Community Update for May 20, 2015

Please know that you are always welcome to contact me or my staff if we can be of support to you.

Best Regards,

Josh

Annual General Meeting of the Deer Park Residents Group

On Tuesday, June 2 at 7 pm, I will be attending the Annual General Meeting of the DPRG to give a presentation on developments in Ward 22 and in the City of Toronto which have an impact on local residents. This year, the meeting will be held at a new location, Calvin Presbyterian Church at 26 Delisle Ave.

The annual meeting of the DPRG is an opportunity for local residents to learn about activities during the past year. The agenda will include a summary of actions taken by the DPRG, events in our district and an election of members of the Board for the coming year. The DPRG encourages anyone in attendance, who is not already a member, to become a lifetime member for a one-time fee of $25.00.

The DPRG welcomes members who are interested in participating in its activities and possibly serving on the Board. If you wish to be a candidate for one of the open positions on the Board for the coming year, please send an e-mail before May 19 to  [email protected]. For anyone without e-mail, please write to: DPRG P.O. Box 185, Station Q, Toronto, ON M4T 2M1.

Development Signs Could Become Less Boring, More Readable

Worthwhile Toronto initiative could see the City "sell democracy" through better design. Please see this story about improving the way residents are notified, and meaningfully engaged, about development proposals in their communities.

A New and Accessible Community Playground at Deer Park P.S.

I am delighted to announce that City Council has adopted my motion to allocate funds for the construction of an accessible community playground at Deer Park Public School! The allocation of $350,000 of Section 45 funds received from recent midtown developments will help Deer Park P.S. meet their construction timelines and begin building a new, accessible playground for all of our kids.

North Toronto Memorial Community Centre Open House

Please stop by the North Toronto Memorial Community Centre (200 Eglinton Avenue West between Yonge and Avenue Road) on Tuesday, May 26 from 6 to 8 pm for an open house. You can learn more about the centre's activities, including fitness classes, a weight room, pools, a dance studio and drop-in sports. No matter what your age, there's a recreation program for you!

Call for Volunteers: Oriole Park Community Garden

I was delighted to help create Ward 22's first community garden located at Oriole Park. Now, our remarkable local Oriole Park Community Garden Committee is looking for volunteers from Ward 22 to fill the following roles:

● Gardeners (assist in planting and maintenance of the garden)
● Community Outreach Coordinator (liaise with residents, businesses and community groups)
● Communications Coordinator (create newsletters, flyers, and maintain the website and social media accounts)
● Program and Events Coordinator (develop and coordinate garden and community events)

If you are interested in getting involved, please contact the Steering Committee by e-mail at [email protected].

Make a Splash Contest

In celebration of World Water Day, the City of Toronto and RBC are launching the Make a Splash, Blue Water Contest for Toronto students.  The contest invites elementary and secondary students to share a story, memory or wish about Toronto's waterways and tell why it's important that we keep them clean and healthy.

Two winners, one elementary and one secondary, will each win $5,000 for a project to "green" their school, courtesy of RBC.

Entries to the contest may be made in any form including stories, videos, dance, photography, poems and dioramas.

Entries will be accepted up until May 22 at 5 pm.

For more information on this contest please visit www.livegreentoronto.ca.

Exciting Mural Opportunity at Yonge and St. Clair

Murals and street art add vibrancy to our often grey streetscapes and can become community meeting points and tourist attractions.

Recently, I was presented with the opportunity to install a truly world class mural on the west façade of 1 St. Clair Avenue West. Please see the photo below for the exact location. I would appreciate feedback from the surrounding community on your this idea. Future opportunities for community feedback regarding theme will be available to those interested in contributing further.

StreetARToronto projects help create attractive, colourful, vibrant streetscapes, support local artists and can reduce graffiti vandalism.

Your feedback is very important to me. I'd appreciate your thoughts by Monday, June 8.

For more information on StreetARToronto, please visit www.toronto.ca/streetart.

Lawton Parkette Public Meeting

On Thursday, May 28, I will be hosting a public meeting to discuss improvements to the Lawton Parkette at Yonge and Heath Streets. Please join me at Yorkminster Park Baptist Church (1585 Yonge St.) in Room 508 at 7 pm to ensure your voice is heard.

