THE WEST HARBOUR RESIDENTS' ASSOCIATION

MIDSUMMER UPDATE - AUGUST 2003

The WHRA is approaching the first year of its "rebirth" following the September 4^th-2002 inaugural meeting - as we note below, much has been accomplished, but there are still some items on the "to do" list. Thank you to those members who have helped to revitalize this association and our unique neighbourhood. We also appreciate the time many of you have taken to send us e-mails, or respond in writing. And finally, special thanks to Councillors Hardacre and Oliver, and to members of Town Staff for their help with various initiatives.

This report will take you quickly through the past year, give you our financial position, and conclude with some unfinished business, including a report on the Daniels proposal to redevelop the Sharkey's site.

Completed projects and other events:

1. The September 4^th meeting at Sharkey's had a surprisingly large attendance - with 75 residents already registered, we were greeted with over 40 new sign-ups, and an audience of close to 150 - it may well have been our guests from Daniels that attracted such a large group - today we have 158 members of which 130 receive all correspondence by e-mail. The balance of our members are receiving personal drop-off's thanks to Bill Boughner and his 6:00 AM stroll with Tasha - the family dog.
2. We very quickly established a residents' association web-site, one of the first in the community - www.oakville-whra.com - thanks to member Peter Markiewicz. It not only contains member updates, but also links to other web-sites including the Town of Oakville.
3. Early this year, garbage collection on Kerr Street moved to Tuesday for both sides of the street - a minor consideration? Not for the residents of Kerr whose collection on the west side was Tuesday and Friday on the east side - there were times that garbage and recycling remained on the street for four of seven days. Thanks to the Region for their quick response helping to solve this problem.
4. We have seen a substantial increase in "Market Value Assessments" in our neighbourhood - we spoke with MPAC about our concerns that many of the new assessments appeared to be arbitrarily established - and while they did not deny this, they still insisted that individuals, not residents' associations are responsible for appealing the assessment. Committee member Jim Brophy offered to help our members with the process of appeal, and did receive some calls. Thanks Jim.
5. Our Volunteer Garden's Association in partnership with the Town of Oakville's "Pick a Parcel" program was launched in the spring with two areas of focus - Burnet Park (between Wilson and Kerr) and the Harbour area. A very dedicated committee of members has weeded, spread mulch and bark-chips and significantly improved the look of these areas - the Town has promised to continue to supply various plantings and more mulch from their greenhouses in the fall. Additional volunteers are always welcome.
6. The Spring Clean-up group spent a Saturday Morning removing paper and garbage from park areas, and along Lakeshore Road - it doesn't seem to take long for the garbage to reappear, but our neighbourhood looked a lot nicer for a few weeks - thanks to TCBY for the coffee, and to those who participated.
7. A Canada Day "Party" was attended by many of our residents and their guests at Brock Street Park - thanks to Lesley O'Connor and the Taylors for their help with this annual "bash".

Our Financial Position:

With an inherited bank balance of $1104 from the original WHRA, and registration fees from our 158 paid up members, we had revenues of $2740 before expenses. Expenses for our first meeting in September, the cost of setting up our website, and sundry stationery charges totaled $688, leaving us a current bank balance of $2088. Thank you to John MacDonald for looking after our finances.

Looking forward:

1. The Water Purification Plant - as we have reported there are plans for some exterior changes to the Plant. The Region has promised to keep us up to date on those changes - Committee member Jim Brophy is in contact with the Staff and will report on any updates.
2. The Sharkey's Proposal -SOME BACKGROUND AND AN UPDATE
   
