Author: opsfr

Orchard Park Sherwood Forest Neighbourhood Association is a London, Ontario, Canada based neighbourhood organization serving the Orchard Park and Sherwood Forest areas of London. The area is approximately bounded on the west by Wonderland Road, Sarnia Road on the South, Gainsborough Road to the North, the University of Western Ontario and the Medway Valley.

Upcoming ARC meetings

Upcoming meeting dates for the Sherwood Forest Accommodation Review Committee (ARC) are:

  • Wednesday May 5th at Orchard Park
  • Wednesday June 9th at University Heights
  • Wednesday Sept 8th at Sherwood
  • Wednesday Oct 13 – location TBA

The ARC is dealing with the Board’s recommendation to close Sherwood Forest Public School.

You can keep up to date about the ARC at http://www.tvdsb.ca/board.cfm?subpage=102817

Members of the community are invited to speak at the ARC meetings. The ARC Public Consultation Form is available at http://www.tvdsb.ca/files/89379/ARC%20Public%20Consultation%20Form.pdf. This form must be submitted to the Board not less than 8 days ahead of the meeting.

Sherwood Forest ARC Organizational Meeting March 30, 2010

The Sherwood Forest ARC has scheduled its organizational meeting for March 30, 2010.

The ARC will be dealing with the Board’s recommendation to close Sherwood Forest Public School.

If the school closes, which could be as soon as 2012, the future of the school buildings and surrounding property is up in the air. At this point, it is unclear as to what would happen to the property if the Board decides to sell it. It would, at a minimum, require a rezoning before any change in use is possible. Rezoning is a public process before the City of London.

Although this meeting is open to the public, there are no delegations. Future meetings will permit the public to speak. You can keep up to date about the ARC at http://www.tvdsb.ca/board.cfm?subpage=102817

Councillor Nancy Branscombe was appointed by City Council to serve on this Committee. Unfortunately, members of the Committee were not asked to provide options for meeting dates, and she cannot attend on the 30th. However, her assistant will be in attendance.

SHERWOOD FOREST ARC
ORCHARD PARK, SHERWOOD FOREST AND UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Date: 2010 MARCH 30
Location: SHERWOOD FOREST PUBLIC SCHOOL
7 Annadale Drive, London, ON
Time: Tour of Facility: 6:45 p.m.
Meeting to Convene: 7:00 p.m.

Problems with paths

Here are some photos from paths in Killaly Meadows, another Environmentally Significant Area in NE London. The photos were taken in November 2009. This reinforces the concern many have about changing the Medway Valley from a refuge away from the city to one that would have more traffic and a paved path and bridge. Once urbanized, some people seem to treat Killaly Meadows as just another place, leaving trash and graffiti behind.

Continue reading “Problems with paths” →

Sarnia Road Widening Project

The city recently completed a study to widen Sarnia Road from Hyde Park Road to Wonderland Road North to 4 lanes, with plans to initiate the first phase of construction in 2011.

As a result, the 3-lane section of Sarnia Road, from Wonderland to Sleightholme Avenue currently presents a bottleneck in the roadway. The City’s 2004 Transportation Master Plan identifies the need to widen this section of Sarnia Road to 4 lanes by 2014.

Public Information Centre No. 1 will be held on March 9, 2010 to:

  • introduce the study and outline the study process
  • provide background information on the need for the improvements
  • obtain input on existing concerns in the study area
  • outline the next steps in the study

Public Information Centre No. 1

Date: Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Time: 4:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Location: St. Thomas More Catholic School – Library, 18 Wychwood Park, London

Update on Sherwood Forest/Orchard Park/University Heights ARC‏

Sandy Levin, President of the OPSF Ratepayers, spoke with Karen Dalton, Executive Superintendent of Operation Services at the School Board. She is involved with capital planning which includes the accommodation review process (ARC).

MOST INTERESTING PART OF THE CONVERSATION

Sandy asked Ms. Dalton about the Board meeting of January 26th where there was a vote on the future of Westdale P.S. in Oakridge. He asked if that site was already decided as the next site for a French Immersion school in the west end. The answer was Yes. The site is seen as closer to the westerly reaches of the Board which includes Komoka and Kilworth and that it is adjacent to a city owned park.

Accommodation Review Process (ARC)

The application process for a community representative closed on Feb 12th. The Board and the chair of the ARC (Joyce Bennett, who is an elected member of the Board), will decide who is the community representative. Interestingly enough, few of the ARCs have had more than 1 applicant!

There is an orientation meeting for members of the ARC after the Board confirms the membership of the ARC. This meeting will take place in early to mid March. The meeting is open to the public but there is no public input at that time. The date, time and location will be on the Board’s web site, probably at
http://www.tvdsb.ca/board.cfm?subpage=4360
This meeting may set up dates for the rest of the process.

Meetings are called by the Chair. The meetings are open to the public.
There are at least 4 meetings that are open for public input. The dates, times and locations will be on the ARC site. The first cannot be earlier than 30 days after the date of the orientation meeting.

To present to the ARC, you must apply in writing. The ARC site will have this information. There will also be an administrative assistant to the ARC from the Board who can be contacted for information as well. The name and contact information should be available shortly.

These meetings will have one hour available for public input to the ARC
members. A person will have 5 minutes to present. A group can present for 10 minutes. Having presented once, you will not be allowed to present again during the public input meetings. If there are many presenters, an additional meeting is scheduled.

A draft report is prepared and is reviewed at a public meeting of the ARC. Anyone can present at this meeting, even if they have presented before.

A final report is presented to the Board for a vote. Keep in mind, the
staff have already recommended that Sherwood be closed, and Orchard Park be expanded (with renovation/construction required) to become a K to 8 school.

TIMELINE

It is possible that the 4 public meetings and the draft report could be
completed before the end of the calendar year with a vote by the Board as early as January 2011.

The Board must give one year notice of a school closure which means the most likely closure date, if there is a recommendation to close the
school, would be June 30, 2012.

The Board can put out a notice of disposition for the school property as early as its vote on the ARC’s final report (Jan or spring 2011). This
has not been the practice to date, but if the site is to be sold, the
notice of disposition will be sent out before the date of closure.

You may have noted some coverage of the process in the London Free Pres with comments from City Councillor Bill Armstrong.

http://www.lfpress.com/news/london/2010/01/27/12632516.html


http://www.lfpress.com/news/london/2010/01/29/12672906.html