Tag: OrchardPark

Brescia is applying for a land use change and rezoning

Brescia is applying for a land use change and rezoning of the south side of Ramsay Road for parking! The application includes all of Brescia’s land on the west side of Brescia Lane from Ramsay Road to Sarnia Road, although it appears at this time that only the treed area between Ramsay and Brescia’s maintenance building is proposed to be paved and lighted for parking.

The process is that the planner will gather comments and write a report to City Council`s Built and Natural Environment Committee. A date for the public meeting where the application will be considered will be advertised in the Living in London section of the Free Press and the City’s web site.

Concerns and questions should be addressed by September 30th to the city planner, Michael Tomazincic, whose contact information appears below.

1285 Western Road (southwest portion) on the lands immediately to the west of Brescia Lane, south of Ramsay Road. The purpose and effect of the Official Plan and Zoning By-law amendments is to permit the relocation of the existing parking lot, currently located on the north side of Ramsay Road, to the subject site and to recognize the existing Physical Plant, Administration Offices, and ESL School Administration Offices as conforming land uses. Possible amendment to the Official Plan by amending Schedule A – Land Use – FROM Low Density Residential TO Regional Facility. Possible amendment to the Zoning By-law Z.-1 FROM a Residential R1 (R1-10) Zone which permits one Single Detached dwelling TO a Regional Facility (RF) Zone which permits: Adult secondary schools; Churches; Commercial parking structures and/or lots; Commercial schools; Community colleges; Day care centres; Elementary schools; Emergency care establishments; Group Home Type 2; Hospitals; Institutional uses; Libraries; Nursing homes; Private schools; Recreational buildings; Secondary schools; Stadia; Supervised residences; and, Ancillary residential and/or hostels and accommodations, together with permitted uses in this zone.
File: OZ-7955 Planner: Michael Tomazincic, mtomazin@london.ca, 519-661-2500 ext 4693

Please note: Comments and opinions submitted on these matters, including the originator’s name and address, become part of the public record, may be viewed by the general public and may be published in a Planning Report and Council Agenda. If a person or public body does not make oral submissions at a public meeting or make written submissions to the City of London before the application is adopted or approved, the person or public body is not entitled to appeal the decision of the Municipal Council or the Approval Authority of the City of London to the Ontario Municipal Board. If a person or public body does not make oral submissions at a public meeting or make written submissions to the City of London before the proposed amendment is adopted or approved, the person or public body may not be added as a party to the hearing of an appeal before the Ontario Municipal Board unless, in the opinion of the Board, there are reasonable grounds to add the person or public body as a party.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
If you wish to view additional information or material relating to these applications, the files are available to the public at the Planning Division, 206 Dundas Street, Monday to Friday, 8:30am-4:30pm. Key maps for the lands described in these applications are not provided as they are available for review at the offices noted above.
*Please ensure you reference the File Number or address in all communications.

Update on new Brescia residence

We have received from the city a copy of Brescia’s plans for its new residence and dining pavilion. There are three documents: the site plan, a close-up of the site plan, and the comments from the city to date.

The present plan does not call for a change to the use of the treed area on the south side of Ramsay Road. There will be additional parking on the east side of Brescia Lane and next to Brescia’s existing “lower” parking lot towards Western Road. There will be a lighted bike and pedestrian pathway built that will start from the new service entrance off Ramsay Road and wrap around the north side of the Brescia property to link up with Brescia’s driveway on the east side. Pedestrian access straight through the campus will still be possible.

No public meeting before any committee of City Council is required for this project. Any questions should be sent to the following:

Sheila Blagrave
Director of Communications, Marketing and External Relations
519-432-8353 ext. 28293
sblagrav@uwo.ca

July 2011 Updates

Seniors Community Association invitation

Adults 55 and older in our neighbourhood are invited to discussion groups hosted by the Seniors Community Association and to learn about the Connecting London Seniors project. All are welcome to attend at the Sherwood Forest Library on either Thursday, July 28th at 10 a.m. or Wednesday, Aug. 3rd at 1:30 p.m. Space is limited, so you must register in advance by contacting Jean Knight, 519-963-4567.

Jean Knight – Project Coordinator
Seniors Community Association
Office: 519.963.4567
Cell: 519.615.9366
http://www.scalondon.ca

Update on widening of Sarnia Road from Wonderland to Sleightholme

Although this project has been pushed off to 2019 by the city for financial reasons, the city council decided it best to complete the Environmental Assessment. The Ratepayers have yet to receive notification as to when the final report will be filed on the public record as required under Provincial legislation. Usually, we receive a letter from the city. Notice is also given in the Living in the City section of the city’s web site. My guess is it will be the fall at the earliest before any information is available.

Medway Valley Heritage Forest Conservation Master Plan Update

The city budget for this year included funds for an update of the Medway Valley Conservation Master Plan. No notice has been received as to when this project will commence. When it starts, it is anticipated to take at least 12 to 18 months to complete. It is suppose to include all parts of the Valley, including the parts north of Fanshawe Park Road.

New student residences at UWO and Brescia College

UWO will start building the new residence on the south west side of Sarnia and Western Road starting this fall. Brescia College has been in contact with the city about its plans for a new residence at Brescia Lane and Ramsey Road, but have not yet filed for formal site plan approval or a change in zoning which would be required to change the use of the land south of Ramsey. There is a web page with some information and contact information as well at http://www.brescia.uwo.ca/about/new_residence/index.html

Tennis Courts

Thanks to the diligence of a resident, the City will be taking the following actions as soon as possible.

