Signage has appeared at 1608 Bayview Ave. (formerly Romeo & Juliet Hair Studio) announcing the future opening of Ramona’s Kitchen. The photos would suggest that their sandwiches and pancakes will be delish. It looks like Bayview could soon be known as the brunch capital of Toronto. Cheers!

Yonge-Eglinton Secondary Plan, Midtown Character Areas (City of Toronto, March 29, 2018)

Having considered input from the community, the City made changes and will be reporting on a recommended zoning by-law for the Midtown ‘Villages’ to Planning and Housing Committee on May 31, 2022. This is the first phase of a zoning by-law amendment to implement the Yonge-Eglinton Secondary Plan, which was brought into force in 2019. Future phases are anticipated to be brought forward in 2023, following further consultation. Project Website: www.toronto.ca/ReadySetMidtown

In the e-update on March 24, 2022, the draft zoning by-law for five Midtown ‘Villages’ was available for review and comment. The Midtown ‘Villages’ are identified on Map 21-2 of the Yonge-Eglinton Secondary Plan and include Eglinton Way, Yonge Street North, Mount Pleasant South, Bayview-Leaside, and Yonge Street South. Since that time, they received emails, phone calls, and letters offering input and suggestions to make the draft zoning by-law better.

Join Councillor Mike Colle and your neighbours to see a new park site! The old Green P parking lot at Castlefield between Yonge and Duplex is the future home of a large new park! More green space is coming to the Yonge-Eglinton area.

Contrary to the old Joni Mitchell song – you CAN unpave a parking lot!

SEDRA works closely with many residents’ associations across the city including the Eglinton Park Residents’ Association (EPRA). Our friends at EPRA have asked us to join in their celebration.

Come for the music, kids’ activities, food & drink, plus bike checkups with Cycle Toronto. There will be samosas and dipping sauce, and hot dogs. For the thirsty, there will be cold water and cold drinks. But city discourages plastic bottles. There will be cups, but you can bring your own flask or thermos, and fill it there. On hand will be folks from EPRA, LPRO, 500 Duplex Tenants’ Association, City of Toronto Parks Department, and of course Eglinton-Lawrence Councillor Mike Colle.

Where to meet:
Duplex and Castlefield – Saturday May 28th – 1 PM to 4 PM

Proposed 21-storey residential development 537-543 Eglinton Ave E

Proposed 21-storey residential development 537-543 Eglinton Ave E

Proposed 21-storey residential development 537-543 Eglinton Ave E

South Eglinton Davisville Residents’ Association has released a call to action regarding a development proposal at 537 Eglinton Ave East. Mark your calendar for SEDRA’s Zoom Meeting on May 30th at 7:00PM.

After both the North York Community Council (NYCC) and City Council unanimously adopted City Planning’s Refusal Report, developer Eglinton Hoyle Realty Inc and their law firm Aird & Berlis are proceeding with an appeal to the Ontario Land Tribunal. The Case Management Conference (CMC) has been scheduled for 10 am on June 9th via video. SEDRA believes the City has a very strong case against this appeal, but their case is much stronger with the support of the community. SEDRA (South Eglinton Davisville Residents’ Association) – formally SERRA – plans to participate. SEDRA strongly recommends that as a resident, you also consider signing up as a Participant. The more residents who show their support by attending this hearing, the better.

SEDRA Zoom Meeting – May 30th at 7:00PM
Topic: SEDRA – 537 Eglinton meeting
Time: May 30, 2022 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting: Link
Meeting ID: 889 0893 7601
Passcode: 338001

SEDRA will be focusing on the following issues in our communication to the OLT:

• Suitability of the site to accommodate such a tall building
• Potential wind impacts associated with a tall building with limited stepbacks
• The proposed height of 23 storeys (double the permitted height of 8-12 storeys for this location per OPA 405)
• The lack of transition from such a tall building to the homes to the south
• Shadow impacts on neighbouring residential properties to the north
• Lack of on-site parking, and in particular, visitor parking.

All the information regarding the latest application, the rationale for the city’s recommendation and your input from the community consultation meeting can be found in the link below.

