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Severance of 70 Thirty Sixth Street Refused at TLAB

On July 3rd., 2019, the Toronto Local Appeal Body (TLAB) released its decision on a proposed severance of 70 Thirty Sixth Street. Mr. Ted Yao, who was the presiding member for TLAB, refused the appeal in a 23-page decision order.

The owners of 70 Thirty Sixth originally applied to sever the property into two lots and build two new homes. In addition to being opposed by owners of neighbouring properties, the application was opposed by Urban Forestry and Councillor Mark Grimes. City Planning expressed concerns over the severance and variances in their July 24, 2017 Planning Report and recommended deferral. The Committee of Adjustment refused the application on December 7, 2017.

The owners subsequently appealed the Committee of Adjustment decision and the appeal went to TLAB.

At the request of Councillor Grimes’ office, the City assigned one of their lawyers to the appeal and 8 residents were accepted as Participants for the hearing so they could be heard.

The Long Branch Neighbourhood Association (LBNA) was also granted Participant status as well as the right to lead and cross-examine witnesses and make closing submissions. Behind the scenes, the LBNA supported the residents with coaching and preparation, review and filing of documents. The LBNA also liaised with City Legal to coordinate our respective cases and to avoid unnecessary duplication.

The entire hearing required 6 days from July 26, 2018 to June 19, 2019. The number of days was a reflection of the complexity of the case and the elapsed time from start to finish was a function of having to schedule more days than originally planned and finding dates that worked for all Parties.

In his decision, Mr. Yao stated, “the area contains a significant proportion of 50-foot lots, especially in the eastern part of Mr. Ciecura’s (the applicant’s expert planning witness) study area, for which a severance would be destabilizing to the lot fabric.” and “the proposed design is an abrupt change in character, particularly not respecting side yards and lot size characteristics.”

Another factor was the impact of the proposal on the tree canopy in Long Branch. The application proposed removing a healthy, protected private tree and injuring/removing a healthy protected city tree. 

Mr. Yao concluded, “a suitable growing environment for trees will not be enhanced, nor will there be an increase in an existing (tree) canopy.”

This was the second refusal of a severance application on Thirty Sixth Street following a full hearing. In March 2018, the TLAB Chair, Ian Lord, issued a refusal of an application at 38 Thirty Sixth Street. In November 2018, the owners of 32 Thirty Sixth abandoned an appeal of a proposed severance. In May of this year, the Committee of Adjustment unanimously refused variances sought by the owners of 30 Thirty Sixth after their application for severance had been granted by the OMB in 2018, but refused the variances associated with the proposed homes.

A positive side effect from the process was that the neighbours got to work together as a team towards a common purpose and this helped forge new relationships as well as reinforcing existing ones.

As Mr. Yao stated in his decision, “Strong communities are those where people want to live.”

To see the full text of Mr. Yao’s decision, click here to view and/or download a copy.

To see the status of other severance applications in Long Branch, click here to visit our page summarizing severance applications over the past 10 years.

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Tree for Me 2019 a Big Success

Happy Recipients of Native Trees

On Saturday, May 25th, we held our second Tree for Me event at Colonel Samuel Smith Park.

In 2018, we gave residents approximately 300 trees. This year, we increased that to 446 trees.

Despite heavy rain during the early hours of the event, we had residents lining up to pick up their free trees, and walking away with big smiles on their faces. For the LBNA Volunteers, it was very rewarding to see those smiles.

The LBNA held its second annual Tree for Me event
James Maloney, MP, Jenny, Kerry, Judy, Christine and Ron

Our MP, James Maloney, even took time out from his busy schedule to attend and to see the Bird Festival that was also underway at the Park.

On behalf of the LBNA Board, we’d like to thank both the residents and the volunteers who came out for the event and we expect next year’s Tree for Me event to be even more successful.

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Long Branch Neighbourwoods© Tree Inventory

We launched our Neighbourwoods© project in Long Branch in the summer of 2018, and hired three students for the summer to be trained by and to work with Dr. Danijela Puric-Mladenovic, a professor in the Faculty of Forestry at the University of Toronto.

