Toronto Council meets today! Yes, it’s the middle of an election, but Premier Doug Ford has imposed new rules for heritage protection, requiring cities to adhere to tighter deadlines. And so: this meeting, about 13 heritage matters. Streaming live here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSTqBx_C2c8
Only one agenda item has been held for debate so far. Councillor Paula Fletcher wants some time to ponder the heritage designation of the old soy sauce factory at Queen East & Leslie. I wrote about it, and why housing advocates are frustrated, here: https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2022/09/27/council-votes-this-week-on-protecting-an-old-soy-sauce-factory-heres-what-that-says-about-affordable-housing-in-toronto.html
15 minutes after the scheduled start time, with nothing happening, Councillor Mike Colle grows impatient. “Is this meeting on, or has it been cancelled?” Staff say things will start shortly.
Finally, the meeting begins. Mayor John Tory kicks things off with some remarks about the death of the Queen and police officer Andrew Hong.
The City has prepared a “short video montage” of the Queen in Toronto to mark the occasion of her death. The highlight, for me, is this photo of her wearing 3D classes during a visit to a Toronto film studio. Cool look. Should have stuck with it.
The mayor and council now stand for a rendition of “God Save the King.” A very monarchical start to the day.
Tory calls police constable Andrew Hong, who was killed in the line of duty earlier this month, a “good person and a well-respected cop.” Members of Hong’s family are at the meeting today for the mayor’s tribute.
Agenda adopted. Just four items held for debate: the soy sauce factory, the Regent Theatre on Mount Pleasant, a convenience store at Av & Dav, and 14 Rosemary Lane.
Councillor Mike Layton takes a moment to lament the changes made to the heritage process by the provincial government. He says the 90-day deadline just creates more red tape and will lead to more applications going to the Land Tribunal, creating more delays.
Layton moves to defer the Av & Dav heritage property designation to Q1 2023, citing concerns that heritage protections will limit the ability to widen sidewalks and make other pedestrian and public realm improvements. That CARRIES 25-1. (Bradford was also a yes.)
On the designation of 14 Rosemary Ln, Councillor Michael Thompson moves to defer the matter to December, saying the property owner wasn’t properly notified. Councillor Josh Matlow, who represents the area, isn’t loving that, saying Thompson hasn’t talked to him about any of this.
“This is weird and odd and irregular and I would really just ask you to question what we are doing at this very moment,” says Matlow. Layton also urges colleagues to reject deferral, saying if council doesn’t list the property as heritage now the property owner could demolish.
A correction from earlier in this thread: The 14 Rosemary Lane report is a recommendation to LIST the property as heritage, not to DESIGNATE. Listing is often a step toward designation but allows for more flexibility. http://app.toronto.ca/tmmis/viewAgendaItemHistory.do?item=2022.CC50.5
Here’s a 1934 ad for 14 Rosemary Lane. Six bed, four bath, library, basement rec room, two-car heated garbage. $35,000.
$35K in 1934 would be $742K today, according to the Canadian Inflation Calculator. 14 Rosemary Lane last sold in 2015 for $3 million.
Hah! I meant garage, obviously. But any garbage kept in the garage would also be heated, I suppose. https://x.com/AndrewJDodds/status/1575139421904592899
Thompson’s motion to defer the matter of heritage listing for 14 Rosemary Lane FAILS 10-16. A rare loss for the mayor.
After Thompson’s deferral motion fails, council votes via show of hands to list 14 Rosemary Lane as a heritage property.
Up now: the soy sauce factory in Leslieville. A twist! Councillor Paula Fletcher moves to DELETE the heritage designation, and instead request a report on listing the property (a weaker form of protection) along with “the incorporation of a commemorative strategy.”
This is a surprise, and likely good news for housing advocates who were concerned this designation would interfere with plans for rental apartments on the site. Fletcher says her motion still allows for heritage protections in the future, but allows time for more consultation.
Councillor Stephen Holyday has a print-out of my Star column. He calls it a “very interesting public policy discussion.” Be right back, updating my LinkedIn.
Holyday appears to be in favour of heritage designation for the factory. He says planners have put a lot of work into their report and it would be a shame to just toss it aside.
Councillor Ana Bailao rises to say she really likes heritage and history. She laments that there’s not a City of Toronto museum. But: “sometimes heritage is being used as a tool to stop development. Let’s be honest: it is.”
One upside of having council meetings this late in the term is that councillors who aren’t running for re-election have an opportunity to rain down truth bombs.
Mayor John Tory rises to say he’ll support the Fletcher motion to not designate, but also takes an opportunity to plug @JohnLorinc’s “The Ward” as a book everybody should read about Toronto’s history.
Councillor Paula Fletcher’s motion to NOT designate the Leslieville soy sauce factory a heritage property and instead report back on a potential heritage listing and a commemorative strategy CARRIES 23-3.
Last item: heritage designation for the old Regent Theatre on Mount Pleasant. Councillor Jaye Robinson, who reps the area, lauds the designation, citing the theatre’s long history. “We had to ward off many inappropriate applications — glass towers, and other inappropriate fits.”
“This is not a tool to stop development,” says Robinson on heritage, in response to Bailao’s earlier comments. “Toronto must be maintained as a ‘live museum.’” She doesn’t want people to have to go to a museum to see the city’s history. She wants them to see it on the streets.
After some similarly-positive comments from midtown councillor Josh Matlow, heritage designation for the Regent Theatre CARRIES via show of hands.
Before things wrap, Mayor John Tory rises to welcome appointed Ward 1 councillor Rose Milczyn to her first council meeting, and also to pay tribute to her on the occasion of her last council meeting.
Tory also pays tribute to Councillor Mike Layton, who waited until fairly late in the game to announce he wouldn’t seek re-election. The mayor lauds Layton’s work on pushing the city’s goals on climate change and the environment.
Tory also gives Layton credit for raising the profile of Indigenous issues, which led to the creation of a city hall Indigenous Affairs Office.
Councillor Rose Milczyn gets to read the motion confirming the bills passed at the meeting. She adds that she has been “honoured and proud to serve the city” both as an appointed councillor and as a longtime city employee.
Retiring staffer Marilyn Toft, longtime council secretariat, gets to read the final recorded vote result. She gets a nice ovation.
And that’ll do it, for real this time. Barring a major surprise, that was the last council meeting of the 2018-2022 term. We laughed, we loved, we learned, we lamented. First meeting of the next term is November 23.