The Long Branch Neighbourhood Association (LBNA) is excited to announce the fourth annual Long Branch TreeFest. This free, annual event at the beautiful Marie Curtis Park brings together the community, in a fun celebration of nature and trees. Enjoy live music by local artists. Sign up for eye-opening nature and history walks. With fun activities and over 40 exhibitors and vendors, there is lots to do for the entire family.
Get warmed up for some great tree walks, back by popular demand. Take off on guided Tree Identification Walks by the super knowledgeable Sylvia Jorge, a Masters in Forest Conservation graduate from the University of Toronto. Set out with CCFEW Brian Bailey on his guided Nature Walks and gain from his valuable insights and experience. Is history your passion? Join Ken O’Brien on his amazing Guided Hurricane Walks.
There will be entertainment for both young and old and our vendors tend to specialize in crafts.
On January 19, 2022, TLAB issued a decision on the proposed severance of 65 Fortieth Street, overturning the Committee of Adjustment’s approval in 2019 and thereby refusing the severance and the associated construction ot two oversized homes. . This was the first application in Long Branch that was subject to the Long Branch Neighbourhood Character Guidelines.
This represented the 17th straight victory for the LBNA in opposing severance activity in Long Branch since 2018. All the more impressive, given that the LBNA has advocated at TLAB on behalf of Long Branch residents without engaging a lawyer.
In her 19-page decision, TLAB presiding member Ms. Shaheynoor Talukder commented that the applicant’s team failed to prove that the lot frontage of the proposed dwellings will respect and reinforce the existing character of the neighbourhood.
In addition, this property has a prominent White Fir . This was measured by the Applicant’s arborist to have a trunk diameter of 47 cm, so is of a size that the City’s Tree Protection regulations indicate should be protected. Ms Talukder commented that it is visually impressive and forms part of the character of the neighbourhood. The Applicant had proposed removing this tree, but Ms. Talukder did not feel they were taking sufficient measures to attempt to preserve it, as per the environmental policies in the Official Plan.
The White Fir at 65 Fortieth Street can be enjoyed as a feature tree on the Conifer Walk this summer as part of our series of Long Branch Tree Tours.
Christine Mercado, co-chair of the Long Branch Neighbourhood Association commented, saying, “This is a big win for our Neighbourhood. But it’s a joint effort. It starts with effective city policy, followed with an effective Neighbourhood Association, residents who are prepared to get actively involved and engagement with our Councillor and City Staff. The foundation this all sits on is engaged and active residents electing the right people, pushing for good policy and ensuring the City is enforcing those policies.”
The proposed severance of 27 Thirty Ninth Street was refused in a May 5, 2021 decision issued by the Toronto Local Appeal Body (TLAB)
The proposal sought to sever a 15.24 meter (50-foot) lot into two undersized lots. The homes the Applicant sought to build were large in scale, coming in at a Floor Space Index of 0.62 versus a bylaw standard of 0.35 for the Neighbourhood of Long Branch. FSI is a term used to define the density of a home on its lot, and is the ratio of the gross floor area to the area of the lot.
The decision was rendered by former Chair of TLAB Ian Lord in a very thorough and meticulously detailed 101-page written decision.
The hearing, which took 6 days to complete, started on January 8, 2020 but did not conclude until March 12, 2021 due to a lengthy adjournment due to COVID-19 restrictions. The first 3 days were conducted in person while the final 3 days were virtual.
Since the City officially adopted Official Plan Amendment 320 and City Council unanimously passed the Long Branch Neighbourhood Character Guidelines, the TLAB has refused 10 severance applications with the LBNA officially participating on behalf of the Neighbourhood in all but one. Another 3 are currently still being reviewed at TLAB.
In the case of 27 Thirty Ninth, six neighbours participated in giving evidence at the hearing. They were praised by Mr. Lord for providing hard fact-based evidence in the absence of a professional planner who could provide expert opinion evidence.
“On these Applications, neighbourhood concern is evident not only in the witnesses and their evidence and presentation efforts, but also in the history of their engagement at the COA and in fulfilling the somewhat onerous Rules of the TLAB that require early and definitive disclosure, in writing, of positions.”
