Friends,
Toronto residents deserve to feel secure when they move into a home in our city – secure that their home won’t become unaffordable in future years due to unfair rent increases.
A new staff report published today proposes a new Rental Housing Supply Program to address this challenge head-on. The Rental Housing Supply Program proposes an ambitious suite of measures designed to advance the City’s goal of supporting 65,000 rent-controlled homes by 2030. In addition to launching the new Rental Housing Supply Program, the report recommends immediately allocating approximately $351 million in capital funding to 18 affordable rental housing projects, to enable construction to start in 2024 and 2025.
We have seen that the private market alone will not deliver housing for everyone in Toronto. Over the last decade, left solely to the private market, too much of the housing supply has been focused on investment units, rather than providing the affordable housing options low- and moderate-income earners need to live in our city. I am heartened that for the first time in 40 years, the City is once again taking a public builder role to provide a much wider range of housing options than the private market will, and with the level of security of tenure that tenants deserve.
We have a duty as a city to ensure that our young people who are just starting their careers and families, our seniors who would like to age with dignity in the communities they’ve served, and our workers that do the low- and moderate-income jobs that we rely on, all have housing options they can afford in Toronto.
I look forward to supporting the Rental Housing Supply Program staff report when it is considered by the Planning and Housing Committee next Thursday, June 13: Agenda Item History - 2024.PH13.8 (toronto.ca)
As always, if you have any questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to contact my office.
Sincerely,
Gord
- TTC bargaining with ATU Local 113 - Wheel-Trans Service to Continue
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Community Consultation Meeting: Official Plan Amendment 680
- Community Consultations on the Avenues Policy Review initiative
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White Eagle Long-Term Care Residence Update
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Lifeguards return to City Beaches!
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City of Toronto celebrates Pride Month with month-long programming!
- Traffic Calming (Speed Humps) on Various Streets in Ward 4
- Ride to Conquer Cancer Road Closures - Saturday June 8th
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Parkdale Village BIA: Calling All Vendors
TTC bargaining with ATU Local 113 - Wheel-Trans Service to Continue
In the event of a TTC strike, all Wheel-Trans contracted accessible taxis, and sedan taxis will operate without disruption for our customers who are able to use these vehicles. Please visit www.ttc.ca/bargaining for bargaining updates between the TTC and ATU.
Community Consultation Meeting: Official Plan Amendment 680
You are invited by the City Planning Division to join a virtual Public Community Consultation Meeting on June 19th, 2024, 6:00pm – 7:00pm.
The purpose of this meeting is to consult with the public on Official Plan Amendment 680 (OPA 680) which responds to Planning Act changes made through Bill 97 (Helping Homebuyers, Protecting Tenants Act, 2023) that amends the definition of “area of employment”.
For the City’s Employment Areas to continue to benefit from special protections, timely changes are necessary to ensure that the Official Plan is aligned with the amended definition of “area of employment”.
To do this, OPA 680 proposes to change the land use permissions for the City’s General Employment Areas and Core Employment Areas as the definition of “area of employment” has narrowed the uses that are permitted within these areas by excluding institutional uses (e.g., schools, daycares, place of worship, etc.) and most commercial uses (e.g., standalone retail, standalone office, restaurants, hotels, etc.).
OPA 680, in combination with other official plan changes, will help to ensure the City’s Employment Areas are protected over the long term and maintain their economic viability.
For more information, please visit the project webpage here and register for the virtual Public Community Consultation Meeting here.
Community Consultations on the Avenues Policy Review initiative
You are invited by the City Planning Division to join virtual Community Consultation Meetings on Tuesday, June 25 at 10:30am or Thursday, July 4 at 6:00pm (to register click either link). The purpose of this meeting is to consult with residents and businesses in Toronto and East York on the Avenues Policy Review initiative, which is one part of the Housing Action Plan (HAP).
For more information about this and similar initiatives, please visit the project webpage.
Please also consider completing this short survey to share your thoughts on this initiative directly with staff and help inform the discussion during the upcoming meetings.
White Eagle Long-Term Care Residence, Update
Councillor Perks' Office has been advised by Chartwell, the owner of White Eagle Long-Term Care Residence, 138 Dowling Avenue, that they will not be renewing their operating license with the Ministry of Long-Term Care and Ontario Health. They are working towards a closure of the LTC residence by September 30, 2024.