I'm also pleased to confirm that the "banana tree", recently featured in the parkette, is back this year for your enjoyment!

Get Emergency Ready for High-Rise Residents

The Office of Emergency Management had previously prepared a Get Emergency Ready guide on personal emergency preparedness. To supplement the original publication, an additional guide has been developed for high-rise residents.

Copies of both guides are available on the Office of Emergency Management website. For more information, please visit www.toronto.ca/oem.

Official Plan Open House on Draft Policy Changes

The Official Plan sets out the vision for where and how Toronto will grow to the year 2031 and the City does regular "check-ups" to ensure that the Official Plan is working to fulfill its vision. Based on feedback received during extensive public consultations held in late 2014, City Planning staff refined the draft Official Plan policy changes related to the Healthy Neighbourhoods, Neighbourhoods and Apartment Neighbourhoods sections of the Plan.

In order to present these revised proposed changes for public consultation, an Open House is scheduled as follows:

Tuesday, June 16, 2015
6:30 – 9:00 pm
Room 308 – 309, Metro Hall, 55 John Street

For more information on the Official Plan Review and the City's public consultations to date, please visit www.toronto.ca/opreview.

Rail Safety First Town Hall Meeting

Train derailments involving dangerous goods have become extremely frequent in North America, making headlines on an almost monthly basis. Millions of Canadians live, work or attend school within the 1km radius “blast zone”. We need to act before the next derailment causes serious loss of life and devastating damage to our environment.

Rail Safety First is hosting a very important Town Hall meeting to discuss rail safety and the need for increased government regulation to protect Canadians.

The meeting will be held on Wednesday, May 27 at the U of T Auditorium - UTS/Sociology/OISE Building - St. George Campus (371 Bloor St West), 7 pm - 8:30 pm.

I look forward to speaking at this meeting about recent efforts at City Hall to improve rail safety across Toronto, and Cynthia Mulligan from CityTV News will moderate a panel of esteemed experts and lead an audience Q&A. I hope to see you there!

St. Clair Reservoir (Winston Churchill Park) Repairs and Public Meeting

In late October, the City of Toronto will begin repairs and maintenance of the St. Clair Reservoir. This major undertaking is required to ensure that the existing reservoir facility and related infrastructure is maintained in a state of good repair for continued clean and safe drinking water supply, storage for fire protection, reduced watermain breaks and service disruptions in the local distribution area. The structural repairs to the reservoir are also essential to maintain a sound base to support Sir Winston Churchill Park, which is enjoyed by local residents. The project is part of the City of Toronto's approved 2015 Capital Works Program and is scheduled to be completed by April 2018.

You are invited to attend a drop-in public meeting to learn more about this project, the construction schedule, what disruptions to expect and to speak directly with project staff. The meeting will be held on Wednesday, June 3, from 6 to 8 pm at First Unitarian Congregation (175 St. Clair Avenue West).

131 Farnham Avenue & 45 Oaklands Avenue Public Meeting

An application has been submitted to City Planning to permit the redevelopment of a portion of the property at 131 Farnham Avenue & 45 Oaklands Avenue (De La Salle College) with 28 4-5 storey townhouses.

Please join me at 7pm on Monday, May 25 at De La Salle College, MacDonald House, (Brother Dylan Room) for a meeting to discuss the proposed development. City Planning staff will be in attendance to answer any questions you may have.

SAVE THE DATE: Councillor Josh Matlow's Community Environment Day

On Thursday, June 4 from 4pm to 8pm, I will be hosting my annual Community Environment Day. The event will take place in the parking lot of North Toronto Memorial Arena (174 Orchard View Blvd).

Please drop off any unwanted art supplies, books, toys, and used sports equipment. Facilities will be available to dispose of computers and other hazardous household waste, or even replace your damaged green bin.

To ensure that you are informed and engaged about development proposals that are being proposed for sites near your neighbourhood, I've created an interactive webpage with locations, staff reports and public meeting notices. Please click here to learn more about what you can do to help free Toronto from the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB).

For ongoing council and community news, my contact information, along with a calendar of events, please visit www.joshmatlow.ca. Click here to read my previous city hall and community updates.