Participate in the City of Toronto's 2025 Budget Consultations

Friends,

I am pleased to invite you to participate in the City of Toronto’s 2025 Budget Consultations. For the second consecutive year, the City is launching consultations to gather input from residents to help inform budget planning. Until Thursday, October 31, residents are encouraged to share what matters most to them for the City’s 2025 Budget through an online survey or by attending one of six consultation sessions:

  • Saturday, October 19, from noon to 2 p.m., North York Memorial Hall, 5110 Yonge St. 
  • Wednesday, October 23, from 7 to 9 p.m., virtual meeting
  • Thursday, October 24, from 7 to 9 p.m., Scarborough Civic Centre, 150 Borough Dr.  
  • Sunday, October 27, from noon to 2 p.m., Rose Avenue Junior Public School, 675 Ontario St.  
  • Monday, October 28, from 7 to 9 p.m., Etobicoke Olympium, 590 Rathburn Rd.  
  • Wednesday, October 30, from 7 to 9 p.m., virtual meeting

As Vice Chair of the Budget Committee I will be attending the in-person consultation session on Sunday, October 27, and look forward to seeing many of you there.

You can learn more about the 2025 Budget and register for the consultation meeting that is most convenient to you on the City’s 2025 Budget webpage.

The budget consultations are an important opportunity for residents to share your priorities for our City and help shape our collective future. Spurred by unprecedented resident participation during the 2024 budget process, the City has made critical investments in housing, transit, community services and crisis supports this year. As the City continues to get back on track with its Updated Long Term Financial Plan and the historic Ontario-Toronto New Deal, the 2025 Budget is the next step of the journey to create a Toronto that is affordable, safe, and full of opportunity for all of its residents. I am confident that through your continued participation we can advance the bold solutions that are required to become the city we need.

Sincerely,


In This Week's Newsletter

Ward 4 Updates

  • TE17.34 - Traffic Calming (Speed Humps and Speed Bumps) - West Parkdale Neighbourhood
  • Updates on the Parkside Drive Study:  IE17.4 Final Report and E17.35 - Traffic Calming (Speed Humps) on residential streets

  • 3194-3206 Dundas St N Committee of Adjustment Application
  • 1930-1938 Bloor St W & 3, 5, & 21 Quebec Ave
  • Friends of High Park Zoo - Zoo Boo Event

 

Ward 4 Updates

TE17.34 - Traffic Calming (Speed Humps and Speed Bumps) - West Parkdale Neighbourhood


Work on the West Parkdale Cycling Connection continues.

A Transportation Staff Report will be considered at the October 24th Toronto East York Community Council meeting that recommends installation of speed humps on four streets and speed bumps in one lane in the West Parkdale Neighbourhood.

The recommendation follows Transportation Services’ investigation of  the feasibility of installing traffic calming in conjunction with the West Parkdale Cycling Connections project.

The West Parkdale Cycling Connections connects a gap in the cycling network from The Queensway to Brock Avenue and improves cycling access to destinations such as High Park, St. Joseph’s Health Centre, retail, transit, and schools.

I am proud of the work that we have achieved as a community in an effort to create a safer community and neighbourhood for all road users and will be supporting the staff recommendations in this report.

The report is available for your review at  https://secure.toronto.ca/council/agenda-item.do?item=2024.TE17.34

If you have any questions or concerns you wish to share with me directly, my office can be reached at [email protected] .

If you wish to comment at the Toronto East York Community Council Committee you can submit written comments or register to speak at [email protected]


Updates on the Parkside Drive Study:  IE17.4 Final Report and E17.35 - Traffic Calming (Speed Humps) on residential streets

The work to create a safer Parkside Drive and neighbouring community continues.

There are two reports that will be heard at City Committees and Council next week that will address improved safety of the neighbourhood.

A staff Report recommending endorsement, in principle, of  bike lanes and intersection safety improvements on Parkside Drive will be heard at the Infrastructure and Environment Committee on Tuesday, October 22nd.