  • Trim Apple Trees that drop fruit onto the court surfaces
  • Power-wash all areas of the courts.
  • Replace torn nets.
  • Repair cracks in the surface with a new fiberglass compound.
  • Safe-proof the protrusions on the outsides of the steel tennis posts.

End of an Era – Sherwood Forest P.S. to Close

An update from Sandy Levin –

END OF AN ERA – SHERWOOD FOREST P.S. TO CLOSE
A BOUNDARY REVIEW FOR ORCHARD PARK P.S.

Before I start, I wanted to thank everyone who has been involved in this process. That includes those who toughed it out at the Board meeting this week (we didn’t get a decision until almost 11 pm), those who made presentations to the Board and to the ARC and of course, to the members of the ARC who spent a lot of time and effort on a good solution, only to have most of it disregarded by school board staff.

At the school board meeting of June 28th, the Board voted to close Sherwood Forest Public School as of June 30, 2013. It also agreed not to declare the site surplus any earlier than June 30, 2013 which gives the community the two years to try and find a way to keep the site as an important part of our neighbourhood.

(As an aside, this week, a couple of members of the ratepayers executive met with a representative from the city’s Community Services Department to point out that there is no city owned playground equipment in the entire area. This helped her to understand why the District Park on the other side of Wonderland Road is not our community park space.)

In addition to voting to close Sherwood Forest P.S., the school board agreed to do a boundary review prior to the closing that would look at the school boundaries for Orchard Park P.S. This was because the projected enrollment for Orchard Park after 2013 is still under the school’s capacity. This review is a good thing. For one reason, an enrollment near to or even slightly over capacity would avoid having another school closure hanging over the community’s head. The other reason is that it may lead to better gym facilities being provided for Orchard Park, something the parents there have asked for. The only odd thing about the boundary review is that this idea was raised by the ARC during the process (as a means to keep Sherwood Forest P.S. open), but it was rejected by the administrative representative from the Board to the ARC.

Another strange moment at the Board meeting was when the senior superintendent presenting the report argued against giving the community more than two years to find an alternative to keep public access to the space. She stated that the Administration already gave one more year due to public input. This is simply not the case. The Board’s administrative recommendation at the start of the ARC was to close the school in June 2012, but during the ARC process (the October, 2010 meeting which I attended), the administrative representative indicated to the ARC that due to time lines required for design, tender and build, it would be June 2013 before Sherwood Forest would be closed. Unfortunately, due to Board processes, none of us in the audience could correct the record, and it is likely this “misstatement” kept some of the trustees from pursing the idea of retaining the site longer.

Councillor Branscombe has already given assurances that she will work with city staff to see what can be done to keep the space the school board currently owns; available for public access. I will keep you informed as this plays out.

Update on Sherwood Forest P.S.

An update on Sherwood Forest Public School from Sandy Levin:

Next week, Tuesday June 28th, the school board Trustees are scheduled to vote on the staff recommendation to combine the student bodies at Orchard Park P.S. and to close (effective June 30, 2013) and declare Sherwood Forest P.S. (and property) surplus to the Board’s needs. If passed, this will result in the initiation of a process by which the Sherwood Forest site can be sold. Normally the Board does not begin the process of offering the property until after the school closes, however, there is no reason that they cannot.

Having reviewed the comments senior administration made in response to the community’s submissions to the Trustees in May, (you can see all of the community presentations on the webcast of the May 24th meeting starting about 45 minutes into the webcast), I am not hopeful that the Trustees, even our own trustees, will vary the recommendation in any way. You can view the webcast of the May 24th and June 14th Board meetings by going to http://www.tvdsb.ca/videos.cfm?channelID=11&categoryID=16 and clicking on June 14th Board meeting. The portion of the June 14th meeting dealing with our two schools starts 74 minutes and 38 seconds into the webcast.

To summarize the comments by the Administration made on June 14th:

– there is no information on turnover of properties in the area
– there has been a decline of 1045 in the age 0-19 group between the 1996 and 2006 census in the Medway Planning Area (which includes our area as well as Whitehills and University Hts)
– K to 8 schools provide positive programming and staffing advantages (there was no reference to the very interesting research article one of the community speakers raised in her presentation at the May meeting in support of K to 6 schools).
– The Board did not start the ARC before having a policy for ARCs in place.
– There is no Ministry policy regarding there being an Administrative recommendation at the start of an ARC. This Board prefers to have its recommendation up front so that it is not accused of hiding its position.
– The Board and City are only starting to talk about common issues regarding school sites, but nothing will happen until the fall.
– it would cost $19,000/year to “hibernate” the Sherwood Forest P.S. site if it was closed but not sold (heat, snow removal, grass cutting, insurance)
– the Board has not kept a closed school – it has always either declared it surplus or changed it to other use such as French Immersion
– Not declaring Sherwood Forest P.S. surplus would mean a lost opportunity to generate revenue to be used for capital improvements to other schools

I found it most interesting that no trustees asked any questions after this presentation by its Administration, nor was there any additional information given or asked regarding the Orchard Park P.S. gym.

I still hope you can join me at the meeting at the Board office, 1250 Dundas Street East on June 28th at 7 pm to watch the proceedings. The agenda is usually posted on the Monday before the meeting and you can judge roughly when the discussion on the schools will take place (it won’t be right at 7 pm!). http://www.tvdsb.ca/board.cfm?subpage=113288

There is still an opportunity to write the Trustees. E-mail addresses and phone numbers can be found at http://www.tvdsb.ca/board.cfm?subpage=79700

In the meantime, I have begun to make inquires to see if we can find a way to acquire the site or find a new tenant who might use the space (hopefully one the school board would agree to). It is a long shot. If you have any suggestions of who I can contact, please let me know.