Tag: Sherwood Forest

Community Update

Project Learn Meeting – Student Housing

Please attend and be heard on Wednesday, November 13th from 7 to 10 PM at City Hall in Council Chambers, at a Public Meeting which is being held to solicit the views of various community members around the issues of policing and managing disruptive behaviours around the University and Fanshawe.

Over the last several years, a police program called Project Learn seems to be having positive impacts on improving the quality of harmony between short term and long term residents while managing problems on a more real-time basis

However, the recent police actions of going door to door and taking contact information has generated controversy. Hence, this upcoming meeting.

Please Keep those Catch Basins Clear

With the frost, many leaves have fallen and catch basins can get covered and blocked. With heavy rains, run off has nowhere to go causing flooding in the street or worse. Please take the time to keep the catch basins near your home clear.

Sherwood Forest School Grafitti

Residents have noticed graffiti popping up at the Sherwood Forest School site. The Thames Valley School Board has been notified and has taken quick action to remove it. If you see the graffiti return, please do two things. First notify the non emergency police number. They increase patrols in the area based on call volume. The number is 519-661-5670. The other thing you can do is let Sandy Levin know and he will notify the area supervisor for the school board who will take action to have it removed.

October News

Sherwood Forest School Site Update

The Thames Valley District School Board is moving ahead with the provincially mandated 90 day period of asking other public bodies (the other school boards, the city, the University, etc) if they are interested in buying the site. The city has told us it will not be buying the site for parkland or community use, and cannot (under the Municipal Act) buy it for a private use, be it a school, church or business. If none of the public bodies step up, the TVDSB begins a sealed bid process. Whether or not the TVDSB will vary the process is up to the Trustees.

If the site is sold to a private interest, any change in use of the site from a publicly funded school will require a rezoning. As this is a public process, residents within a 120 m of the site will be notified by mail, a sign will be posted on the site and the Ratepayer’s Association notified. It is only then will we have some idea of what will happen to the site.

Sarnia Road Widening

The city’s preliminary 20 year transportation plan now calls for the widening of Sarnia from Wonderland to Sleightholme to start in 2016. Keep in mind, this is preliminary and not yet part of the city’s capital budget. More information will be forthcoming once the city budget is tabled later in the year.

Medway Seniors Series for October

WHEN: Wednesday, October 9th from 2 to 3 p.m.
WHERE: Sherwood Library
WHAT: “Lets Talk About Books”

Please join us for this interesting and informative session. This event is free with no registration required. Bring a friend!
For more information, call 519-473-9965.
REMINDERS

Catch Basins Clear?

With fall, comes the fall of leaves. They can block catch basins and in storm, water can back up into the streets or garages. If you have a catch basin near your home, please try to keep it clear.

Keep the Medway Valley Heritage Forest Special?

This time of year, the Valley really shows off. When you are out enjoying the display of colour, please remember to stay on the trails. Dogs and people off trail can cause disturbances to the plants and animals that make their homes in the Valley. Please also remember that bike riding is only permitted in the loop between the Longbow and Doncaster Gate entrances.

Update on Sherwood Forest School Site

As has been reported in the community newsletters and the community web page, since the May AGM, a committee of residents has been trying to figure out a way for the school to remain a school.

At its meeting of September 10th, the School Board will declare the Sherwood Forest Public School surplus. This triggers a process under Provincial regulations. The Board must offer a surplus school site to a number of public bodies (including the city), before entering into a sealed bid process for disposal. We are determining if the city would step in and buy the property (as they did with the Normal School in Old South), and then sell to a private school that would maintain the access the community has enjoyed. It is not an easy process because the School Board has to sell it for at least fair market value (an appraised value by a professional appraiser), and should the city buy it, the city can’t sell it for less than fair market value. The city also has policies and procedures for disposing of property.

In short, there will be a report by city staff to a committee of city council in public session on August 20th reporting if it is possible under city policies to buy the land, then sell it under a request for proposal, for a community use. Then the committee will determine what it will recommend to the full City Council for its meeting on Aug 27th.

City staff already reported on the use of local improvement charges. The report is available here.

July news

MEDWAY MEETINGS

Date: Thursday July 25, 2013
Location: Medway Community Centre, 119 Sherwood Forest Square, London
Time: 6:00 to 7:30 pm – Subwatershed Study
Time: 7:45 pm – 8:45 pm – Conservation Master Plan

SUBWATERSHED STUDY

The purpose of the meeting is to:

  • Present the results of the water resources draft analysis (hydraulic, hydrologic and erosion) and preliminary slope stability assessment for a Medway Creek SS Update;
  • Present the risk impact of flooding from extreme storm events under climate change conditions under for municipal essential/critical infrastructure; and,
  • Present the recommended Draft Preferred Strategy including slope stability and mitigation measures to improve slope stability and reduce the risk under climate change conditions.

Doors open at 6 pm with the presentation and questions and answers to start at 6:30 pm

For questions, to get on the project mailing list, or to get information if you can’t make the meeting, contact:

Brian Huston, P.Eng.
Dillon Consulting Limited
130 Dufferin Avenue
London, Ontario N6A 5R2
Phone: 519.438.1288 ext.1227
Fax: 519.672.8209
Email: bhuston@dillon.ca

CONSERVATION MASTER PLAN

The City has hired Dillon Consulting Ltd. to complete an ecological inventory and evaluation of the Medway Valley Heritage Forest Environmentally Significant Area (ESA). The study is focused on the lands south of Fanshawe Park Road West as part of Phase I of the Conservation Master Plan process. At the meeting, Dillon will provide an update on its work to date. The city anticipates receiving the Dillon report on the ecological inventory in late 2013. A second Community Information Meeting will be held in early 2014 to present the findings and launch the Phase II start-up. Phase II will deal with public use and management of the ESA and include the formation of a public advisory committee.

Continue reading “July news” →

Great Near Campus Neighbourhoods OMB Hearing

The city was successful at the Ontario Municipal Board. The Great Near Campus Neighbourhood policies are now in force and effect. This means that new construction in the core of the area including stacked townhouses, semis, duplexes and four-plexes in our area may only have a maximum of three bedrooms per unit (i.e., a duplex could have 3 bedrooms in each unit for a total of 6). More intense uses will be directed to transportation nodes and corridors. Other parts of the policy dictate how much parking and pavement can be on the site as well as how large the bedrooms are in relation to the floor space. Overall, this is seen as a positive for our area.

You can get the background and reports on the policies at http://www.london.ca/d.aspx?s=/Planning/studentstrategy.htm