They have shared that AgeCare, which has managed the residence for Chartwell since September 2023, will work together with Home and Community Care Support Services (HCCSS) to assist current residents in finding alternative accommodations and that the AgeCare team will continue to maintain operations of the home on Chartwell’s behalf until such time as all residents have been placed in alternative accommodations.
Lifeguards return to City Beaches!
Summer’s here! Lifeguards returned to duty this past weekend with the start of the City’s seasonal supervised beach program.
Toronto has 10 beaches with lifeguard supervision including Sunnyside Beach here in Ward 4.
Lifeguards are on duty daily from June to early August, 10:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. and from mid-August to September, 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Lifeguards can easily be spotted by their distinctive red and yellow uniforms and are stationed in rowboats on the lake or along the shoreline of each beach.
Swimming is only recommended when lifeguards are on duty and within the supervised swimming areas indicated by red-over-yellow flags.
Information about beach safety and beach locations near you is available on the City’s Beaches webpage.
City of Toronto celebrates Pride Month with month-long programming!
Pride Month brings Torontonians together to celebrate the history, courage and diversity of Toronto’s Two Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Intersex, Queer and Questioning (2SLGBTQ+) communities.
Torontonians are encouraged to explore Pride Month programming available at Toronto History Museums across the city this month, including:
Family Pride Celebration at Colborne Lodge
From 1 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, June 8, 2SLGBTQ+ families and allies are invited to an afternoon of outdoor games, activities and crafts, including a Drag Queen Storytime hosted by Lucy Flawless, at Colborne Lodge Museum (11 Colborne Lodge Dr).
Visit Pride Month – City of Toronto for more information on Pride Month programming.
Traffic Calming (Speed Humps) on Various Streets in Ward 4
We are pleased to provide an update on some of the traffic calming requests in Ward 4.
As you may know, there was an update to the Traffic Calming Policy that was approved at the November 2023 City Council session:
https://secure.toronto.ca/council/agenda-item.do?item=2023.IE7.4
(Background reports could be found towards the bottom of that page)
One of the attachments is a comparison between the 2002 Traffic Calming Policy and 2023 Traffic Calming Policy:
https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2023/ie/bgrd/backgroundfile-239910.pdf
Transportation Staff have been asked to review previous studies against the new traffic calming policy.
A number of Ward 4 streets have been included in the omnibus report that will be presented at the June 11th Toronto and East York Community Council (TEYCC): https://secure.toronto.ca/council/agenda-item.do?item=2024.TE14.36
Transportation Staff advised that they are aiming to prepare multiple traffic calming studies and reports to TEYCC.
Next Steps
The installations are based on the prioritization score and scheduling. Once the locations have been adopted by TEYCC, an approximate installation date will be determined by the VisionZero unit.
Ride to Conquer Cancer Road Closures - Saturday June 8th
The following roads will be closed for the Princess Margaret Ride to The Ride to Conquer Cancer from 6:30am-10:30am on Saturday June 8th.
Road Closure Locations:
- Lake Shore Blvd W (All westbound lanes), from Strachan Ave to Windermere Ave
- Windermere Ave (Both northbound lanes including one through lane and left-turn lane in the southbound lane), from Lakeshore Blvd W to The Queensway
- The Queensway (2 westbound curb lane), from Ellis Ave to The West Mall
- The West Mall (northbound curb lane), from The Queensway to Burnhamthorpe Rd
- Burnhamthorpe Rd (westbound curb lane), from The West Mall to Mill Rd
Parkdale Village BIA: Calling All Vendors
Food & Non-Food Vendor Applications Now Open. Join the Caribbean Food Fest!
We're looking for vendors to share the flavours and culture of the Caribbean! Sell your delicious food, unique crafts, or exciting merchandise.
Date: Sunday, August 4th
Time: Noon - 8 PM
Location: The Green P Parking Lot, Queen West/Callendar
To Apply:
- Direct Message (DM) us on Instagram: @kolor_inc or @parkdalevillage
- Email: [email protected] or [email protected]
Don't miss out on this chance to be part of a fun-filled community event! Hosted by Kolors Inc & Parkdale Village BIA.
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