In 2019, we decided to expand the project and hired six students.

This summer, we have hired six more summer interns to work not only on the Neighbourwoods Tree Inventory, but also to work on programs related to tree stewardship.

Building on the data we gathered in 2018 and 2019 Dr. Puric-Mladenovic is also working on measuring the overall changes in tree canopy to provide us with feedback on whether our tree canopy is declining, increasing or just staying the same.

Our goal is to have trees covering 40% of Long Branch.

Our teams of students will come to your property and ask permission to enter your yard and conduct their inventory. Among other things, they will:

  • identify the species of every tree in your yard
  • measure the size of each tree and estimate the age
  • note the location of each tree
  • evaluate the health of each tree.

If you are interested in participating in our tree inventory project and having the tree data on your property added to our database, you can just email us with your name, address and phone number so we can arrange for one of our teams of students to come around.

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We’re Hiring: Forester – Urban Forest Inventory

If you are a student, between the ages of 18 – 30 years old who loves trees; would like to work in Long Branch this summer and is going back to school in the fall we would like to hear from you!

You will be assisting the LBNA (Long Branch Neighbourhood Association) in developing an inventory of the trees in Long Branch, and educating the community on the benefits of preserving and growing our Urban Tree Canopy.

This neighbourhood was an exclusive cottage community in the late 1800’s featuring densely treed lots. Many of these trees survive today. This project will include identifying Heritage Tree nominees to join the first three which are now officially recognized by Forests Ontario in Long Branch; assisting with the Long Branch Remembers program to plant 100 trees for our Veterans in Long Branch and assisting in the preparation of displays and other educational materials about the benefits of our Urban canopy for community events including the 1st Annual Long Branch Tree Festival.

As a member of two, 2 person crews, you will accurately record the Long Branch urban forest inventory, including species and tree health data on public & private land using digital recording and mapping software. You will also identify strategic areas to plant trees. You will assist in analyzing the tree inventory data collected and prepare reports on the findings. Training and technical support / mentoring will be provided through community partnership with the Faculty of Forestry, University of Toronto.

This project is funded through two Grants, one of which is from the Toronto Parks and Trees Foundation and the City of Toronto and the other from a Federal Summer Student grant to the community. The LBNA encourages students in forestry-related or arboriculture programs or environmental sciences or other related programs to apply, including applicants who are women, indigenous students; members of a visible minority and new immigrants/refugees.

Interviews have begun, but it’s not too late to apply.

Position start date will be Monday, June 3 for University/College students with one position available for a high school graduating student starting beginning of July.

If you are passionate about conserving and expanding urban forests, please email your resume and cover letter with why you are interested in one of these positions as soon as possible to Judy Gibson, Chair, Tree Canopy Preservation and Enhancement Committee, Long Branch Neighbourhood Association via email: longbranchnato@gmail.com

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Weekend Runway Alternation Program: Summer Trial 2019

Last year, as part of their commitment in the Six Ideas, the GTAA  tested Idea 5: Summer Weekend Runway Alternation Program. This summer, they are moving forward with a trial of the Summer Weekend Runway Alternation Program from May to September on Saturdays and Sundays only.

This program should give residents some relief from aircraft overhead every other weekend. This means that one weekend, communities may see fewer airplanes while the next they will see the same or a few more airplanes than they currently do.

Trial Details:

  • When: Weekends (Saturdays and Sundays) from May 25/26 to September 7/8, 2019
  • Time: 6:30 a.m. to midnight
  • Scope: East/West runways only; the North/South runways are not part of the trial but will be used if weather or safety dictates
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The East-West runways will alternate to give respite to the east/ west communities except during weather conditions that force North/ South use for safety.

Long Branch residents will be most affected at the downwind leg where they turn over us, and 4 other downwind legs: Don Mills, Vaughan/Richmond Hill, and Georgetown/ Halton Hills, and the surrounding communities.

