On Thursday, 28 September, 2017, a public consultation was held to discuss proposed changes to the Keele Street and Finch Avenue W intersection. The City of Toronto Planning staff presented three propositions for changes to the area, each presented separately in different stations. The event had an impressive turnout with approximately 70 to 80 local residents and DUKE Heights BIA members. We spoke to resident Talisha Ramsaroop-Godinho and asked about her impression of the changes; she said, “I think the city plans are interesting and can benefit the community in many ways. My community will be more lively and walkable, and it also brings about more opportunity for residents and development. For me, it’s important that the community is there throughout the process and that their input continues to be taken into account and the community needs and benefits are being acknowledged as well.” Former Deputy Mayor, Joe Pantalone, however, took issue with the plans’ general direction and their concentration on commercial development which he thought was facilitated at the expense of more residential development. He stated that, “the Keele Finch Plus Study could have understood and reflected how the corridor has the potential to transform into the heart of the area. It is a unique location, because this is where two major Toronto roads intersect, and there will be extensive access to transit with the completion of the Finch LRT and the Toronto York-Spadina Subway Extension (TYSSE).” Pantalone went on to say that, “Given these changes, it is disheartening to see these plans focus on employment use of the land rather mixed use which includes residential development.”The plans proposed by the Keele Finch Plus Study will surely engender many improvements in the neighbourhood, but they leave some wondering if they fully capture the exponential growth that is expected to occur in the community with the changes in transit. For more information about Keele Finch Plus and the related public consultation, you can visit the Planning Study's website and the Consultation Summary. If residents and business owners have any questions or concerns about the proposed changes to the Keele Street and Finch Avenue W intersection, they are encouraged to contact the local business improvement area, DUKE Heights BIA, and Matt Armstrong of the City of Toronto's Planning Division; he can be reached at 416-392-3521, or via email at matt.armstrong@toronto.ca.
The Economics of Flushing your Toilet
Water is free. It falls from the sky. So why is the water bill so high? When you think about it, we have a pretty amazing system. You flush your toilet, it flows down to Lake Ontario where it is cleaned at a disposal plant before it is dumped into the lake. They then suck it up from the lake, purify it, pump it up to your home where you open your tap and drink it. The price of the water is determined by how much it costs to clean it, deliver it and take the waste away.The Toronto water system, through most of its history, operated at a loss. Downtown homes didn’t even have water meters. You paid a flat rate for water based on the number of taps in your home. In 2005 the city made a conscious policy decision to restructure the water payment system so that the cost of water would rise until it reached the point where it actually covered the costs of cleaning, delivering it and removing all waste. Right now in the Keele St. and Finch Ave. neighbourhoods the sewer system is being rebuilt. It’s the water rate that is paying for this upgrade.The 2005 decision included a policy of annual increases in the water rates. Between 2005 and 2016 the price of water rose from $1.35 per cubic meter to $3.45 per cubic meter, an increase of 255%. The expectation was that as the price rose and water became more expensive people would start to take measures to conserve it. Apart from wanting to cover the real cost of supplying water, the city’s secondary objective was to get you to use less water. Toronto council has increased the price of water by an average of 9% a year each year since 2005. If they had done that with your property taxes or TTC fares there would be a revolution to rival the Boston Tea Party.The standard toilet most people have in their homes uses seven gallons (US liquid gallons) or (26.5 litres) of water to flush. In 2005 it cost you three and a half cents to flush that toilet. Today that cost has grown to nine cents a flush. If the average household size is three people and each flushes the toilet three times a day, the actual cost of water to flush the toilet in your house is $296 a year; up from $115.00 in 2005.Modern low flow toilets use a fraction of the water. The new standard six litre toilets use four times less water than the toilet most people sit on. The water bill for flushing this toilet is $ 69. That’s a savings of $227 a year. If you buy one of the new three litre ultra-low flow models your savings increases to $261 a year.The cost of a new low flow toilet ranges from $112 to $568 with the average around $270. If you can install it yourself, all the better. If not, allow around $200 for installation charges.That means that your new toilet will pay for itself in about two years.Get off the pot, go to your local hardware store, pick out a low flow toilet and stop flushing your money down the drain!
Victory for Tenants of Toronto
On December 14, 2016 the city of Toronto voted for Landlord Licensing after a long battle between tenants and landlords.For twelve years, the Association of Community Organization for Reform Now (ACORN) has been knocking on doors in low to moderate income neighbourhoods asking residents what issues they faced in their community.One problem quickly revealed itself to be an epidemic across the metropolitan: Toronto has a slumlord crisis. Tenants are paying high market rent to live in increasingly worsening conditions. In multi-residential buildings across the city, tenants face ongoing substandard housing issues, include: bursting old pipes (leading to repeated flooding), rising floors, caving ceilings and other water damage as well as mold which is a health hazard, among other things.Chronic infestations of cockroaches, vermin and bedbugs are another huge problem. Many buildings also have continuous elevator issues resulting in frustratingly unreasonable long wait times going up and down in the mornings and evenings. Uneven heating is also an issue during the cold winter months.ACORN, currently boasting 83,000 members, Canada-wide, has been calling for Landlord Licensing since 2008. Landlord Licensing is a cost recovery program that charges the landlord approximately $12 per unit to cover the expansion of a city run Multi Residential Apartment Building (MRAB) inspection program. MRAB was, until now, a reactive inspection program which responds to complaints made by a tenant to the city either by a direct call to the city councillor or by calling 311. Unfortunately, few renters are aware of this option and are left without enough adequate information. Some tenants even mention being afraid of repercussions from landlords if they complain.Landlord Licensing will expand to the MRAB program, in a last minute amendment from Councillor Glenn De Baeremaeker, Ward 38. Six more inspectors were added to the proposed addition to tackle the large task of annual proactive inspections of every building with a minimum of three stories and no less than ten units.The inspection program will be similar to the Dine Safe program, where buildings would have to maintain a set of standards and if caught in violation of these standards would have to pay a fine if the issue is not brought up to standard in the set time. Landlord Licensing will implement a grading system that will be displayed at the front of each building so prospective renters can see the buildings grade before signing the lease.This is a win/win for landlords and tenants as good landlords can boast a good grade, bringing more prospective renters and reducing vacancies. Until now, there was only a self-certification that buildings awarded themselves and is entirely meaningless, a mere advertising stunt. Certification must come from the city so that tenants can trust it has value.Many landlords have fought Landlord Licensing, claiming that there is no need and there are only a few bad apples. Extensive documented research done by ACORN and confirmed by MRAB reveal that the reality is an epidemic of substandard market housing that urgently needs to be rectified. Landlords have distributed flyers using fear tactics as a way to scare tenants to act against their own interests, leading tenants to believe Landlord Licensing would cost them money, calling it an apartment tax. Josh Matlow, City Councillor, Ward 22 has repeatedly stated that the claim is absolutely false. Matlow has been a leader in the fight to protect tenants.One of the first city councillors to join ACORN’s fight for tenants inside city hall, is Janet Davis, Ward 31, who has been a strong and diligent champion for almost one decade. Listening closely to the needs of the people, Davis has helped lay the foundation and together overcome the years of hurdles that have brought ACORN’s Landlord Licensing to this victory. “I want to applaud tenant organizations across the city who have spoken out and are demanding the city take action" said Davis, who wanted to extend her appreciation.