SAVE THE CENTRAL TECH PLAYING FIELD — STOP THE DOME. Four losses later, the TDSB now takes its pro-dome fight to the OMB. We're asking the TDSB to stop.
SAVE THE CENTRAL TECH PLAYING FIELD — STOP THE DOME. Four losses later, the TDSB now takes its pro-dome fight to the OMB. We're asking the TDSB to stop.
The Issue
We are asking the TDSB to STOP THE RUSH towards the privatization of the Central Tech playing field and the installation of artificial turf and an eight-storey commercial sports dome. WE URGE THE TDSB TO MEET WITH THE CITY to find alternative solutions for the restoration of a natural grass playing field for Central Tech students and the community. And we ask TDSB Trustees to STOP THE OMB APPEAL and DELAY VOTING on anything which would advance the Central Tech dome plan, until after the newly elected TDSB board and Toronto City Council take office on December 1st.
Background:
The Central Technical School playing field is a precious community asset. It is irreplaceable for the residents of our downtown Toronto neighbourhoods. The field has, for many decades, been shared by students during the day and neighbours on evenings and weekends (when not leased out to community sports teams by the school board).
Central Tech is located in a high-density downtown neighbourhood which is among those with the least amount of open greenspace in the GTA — and the population living in these few city blocks is poised to climb by many hundreds with the construction of new nearby apartments and condos.
Nonetheless, the Toronto District School Board remains determined to turn the playing field over to a private developer for 21+ years — with no revenue stream back to the TDSB — for the construction of an 8-storey commercial sports dome. This will end the free and traditional use of the field by the public.
This dome would draw 5,000+ cars a week (after school hours) into a heavily-trafficked neighbourhood where street parking is already at peak demand. The Central Tech parking lot could not possibly accommodate all of the dome traffic.
On October 1, 2014 — having just lost its appeal to Ontario Divisional Court — the TDSB chose to continue its fight for the dome with an appeal to the Ontario Municipal Board. So far this year the TDSB has lost its pro-dome fight in four arenas: the Committee of Adjustment refused a minor zoning variance to build the dome (March 26) ; the TDSB lost its appeal challenging the city's zoning jurisdiction at Superior Court (June 13); The TDSB lost its attempt to block Harbord Village residents from participating against its appeal to Divisional Court (August 5); the TDSB lost its Divisional Court appeal (September 30). The day after that loss, the TDSB reactivated its appeal of the Committee of Adjustment decision to the OMB, asking that the matter be dealt with "on an emergency basis".
We have recently learned that no contract for the dome project has yet been signed between the TDSB and the developer Razor Management, but that some Trustees are pushing to have it finalized at the next TDSB board meeting on October 29 — after the October 27 municipal election, but a month before the newly-elected Councillors and Trustees take office.
The TDSB has recently begun using contamination of the field as a justification for pressing forward with the dome plan, arguing it is the only realistic financial solution for the remediation of the contaminated Central Tech field. This is contrary to an environmental consultant's report on remediation alternatives, delivered to the TDSB this spring. That (draft) report showed that simply covering the contamination with a foot of clean soil, topped with new grass, is an entirely competitive option.
Meanwhile, Ward 20 City Councillor Ceta Ramkhalawansingh has twice this summer written the TDSB offering the city's financial help to restore the grass field to the students and the community — to no avail.
And 20 Councillor and Trustee candidates running in Municipal Wards 19 and 20 (and TDSB Ward 10) in our city election, have signed an OPEN LETTER TO ELECTORS opposing the dome and committing to City/TDSB meetings to find a community-based solution for the restoration of the Central Tech playing field to green grass.
In conclusion, we ask the TDSB to take a couple of steps back and give us a bit of time, to allow downtown residents and the newly-elected Trustees and City Councillors a chance to find a solution that will work for all.
For full details and updates, see:
http://harbordvillage.com/centraltechdome
The Issue
We are asking the TDSB to STOP THE RUSH towards the privatization of the Central Tech playing field and the installation of artificial turf and an eight-storey commercial sports dome. WE URGE THE TDSB TO MEET WITH THE CITY to find alternative solutions for the restoration of a natural grass playing field for Central Tech students and the community. And we ask TDSB Trustees to STOP THE OMB APPEAL and DELAY VOTING on anything which would advance the Central Tech dome plan, until after the newly elected TDSB board and Toronto City Council take office on December 1st.
Background:
The Central Technical School playing field is a precious community asset. It is irreplaceable for the residents of our downtown Toronto neighbourhoods. The field has, for many decades, been shared by students during the day and neighbours on evenings and weekends (when not leased out to community sports teams by the school board).
Central Tech is located in a high-density downtown neighbourhood which is among those with the least amount of open greenspace in the GTA — and the population living in these few city blocks is poised to climb by many hundreds with the construction of new nearby apartments and condos.
Nonetheless, the Toronto District School Board remains determined to turn the playing field over to a private developer for 21+ years — with no revenue stream back to the TDSB — for the construction of an 8-storey commercial sports dome. This will end the free and traditional use of the field by the public.
This dome would draw 5,000+ cars a week (after school hours) into a heavily-trafficked neighbourhood where street parking is already at peak demand. The Central Tech parking lot could not possibly accommodate all of the dome traffic.
On October 1, 2014 — having just lost its appeal to Ontario Divisional Court — the TDSB chose to continue its fight for the dome with an appeal to the Ontario Municipal Board. So far this year the TDSB has lost its pro-dome fight in four arenas: the Committee of Adjustment refused a minor zoning variance to build the dome (March 26) ; the TDSB lost its appeal challenging the city's zoning jurisdiction at Superior Court (June 13); The TDSB lost its attempt to block Harbord Village residents from participating against its appeal to Divisional Court (August 5); the TDSB lost its Divisional Court appeal (September 30). The day after that loss, the TDSB reactivated its appeal of the Committee of Adjustment decision to the OMB, asking that the matter be dealt with "on an emergency basis".
We have recently learned that no contract for the dome project has yet been signed between the TDSB and the developer Razor Management, but that some Trustees are pushing to have it finalized at the next TDSB board meeting on October 29 — after the October 27 municipal election, but a month before the newly-elected Councillors and Trustees take office.
The TDSB has recently begun using contamination of the field as a justification for pressing forward with the dome plan, arguing it is the only realistic financial solution for the remediation of the contaminated Central Tech field. This is contrary to an environmental consultant's report on remediation alternatives, delivered to the TDSB this spring. That (draft) report showed that simply covering the contamination with a foot of clean soil, topped with new grass, is an entirely competitive option.
Meanwhile, Ward 20 City Councillor Ceta Ramkhalawansingh has twice this summer written the TDSB offering the city's financial help to restore the grass field to the students and the community — to no avail.
And 20 Councillor and Trustee candidates running in Municipal Wards 19 and 20 (and TDSB Ward 10) in our city election, have signed an OPEN LETTER TO ELECTORS opposing the dome and committing to City/TDSB meetings to find a community-based solution for the restoration of the Central Tech playing field to green grass.
In conclusion, we ask the TDSB to take a couple of steps back and give us a bit of time, to allow downtown residents and the newly-elected Trustees and City Councillors a chance to find a solution that will work for all.
For full details and updates, see:
http://harbordvillage.com/centraltechdome
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Petition created on October 2, 2014