The LBNA Airport Noise Committee is only one of several community groups that have decided to monitor this summer alternation and have people complain, when their weekend is inundated by airplane noise during those times periods of respite.

HERE’s WHAT YOU CAN DO

Contact the noise complaint office at Toronto Pearson.

The GTAA has an online tool called Webtrak that gives a near-real-time view of the sky above the GTA. Residents can use it to identify the aircraft that affected them and can make a noise complaint directly from the platform. 

Submit the complaint so GTAA has the data for our neighbourhood during Summer Weekend Alternation.

Get a decibel meter app for your smartphone so you can actually measure the loudness of the airplanes going overhead. This can add invaluable data to your complaint. Some options are Sound Meter Pro for Android and Decibel X for Android or iOS.

Send emails to our MP, James Maloney, every time – day or night – that you are affected by airplane noise regardless of weather conditions.  Mr. Maloney’s office will gather this information to submit to Transport Canada, on our behalf.

Contact our Provincial and Municipal representatives to include them in this process. We are told that by their offices they have no say, but when we asked the GTAA, NAV CDA and Transport Canada, we were told that they are included and informed and our input to the Province and the City is recommended. 

Thirdly, ask elected officials to create an Ombudsman, as other countries have, to arbitrate noise complaints. This could be modelled after the Australian  Airport Ombudsman

Last, say No to night flights during the hours of at least 12am to 6:30am. As other major airports have done.

Here are links for you to reach noise complaint sites and our elected officials

Noise Complaints

GTAA Noise Complaints https://www.torontopearson.com/en/community/noise-management/noise-management-program/noise-management-office/noise-complaint

Webtrak Reporting Service https://webtrak.emsbk.com/gta

Elected Officials

James Maloney, MP                                        James.Maloney@parl.gc.ca

Christine Hogarth, MPP                                 christine.hogarth@pc.ola.org

Mark Grimes, Councillor, Ward 3               councillor_grimes@toronto.ca  

Contact us airport.noise@lbna.ca if you’d like more information.

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Preventing Basement Flooding

Long Branch is no stranger to flooding. Part of our history is the catastrophic flooding that came from Hurricane Hazel in 1954. Seven residents of Long Branch lost their lives and many more homes were destroyed or washed into Lake Ontario.

With more modern storm sewer systems and flood control, it is much less likely that we will see residents lives at risk from storms and flooding. More likely is that flooding will rear its head in our basements, where it can be an expensive nuisance.

Many residents of Long Branch are aware of the network of underground streams in our neighbourhood and we have frequently warned developers about the potential impact on residents by taking down trees and reducing soft landscaping that soaks up storm runoff.

A recent article in the Globe and Mail suggests that the cost of a flooded basement can be as much as $43,000, and this may not be completely covered by household insurance. in some cases, insurance companies are refusing to offer flood damage coverage on household insurance policies.

What can you do?

Fortunately, preventing basement flooding is not outrageously expensive and can cost less than $250 as the Globe article suggests.

Clearing out eavestroughs helps ensure your downspouts will be able to direct runoff from your roof away from your foundation. In some cases, you can do this yourself with a ladder, a trowel and a bucket.

Installing a backflow preventer will cost more that $250 but insurance companies will often give you a reduced rate for flood damage that will help you recover the cost over time. Also the City has a program of giving rebates to homeowners who install them.

A backflow preventer is a valve installed in your sewer line that only allows flow in one direction – to the main sewer line. It is intended to help prevent sewer backups which are far more messy to deal with than water coming in through basement walls and windows.

Waterproofing your foundation usually involves excavation around the foundation, replacing damaged weeping tiles and installing a waterproof membrane around the foundation to prevent groundwater from getting through your foundation and directing runoff to the weeping tiles that direct runoff away from your foundation.

It’s not cheap to do this, but it is better than seeing furniture or other valuables get damaged by flooding.

Installing a sump pump in your basement is a way of collecting groundwater and pumping it away from your house. New homes are required to have a sump pump installed.

We hope we’ve given you some tips you can use. Please let us know how else we can help you.

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