Long Branch

Expanding Housing Options in Neighbourhoods

LBNA Deputation to the PHC

Expanding Housing Options in Neighbourhoods (EHON) is an initiative of City Planning to address the so-called “missing middle” in Toronto’s neighbourhoods. The main idea is to promote construction of more low to mid-rise multiplex units (e.g., triplexes), mid-rise apartment buildings, laneway suites and garden suites as ways to increase the supply of housing in the City against an overall goal of making accommodation more affordable.

Staff Report on Expanding Housing Options

On February 15, 2022, The Planning and Housing Committee (PHC) met to consider this item. The portion of the meeting dealing with EHON began with a staff report from City Planning, after which deputations from residents’ groups were heard.

In case playing the YouTube video above starts at the beginning of the meeting, click here to take you to the timestamp 2:27:09 to catch the Staff Report from its start.

LBNA Deputation

The LBNA made a deputation to the Planning and Housing Committee, with Chair Christine Mercado speaking on behalf of Long Branch residents. Unfortunately, because this was a virtual session, Christine was unable to share her screen to provide visual support for her deputation, though members of the PHC all had copies they could read during the deputation.

Here are the main points the LBNA wanted the PHC to consider:

Update the Report to Make Use of 2021 Census Data

The report presented by Planning Staff was based on the 2016 census, which is already 5 years old. Statistics Canada has started releasing data from the 2021 census, so it would be a shame to work from data that are not current. This is the opportunity to use the most up-to-date information.

Deploy Housing Options Where They Are Needed

Within Long Branch, we have three main zoning areas: RD/RS, for detached single-family homes, RM, for triplexes, duplexes and semi-detached homes, and RA for apartment buildings or condos. In addition, we have the site-specific area north of Lakeshore from Thirty Second to Long Branch Avenue where Minto has been building over XXXX townhouse units.

So Long Branch already has the full range of housing options Planning wants to see, all achieved within the existing Planning framework and regulations.

In the words of Christine Mercado, areas such as Long Branch “… need to be analyzed to better understand what is working and then replicate learnings in flat or no growth Neighbourhoods.”

The LBNA also has concerns about the City moving forward to dramatically intensify neighbourhoods without considering the need to grow supporting infrastructure at the same time.

For example, Long Branch residents with school-age children are probably very aware that our schools are stretched over capacity. We have no secondary school in Long Branch. Many children have to be sent to schools outside Long Branch.

LBNA Board members attended an information session from the TDSB for Wards 2 & 3 last week. The presenters shared that there is no money from the Province and no plans for new schools in Long Branch for the foreseeable future.

The City already has policies that direct intensification to “Avenues” – major streets such as Lakeshore Boulevard. Yet we are seeing only sporadic development of mid-rise apartments/condos along Lakeshore. And such mid-rise buildings need to be built with commercial space at grade to make the street more inviting to walk and shop. Several stretches of Lakeshore in Long Branch look shabby and neglected.

Better Public Consultation Process

In our discussions with residents in our community and others within Toronto, there is extremely low awareness of the magnitude of change that this Committee is considering through the EHON initiatives and in this report. The numbers outlined in the Report for Community Engagement to date are shockingly low to us in a City of 2.8 million.

The pandemic has allowed the City to conduct public hearings formerly held in-person as virtual meetings. Virtual meetings rate lower on engagement than in-person. it is easier to cut a video or audio feed to stop someone from speaking. It is easier for panel members to tune out opposing voices. They can simply suspend their video feed and disappear behind a solid coloured tile so we have no idea whether or not they’re paying attention.

It seems as though the City is rushing to implement new policies with little genuine public consultation. We have not seen truly interactive discussions with City policy-makers and influencers. They tell us what they want to do. We tell them our concerns. But there is no true communication – dialogue – to allow residents to provide meaningful input to public policy and for policy-makers to show they have listened by addressing residents’ concerns. So far, it just seems like “consultation” is actually window-dressing.

The LBNA’s deputation is embedded in the YouTube video window below.

In case playing the YouTube video above starts at the beginning of the meeting, click here to take you to the timestamp 2:38:29 to catch Christine’s deputation from its start.

[If you allow the YouTube video to continue playing after Christine’s deputation, you can hear what other residents’ groups had to say as well]

What do you think about this? Please let us know.

Black Barn Maple on CBC News

CBC News ran a story on June 2nd about the initiative to try to save the “Black Barn Maple” in western Long Branch.

The Backstory

Phot of Black Barn Maple at rear of 95 James Street — **Courtesy** Robert Krbavac, CBC

The tree is located to the rear of the house at 95 James Street and is a Silver Maple reputedly 130 to 150 years old. The site where it is located is close to where the Eastwood family, who were instrumental in developing Long Branch as a village, had a black barn on their estate, hence its name.

The owner of the property originally applied to City Planning in May of 2018 to add a second story to the existing house and build a newer, larger home. At the time of application, the owners indicated the property was not subject to the Private Tree Bylaw, which protects trees 30 cm and greater in diameter.

The application was approved on September 20, 2019 by the Committee of Adjustment despite a August 21, 2018 memo from Urban Forestry advising there were two healthy mature trees on the property and recommending refusal of the application.

The Fallout

The approval was subsequently appealed by neighbours to the Toronto Local Appeal Body (TLAB).

The CBC News story examines the controversy about residents’ efforts to try to retain the Silver Maple.

The LBNA sought to have the Black Barn Maple, given its age, Heritage Tree status that would ensure it could not be cut down. However, this would require the consent of the property owner, who of course refused. A letter from one of the applicant’s lawyers disputed the age and historic significance of the tree.

Counsel representing the applicant at TLAB argued that the tree was located in an area in which the owner had a right to be able to cut down the tree. Their argument was based on a concept that is not defined in pertinent legislation such as The Planning Act, The Official Plan or the Bylaws.

An ad hoc group of Long Branch residents banded together to try to raise awareness about the tree and the issues surrounding its proposed removal. They have created a website, lawn signs and letter-writing campaigns.

To see the story in the CBC’s website, click here.

Severance of 27 Thirty Ninth Street Refused at TLAB

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.

Severance of 38 Thirty First Refused

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.

Long Branch – Toronto’s First Health Resort

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’.

Historic Long Branch Hotel — 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.

Long Branch Resort — 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.

Long Branch Tree Fest

This year’s Long Branch Tree Fest will be held on Sunday, September 22nd in Marie Curtis Park. From noon until 4 pm, you can visit over 50 exhibitors and vendors and participate in a variety of activities for all ages.

This also is a special occasion, as it marks the 135th Anniversary of the incorporation of the Village of Long Branch.

We have a number of local musicians to entertain you and there will be an open mic to allow young musicians to showcase their skills.

For adults, we have yoga and nature walks to explore the trails in Marie Curtis Park and enjoy the beauty of the park.

For kids, we have story-telling and face painting.

In keeping with the theme of celebrating and preserving the urban forest around us, we have an arborist to answer your questions about trees and, for avid gardeners, we will have a plant exchange and giveaway of shrubs.

The Long Branch Tree Fest is made possible through the generous support of a number of public and private organizations including:

The Toronto Parks and Trees Foundation
The City of Toronto
Toronto Pearson Airport
TD Park People Grants
The Long Branch Business Improvement Association
Fair Grounds Organic Cafe

We look forward to seeing you there. See other Long Branch events here.