Summary of Public Forum
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WWEST DDON LLANDS PPRECINCT PPLANNING SSUUMMMMAARRYY OOFF PPUUBBLLIICC FFOORRUUMM ##33 May 6, 2004 This report was prepared by Lura Consulting. It presents the key discussion points and outcomes from the May 6, 2004 workshop for the West Don Lands Precinct Planning process. If you have any questions or comments regarding the report, please contact either: Tanya Hardy OR Jonathan Gouveia Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corporation Lura Consulting 207 Queens Quay West, Suite 822 107 Church Street, Suite 400 Toronto, Ontario M5J 1A7 Toronto, Ontario M5C 2G5 Phone: 416-214-1344 Phone: 416-644-1802 Fax: 416-214-4591 Fax: 416-536-3453 [email protected] [email protected] WEST DON LANDS PRECINCT PLANNING PUBLIC FORUM #3 MAY 6TH, 2004, 5:00 – 9:30 P.M. STONE DISTILLERY ROOM, DISTILLERY DISTRICT, 55 MILL STREET, TORONTO 1. About Public Forum #3 Public Forum #3 was the final of three public forums to be held by Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corporation (TWRC) as part of the West Don Lands Precinct Planning process. This forum was designed to: § present and seek feedback on the draft West Don Lands Precinct Plan; and § to seek feedback on the infrastructure proposed to support the Precinct Plan Approximately 170 people participated in the meeting and 148 registered. The list of participants who registered is attached as Appendix A. The format of the public forum consisted of an Environmental Assessment Open House from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m., and a presentation and facilitated Aerial view of West Don Lands discussion from 7:00 – 9:30 p.m. The West Don Lands planning team consists of: § Urban Design Associates (UDA) with Joe Lobko Architect Inc. (Urban Design Services) § Du Toit Allsopp Hillier (Parks and Public Space Design Services) § GHK International (Urban Planning Services) § LEA Consulting (Transportation Planning Services) § Earth Tech Canada (Municipal Services) West Don Lands Precinct Planning: Public Forum #3 1 2. Environmental Assessment Open House The Open House served as Phase 3 of the Municipal Class Environmental Assessment (EA) Process for West Don Lands. Participants reviewed a series of displays related to four areas that Municipal Class EA approvals are being sought. Participants were invited to provide comments on the Municipal Class EA Process proposed infrastructure, including the design alternatives for: § Water § Wastewater § Stormwater § Transportation The West Don Lands Consultant Team was available at the Open House to answer questions and get feedback. Feedback from the Open House is included as Appendix B of this report. An EA Study Guide is also available at www.towaterfront.ca 3. Public Forum: Welcoming Remarks Nicole Swerhun of Lura Consulting welcomed participants and reviewed the purpose of the meeting and the agenda for the evening. Following the agenda review, Robert Fung, Chair of TWRC, made welcoming remarks and explained that the draft West Don Lands Precinct Plan puts into action they key principles underlying waterfront revitalization, which includes: Participants looking at display boards § High Quality Urban Design § Sustainable Development § Attractive and Affordable Communities West Don Lands Precinct Planning: Public Forum #3 2 Mr. Fung said construction can and will start in West Don Lands early next year. He explained TWRC is committed to making Toronto’s waterfront both a national and global model for sustainability and that West Don Lands represents the first opportunity to achieve this goal. Finally, he thanked representatives from the City of Toronto and its agencies, the provincial government, the Ontario Realty Corporation, stakeholders, and members of the public who worked with TWRC to develop the plan. After Mr. Fung made his remarks, both Councillor Pam McConnell, Ward 28 Toronto Centre-Rosedale, and Elaine Baxter-Trahair, City of Toronto Waterfront Project Director, welcomed participants and expressed their respective support for the draft West Don Lands Precinct Plan. 4. Update on East Bayfront and Commissioners Park Marc Hewitt, Vice President of Planning at TWRC, provided a brief update Participants looking at display boards on the planning process for both East Bayfront and Commissioners Park. Regarding East Bayfront, he explained that the planning process has been slowed down to re-examine several key issues, including: § Water’s Edge § Building Height § Size and Distribution of Parks and Open Space § Number and Height of Towers When each of these issues has been addressed, TWRC submit the recommended Precinct Plan to the City for approval. With respect to Commissioners Park, Marc said TWRC was considering two design concepts. Following input from an April 13th Public Forum and a West Don Lands