about the election is sent to eligible electors who are on the voters list. The Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) is responsible to maintain this list. If you want to confirm that your name is on the voters’ list, you should contact MPAC at 1-866-296-6722. As renters and new Canadian citizens are not automatically included in the eligible voter database, it is especially important that they call MPAC to register. Voters must be a Canadian citizen, at least 18 years of age, a resident or tenant in the City of Toronto, or a non-resident owner of land in the City of Toronto.

Within the boundaries of the DMRI area, the City of Toronto ‘wards’ are; Ward 25 – Don Valley West, Ward 26 – Don Valley West, Ward 34 – Don Valley East. Find your ward using this link. The City of Toronto’s web-site Candidates List is here.

A selection of web-sites that provide information and reporting on the election can be found through the following links;

votetoronto2010 (Toronto Board of Trade)
Toronto Election News

Cadillac Fairview Phase II Redevelopment Proposal APPROVED

barbh — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 23:20:04 +0000

CADILLAC FAIRVIEW PHASE II REDEVELOPMENT PROPOSAL APPROVED
We are very pleased to advise that at the Feb. 23 City Council meeting, the vote was overwhelmingly in favour of the revised proposal negotiated between CF and the City. The offer includes $17 million for a Community Centre on the site as well as a contribution towards the cost of a new arena, which unfortunately will be off the DM Centre site but will remain in the Don Mills area. Further details will be included in the March DMRI Newsletter. A big thank you to all who wrote in support of this proposal. We will work hard to see that the various components of the agreement will serve the needs of ALL of the members of our community.

OUTLINE of SITE PLAN in the NEGOTIATED SETTLEMENT
Following the City Council vote in October 2009 that voted down the CF Phase II proposal for the residential part of the DM Centre redevelopment, the DMRI was able to arrange a facilitation process, through the Provincial Government, on the proposal. This was seen as a preferred method to the OMB hearing scheduled for April 2010. It was almost certain that the OMB would find the original CF proposal in keeping with the permitted heights, densities and overall land use for this area. The OMB would not have had the authority to require a community centre and the plan that CF submitted to the OMB did not include a community centre. Because the resulting proposal did address a community centre and as the overall density was unchanged, the DMRI supported this plan.

In the process, a design team that included representatives from the City, CF, three leading architects, and an urban planner, created a revised proposal. The resultant proposal that was acceptable to all parties was presented to Council on Feb. 23 The vote was 37 in favour, 3 against. The dissenting votes were from Councillors Del Grande, Ford, and Minnan-Wong.

While the overall proposal and density is very similar to the one that was voted down (by one vote) in October, there are changes to the heights. Several of the originally mid-rise buildings along The Donway West were lowered in height, some townhouses were added to the project toward the middle of the site, and most dramatically, the 2 centre towers that were 26 storey’s are now 1 of 24 storey’s and 1 of 32 storey’s. The community centre which was part of this proposal is to be located at Don Mills Road and the Donway West intersection.

OCTOBER 2009 CITY COUNCIL MEETING
In the Toronto City Council meeting held Oct. 1st, 2009 the application for the re-development of the DMC site was refused by City Council on a very narrow vote of 17 to 16.

VOTES in SUPPORT
Augimeri, Cho, De Baeremaeker, Di Giorgio, Feldman, Filion, Ford, Jenkins, Luby, Mammoliti, Milczyn, Palacio, Parker, Perruzza, Stintz, Walker

VOTES AGAINST
Ainslie, Bussin, Carroll, Davis, Del Gande, Giambrone, Hall, Holyday, Kelly, McConnell, Mihevc, Minnan-Wong, Pantalone, Perks, Shiner, Thompson, Vaughan

DID NOT VOTE
Ashton, Fletcher, Grimes, Heaps, Lee, Miller, Moeser, Moscoe, Nunziata, Ootes, Rae, Saundercook

SEPTEMBER 2009 NORTH YORK COUNCIL MEETING
In the North York Community Council meeting of Sept. 15th, 2009 there was no vote on the CF application for the proposed buildings along The Donway West, between the Post Office and 75 The Donway, and the related proposal for a Don Mills Community Centre. This item was referred instead to the full City Council.

