The city’s official plan discourages the sale of parkland, and selling this particular parcel would violate both the TRCA’s valley-and-stream management policies and its mandate to conserve valley corridors, Mike Fenning, senior manager of conservation lands and property services, wrote in a report released Thursday.
“TRCA has consistently recognized that the valleylands within its watersheds are important natural resources and that they should be managed as open space rather than for private development or amenity areas,” Fenning wrote.
Ross Vaughan, Ford’s representative on the issue, said the mayor has great respect for the TRCA but won’t be deterred by its recommendation.
“Notwithstanding the recommendation, the family still has a desire to acquire the property,” Vaughan said.
The board’s executive committee will vote on Ford’s request at its June 1 meeting. If the committee agrees with Fenning’s opinion, the request dies. If the committee approves the request, it will proceed to a meeting of the whole board.
The TRCA is a regional body, separate from the city, to which Toronto appoints half the board members and provided about $15 million this year. It acquired the land parcel in 1966.
The little-used parcel, which sits adjacent to Ford’s Etobicoke bungalow and in front of a small community centre, is about 2,800 square feet. It includes three mature trees and a hedge. While it is located in the Humber River valley, it is outside the flood plain.
Ford and his wife, Renata, told the committee in an April letter that they want the “vacant” land so they can “install a better security fence.” They said they have “a number of safety concerns” related to problems with late-night youth trespassers.
“Our primary concern is the safety of Douglas and Stephanie, our two young children, having a secure area to play,” they wrote.
Their backyard is already fenced, but Vaughan said they are seeking an additional “buffer” between their house and property line. He said they are not interested in simply building a bigger fence.
“Let me put it this way: we all enjoy our backyard,” Vaughan said. “We all enjoy trees and grass and sunlight. And nobody wants to surround themselves with ugly board fence. Who wants to look at a bunch of ugly board fence surrounding your backyard?”
Ford’s request is unusual. While anyone can ask the TRCA to buy its land, only one or two residents per year do so. TRCA officials say they cannot recall a parkette being sold to a resident.
In a 2010 interview, Ford said he intends to knock down his bungalow and build a bigger house. Vaughan said this is not why Ford is seeking the parkland: If he wants more living space, Vaughan said, he can add a second floor to his bungalow, as Councillor Doug Ford did.
Because the land parcel is managed by the city, the TRCA asked city staff to offer their own thoughts on the proposal — a task made awkward by Ford’s position as city chief executive.
Staff avoided a direct recommendation. But, in unsigned comments that appear carefully worded, they raised the possibility of a compromise: leasing the land to Ford on a “short term” basis.
They noted that the land is “passive park space, and is not under any particular use.”
“While the sale of these lands by the TRCA is discouraged, the TRCA may wish to consider the short term lease of these lands to the abutting land owner . . . The improvement of safety and the addition of secure children’s play space can be achieved through a short term lease,” they said.
Original Article
Source: the star
Author: Daniel Dale
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