CHURCH WELLESLEY NEIGHBOURHOOD ASSOCIATION
Annual General Meeting
November 29, 2021 7:00 PM– 9:00 via Zoom
Preliminary: Zoom review – Tara Schorr
Call to order at 7:10 pm – Connie Langille
Land Acknowledgement – Connie Langille
Agenda Adopted
Chair’s Message – Connie Langille
Remarks by Ward 13 Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam
Introduction of Board Members:
Connie Langille, Chair; Paul Farrelly; Robert Packham; Donald Altman; Neil Gibb; Tara Schorr; Trevor Hennig
Committee Reports
Safety – Tara Schorr
- A key area of concern for neighbours and businesses in the Church Wellesley area
- COVID-19 has exaggerated already challenging issues in our neighbourhood, amplifying homelessness, marginalization, addiction and mental health issues
Key Challenges Crystal meth usage and sale; Mental health crisis and lack of appropriate supports; Lack of affordable and supportive housing; Increase in vandalism, loitering, by-law infractions; Increase in incidents within businesses in the catchment area; Increase in lateral violence and stranger-to-stranger violence; Decrease in public space; Lack of feeling of safety for housed community members and visitors to the neighbourhood
Ways CWNA and its partners currently engage with these issues: the Downtown East Action Plan (DEAP); Church Wellesley Safety Network; Community Police, Park Ambassadors, Corporate Security; Streets to Homes; Townhall with 51 Division
New Initiatives: Implementation of Community Crisis De-Escalation Response Pilot (Here to Help); volunteer park clean-ups by CWNA and volunteers, The 519, and extra clean ups by Parks via the DEAP; community animations and activation project funded by the City and lead by Church Wellesley Village BIA; advocacy at the local, provincial and federal level for investment in services and initiatives to address needs; safety assessment audit with METRAC.
Ideas for Action: CWNA hosts quarterly safety walks with community members; liaise with catchment area private buildings and develpments to help facilitate safety audits and ensure private spaces are meeting the safety needs of their residents and the wider community; increase of community-led park / neighbourhood animations and initiatives; coordinate wider advocacy initiatives ok key issues so community can collectively lobby all levels of government with a unified voice.
Membership and Communications – Trevor Hennig
Mandate 1) Encourage memberships to CWNA:
69 individual members
8 associate members
……4 building members (with 36 registered individuals)
Mandate 2) Engage members to participate in CWNA:
Needed: - non-Board participants on Development, Safety, Placemaking and Heritage Committees
- someone to respond to potential volunteers, assess their skills and determine how they
can contribute to the needs of CWNA
Solutions: - recruitment of a ‘Volunteer Coordinator’
- regular meetings of CWNA Committees to which all CWNA members are invited
- advertising within our membership for specific skill sets we know we need
Mandate 3) Inform members and the larger community about issues and evens that fall within the
purview of CWNA (Development, Placemaking, Safety, Heritage).
- This is accomplished via websites CWNA.ca, e-newsletter (Church Wellesley Update) (600+
subscribers); Facebook page; Facebook Community Forurm; other social
Development / Heritage / Housing – Robert Packham / Paul Farrelly / Peter Small
Current developments and land assemblies can be viewed on CWNA’s interactive map
Notable developments
66 Wellesley St E.(Northwest corner of Church and Wellesley). Ontario Land Tribunal ruled in June 8, 2021 decision that “the proposed 36-storey height does not ‘fit’ well so close to low-rise Church Street”
508 Church Street (Crews / Tangos)
Heritage
- Local historian Adam Wynne nominations many buildings for the heritage registry
- A hearing at the Ontario Land Tribunal regarding the Historic Yonge Heritage Conservation District
is pending.
Placemaking – Connie Langille
All through the village CWNA looks for ways to enhance the public space we all share. This past year has been a real challenge. We work in partnership we supported initiatives by the Church Wellesley Village BIA, Progress Place and the 519. We completed the process to have the TTC walkway at Wellesley Station named, Travellers’ Way (Our 11th lane-naming). We continue to monitor the progress on the revitalization of the Linear Parks and plan for the return of our Meet Your Neighbours event in Barbara Hall Park 2022.
311 - call, email to contact city departments for many issues including damaged street signs, illegal dumping, graffitte, sink holes, noise violations, damaged waste bins and much more.
Administrative
CWNA 2020 Annual General Meeting Minutes
Moved for approval; seconded; so moved
Treasurer’s Report to November 30, 2021
December 2020 Balance $3544.31
Revenues
Membership Fees $951.36
Balance before expenses $4126.52
Expenses
Administration $84.19
Zoom fees $618.00
Bank fees $23.40
Donations $750.00
Total Expenses $1475.59
November 2021 balance $3020.08
Treasurer’s report moved for approval; seconded; so moved.