Precinct Planning: Public Forum #3 3 web-based survey, TWRC has decided to proceed with the “Camouflage Park” concept. This concepts has offers several benefits: § Integrated and flexible multi-use space § A series of “rooms” separated by natural areas and picturesque landscapes § Diverse designs § Interesting natural and aesthetically pleasing elements The second public forum for Commissioners Park will be held on June 15th. Participants at that meeting will see: § The refined concept design § Park programming elements § Visual display of project work § Park imagery 5. Overview of Municipal Class Environmental Assessment (EA) Master Plan Canary Restaurant Marc Hewitt explained that TWRC and the City of Toronto are joint proponents in a Municipal Class EA Master Plan process for West Don Lands. Municipal Class EA Master Plans integrate precinct planning with environmental assessment planning for infrastructure. Infrastructure projects that are part of this process include: § Transportation – new roads, road expansions, road closures, and related facilities § Water supply § Wastewater collection § Stormwater management West Don Lands Precinct Planning: Public Forum #3 4 Marc stated that an important part of this public forum is to receive input and feedback on the EA Master Plan from the public. He encouraged participants to: § Review the presentation boards § Ask questions § Fill in the comment form and send them back to TWRC 6. Presentation of the West Don Lands Precinct Plan Ray Gindroz, of Urban Design Associates, presented the draft West Don Lands Precinct Plan, which included: § Review of the feedback received from Public Forum #1 on December 1st and Public Forum #2 on February 12th § Discussion of the overall planning context and current state of West Don Lands § Review of the design process and how input from the community Public Forum #3 Working Session helped shaped the draft Precinct Plan § Explanation of the components of the plan, including: 1. Building sizes, architectural styles, and densities 2. Land use 3. Character and design of districts within West Don Lands 4. Character and scale of streets 5. Flood control and character of open space (presented by John Hillier of du Toit Allsopp Hillier) The presentation concluded with a visual display of several artist renderings that showed how key areas of West Don Lands might look when fully developed. West Don Lands Precinct Planning: Public Forum #3 5 7. Implementation Strategy Following Ray’s presentation of the draft West Don Lands Precinct Plan, Marc Hewitt provided an overview of TWRC’s strategy for ensuring the plan gets built. Marc’s discussion addressed the following four issues: 1. Development Phasing 2. Affordable Housing 3. Sustainable Development 4. Community Services 8. Working Session and Participants’ Feeback After the presentations, participants worked at tables in small groups to answer the three focus questions. Participants were given View of downtown from West Don Lands workbooks to record their responses to the following questions: 1. From your perspective, what are the 3-5 most important features of the West Don Lands Precinct Plan? Why? 2. Do you have any concerns as the West Don Lands Precinct Plan moves forward? If so, what are they? And how could your concern(s) be addressed? 3. Do you have any comments on the infrastructure proposed to support the West Don Lands Precinct Plan as presented through the Environmental Assessment Process? After the working session participants were asked to share some of their responses with the larger group. Nicole Swerhun of Lura West Don Lands Precinct Planning: Public Forum #3 6 Consulting facilitated the discussion and Jonathan Gouveia of Lura Consulting recorded the responses, which were projected onto a screen. This section presents an overview of feedback received from participants at the workshop – from group discussions, individual feedback, and workbooks submitted to the project team. Participants identified elements of the concepts that they liked and elements that they would like to see changed. Participants were given until May 14th to submit their completed workbooks to Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corporation. A detailed listing of comments and questions is included as Appendix C. Focus Question #1: From your perspective, what are the 3-5 most important features of the West Don Lands Precinct Plan? Why? Participants identified the features of the West Don Lands Precinct Plan they considered most important. The features of the plan that received the most Front Street with linear park support can be grouped into the following categories: § Parks and open space § Connections to adjacent communities § Street pattern § Urban design § Mix of housing types and styles § Housing affordability § Sustainability Important Features The list below is a