The DMRI had been negotiating for many years with Cadillac Fairview regarding their proposals for the Phase Two addition of residential units to the Don Mills site and had reached agreement some years ago on the number of units, density, layout and maximum heights. As part of this agreement Cadillac Fairview had agreed to provide a Community Centre on the site that will include a full size swimming pool. The details of this agreement were circulated to the whole community and were overwhelmingly endorsed at that time by nearly 90% of those who replied to a questionnaire.

Unfortunately, City planning staff did not support this application citing a number of issues, including the amount of designated land for parkland or recreational use to be given to the City (it would be less than that required under the current bylaw), the height of the proposed buildings along the Donway West, and the overall density of the proposal. Cadillac Fairview indicated that they were prepared to meet the requirements of the designated parkland bylaw and in addition had offered a commitment of $17. million in 2010 funds for the construction of a Community Centre of approximately 50,000 square feet. The commitment of the $17. million was contingent on the acceptance of the CF proposal by Community Council. In the case where the application was not accepted, it would proceed to the Ontario Municipal Board. The OMB does not have the power to require Cadillac Fairview to build a Community Centre. Our own experience and the advice of our legal Council suggested that the OMB would accept the Phase Two application as requested, particularly as the OMB has to follow Provincial Guidelines that currently call for increased density within designated urban areas, which would apply to Don Mills. The proposed heights and densities were considerably lower than those being agreed upon for neighbouring communities in Toronto. The DMRI believed strongly that with the current financial crisis facing the City, such a facility might never be built in Don Mills if this opportunity was lost.

New Zoning By-Law – Important Information

barbh — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 03:08:00 +0000

Update from Councillor Information Meetings Sept. 22nd, 2009
Many serious concerns were raised, a large proportion involving the changes permitted to built-form (including higher height limits, a new height definition and reduced setbacks). There were additional specific concerns including, for example, commercial buildings in Mixed Use areas potentially being constructed right up to the lot line of an adjacent residential home, and the loosening of certain restrictions on home occupations to permit a non-resident employee in certain instances. As a brief summary, most of the contentious items are summarized in the attachment. While City Planning Staff promised to look at them, there is no certainty they will be addressed.

After the deadline for feedback from interested parties, the staff report is to be presented to the November meeting of the Planning & Growth Management Committee.

Update from Councillor Cliff Jenkins, Sept. 14th, 2009

A disastrous side-effect of the new draft Zoning By-law could be the total destruction of the most important neighbourhood protection policy of the Toronto Official Plan. The overall implication of its adoption is that it will be used as a precedent to render ineffective the critical neighbourhood protection policy 4.1.5 of the Official Plan.

Policy 4.1.5 provides that “Development in established Neighbourhoods will respect and reinforce the existing physical character of the neighbourhood, including in particular: … (c) heights, massing, scale and dwelling type of nearby residential properties….(f) prevailing patterns of rear and side yard setbacks and landscaped open space …. No changes will be made through rezoning, minor variance, consent or other public action that are out of keeping with the physical character of the neighbourhood.”

The new draft Zoning By-law would make changes that are out of keeping with the physical character of neighbourhoods all over the City. It proposes significant changes in zoning provisions for many communities including – higher FSI and GFAs for Teddington Park, Bedford Park, Lawrence Park, Sherwood Park, Don Mills and perhaps other areas of Ward 25. Further, the new definition of height will permit higher houses and will encourage flat-roofed homes – a significant change from the prevailing peak-roof style homes.

Just four years ago, ratepayers invested a great deal of money and effort to achieve Policy 4.1.5 of the new Official Plan – and in doing so, overcame the resistance of planning staff and the disinterest of some elected officials. Why give that away now?

