Volume 21 Number 1 Newsletter of the Swansea Area Ratepayers' Association January 1995 MEETING NOTICE Re: Election of the New Board of Management for the Swansea Town Hall Thursday, February 2, 1995 at 7:00 p.m. Swansea Town Hall 95 Lavinia Ave. It is important for you to be there and to vote. The Board of Management is to represent you and will remain in place for three years. Except for vacancies this will be your last chance until 1998 to vote for your representatives. It's your building, and you have a say in how it is run by deciding who will manage the operation for the next three years. TIME TO RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP If you have not already obtained your 1995 membership (look at your card to see the expiry date) please renew now. We will be going to the Ontario Municipal Board on specific issues and the more members we have the more likely the Board will listen to our arguments. The 1995 Fees are as follows: Single membership...... $8.00 Family membership .... $10.00 Business membership... $12.00 Please contact L. Gris at 766-2792 to renew. Membership inquiries may be sent to Swansea Area Ratepayers Association c/o Swansea Town Hall, Box 103, 95 Lavinia Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, M6S 3H9. EXECUTIVE MEETINGS Please note that Executive meetings are public and held normally on the third Tuesday of each month. There may be seating limitations, so please contact the Executive before you come to a meeting. Our Executive is: G. Martinsons, President; Ed Gaigalas and D'Arcy Dunal, Vice-Presidents; S. Campbell, Secretary: J. Oreto, Treasurer; L. Gris, Membership; S. Wilkinson, Past-President; Your Directors: Ritvars Bregzis, J. Bell, L. Clay, Ten Kortenaar, Tony Giniotis, W. Haines, O, Iwanyshyn, Ron Luft, P. Meier, M. Rew, Wm. Roberts, M. Robertson, G. Thede and L. Volpe. ELLIS AVENUE PROJECT SARA continues to have concerns in regard to this development and in particular we have not received satisfactory responses from Planning & Development Department on what can be done to ensure that the heights and general footprints of the buildings shown at the public meeting will be carried out. City Land Use Committee should deal with this matter in mid-January, 1995. SARA is waiting for the planner's report before making final comments. For more information contact: Tony Ten Kortenaar at 763-7474 or Oleh Iwanyshyn at 762-6724. A group of people are seeking funds to purchase the site as a wildlife reserve adjacent to High Park. SAVANNAH RESTAURANT Nick Di Dinato addressed the SARA Executive to explain what he was proposing for 2383 Bloor St.W. His intention is now to have a 120 seat restaurant at ground level with a 120 seat waiting area, including a piano lounge and pool tables on the second floor. He has abandoned the patio concept and he intends to have the restaurant open until 1:00 a.m. every night. In spite of SARA's offer to sponsor a public meeting in January, Nick Di Dinato held his own meeting. Between 80 and 100 persons were present and who, except for a small minority, opposed the proposal. SARA's Executive decided to hold a public meeting at the request of several concerned residents regarding the plan for the restaurant. We hope the community will help defray our costs of holding the meeting and distributing notices as well as joining SARA if they live south of Bloor and by making donations if they live north of Bloor. NOTICE Public Meeting Sponsored by the Swansea Area Ratepayers' Association concerning Savannah Restaurant & Other Liquor Licences in the Bloor West Village Tuesday, January 31, 1995 at 7:30 P.M. Swansea Town Hall 95 Lavinia Ave. SWANSEA BY-LAWS Bill Roberts for SARA and SARG has met with the staff from Planning and Development. Bill Roberts continued to discuss the question of the Swansea (Southport) Plaza with the staff, and the matter went before Land Use Committee which approved the following changes to the City of Toronto Official Plan: 1 - the maximum density of the site is to be two times (similar to the surrounding condominiums) rather than the originally proposed maximum of three times; 2 - any new development will provide a minimum of 2385 square metres of retail and provide services to satisfy needs of the surrounding population (which guarantees at least the same amount of retail that is presently located there); 3 - protection for the surrounding condominiums in terms of distances, and visual transition to prevent adverse impact on the adjacent condominiums; and, 4 - requirement for parking and traffic studies as part of any redevelopment, to look at impact. While we may not have achieved all that we were looking for, this provides some guarantees and protection for our community in the future. SARA supports the amendments and will be withdrawing its appeal in regard to the plaza once the amendment is adopted by council. That leaves the outstanding issues of: - Stelco height limit; - parking and the guarantee of commercial uses along Bloor Street; - the general changes to setbacks and the loss of a code relating to Swansea; - the appeal by the owners on Ripley Ave. to increase the height of their buildings (which SARA does not support). Bill Roberts appeared before the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) on the 19th of December, 1994, to protect our appeal concerning the commercial uses and parking on Bloor Street West. The next date scheduled for the OMB to consider the schedule for dealing with these and the other appeals is set for February 16, 1995. SKATING RINK We will continue to press for a public meeting. Swansea Area Ratepayers' Association c/o Swansea Town Hall P.O. Box 103, 95 Lavinia Ave Toronto, Ontario, M6S 3H9 OFFICIAL PLAN We are continuing to monitor this matter and have had discussions with the Planning and Development Department staff in regard to our concerns as part of the rezoning process. GARDINER LAKESHORE TASKFORCE We continue to monitor the Colborne Lodge Promenade project and will keep you advised. Metro Traffic is still opposing the pedestrian and bicycle improvements because of traffic concerns. David Miller, the new Metro Councillor, is working with SARA on this issue. SWANSEA MEMORIAL LIBRARY While Swansea Memorial Library celebrated its 75th year of operation we must not forget that in these hard times the city may still choose to close it. So please continue to use it .You can arrange for any movie, book or any other library material to be delivered to the Swansea branch for pick-up. You can order by computer at the Branch or from your home. The Swansea Town Hall has also to set up a computer outside the library in the Town Hall lobby so you can order and renew books during Town Hall hours when the library is not open. The library and Town Hall staff will be glad to help you. LIBRARY HOURS Monday: Tuesday: Wednesday: Thursday: Friday: Saturday: Sunday: Closed 10:00 A.M.- 5:00 P.M. 1~00 P.M. - 8:00 P.M. 10:00 A.M.-5:00 P.M. Closed 10:00 A.M.- 5:00 P.M. Closed SOUTH KINGSWAY- HUMBER BRIDGES We continue to monitor the status of the bridges and will keep you informed. For more information contact - D'Arcy Dunal at 769-1364 or G. Martinsons at 76~1734. SWANSEA TOWN HALL SARA has reappointed G. Martinsons to be our representative on the Town Hall Board of Management. This appointment is subject to City Council approval. Mr. W. Roberts 63 South Kingsway Toronto, Ontario M6S 3T4