Details of Settlement on 484 Spadina/Waverly Hotel and Next Steps

 Dear LLPS community,

As you will read below, a compromise settlement has been reached this morning by the City of Toronto and the Wynne Group (developer) on the 484 Spadina/Waverly Hotel redevelopment. Please read below the statement from City Councillor Joe Cressy and TDSB Trustee Asuma Malik on this settlement.

As you will read, the compromised development is shorter (15 stories compared to 22) and will have setbacks on certain floors to further help mitigate the impact of shadowing on our schoolyard. Shade on our school yard remains a concern. There will be no shadows on our school building.

I think this is a pretty good settlement—perhaps the best we could have expected considering the circumstances—and a testament to the hard work of our community. I want to single out our champion, Amy Furness, but also give tremendous gratitude to countless of other parents who have spent dozens of volunteer hours in preparation for and at the Ontario Municipal Board hearing.  

It is important to note that this settlement was reached during confidential discussions over the past few months between the City of Toronto and the developer, and that the LLPS School Council was not invited to participate in these discussions.

I will spend the morning at the OMB to get further clarity on this settlement as well as next steps. I will pass along the information as I get it.

As you will remember, the TDSB bowed out of the OMB discussion in exchange for a sum of $1 million from the developer. We understand that the TDSB will still receive much of this funding, even though a compromise was reached and the building height reduced.

We need to ensure that this funding goes 100% to our school and community to help us redevelop our playground and site so that we can still save as much of our sunshine as possible. Please stay tuned for further details on this, but we already know that we will advocate alongside our Trustee, Asuma Malik, and City Councillor, Joe Cressy.

I welcome you sharing your reactions and questions to this news. Please feel free to Tweet them (to @TorontoLLPS) and share them on our Facebook group using our hastags: #saveoursunshine #484spadina #trinspa

Thanks,

Miriam

LLPS School Council Chair

Documents relating to today's settlements can be viewed here

PS. I have heard that there will be an announcement at 2pm today on the potential strike action (word-to-rule) planned for Monday. We will keep you posted with details and how it will impact next week. Stay tuned.

Latest on 484 Spadina

While closing arguments had been scheduled for this week, we hear that the 2 sides are still talking and a modified plan may be under discussion.
The closing arguments are now rescheduled for the 27th of February.
We, in the school council at Lord Lansdowne, will hope to be able to get some information about any redesigns and will certainly keep you posted!

Welcome Back and Happy New Year and all that!

Apologies for no newsletter this week - it has felt like a catch up week but all should be back on track for next week. In the meantime, there are a few things we, at the student council, would like to draw your attention to:

• Our new trustee, Ausma Malik, has been in touch to share the invitation to the January Ward Council Meeting which is on next Monday:  Monday January 12th 2015 at Library (2^nd floor), Heydon Park Secondary School, 70 D'Arcy St 

• Pizza lunch next Tuesday - Beth Mills requested that we share this about a pizza lunch next Tuesday, 13th of January run by the Grade 8s to raise money for their grad trip so if your child asks for a toonie, it's legit!

•  484 Spadina and OMB Update 

            The OMB hearing is still underway and closing arguments are set for Jan 30. 
            In the meantime, a few opportunities to get involved and #saveoursunshine.

     

            Mon Ton Window Gallery Student Art Exhibition

            We will be exhibiting our students' artwork at the Mon Ton Window Gallery at 402 College                 Street. If you can, please come help to hang the art on Sunday, January 11, 4-6pm. RSVPs                   appreciated.

          We're having a party!!

          We will be hosting a party to celebrate our amazing community and how we've rallied together            in the face of opposition and development. The party will also celebrate the opening of the                  student art exhibition. It will take place on Thursday, January 15, 4-6:30pm at 402 College           St. All are  welcome! Please bring your kids and food or beverage to share. We expect City                  Councillor Joe Cressy to come by.

          Thank you to artist and community member Rochelle Rubinstein for donating her gallery and              studio space!

         Contact City Councillor Joe Cressy

         Urge our City Councillor, Joe Cressy, to continue to oppose the 484 Spadina/Waverly                          development.

         You can do so through email or phone:

         councillor_cressy@toronto.ca

         416-392-4044

         Twitter: @joe_cressy

          #saveoursunsine #stop484spadina

• Lord Lansdowne PS is proud to present an evening with Dr. Alex Russell,co-author of Drop the Worry Ball - How to Parent in the Age of Entitlement WEDNESDAY JANUARY 28. 7:00pm - 9:00pm at the school

OMB Hearing - Lord Lansdowne presented their case..but we still need help!

Yesterday afternoon at the OMB was a triumph for Lord Lansdowne, with strong speeches by parents Amy Furness and Jeff Siegel, and especially grade 8 student Caleb Woolcott (seen in the video)!  We had lots of parents in the audience (and even some grandparents and a student).  No matter what the outcome, our voice was definitely heard.

We still need your help!  If anyone is available to sit in on the hearing and take notes today or tomorrow, even for a short while, it would be very appreciated.  See the schedule and sign up at:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kyfoTNw5puZ9h5CopZDV7mzBQtXJw_Pz1qHi-x9C7LI/edit?usp=sharing

OMB hearing re: 22 storey condo building proposed for 484 Spadina

Most of you probably know this already but just to keep you up to date on what's happening.

The hearing has started and is ongoing. Thanks to our wonderful parent community, we have attendees at most sessions but check this link and sign up if you can.
You can wear yellow and black or get a Lord Lansdowne t-shirt (contact school council at lordlandsdowneschoolcouncil@gmail.com ) to show who you're representing.

Amy Furness - parent volunteer for Lord Lansdowne - will speak on Wednesday, December 3rd. The hearing starts at 1pm.

Finally, if you are on twitter, please tweet about this using #stop484spadina and/or #saveoursunshine . We have had Ceta Ramkahlawansingh say she is with us via Twitter and Ausma Malik favourited a tweet about it from us (us = @TorontoLLPS)

I hear from my first grader that Mme. Alma's first graders are going to be writing letters to relevant people (such as Ausma Malik) tomorrow!