This report seeks endorsement, in principle, to advance detailed design of the road safety changes that were identified in the Parkside Drive Study. Funding for these improvements are part of the 2025- 2034 Transportation Services Capital Budget submission for Council consideration and approval.

The report is available for your review at https://secure.toronto.ca/council/agenda-item.do?item=2024.IE17.4 .

On Thursday, October 24th at Toronto East York Community Council will review a Staff Report recommending traffic calming on five streets adjacent to Parkside Drive.

The Parkside Drive Study assessed the feasibility of design changes that could improve safety and mobility along the corridor. Transportation staff that studied the area indicates that speed humps would support enhanced safety, are desired by the local community and are technically feasible to implement.

The report is available for your review at  https://secure.toronto.ca/council/agenda-item.do?item=2024.TE17.35

I am proud of the work that we have achieved as a community in an effort to create a safer Parkside and neighbourhood and will be supporting the staff recommendations on both of these reports.

IF you have any questions or concerns you wish to share with me directly, my office can be reached at [email protected] .

IF you wish to comment at the Infrastructure and Environment Committee meeting, you can submit written comments or register to speak at [email protected] .

IF you wish to comment at the Toronto East York Community Council meeting, you can submit written comments or register to speak at [email protected] .


Developments

3194-3206 Dundas St N Committee of Adjustment Application

A zoning amendment was granted to an application on this site in Feb 2022 for the development of the site for an 8-storey mixed-use building containing 86 residential dwelling units, with retail at grade, and 48 vehicle parking spaces.

Recently, an application has been made to the Committee of Adjustment to alter the development standards for the 8-storey mixed-use building, by increasing the height/number of stories, gross floor area, minimum building setbacks, and adding residential dwelling units to the first storey. Also, to reduce the number of resident and visitor parking spaces as well as to reduce the vertical clearance of one parking space. The resulting building will be one storey taller.

The item will be heard at the Committee of Adjustment hearing on October 23rd, 2024 in the afternoon session, around 3pm. Instructions on how to participate in the hearing can be found here: https://www.toronto.ca/city-government/planning-development/committee-of-adjustment/participate-at-a-hearing/.

More information on this Committee of Adjustment application, including the staff report from City Planning can be found on the City’s website here: https://www.toronto.ca/city-government/planning-development/application-details/?id=5504413&pid=154047.

The Site Plan remains under review for this site.


1930-1938 Bloor St W & 3, 5, & 21 Quebec Ave

The owner’s of this site previously submitted an application to the City for a Zoning By-law Amendment and Rental Housing Demolition & Conversion application to permit a 17-storey mixed-use building, containing 144 dwelling units (of which 12 are rental replacement units).

After a community consultation meeting and discussion among the City’s Planning staff, the City decided to refuse the application because outstanding issues could not be resolved within the legislated timeline for decision of 90 days. Details of the decision can be found here.

The applicant has thus decided to appeal the City’s refusal decision to the Ontario Land Tribunal. Details on this case can be found here: https://jus-olt-prod.powerappsportals.com/en/e-status/details/?id=bd357b6e-796c-ef11-a670-000d3a0c9ce2.

A notice was sent to interested parties outlining how to remain involved, a portion of which can be read here If you would like a copy of the full 19 page notice, please reach out to my office at [email protected] and I will be happy to supply you with one.

If you wish to participate in the hearing, instructions on how to do so are listed on page 3 and 4 of the notice, under the heading Party and Participant Status Request. I note this pertinent section from page 4 of the notice:

"Persons who are granted party status may participate fully in the proceeding (see Rule 8). Persons who are granted participant status may only participate in writing by way of a participant statement. This statement is expected to be provided 10 days advance of the Case Management Conference [on Nov 6] as part of the status request and sets out their position in the matter (see Rule 7.7). Only persons who are granted party or participant status by the Tribunal at the CMC are permitted to participate in any further hearing event that is convened by the Tribunal for this appeal."

