[homeles_ot-l] FW: New City Of Toronto Harmonized Zoning By-Law Limits Group Homes and Excludes Rooming Houses

Tue Aug 10 09:54:26 EDT 2010

Lorraine Bentley

Executive Director

Options Bytown Non-Profit Housing Corp.

380 Cumberland St.

Ottawa  ON  K1N 9P3

phone: 613-241-6363 x223

fax: 613-241-4855

email: lbentley at optionsbytown.com

www.optionsbytown.com

THIS MESSAGE IS INTENDED FOR THE ADDRESSEE. IT MAY CONTAIN PRIVILEDGED OR CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION. ANY UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED. IF YOU HAVE RECEIVED THIS MESSAGE IN ERROR, PLEASE NOTIFY US IMMEDIATELY SO THAT WE MAY CORRECT OUR INTERNAL RECORDS. PLEASE THEN DELETE THIS MESSAGE AND ALL COPIES. THANK-YOU.

CE MESSAGE EST STRICTEMENT RÉSERVÉ A QUI IL EST ADRESSÉ. LE MESSAGE PEUT CONTENIR DE L'INFORMATION PRIVILÉGIÉE OU CONFIDENTIELLE. TOUTE DIVULGATION DE CETTE COMMUNICATION EST STRICTEMENT PROHIBÉ. SI VOUS AVEZ RECU CETTE COMMUNICATION PAR ERREUR, VEUILLEZ COMMUNIQUER AVEC NOUS IMMEDIATEMENT ET ENSUITE SUPPRIMER CE MESSSAGE. MERCI.

From: The Dream Team [mailto:coordinator at thedreamteam.ca] 
Sent: August 9, 2010 4:45 PM
To: Lorraine Bentley
Subject: New City Of Toronto Harmonized Zoning By-Law Limits Group Homes and Excludes Rooming Houses

 <http://www.thedreamteam.ca/common/ajax/front/components/Newsletter/linktracker.php?nid=23&original=http://www.thedreamteam.ca/> Image removed by sender. The Dream Team

Dear friends,

Below you will find a message from our friends at Homecoming Community Choice Coalition regarding

the upcoming City of Toronto's amalgamated zoning bylaws. As you may be aware, The Dream Team has an outstanding Human Rights Complaint Against the City of Toronto based on distancing restrictions placed on group homes and other forms of supportive housing. Please take a few minutes to read this e-mail and write to the Zoning and Growth management Committee expressing your concern.  Intructions on what to do are laid out below.

************************************************

Last Chance For Change: New City Of Toronto Harmonized Zoning By-Law Limits Group Homes and Excludes Rooming Houses

At a Statutory Public meeting - now scheduled for Thursday August 19 at

10:00 a.m. - the City of Toronto Planning and Growth Management Committee

will receive the final proposed Harmonized Zoning By-law, consolidating the

zoning by-laws of the pre-amalgamation cities and boroughs.  This meeting is

a statutory meeting as required by the Planning Act for passage of a zoning

by-law.  It is also the last opportunity for public input before the by-law

is passed by Council.

Many community organizations and concerned citizens have been making

submissions, both written and oral, throughout the process, which has been

underway for several years.  We have addressed two key issues:  

.        the absence of rooming houses as a permitted use in many parts of

the City and 

.        restrictions on the location of housing intended to be occupied by

certain types of people.  

These aspects of the zoning by-law are of concern because they have the

effect of restricting access to forms of housing that are affordable to

people with low income and people living with disabilities.  The Human

Rights Commission has said that these forms of restrictions can be seen to

be discriminatory.

Current Status:

Rooming houses are not a permitted use in many parts of the City except the

former City of Toronto, the former City of York and small parts of the

former City of Etobicoke.  No rooming houses are permitted anywhere in the

former Cities of North York or Scarborough, the former Borough of East York

and most of Etobicoke.  Rooming Houses, as the only form of housing in the

city that is intrinsically affordable for single people living on social

assistance, do exist in these communities, but they are not legal.  As a

result, many rooming houses are not inspected or regulated in any way and

may be unsafe.

Consideration of amending the zoning by-law to allow extension of rooming

houses into other parts of the city was deferred by the committee until

after this fall's municipal election with a staff report coming back in late

2011.  This matter should not be deferred, the exclusion of rooming houses

needs to be corrected now.

Group Homes

The proposed zoning by-law continues to define a number of residential uses

based on the characteristics of the people that will live in the housing:

.        group homes are for people who require a group living arrangement

by reason of their emotional, mental, social or physical condition or legal

status

.        residential care homes are similar, with the provision that they

can include semi-independent living as well as group living - a note was

added saying that "An apartment building used for the purpose of supportive

housing or social housing is not a residential care home"

.        a seniors community house is for people at least 65 years old.

