SAVE GARRISON FLATS IN ITS' CURRENT LOCATION

With Mayor Chow releasing a Mayoral Proclamation Celebrating Urban Agriculture this month, we  thought it might be a good time to send folks another garden update. We did file an appeal with the city regarding their current redevelopment plans for 805 Wellington Street, however it was not accepted as a result of the Cutting Red Tape to Build More Homes Act, 2024, S.O 2024, c. 16 (“Bill 185”).

Our appeal, in a nutshell, still has numerous excellent points which we can’t stress hard enough: 
1) We support supportive housing and we support affordable housing. What we don’t support is sacrificing a 29-year-old beloved community garden when other solutions exist.
2) In a 2020 Council motion the City declared that the garden would remain as Parks and Open Space.
So the City didn’t just break a promise to us, it broke a promise it made to itself, in writing, in a Council motion.
3) There are over 2,600 signatures on a petition to save the garden
4) Garden members donate fresh produce to the community, run free educational tours, and hold community fundraising events that support the Fort York Food Bank 
5) We’re not asking the City to build less supportive housing. We’re asking them to build it 100 feet to the west.
6) The City has recognized the need for green space yet it wants to tear down one that's 29 year old?
7) Soil quality, pollinators, birds, trees take decades to develop.  You can’t just bulldoze a garden that’s been here for decades and start over on a new patch of grass.
8) With the 28 story apartment building which they have proposed to build on the original site of Strachan House now on hold, we are asking the city to reconsider their plans. Build Strachan House on it's original site and leave Garrison Flats in its' current location and in its' ultimate splendor. 

Sincerely Members of Garrison Flats Community Garden.