Dear CRA Members,
On Thursday July 21st members of the Board of Directors of the CRA made deputations to the members of the Parks and Environment Committee (PEC) regarding the potential closure of Riverdale Farm.
Over 100 people made deputations, many of them about Riverdale Park West and Riverdale Farm, including the presentation of 7,413 signatures on a petition against the potential closure of the farm.
As you have seen in the news, many of these review committees have made no firm decisions and have chosen to forward consideration of service cuts directly to the Executive Committee for final determination. At the end of the meeting on July 21st, there was a slightly different outcome.
Members of PEC sent the whole package to Executive Committee in September without recommendations. That is, they didn’t give any suggestions around the Farm or anything else discussed (urban forestry or parks). However, they did request that City Staff report on “implications of the specific service reductions” when it comes forward next. So many consider this a small procedural win for the moment.
The PEC meeting was video-taped and archived. You may be interested in the deputations of those who spoke on behalf of Riverdale Park West Stewardship Team (Anne Pastuszak), the Don Vale Cabbagetown Residents Association (John Simpson, Lee Matheson) and the Riverdale Farm Advisory Council (Dan Eldridge).
The archive is at:
http://www.rogerstv.com/page.aspx?lid=237&rid=16&sid=1030&gid=82893
Anne at 6:16:43
John at 6:45:19
Lee at 6:53:24
Dan at 8:07:03
Finally, all councillors were presented with a package of 323 emails from Torontonians who submitted written declarations to oppose cuts to services within the Parks and Environment domain; many of these were from Cabbagetown residents.
The CRA is committed to staying abreast of the situation and we will keep you informed as events transpire. As always, visit our website at www.cabbagetowner.com for current information or contact us at info@cabbagetowner.com.
See you around the neighbourhood,
Lindsay Whitfield
On behalf of the CRA