The zoning by-law restricts the location of these types of housing be

imposing a separation distance of 250 metres between them and a lot

containing another existing group home, residential care home or seniors

community house.  The details of these restrictions can be found at Chapter

150 Specific Use Regulations and the definitions are in Chapter 800 of the

proposed zoning by-law at

    http://www.toronto.ca/zoning/bylaw/pdf/combined_volume1.pdf <http://www.thedreamteam.ca/common/ajax/front/components/Newsletter/linktracker.php?nid=23&original=http://www.toronto.ca/zoning/bylaw/pdf/combined_volume1.pdf> 

These provisions in the harmonized zoning by-law are discriminatory and a

violation of the Ontario Human Rights Code.  The Chief Commissioner of the

Ontario Human Rights Commission has raised concerns about these provisions

and the Dream Team has filed an application with the Ontario Human Rights

Tribunal related to the restrictions in the existing by-law on Group Homes.

These provisions also restrict the ability of low income people to access

the affordable housing that they need.

This is your last chance to voice any concerns you may have about the zoning

by-law.  You can do so by writing to the Planning & Growth Management

Committee at pgmc at toronto.ca <http://www.thedreamteam.ca/common/ajax/front/components/Newsletter/linktracker.php?nid=23&original=https://mail.thedreamteam.ca:2096/3rdparty/squirrelmail/src/compose.php?send_to=pgmc%40toronto.ca>  and by writing to your local councillor and the

mayor.  Councillors e-mails are Councillor_lastname at toronto.ca <http://www.thedreamteam.ca/common/ajax/front/components/Newsletter/linktracker.php?nid=23&original=https://mail.thedreamteam.ca:2096/3rdparty/squirrelmail/src/compose.php?send_to=Councillor_lastname%40toronto.ca>   (Councillor

underscore councillor's last name @ toronto.ca) and the mayor is

    Mayor_miller at toronto.ca <http://www.thedreamteam.ca/common/ajax/front/components/Newsletter/linktracker.php?nid=23&original=https://mail.thedreamteam.ca:2096/3rdparty/squirrelmail/src/compose.php?send_to=Mayor_miller%40toronto.ca> .

Formal submissions by letter may be forwarded to:

City Clerk

Attention: Merle MacDonald,

Administrator, Planning and Growth Management Committee

Toronto City Hall

100 Queen Street West

10th Floor, West Tower

Toronto, ON, M5H 2N2

Fax: 416-392-1879

E-mail: pgmc at toronto.ca <http://www.thedreamteam.ca/common/ajax/front/components/Newsletter/linktracker.php?nid=23&original=https://mail.thedreamteam.ca:2096/3rdparty/squirrelmail/src/compose.php?send_to=pgmc%40toronto.ca> 

You can also attend the public meeting to make your views known.  If you

wish to address the Planning and Growth Management Committee, notify the

City Clerk, Planning and Growth Management Committee, by calling

416-397-7768 or 416-392-1032  or e-mail pgmc at toronto.ca <http://www.thedreamteam.ca/common/ajax/front/components/Newsletter/linktracker.php?nid=23&original=https://mail.thedreamteam.ca:2096/3rdparty/squirrelmail/src/compose.php?send_to=pgmc%40toronto.ca>   by no later than

12:00 p.m. on August 18, 2010.

If you would like to talk to get more information about the by-law or talk

to City Planning staff there will be an open house on August 11, 2010 from

2:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in Room 310, Metro Hall, 55 John Street, Toronto. 

The statutory public meeting will be held on August 19, 2010, at 10:00 a.m.

or as soon as possible thereafter, in the Council Chamber, City Hall, 100

Queen St. West, Toronto.

Paul Dowling

54 Firstbrooke Road

Toronto, Ontario   M4E 2L1

416 698 8425

fax 416 698 8306

    dowlingconsulting at rogers.com <http://www.thedreamteam.ca/common/ajax/front/components/Newsletter/linktracker.php?nid=23&original=https://mail.thedreamteam.ca:2096/3rdparty/squirrelmail/src/compose.php?send_to=dowlingconsulting%40rogers.com>  

 www.thedreamteam.ca <http://www.thedreamteam.ca/common/ajax/front/components/Newsletter/linktracker.php?nid=23&original=http://www.thedreamteam.ca/>  | 1678 Bloor Street West, 2nd Floor, Toronto, ON M6P 1A9
(416)516-1422 ext. 263 | info at thedreamteam.ca

To be removed from our mailing list, please  <http://www.thedreamteam.ca/common/ajax/front/components/Newsletter/unsubscribe.php?hash=%BC%19%9FP%C52%2C%28%E9%15%F0_%E5Wp%9B%F3%D5%B9%F9E%27%DA%A7> click here

Image removed by sender.

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://list.web.net/lists/private/homeles_ot-l/attachments/20100810/91dcb644/attachment-0001.htm>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 823 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://list.web.net/lists/private/homeles_ot-l/attachments/20100810/91dcb644/attachment-0002.jpeg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 1244 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://list.web.net/lists/private/homeles_ot-l/attachments/20100810/91dcb644/attachment-0003.jpeg>