Councillors give Lawrence-Allen plan thumbs up.
Lawrence Heights.
Staff photo/NICK PERRY
After heartfelt appeals to approve revitalization of their downtrodden Lawrence Heights neighbourhood and emotional warnings that the development plan could wreak havoc on surrounding streets and the city's finances, North York councillors approved a master plan for the Lawrence-Allen community Wednesday, Nov. 2.
"Today is one of the most significant days in this journey. This now sets the blueprint, the framework, to make it happen," Eglinton-Lawrence Councillor Josh Colle told The Mirror moments after councillors voted in favour of the Lawrence-Allen secondary plan.
"I'm feeling that the city accomplished a ton. They (supporters and opponents of the plan) should be very proud on both sides of the issue. Concerns were heard and put into practice. (There's still) lots of work to do."
The Lawrence-Allen secondary plan must still be approved by city council, which meets next on Nov. 29.
Colle urged councillors to support the revitalization project of the troubled Lawrence Heights neighbourhood.
He said he and a senior police officer celebrated the fact there were "only" three shootings in the community over the summer, down from the 20 the summer before.
The shootings don't include the stabbings and muggings that took place, Colle added.
Mothers send him photos of the gunshot wounds their sons have suffered, he said.
And in a neighbourhood with a 50 per cent drop-out rate, one young woman told him not one black male student she started high school with made it to graduation.
The 20-year revitalization plan calls for replacing the 1,208 city-owned housing units in Lawrence Heights and adding 4,400 market-value ones.
The new development is expected to bring 16,000 new residents to the community bounded by Hwy. 401, Bathurst Street, Lawrence Avenue and Dufferin Street.
The project will also include trail networks, schools, parks and open space and a community centre.
Perhaps most importantly, the development will connect the isolated Lawrence Heights neighbourhood, stigmatized as the "Jungle" by outsiders, to the wider community.
At the same time, in order to address concerns about the scale of the project, the development has been reduced in size, down to 4,400 market units from the initial proposal of 7,500 units, which was later reduced to 6,300 units.
Development has been eliminated at the south end of Baycrest and Yorkdale parks, and Lawrence Square shopping centre has been removed from the focus area.
To address some of the traffic concerns, the connection between Lawrence Heights and Lawrence Manor will be strictly cycling and pedestrian paths.
Many residents of Lawrence Heights and community groups urged councillors to approve the secondary plan.
"You see, this plan is the one with all the good stuff: new houses, beautiful parks, state-of-the-art community centre. This plan strives to create social cohesion by bringing together a mixed community made of all walks of life to live together side by side harmoniously," Marian Mohamud said.
"This plan will help erase the stigma Lawrence Heights suffers. Most members of my community struggle to obtain employment because of our postal code, most members of my community pay higher insurance premiums because of our postal code. With this plan, safety will improve, self-esteem and self-confidence will rise because many positive opportunities such as training skills and employment opportunities will be created."
Youth leader Andrew Cox complained about Lawrence Heights' "deplorable conditions, lack of resources and opportunities and stigmatization" before showing a video with residents of the community explaining how important the revitalization project is to them.
"For the first time in decades, the whole community is engaged," Cox said. "The community needs new life, no doubt about it."
But others warned the development will mean traffic will overwhelm the already over-burdened streets. And they are worried about the development's impact on the deteriorating sewer system.
Resident Claire Ciss, a member of the Save Our Streets grassroots group that has concerns with the project, agreed Lawrence Heights needs to be revitalized but worries about its impact on other areas of Toronto.
She is concerned other neighbourhoods needing improvements to their infrastructure will have to do without, due to the amount of resources being "sucked in" by Lawrence Heights.
The project is moving forward without adequate cost projections, Ciss added.
"This is a black abyss, a black hole, a huge financial undertaking," she said.
Colle said development won't proceed without the money to pay for it.