If you wish to be a party it requires the hiring of a Planning Lawyer who will be able to make planning law-based arguments on why this request should not be granted. If you wish to request participant status, this will allow you to write in to the Tribunal and voice your opinion.

The City will have a lawyer at the Tribunal to defend it’s refusal decision.

If you have any further questions, please reach out to our office at [email protected].


Friends of High Park Zoo - Zoo Boo Event

 


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2025 Staff-Prepared City Budget Highlights

Friends,

On Monday January 13th, the City of Toronto launched the 2025 Budget process with a staff-prepared budget that protects and invests in our City’s core services based on feedback gathered during Fall 2024 consultations with Toronto residents.

I am pleased to see a number of new and enhanced initiatives included in the 2025 staff-prepared budget that advance our goals of making Toronto a more affordable, connected, and safe city for all. Key investments include:

Making life more affordable:

  • Feed 8,000 more students through school food programs
  • CampTO food program to support over 31,000 youth

Getting Toronto moving

  • Increase transit service hours by 5.8 per cent (approximately half a million hours) 
  • Expand to 100 Traffic Agents to address blocked intersections, improve travel times in key corridors and decrease collision

Providing community services

  • Expand Sunday service hours for 70 Toronto Public Libraries
  • Increase access to cultural initiatives including local arts, festivals and events

Keeping people safe

  • Add 276 more Emergency Services positions (fire, police and paramedics) 
  • Expand road safety programs

Staff presentations on the 2025 staff-prepared budget are available at www.toronto.ca/budget. I encourage you learn about the various opportunities to get involved in the budget process, which includes opportunities to speak directly to the Budget Committee and submitting written feedback here.

I will also be hosting a ‘City Budget 2025 Virtual Town Hall’ on Monday, January 20th at 6pm, where we will review the proposed 2025 budget, discuss its investments and impacts on city services, and walk through the City’s budget process together.  To join the virtual meeting, please use this link: gordperks.ca/2025budget

Looking forward to seeing you there,


In This Week's Newsletter

City Wide Updates 

  • CampTO Summer Programs List
  • Winterlicious returns Jan 31 - Feb 13
  • Nominations now open: Toronto Community Champion Award 🏆 

Ward 4 Updates

  • Masaryk-Cowan Presents: Community Youth Nights

2024 Highlights and Holiday Wishes

Friends,

2024 has been a transformative year for our city.

As Chair of the Planning and Housing Committee, I have had the pleasure of supporting the tireless work of community activists and City staff in advancing real solutions to the housing crisis we have been witnessing.

In 2024, to name a few successes, we established the Renovictions Bylaw to deter bad-faith evictions, launched an industry-supported incentive program that facilitates the development of 20,000 new rental homes, expanded permissions for townhouses and small-scale apartment buildings along major streets city-wide, and initiated steps to address excessive indoor temperatures due to the effects of climate change.

I am most proud of our work at rebuilding the City’s capacity as a Public Builder that leads the delivery of affordable housing options. Through establishing a Housing Development Office at the City, we have transformed the City from an entity that is frustrated and unable to move on affordable housing to quite possibly the biggest developer of affordable housing in the country.

In the last 15 months we have gone from zero to 13 affordable construction projects currently under construction, including the 11 Brock site in our ward, and dozens more projects with shovels in the ground next year. We are proving that when we choose to face our most pressing issues head-on, we can respond with quick and effective actions.

This week, as part of Council Mid-term Member Appointments, I was honoured to be asked to continue in my role as Chair of the Planning and Housing Committee for the remainder of this Council term.

As we celebrate the holiday season, I look forward to continuing to work together in 2025 to advance the realization of housing as a human right in Toronto.

