Sunday, April 29, 2012

Garden District/Moss Park Community Action Plan Meeting

Shelters, safety top Moss Park, Garden District to-do list

Residents of Moss Park and the Garden District met with local politicians on April 23 to provide feedback and suggestions for the future of their community.

The meeting, held by city councilor Kristyn Wong-Tam and Toronto Centre MPP Glen Murray, is one of five follow-ups to initial meetings held in May and June of last year to draft a community action plan to engage local residents and stakeholders to develop long-term goals for wards 27 and 28.

“This is a period when a lot of change is happening,” said one community member, “and it’s a critical time to look ahead, and to take part in the planning for the neighbourhood. It’s about community building.”

Poverty and related health and safety issues topped the list of concerns for area residents. David Raycroft, director of housing and homelessness services at Dixon Hall, was present, and expressed his desire to see more support for street people. “We have a shelter located on George St., so my interest is in what happens with the folks in the shelter,” he said.

Councilor Wong-Tam said that action is being taken, but that some neighbourhoods—particularly around George St.—are going to need a lot of work. To start, she has begun pushing rooming house owners to bring their facilities up to code, has asked the local police station for more support in troubled areas, and has met one on one with George St. property owners to see how they can help.

14 new affordable housing units are also being built. It’s a good start, says Wong-Tam, but she believes her ward needs more resources if it wants to tackle poverty head on. “10% of all Section 37 funds in the ward is going back directly into [Toronto Community Housing Corporation] housing,” she says, “but that’s only going to scratch the surface.

“How do we ensure that we build more affordable housing and not less, and how do we not displace people? Pushing poor people out of a neighbourhood is not a solution for me, and I’m not interested in gentrification. I’m interested in empowering neighbourhoods, I’m interested in empowering residents.”

The councilor’s primary concern is that condominium developments, if left unchecked, are going to squeeze out the less fortunate. “If we allow the free market forces to run away with the neighbourhood, what we’re going to have is a very polarized neighbourhood of extreme wealth and extreme poverty,” she says, “and that’s not going to work for us. The neighbourhood needs to be cohesively woven together.”

Wong-Tam’s concerns were echoed by those present. Many were worried about building development, and didn’t want to see neighbourhoods losing their sunlight and sightlines to high-rise buildings, which they claim also compromises the historical character of the surrounding area.

Murray acknowledged this issue, and mentioned that the topic had come up in previous community meetings. “Balancing new development with heritage and identity, and preserving our historical architecture is very important,” he says.

Some action has been taken. City council is currently being asked to initiate a Heritage Conservation District Study, which could help to protect designated buildings.


Source:  The Bulletin

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