Please join the High Park Community Alliance virtual Annual General Meeting on Wednesday September 23rd from 7-9pm. 

Our agenda is as follows:

•             Welcome/introductions

•             High Park Tenants Association updates

•             Review of Financial Statement & Questions

•             HPCA lawyer Ian Flett comments/HPCA Executive comments on our settlement

•             Presentation by Shahrzad Davoudi on the development plan (per City/developers settlement)

•             Councillor Gord Perks’ remarks

•             Question & Answer

•             President’s closing /next steps

•             Adjournment

The virtual meeting will be held via the WebEx video conferencing platform. There is no need to download any software and it’s accessible from a computer, tablet, or phone.  People who wish to listen in only are also able to join by phone.

If you’re joining through a computer, just before 7pm on September 23rd:

1) Visit this link to access the meeting.

2) Click on ‘Join from your browser’.

3) You will be asked to enter your name and email, and then should gain access to the meeting room.

We’ve found this video to be helpful to guide us through the process of joining:

https://youtu.be/fE5FnEUKtaE

If you’re joining through a phone, just before 7pm on September 23rd:

1) Dial 647-484-1598.

2) Enter 132 601 8267# when asked for the access code.

3) Enter 4722# as the password.

4) You should be able to hear the meeting progress through the phone.

You will recall that at the end of 2016/start of 2017, Great West Life (owner of the lands at 35 High Park Avenue) and Minto (owner of the lands at 111 Pacific Avenue) both submitted development applications to the City of Toronto.

Minto’s initial application looked to add to its current 3 buildings/750 rental units: 2 blocks of townhouse (3 storeys each); 2 rental buildings – one with a height of 33-storeys (plus mechanical penthouse) and the other 29 storeys (plus mechanical penthouse); and 450 m2 of retail floor space, for a total of 768 additional rental units.

GWL’s initial application looked to modify its current 4 rental buildings (ranging from 15-26 storeys)/20 townhouses (2 storeys)/964 rental units by: demolishing 25 rental dwelling units including 20 rental dwelling units in two existing blocks of rental townhouses and five rental units on the ground floors of two apartment buildings, and adding 4 rental buildings (8, 29, 34, and 39 storeys), and adding 1,795 m2 of non-residential floor space, for a total of 1031 new rental units.

HPCA was formed to oppose those over the top development proposals. Since that time, we’ve been through 1) Two changes to the policy/legislation around development in Ontario, 2) An  Area Character Study (which the OMB/LPAT ruled could not be retroactively applied so would not impact the current proposals, but will set limits in the High Park North Apartment Neighbourhood going forward), and 3) Two City Councillors (with different ways of doing things) and a significant change to how the City engaged with/supported the community with respect to these development proposals. As well, both Minto and GWL submitted changes to their development applications over the years.

As we mentioned in our Spring update, we had hoped that the City would be able to present the plans they had agreed to in their settlement with the developers at our AGM.  However, City Planning was advised by their lawyers not to speak publicly on the matter until there is a Final Order from the OMB/LPAT.

Instead, Shahrzad Davoudi, an urban designer who has made presentations for HPCA previously, has agreed to summarize and present this information to our membership. She contrasts the most recent plans agreed to by the City with the developers’ earlier submissions, so we can see what has been changed. We are sharing her presentation with the community in advance. You can check out Shahrzad’s presentation by downloading the link below, and she will walk us through it together at the AGM on September 23rd. 

We ask that you submit your questions about the presentation in advance of the AGM by emailing HPCA at highparkcommunityalliance@gmail.com  You can also include questions you have for Councillor Perks, the Executive, or HPCA lawyer Ian Fleet.  You will have a chance to ask questions live that day as well (whether you join by WebEx video conferencing or by telephone).

We will send another email just hours before the AGM starts at 7pm on Wednesday September 23rd with the information on how to join online or by phone once again.