Sincerely,


2024 Highlights

Dunn House

Dunn House (90 Dunn Ave), Canada’s first ever social medicine supportive housing initiative, opened in October. The four-storey modular housing building includes 51 new, rent-geared-to-income and supportive homes for people who were experiencing homelessness and who were also frequent users of UHN’s emergency department. The new homes will be furnished studio apartments with a bathroom and kitchen. The building will include amenities such as shared laundry, a commercial kitchen, a dining area, a communal area and programming space. They will also benefit from wrap-around social and health services provided by Fred Victor and UHN aimed at improving their well-being and housing stability.  Dunn House has been supported by all orders of government and non-profit housing partners, with continued engagement with the local community.

11 Brock Ave

Earlier this week, the City broke ground on the construction of 11 Brock Ave, the first of five ‘housing ready’ sites to be developed under the Public Developer Model. The planned four-storey building will provide 42 homes with supports to maintain people’s health, wellbeing, and housing stability. The new homes will be private apartments with a bathroom and a kitchen. The building will also include amenities such as shared laundry, a commercial kitchen and programming spaces for residents. The City has partnered with Parkdale Activity Recreation Centre (PARC) as the community housing provider. PARC operates supportive homes in Toronto for adults experiencing mental health and substance use challenges, many with a history of homelessness. PARC and our office will continue to engage with the local Parkdale community on the development of this site. This work is possible due to intergovernmental partnership. In 2023, the project received $21.6 million through the Federal Rapid Housing Initiative. Beginning in 2025, annual operating funding of at least $1.2 million is required from the Province of Ontario for the support services planned for this building.

Traffic Calming Policy & Vision Zero Road Safety

There has been an update on the Vision Zero Road Safety Initiatives and Traffic Calming Policy. The updated Traffic Calming Policy was adopted by City Council in November 2023, and began applying to Community Council Reports starting January 2024. The warrants for Traffic Calming on a residential street are now based on the posted speed limit instead of the standard 40 km/h. This should help local streets in need of additional calming measures. As part of Vision Zero safety initiatives, the Automated Speed Enforcement (ASE) camera is designed to deter speeding motorists and increase safety for vulnerable road users. In Q1 of 2025, Ward 4 will receive two additional cameras as part of the ASE program expansion; the locations are Jameson Avenue South of Laxton Avenue and Jane Street near Page Avenue.

West Parkdale Cycling Connections

In Fall 2024 the City completed installation of the West Parkdale Cycling Connection. This project addresses a previous gap in our cycling network by providing a connection between The Queensway and Brock Avenue. In addition to the installation of the bike lanes the project included one way street conversions, changes to one way street directions, changes to on street parking, new stop signs, intersection improvements and traffic calming speed humps. A new traffic light signal will be installed in 2025 at Roncesvalles Avenue and Galley Avenue. Over the next 6 to 12 months, City staff will continue to monitor traffic counts and collect feedback from the community.

Parkside Drive

Parkside Drive’s current road configuration encourages motorists to travel at high speeds. In November City Council endorsed, in principle, to advance detailed design of the road safety changes identified in the Parkside Drive Study, which includes bike lanes and intersection safety improvements. The road reconfigurations aim to improve safety for all road users and upgrade Parkside Drive to accommodate multi-modal travel options. Council also approved as part of the Parkside Drive Study City staff recommendations for the installation of speed humps on five adjacent streets to Parkside Drive which satisfy the updated Traffic Calming Policy warrants.

High Park Movement Strategy

Improvements as part of the High Park Movement Strategy (HPMS) continue to be advanced in High Park. New pick-up/drop-off spaces at key destinations on Colborne Lodge Drive between the Grenadier Cafe and Bloor Street West were added, and TTC 203 High Park Route operated seasonal service this summer with an expanded route that was run via Keele Station, providing a transfer-free accessible connection between High Park and Line 2. The High Park Movement Strategy includes the implementation of a shuttle service to help visitors get around High Park all year long. The City of Toronto has issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the provision of this shuttle service, which will help visitors get around key locations within High Park. The City has also partnered with Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) to undertake a road ecology study within High Park to better understand existing conditions, potential risk factors to wildlife, and possible mitigation measures.

