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French Catholic School Board
Proposal
Compiled by Paul Lewkowicz
Updated Nov 2011
29 Meadowvale Rd.
(French Catholic School Update)
On November 2,
the French Catholic School Board submitted a revised drawing of the
proposed school’s roof that complies with the City’s green roof bylaw.
On November 22, a
Notice of Approval Conditions (NOAC) was issued by city planning staff to
the school board. This allows the school board to obtain permits to build
the foundation for the building.
The school board
has up to two years from the issuance of the NOAC to meet a set of
conditions (related to securities, technical services, engineering
inspections, and registration of a site plan agreement). These NOAC
conditions must be met before the school board will be able to obtain
building permits to build above-ground.
The CCRA
continues to closely monitor the application and assist where needed. We
are happy to see that community concerns have been addressed in the site
application.
Please contact
Paul Lewkowicz if you have any questions or concerns.
Updated Oct 2011
29 Meadowvale Rd. (French
Catholic School Update)
Meeting with School Board
Officials and City Planner
On September 1, CCRA representatives
met with French Catholic School Board (Le
Conseil scolaire de district catholique
Centre-Sud)
officials, the architect for the site, and the City of Toronto planner
overseeing the 29 Meadowvale site plan application.
The final site plan application
approved by city staff is fairly similar to the original application
submitted in October 2010. Significant changes to the original site plan
application (other than largely technical amendments) include:
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The school playground will be
smaller to protect trees at the back of the property
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Responding to community concerns,
lighting will face downwards towards the school and will feature timers.
Lights will be kept on in certain locations to prevent vandalism.
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Approximately 37 trees will be
cut, but some are in poor condition and will be replaced. For every tree
that is cut, the school board will plant three new trees. The school
board has also retained an arborist to assess the site. Funds will also
be provided to plant trees in other areas in the community.
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Efforts continue to be made to
follow through with plans to reduce the flow of water and not add any
additional water to the site.
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It was reiterated that traffic
disruptions would be minimal as buses would drop off and pick up
students on school board property and not on Meadowvale Road. The
community would also have after-hours (though not overnight) access to
the playground and parking lot (except for when a school function is
taking place).
Discussions also took place on the
structure and height of the building, fencing around the property, and the
School Board’s request for complete exemption from the City of Toronto’s
green roof bylaw.
Updates Since The September 1
Meeting
Following the September 1 meeting, a
number of key decision points occurred:
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On September 12, Scarborough
Community Council (approving a motion by Councillor Moeser)
refused the French Catholic School Board’s
request for complete exemption of the City of Toronto’s green roof
requirement. On September 21, City Council adopted this item with out
amendments or debate. The rationale for the school board’s request for
an exemption was that planned solar roof panels would not leave enough
space for a green roof to have any significant environmental value.
Next Steps
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As a result of City Council’s
decision, the French Catholic School Board will submit a revised drawing
of the proposed school’s roof such that their application complies with
the City’s green roof bylaw (a 322 square meters green roof is
required). This drawing was expected to be submitted by late October.
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The school board has up to two
years from the issuance of the NOAC to meet a set of conditions (related
to securities, technical services, engineering inspections, and
registration of a site plan agreement). These NOAC conditions must be
met before the school board will be able to obtain building permits to
build above-ground.
The CCRA continues to closely
monitor the application and assist where needed. We are happy to see that
community concerns have been addressed in the site application.
Please contact Paul Lewkowicz if you
have any questions or concerns.
Updated Sept 2011
29 Meadowvale Rd. (French
Catholic School Update)
On July 13, the French Catholic
School Board (Le Conseil
scolaire de district catholique Centre-Sud)
submitted a revised application to the City of Toronto for its proposal to
build an elementary school at 29 Meadowvale Road. Comments from city
divisions and departments were due by August 11.
Commenting city divisions expressed
satisfaction with the revised site plan application. We were advised that
feedback from the June 24 public consultation (held by the CCRA with
French Catholic School Board officials) informed the revised site plan
application.
Both the City Planner responsible
for the file and School Board officials agreed to the CCRA’s request to
set up a meeting to review and provide feedback on the final site plan
application. Prior to this newsletter being published, the CCRA was in
the process of setting up this meeting. On August 19, a letter was sent to
our local City Councillor letting him know that site plan approval is
pending. The Councillor has 10 days from the date of the letter to bring
the matter to Scarborough Community Council should he have any concerns.
Otherwise, the Councillor can waive approval.
Upon approval from the Councillor
and following the CCRA’s meeting with the City Planner and School Board
officials, a Notice of Approval Conditions (NOAC) will be issued by city
staff to the site applicant. This allows the applicant to begin to obtain
permits to build the foundation for the building. The applicant then has
up to two years from the issuance of the NOAC to meet a set of conditions
(related to securities, technical services, engineering inspections, and
registration of a site plan agreement). The applicant must meet these NOAC
conditions before being able to obtain building permits to build
above-ground.
Further details and updates will be
published in the newsletter as soon as they are available.
Updated June 2011
29 Meadowvale Rd. (French
Catholic School Update)
On
March 31, the French Catholic School Board (Le
Conseil scolaire de district catholique
Centre-Sud)
submitted a revised application to the City of Toronto for its proposal to
build an elementary school at 29 Meadowvale Road. Comments from city
divisions and departments were due by April 25 and have been submitted to
the school board as soon as they have been received. The school board will
now have to submit a revised plan that incorporates these latest comments
until their plan for the 29 Meadowvale Rd. site has been deemed
satisfactory by all commenting city staff and departments. Commenting city
divisions or departments include Technical Services (Development
Engineering), Parks & Recreation, Forestry, Urban Design, and
Transportation Planning (no concerns).