Key Success Factors
The successful outcomes on all of these TLAB appeals would not have been possible without the following:
Active Resident Involvement. In this case, one family elected to get involved as what is termed a Party to the appeal. Doing so gave them the right to call witnesses and to be included in all discussions regarding the application.
Active Resident Participation. As noted above, 6 neighbours provided testimony at the hearing for 27 Thirty Ninth. We have seen more than that and somewhat fewer than that at other hearings, but what is common is that multiple residents chose to have a say and were granted that opportunity by TLAB.
Factual Evidence. Residents amassed the type of data professional planners use to analyze and justify their clients’ development proposals. They studied other decisions from the OMB and TLAB to learn why previous applications had been approved or refused. They dove into the Official Plan, the Bylaws and Provincial policies to see just how well the applicants’ proposals did or did not conform to regulations.
To read the full text of the decision, click here.
https://lbna.ca/wp-content/uploads/27-Thirty-Ninth-St-Google-Maps.png407450Ronald Jamieson/wp-content/uploads/LBNA_Logo_2in.svgRonald Jamieson2021-05-09 17:36:472021-05-09 17:36:50Severance of 27 Thirty Ninth Street Refused at TLAB
On Friday, April 16, 2021 TLAB Member Stanley Makuch issued a decision refusing severance of 38 Thirty First Street along with the variances associated with the application.
This hearing went on over 8 full days, from its outset on April 1, 2019 to closing arguments on February 22, 2021. The neighbourhood was represented by 5 residents and 3 members of the LBNA.
In his 10-page written decision, the presiding chair of the hearing, Mr. Makuch, agreed with the evidence provided by the LBNA and nearby residents that the proposed severance did not conform to the Long Branch Neighbourhood Design Guidelines and the Official Plan. He wrote:
“The proposed dwellings on the lot frontages requested would not fit the character of the area. Indeed, rather than respecting and reinforcing the character of the are they would diminish its cottage like atmosphere and reduce its feeling of openness and harmony.”
We are convinced the strong participation by Long Branch residents in TLAB hearings is making a favourable impression upon the the TLAB members. We are making well-presented cases with hard evidence and, unlike the OMB, which seemingly discouraged resident participation, TLAB is enabling the voices of the residents be heard as they describe the impact of these kinds of developments on them.
https://lbna.ca/wp-content/uploads/38-Thirty-First-Proposal-Rendering.jpg345460Ronald Jamieson/wp-content/uploads/LBNA_Logo_2in.svgRonald Jamieson2021-04-17 15:26:062021-04-17 15:26:09Severance of 38 Thirty First Refused
Are you feeling a bit lethargic or anxious lately? I may have a remedy for you and the answer is literally at your feet.
But first a bit of ‘healthy-history’.
In the 1850s, acclaimed author and naturalist Henry D. Thoreau’s asserted his classic prescription of ‘Tonic of Wilderness’ for civilization and its discontents.
His essay Walden Pond; Life in the Woods, published in 1854, prompted a worldwide movement of ‘the natural forest benefits’ for good health and wellbeing.
Founding of the Long Branch Resort
Thirty years later, in 1883, Thomas John Wilkie, secretary of the Toronto Y.M.C.A., purchased the lush, densely forested acreage adjacent to Lake Ontario from James Eastwood for the Long Branch Resort and YMCA Boys camp in southern Etobicoke.
I am not sure if Wilkie was familiar with Thoreau’s writings but the paralleled logic destined Long Branch Park to become a mini mecca of promoting healthy ‘body, mind and spirit’.
Photo 1 – Lithographic Print of the Long Branch Hotel complete with stunning forest views.
Architecturally modeled on structures in Long Branch, New Jersey, there was the stunning Japanese Pagoda Hotel, fountain square, private Queen Anne and Jacobean villa rentals, a gymnasium, squash and tennis courts, a dancing and picnic Pavilion, lawn bowling and cricket, swimming, strolling in the woods, and even a Coney Island carousel and a water flume for the children.