Sunnyside Beach Shoreline Resiliency Project

The Sunnyside Beach Shoreline Resiliency Project is one of 36 locations where work is being undertaken to rehabilitate and increase resiliency along the shoreline of Lake Ontario. Periods of high lake water levels, coupled with increased frequency and severity of storms have put pressure on the existing erosion control measures in place along Lake Ontario’s shoreline and the City must deliver proactive solutions to address this. This project is carried out through the Federal government’s Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund (DMAF). The mandate of this work, under this funding structure, is to address the impacts of flooding and erosion by repairing, remediating, and enhancing the resilience of Toronto's waterfront shoreline. As part of these mitigation efforts, three seat walls in different locations have been installed as a protective barrier against high lake water effects. The City installed new sand to restore the sand quality at Sunnyside Beach following completion of the Shoreline Resiliency Project.


In This Week's Newsletter

City Wide Updates 

  • Vacant Home Tax 2024 Declaration
  • New Year's Skating Parties
  • City of Toronto Consultation: Growing Space for Trees & Infill Housing
  • Planning for the Holiday Season in Toronto
  • Toronto Parking Authority Rate Change Communication

Ward 4 Updates

  • Developments
    • *New Date* Committee of Adjustment Application, 1375 Queen St W
    • Update on 2453-2469 Bloor Street West: Ontario Land Tribunal Hearing - Request for Directions
    • An Update on 2461-2475 Dundas St W - Zoning By-law Amendment and Rental Housing Demolition & Conversion

Increasing Shelter Infrastructure and Our Public Developer Capacity

Friends,

I am encouraged by the progress announced this week on the City’s Homelessness Services Capital Infrastructure Strategy (HSCIS). The City unveiled the first six shelter sites that are being developed as part of this 10-year strategy and has expanded winter services for people experiencing homelessness.

The City is currently providing emergency accommodations to approximately 12,000 people. These shelter spaces enable our unhoused neighbours to have a roof over their heads while accessing services that help them transition to permanent housing. In 2023, more than 5,900 people experiencing homelessness moved from the shelter system into permanent housing.

Although the City is providing shelter to thousands of people, hundreds of people are unable to be matched to shelter each night. The HSCIS was developed to meet the unmet demand for shelter space by building new shelters across Toronto. Between 2024 and 2033, the City plans to develop up to 20 new purpose-built shelter sites, creating a total of approximately 1,600 shelter spaces.

Each shelter will be smaller by design and serve approximately 80 people, focusing on providing safety, comfort and resources to help residents transition to stable housing. I encourage you to learn more about the City’s work to open new shelter sites on the project webpage.

I am also pleased to share that Executive Committee adopted a staff report this week on strengthening the City’s role as a Public Developer to deliver housing faster.

This report outlines steps to establish a Housing Development Office that will focus exclusively on advancing and accelerating the delivery of housing on City-led and City-supported sites. Through this new Office, the City will either lead projects directly or leverage Toronto Community Housing (TCHC) and CreateTO on a project-by-project basis, based on each organization’s unique expertise and best practices. This item will be considered by City Council next week.

I will continue to use my voice and vote on Council to support improving and increasing our shelter infrastructure and expediting the City’s delivery of housing.

Sincerely,


In This Week's Newsletter

City Wide Updates 

  • Vacant Home Tax 2024 Declaration
  • Support your community: Holiday Wish List 🎁 
  • Skate Lending Library is back this winter  
  • Illuminating holiday experiences at Toronto History Museums ✨

Ward 4 Updates

  • Junction BIA's Window Wonderland
  • Junction Residents' Association: Community Caroling Sing-a-long in the Junction!!
  • Attention Parkdale Village BIA Members: Board Members Wanted
  • Developments
    • *New Date* Committee of Adjustment Application, 1375 Queen St W

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