537, 539, 541 and 543 Eglinton Avenue East – Official Plan Amendment Application – Refusal Report

Do-or-die battle to save low-rise Davisville west of Bayview

Jaye Robinson, City Councillor for Ward 15—Don Valley West will be holding an official opening event for the newly designed R.V. Burgess Park (46 Thorncliffe Park Drive) on Saturday, May 28, 2022 starting at 10:00am.

#Thorncliffe, see you this Saturday at 10 am! pic.twitter.com/gnV6WkuMuD

— Friends of Thorncliffe Park (@ThorncliffeTO) May 25, 2022

Ever wanted to peek inside an interesting or historical building, but it’s not open to the public? Now could be your chance to do just that. Rediscover the city you thought you knew through Doors Open Toronto, celebrating 100+ sites of architectural, cultural and social significance. Go deeper with engaging tours, insightful talks, an online film series and other virtual experiences. Doors Open Toronto returns May 28 and 29, 2022, plus free general admission to all Toronto History Museums. Doors Open activities take place between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.

www.toronto.ca/explore-enjoy/festivals-events/doors-open-toronto

Field crews with the Northern Tornadoes Project have confirmed that an EF2 tornado hit Uxbridge, Ont., with wind speeds of up to 195 km/h.

Canada’s 1st derecho since 1999

The City of Toronto is continuing clean-up work after last Saturday’s severe storm. City and contracted forestry crews worked through the weekend to respond to storm service requests. More than 2,900 requests have been received since Saturday. Crews worked 12- to 14-hour shifts over the weekend and all available crews and inspectors were brought in and assigned to this work.

Nearly half of Canada’s population hit by derecho. “Derechos of similar intensity have occurred before in this part of Canada, but never has one had a track like this that followed the length of the most densely populated corridor in the country.”

What’s a derecho and why is it so destructive? The science behind this powerful storm “A derecho, is a long-lived, fast-moving thunderstorm that causes widespread wind damage. This particular storm system was fed by a heat dome over the eastern United States. Unlike the rotating winds in a hurricane or a tornado, a derecho’s winds are straight. That doesn’t mean it’s any less damaging; its winds can topple trees and lift up roofs. Another feature of a derecho is that unlike the slow building of a supercell thunderstorm, the business end of a derecho is at the front.”

Hydro Ottawa says current outages significantly worse than ice storm, tornadoes

What I keep hearing from Ottawa is that they don’t think people outside, especially the media and political types in Toronto really have a clue how badly hit they were.
Today is day 4 without power for many. Some won’t have running water. This is bad. #ottnews #ONStorm #onpoli pic.twitter.com/hcS7eTjGd1

— Brian Lilley (@brianlilley) May 24, 2022

Maurice Cody Spring Fair will take place on Saturday June 11, from 10-3 pm rain or shine. Its being promoted as #WelcomeBackCody and they are really excited to make it a fun community event after the two year absence. There will be bouncy castles, inflatable games, DJ playing music, Bake Sale, Calk Walk, Lucky Dip, Duckie Race, BBQ, Salon & Spa and more!

Peel Regional Police said a woman in her 70s has died after being struck by a falling tree this afternoon. While Ontario Provincial Police West Region confirmed that a tree fell on a camping trailer at Pinehurst Lake Conservation Area in between Kitchener and Brantford. One person was pronounced dead in hospital while two others were injured. More.

Toronto Hydro Outage Map, experiencing an outage. May 21, 2022

Locally there was a lot of debris in the road. Toronto Hydro’s outage map website crashed but was later restored, albeit without any outage information. Pleas for assistance posted to Twitter suggest localized outages were experienced throughout the GTA.

McRae Drive, May 21, 2022 /Bulldog Photo

The Bulldog observed a cornucopia of branches of all sizes littering the lawns of just about every property on Bessborough Drive between Millwood Road and Sharron Drive. One of the largest was near Millwood, where a giant trunk had split. McRae was closed between Millwood and Hanna due to another downed tree. Traffic lights on Bayview were out north of Lawrence, and Bayview Village Association reported outages affecting elevators and garage doors.

Further north, Uxbridge has declared a State of Emergency with widespread damage reported. Residents of Whitchurch-Stouffville are also reporting some severe damage. Looking east to Ottawa, the videos and photos from Ottawa are shocking. The storm was fast and furious leaving a lot of damage in its path.