‘Toronto’s Favourite Resort’ as it was advertised had all the amenities to encourage physical activity, proper diet (no alcohol) social engagement and relaxation.
But there was more.
The most abundant natural and free health asset that Long Branch Park boasted was the surrounding eco-therapeutic forest of majestic Oaks, Ash, Black Walnut, Maple, Pine and Spruce trees.
Early Development of Long Branch
In the 1910’s, Colonel Fredrick Burton Robins, a real-estate developer, embraced too, the tree rich lands of Long Branch and capitalized on it to promote the health benefits of ‘Pine Beach’ and ‘The Pines’ residential 50-foot lots.
“A Healthy Home is a Happy Home” – Colonel F.B. Robins.
The Health Benefits of Long Branch
Today there is a plethora of scientific evidence that ‘forest bathing’ as the Japanese have coined it, is proven to lower heart rate and blood pressure, reduce stress hormone production, boost the immune system, and improve overall feelings of wellbeing.
In the last eight years Japanese officials spent about $4 million dollars studying the physiological and psychological effects of forests and trees. Based on 48 therapy forest trails the Nippon Medical School in Tokyo measured the activity of human natural killer (NK) cells in the immune system before and after exposure to the woods. These cells provide rapid response to viral-infected cells and respond to tumor formation and are associated with improving the immune system and cancer prevention.
At the end of the study the trial participants had significant increases in NK cell activity and production.
Trees emit various essential oils in aerosol form. Generally called ‘phytoncide’, these oils protect the trees from germs and insects.
Not surprisingly, when visitors to the Long Branch Park strolled about or went exploring in the adjacent woods their inhaling of the phytoncide just didn’t make them feel fresher and better —it improved their overall immune system too.
Specific trees give off different types of eco-therapeutic aerosols and with corresponding health benefits. The familiar fragrance of Long Branch Park in the 1890s was bathed with the essence of pine and spruce. (like a Christmas Tree)
In Diana Beresford-Kroeger’s (internationally celebrated Ontario Botanist) book The Global Forest she high-lights about the Pinus species scent properties.
“The worldwide use of Pine scents, oils and extracts in Health Spas is fortified with scientific healthy benefits. For instance, on a sweltering summer day the pine tree will emit an odour that is detected at ground level. This scent is a medicinal mixture of various esters of pinosylvin. In other words, the pinosylvin acts as a natural antibiotic, helps the process of breathing (hence the feeling of fresh air) and is a mild narcotic. These natural pine aerosols have an anesthetic effect on the body, bringing on relaxation and peace of mind.”, wrote Beresford- Kroeger.
In another study conducted by Japan’s Chiba University, 280 subjects were measured for blood pressure heart rate and salivary cortisol (which increases with stress) before and after a 30-minute forest visit.
Photo 2- In the Woods – A lithographic print from the pages of “Long Branch Toronto’s Favourite Summer Resort”
“Forest environments promote lower concentrations of cortisol, lower pulse rate, lower blood pressure, greater parasympathetic nerve activity, and lower sympathetic nerve activity than tree barren city environments” the study concluded.
Subjects were less ‘hyped’, their rest-and –digestive systems were more efficient, sympathetic nerve systems calmed, and they felt more rested and less inclined to stress after a walk in the woods.
It is no wonder that Thomas J. Wilkie, Colonel F.B. Robins made significant real estate investments in a Southern Etobicoke utopia.
To their credit, all the health-seeking patrons that visited Long Branch Park by the steamer-ship loads and later bought land is how Long Branch Village was established.
Compared to the coal soot, sanitary-compromised streets of Toronto, the pine tree air sweep, cleansing, natural eco-aromatherapy of the air canopy was simply irresistible.
No guess now, as to what my recommendation is. Treat yourself to a 30-minute walk (forest bath) in the greenest tree rich area you can find.
Happy Forest Bathing!
Bill Zufelt is a Director of the Long Branch Neighbourhood Association and Chairs the Association’s History and Culture Committee
P.S. Even in winter the trees still do their magic but at a slower rate and besides the 30-minute walk is time well invested in your health and wellbeing.