If the integrity of the Official Plan is to be preserved and neighbourhood protections maintained, ratepayers and Councillors have to insist that the new Zoning By-law faithfully reproduce the current zoning protections enjoyed by each community across the City. That will be inconvenient for Planning Staff and cause them more work. But the intent of the new Zoning By-law should be to serve residents and property owners, not planning staff.

BACKGROUND

The City’s Planning Division is proposing a new Zoning by-law to replace the 43 different zoning by-laws that were inherited from the pre-amalgamation cities of Toronto, North York, York, East York, Scarborough and Etobicoke. City staff have prepared a draft by-law, established a public consultation process and recommended an in-force date by the end of 2009 – all prior to releasing the actual new provisions. In doing so, they’ve highlighted some of the changes they are proposing. These include (a) a new higher standard height for homes of 10 metres; (b) a new definition of height – to the top of the roof (instead of the mid-point of the roof); (c) new formulas for front, rear and side yard setbacks; and (d) removal of permissions for new backsloping driveways city-wide.

At this time, it is difficult to predict whether the new rules will cause significant change to future residential development in Ward 25. If you have questions or require additional information, please do not hesitate to contact Councillor Jenkins office at 416-395-6408.

DON MILLS HISTORY BOOK

bstory — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 19:17:47 +0000

“Our Don Mills – a community memoir”, written by author Lorne Miller records the events leading to the development of Don Mills in the 1950s, the personal stories of the early residents, and the issues that they had to face. Many of the original owners are still living in the community and their stories reflect the birth of the spirit that is one of the features of this community. This 160 page book is a delightful collection of stories and photos of the community in its early years.

Copies may be obtained at a cost of $25.00 from Better Living Health and Community Services, 1 Overland Drive. Contact Katherine McLeod at 416 447 7244 Ext. 615 Proceeds from the sale of this book support Better Living and the DMRI.

Don Mills Road Light Rail Transit

barbh — Fri, 30 May 2008 13:54:45 +0000

The City is looking into how to best improve transit service along the Don Mills Road corridor from Steeles to the Bloor-Danforth Subway. The purpose of this study is to determine the best way to create a high quality, higher capacity service in a protected right of way (uninterrupted by vehicular traffic) to serve various communities from North York to downtown Toronto, including York Heights,
Don Mills, Flemingdon Park, Thorncliffe Park, The Danforth and Rosedale. A modern, environmentally-sustainable LRT service is being considered as the transit option. The City and their consultants are now working on the preliminary stages of the study.

For more information, please view the City of Toronto website here.

Don Valley Trails Plan (Milne Hollow)

admin — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 13:15:45 +0000

The City of Toronto has begun the project to provide better pedestrian access to the Don Valley, south of Lawrence Avenue at the DVP in Don Mills. A bridge across the Don River and a trail from Wynford Heights Cres. to Lawrence Avenue East will make Milne Hollow and Moccasin Trail Park, all located in the Charles Sauriol Conservation Area, more accessible. This is the plan:

The project got underway in the summer of 2009. Funding was provided by a $500,000 Section 37 development contribution from the developer of the Accolade condominium at Eglinton and Wynford Drive, and another $300,000 from the City. Phase 1 will develop trails and provide a new bridge to link Wynford Heights to Milne Hollow and improve access for residents to the park.

In fall of 2009, further funding was provided through the federal infrastructure stimulus package. With this additional funding, a second bridge linking Milne Hollow to Moccasin Trail Park will be installed and the trails will be paved. The work is expected to continue through next summer for completion in the fall of 2010.

Join the Don Valley volunteers to:

ensure that this project meets our community needs;
take care of the Don Valley in the Wynford Heights, Milne Hollow and Moccasin Tail Park areas; and
review the additional support that may be needed from the community

Please fill out the volunteer form and a member of DMRI will contact you to follow up.