Board of Directors Election
4 of 9 positions open; 3 candidates (elected by acclamation)
One Incumbent Standing
Connie Langille (1 year term – elected by acclamation)
Two New Candidates
Jonathan Grimm (3 year term – elected by acclamation)
Ryan Carlsen (3 year term – elected by acclamation)
Continuing Board Members
Donald Altman
Trevor Hennig
Robert Packham
Tara Schorr
Meeting adjourned
Questions & Answers with Councillor Wong-Tam
Annual General Meeting
November 29, 2021 7:00 PM– 9:00 via Zoom
Preliminary: Zoom review – Tara Schorr
Call to order at 7:10 pm – Connie Langille
Land Acknowledgement – Connie Langille
Agenda Adopted
Chair’s Message – Connie Langille
Remarks by Ward 13 Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam
Introduction of Board Members:
Connie Langille, Chair; Paul Farrelly; Robert Packham; Donald Altman; Neil Gibb; Tara Schorr; Trevor Hennig
Committee Reports
Safety – Tara Schorr
- A key area of concern for neighbours and businesses in the Church Wellesley area
- COVID-19 has exaggerated already challenging issues in our neighbourhood, amplifying homelessness, marginalization, addiction and mental health issues
Key Challenges Crystal meth usage and sale; Mental health crisis and lack of appropriate supports; Lack of affordable and supportive housing; Increase in vandalism, loitering, by-law infractions; Increase in incidents within businesses in the catchment area; Increase in lateral violence and stranger-to-stranger violence; Decrease in public space; Lack of feeling of safety for housed community members and visitors to the neighbourhood
Ways CWNA and its partners currently engage with these issues: the Downtown East Action Plan (DEAP); Church Wellesley Safety Network; Community Police, Park Ambassadors, Corporate Security; Streets to Homes; Townhall with 51 Division
New Initiatives: Implementation of Community Crisis De-Escalation Response Pilot (Here to Help); volunteer park clean-ups by CWNA and volunteers, The 519, and extra clean ups by Parks via the DEAP; community animations and activation project funded by the City and lead by Church Wellesley Village BIA; advocacy at the local, provincial and federal level for investment in services and initiatives to address needs; safety assessment audit with METRAC.
Ideas for Action: CWNA hosts quarterly safety walks with community members; liaise with catchment area private buildings and develpments to help facilitate safety audits and ensure private spaces are meeting the safety needs of their residents and the wider community; increase of community-led park / neighbourhood animations and initiatives; coordinate wider advocacy initiatives ok key issues so community can collectively lobby all levels of government with a unified voice.
Membership and Communications – Trevor Hennig
Mandate 1) Encourage memberships to CWNA:
69 individual members
8 associate members
……4 building members (with 36 registered individuals)
Mandate 2) Engage members to participate in CWNA:
Needed: - non-Board participants on Development, Safety, Placemaking and Heritage Committees
- someone to respond to potential volunteers, assess their skills and determine how they
can contribute to the needs of CWNA
Solutions: - recruitment of a ‘Volunteer Coordinator’
- regular meetings of CWNA Committees to which all CWNA members are invited
- advertising within our membership for specific skill sets we know we need
Mandate 3) Inform members and the larger community about issues and evens that fall within the
purview of CWNA (Development, Placemaking, Safety, Heritage).
- This is accomplished via websites CWNA.ca, e-newsletter (Church Wellesley Update) (600+
subscribers); Facebook page; Facebook Community Forurm; other social
Development / Heritage / Housing – Robert Packham / Paul Farrelly / Peter Small
Current developments and land assemblies can be viewed on CWNA’s interactive map
Notable developments
66 Wellesley St E.(Northwest corner of Church and Wellesley). Ontario Land Tribunal ruled in June 8, 2021 decision that “the proposed 36-storey height does not ‘fit’ well so close to low-rise Church Street”
508 Church Street (Crews / Tangos)
- the new application for 508 Church shows the positive impact the North Downtown Design Guidelines are having on Church Street proposals
- the building as submitted preserves the heritage facades of Crews and Tango and then infills around it with a building topping at 15 stories but set back above a 4 story street edge on the 45 degree angle
- the councillor is establishing a working group to further identify issues/ideas regarding cultural heritage related to this and other sites.
- in November 2021 the developer submitted an application for a 57-storey tower at the corner of Yonge and Isabella Streets that would bring 606 residential units to the site.
- In September 2021, Kingsett Capital submitted a new application to replace the Courtyard Marriot Hotel with two towers of 78 and 75 storeys. This follows a 2017 agreement with the City in which Kingsett was approved to build two towers of 58 and 48 storeys on the site.
Heritage
- Local historian Adam Wynne nominations many buildings for the heritage registry
- A hearing at the Ontario Land Tribunal regarding the Historic Yonge Heritage Conservation District
is pending.
Placemaking – Connie Langille
All through the village CWNA looks for ways to enhance the public space we all share. This past year has been a real challenge. We work in partnership we supported initiatives by the Church Wellesley Village BIA, Progress Place and the 519. We completed the process to have the TTC walkway at Wellesley Station named, Travellers’ Way (Our 11th lane-naming). We continue to monitor the progress on the revitalization of the Linear Parks and plan for the return of our Meet Your Neighbours event in Barbara Hall Park 2022.
311 - call, email to contact city departments for many issues including damaged street signs, illegal dumping, graffitte, sink holes, noise violations, damaged waste bins and much more.
Administrative
CWNA 2020 Annual General Meeting Minutes
Moved for approval; seconded; so moved
Treasurer’s Report to November 30, 2021
December 2020 Balance $3544.31
Revenues
Membership Fees $951.36
Balance before expenses $4126.52
Expenses
Administration $84.19
Zoom fees $618.00
Bank fees $23.40
Donations $750.00
Total Expenses $1475.59
November 2021 balance $3020.08
Treasurer’s report moved for approval; seconded; so moved.
Board of Directors Election
4 of 9 positions open; 3 candidates (elected by acclamation)
One Incumbent Standing
Connie Langille (1 year term – elected by acclamation)
Two New Candidates
Jonathan Grimm (3 year term – elected by acclamation)
Ryan Carlsen (3 year term – elected by acclamation)
Continuing Board Members
Donald Altman
Trevor Hennig
Robert Packham
Tara Schorr
Meeting adjourned
Questions & Answers with Councillor Wong-Tam