Updated April 2011
French Catholic School Site (29 Meadowvale Rd.)
As of early March,
the French Catholic School Board (Conseil scolaire de
district catholique Centre-Sud) has yet to submit a revised application or
drawings that incorporate previous comments made by the City of Toronto. A
revised application is required to move the process forward.
Updated Jan 2011
French Catholic School Site (29 Meadowvale Rd.)
As reported at the October 2010 CCRA Annual General
Meeting, a site plan review application from the French Catholic School
Board for the 29 Meadowvale site was submitted to the City of Toronto.
This application enables the review of site and
building design, transportation operations, storm water management
practices, and servicing considerations. City agencies and staff provided
comments on the original site plan application and are waiting for a
revised application (that incorporates City staff comments) to be
submitted by the French Catholic School Board. Upon receiving a revised
application, City staff will review the revised application and ensure
that all comments are addressed before proceeding to authorizing a
building permit. It is not known how long the site plan review process
will take as this depends on how long it takes to review the revised
application and if the revised application requires further revisions.
This review process also may take longer due to staff workload and
availability. However, the average site plan review takes approximately
five months to complete.
Updated Sept 2010
French Catholic School Board: Public Information
Meeting
Thursday, June 24, 2010 7:30pm
St. Dunstan of Canterbury Church, 56 Lawson Road
In front of approximately 35 residents and parents,
representatives of the Conseil scholaire de district Catholique Centre-Sud
(French Catholic School Board) made a presentation on the proposed
elementary school (JK-6) to be located at 29 Meadowvale Road.
Concerns expressed during the meeting related to the
need for the school, how and why the property was selected and purchased,
impacts on the neighbouring properties, traffic, potential for flooding,
the size and height of the building, environmental impacts, and access to
school facilities and parking.
Below is a short summary of the presentation and
question and answer session that took place at the meeting:
Servicing a very large encatchment area stretching from
Penetanguishene to Niagara Falls to Oshawa to Lake Ontario, the French
Catholic School Board is growing at approximately 1% per year (in contrast
to many school boards), necessitating the need for new schools. The school
board had discussions with Toronto Catholic and Public School Boards over
a number of years to purchase an existing school (i.e. Heron Park J.P.S.)
but was ultimately unsuccessful.
The 29 Meadowvale site was selected due to the property
being available (a two year search yielded few options). The school is
expected to have 120-180 students, up to a maximum capacity of 200. The
daycare facility at the school will have approximately 25 children. The
far majority (over 90%) of students will be bussed into school.
At the time of the meeting, no application had been
submitted for site plan control, which would enable the
review of site and building design, transportation operations, storm water
management practices, and servicing considerations. When initiated, the
site plan review process will take approximately five months to complete.
The proposed school will be angled
on a property situated on Meadowvale Road. The school will have a circular
pick-up/drop-off driveway that is located away from the road and on the
school property to ensure that buses will not park on Meadowvale Road. The
school will be built with environmentally-friendly features such as solar
panels and natural lighting. Approximately 54 trees (or 65% of trees
present on the property today) will be removed (as opposed to the previous
development which would have removed 68 or 82% of the trees). Some of
these trees are already in poor condition.
The school will feature parking
(disabled and regular), a daycare, and a gymnasium. When not in use by the
school (such as during evenings, weekends, holidays, and during the
summer), the parking lot will be available for public use. The daycare and
gymnasium will also be opened up for community use and access (dependent
upon availability). It is estimated that approximately ten school events
will take place throughout the year.
With respect to how the school fits
with the character of the community, the school will sit three metres
below ground level and is not expected to be taller than other buildings.
The school will sit 8-10 ft. below Meadowvale Road and will be no higher
than a bungalow. The goal is to keep the building as low in height as
possible.
The next steps are a panel
application, site plan approval (expected in the summer), and lastly a
final building plan. The school is scheduled to open in September
2012.
In the question and answer period,
questions focused on parking, maintenance of property (i.e. grass
cutting), the height of the building as seen by residents on Goldberry
Square, school enrollment procedures, traffic, and potential for flooding.
An additional concern was raised after the meeting about the potential for
glare from security lighting during the evening.
In their answers, school board
officials stated that there will be three parking spaces for visitors,
with a total of 7-8 parking spaces. They stressed that the likelihood of
overflow parking on Meadowvale will be low, as not all parents dropping
off children to school or daycare will come at once and that there will be
the opportunity for pickup/drop-off in the circular driveway located away
from Meadowvale Rd. With respect to homes backing onto the school
property, grass cutting on school board property will be done by the
school board. Unfenced backyards adjacent to the school property will
likely have a 4 ft. fence done in consultation with neighbours. School
board officials estimated that the back wall of the school facing
Goldberry Square will be approximately 34 ft. in height. With respect to
flooding, the school board is looking to retain excess water and is aiming
for the same if not less flooding as presently exists. Residents put
forward suggestions to specify the speed limit on Wanita as 40 km/h and to
look into installing a traffic light at the intersection of Meadowvale
Road and Lawrence Avenue to mitigate safety issues.
Please consult the
full presentation made at the meeting for more details.
(hyperlink to PDF)
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