Fourth Street Lake Window - W.A.V.E. (Waterfront Access and Views for Everyone): March 2013

Friday 1 March 2013

PGM COMMTITEE ADOPTS HERITAGE REPORT

Yesterday, February 28th. 2013, the Planning and Growth Management Committee adopted with some minor amendments the Heritage revisions to the City's Official Plan.

Amendments were limited to places of worship and views of the Grange downtown. There were no amendments linked to the list of views of significant natural features

So, the lake window views we are concerned about are still protected.

The report goes to City Council on April 3rd, 2013 for, all being well, adoption and will become part of the Official Plan.

Link to PGM's decision (Item PG 22.3)

BACKGROUND

We are a community group of residents whose goal is to lobby the City of Toronto Parks department to take over the remaining publicly-owned lakefront road ends in South Etobicoke that are not yet official parks or parkettes and complete the vision of the former “Windows on the Lake” initiative which dovetail with waterfront access goals reflected in our City's current Official Plan. Fourth Street parkette was to have been the first project under that plan with a landscape design drawn up and ready to go. It was stalled and disappeared during the amalgamation of the City's former boroughs. But, since then, many road ends (unassumed road allowances) have been taken over by City Parks who improved them and now maintain them. But, five road ends, including Fourth Street, remain unclaimed and subject to illegal encroachment. Along the shore line in south Etobicoke, of the forty-eight roads that end at the lake, only five do not end at a waterfront park or parkette (Fourth Street, Eleventh street, Twenty-Fifth street, Thirty-Ninth street and Fortieth street). Less than 5% do not end in a waterfront park or parkette. This is unfair and needs to be corrected.