   SOME BACKGROUND
   
   
   • Your Association President has been working together with the Presidents of the West River RA, The Trafalgar-Chartwell RA, and the Oakville Lakeside RA on this important issue.
   • We are still united in our opposition to the current submission.
   • While we know that there are registered members who support the proposal, a significantly greater number of WHRA members have expressed opposition and have communicated directly with Town Staff and Council members or through your Association.
   • We are not and never have been opposed to redevelopment - in fact we welcome it, recognizing the shortage of and therefore demand for high-quality one-floor living in downtown Oakville.
   • Official Plan Guidelines and By-laws were established thirty years ago to prevent the continuation of high rises in the downtown area - we already have 13, and had the visionaries of the past not put a stop to this growth, we would likely not have a downtown with the uniqueness, character and heritage that remains today - an appealing destination for our 147,000 residents and thousands of visitors, a place like no other place on Lake Ontario
   • The Town's original vision for the downtown has been revisited every five years - the most recent being 1999. Each revisit has witnessed little or no change - a complement and credit to those who presented those original guidelines.
   • This particular property is uniquely designated Private Open Space - the Official Plan still encourages medium density, and takes careful consideration with regard to identifying natural features such as valley lands, watercourse, and environmentally sensitive areas.
   • While the Developer is proposing an amendment to both the Official Plan and the Zoning By-laws, current by-laws do imply height restrictions; part of the property is zoned C3 (Commercial only) - if the developer were to convert to residential the existing by-law would be C3R, which implies a three-storey height restriction. The remaining piece of the property is zoned R-08 - and while there is no specific height restriction, if a 140' tower was built, the side-yard set-backs would be 35' per side - this would mean losing 70' off an already tight 162' of frontage.
   
   
   WHERE DOES THE DEVELOPER STAND CURRENT PROPOSAL VERSUS ORIGINAL
   
   
   • 14 storeys vs. 19
   • 89 units vs. 138
   • 184,000 sq' vs. 210,000 sq'.
   • The developer has removed the proposed footprint from the Regionally owned property just north of the Lakeshore Bridge and from the floodplain - thanks to strong opposition from Halton Conservation and the Town's Public Works Department.
   • The proposed restaurant has been removed in the current proposal.
   
   
   IS THE CURRENT PROPOSAL CLOSER TO OP GUIDELINES?
   
   
   • Little effort has been made to reduce the significant mass or FSI proposed for the site.
   • The proposed FSI is 11.43 or more than twice the mass of the towers immediately west and north of the proposed site, and more than twice the mass of the Granary.
   • The proposed height is still approximately that of the 17-storey tower to the west (today's ceiling heights are higher than pre-80's buildings).
   • The proposed number of units exceeds the "encouraged" density of "units per site hectare" by close to 12 times.
   
   
   NO OTHER BUILDING OF THIS MASS HAS EVER BEEN BUILT IN OAKVILLE'S CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT
   
   
   • It is our view, and one that has been confirmed by planning experts, that if this proposal is approved, several other sites on the east and west side of 16 mile creek could be placed into the hands of developers who would use the Sharkey's approval as an example and thus propose 14 storey towers throughout the downtown area. The Shelley's property at Navy and Robinson, the Fire Hall, the Post Office, the Dunwoody Building (Randall), and even the corner of Lakeshore and Trafalgar could one day witness 14 storey towers with an FSI of 11.4 - MORE THAN TWICE THE MASS OF THE GRANARY
   
   
   What would we like to see on this site?
   
   
   • We are very prepared to step "out of the OP Guidelines box", with a recommendation that will not allow this "first of many proposals" in Downtown Oakville to ruin this town for generations to come.
   • We propose that there can be a fair compromise to that vision of the late 60's that will help to meet demand, retain the character of our wonderful downtown area, and offer other developers the opportunity to meet the objectives of "smart and considerate" growth in our community:
   
   
   Where does the current proposal stand at the Town?
   
   
   • It is our understanding that a report is being prepared by the Planning Department.
   • It is also our understanding that a date has not been set for a presentation to Council.

What can you do now and over the next few weeks?

All interested residents should be communicating directly to the Planning Dept. our councilors, and the Mayor. Those e-mail addresses are listed below.

WE HAVE SO MUCH TO LOSE IF THIS PROPOSAL IS APPROVED. THIS IS NOT SO MUCH ABOUT THE HUNDREDS WHO LIVE INSIDE AND WILL BE LOOKING OUT - IT COULD MEAN THAT HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF RESIDENTS AND VISITORS TODAY AND INTO THE FUTURE WILL BE LOOKING AT A BUILDING OR BUILDINGS THAT WILL HAVE CHANGED OUR UNIQUE CHARACTER FOREVER!!

Don Pangman, President WHRA

And on behalf of the WHRA Committee, the Boards of the WRRA, the TCRA, the OLRA and all residents opposed to this proposal.

Oakville Mayor Anne Mulvale

Fred Oliver
Linda Hardacre

Planning Department
Cheatley
Bob Zsadanyi