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The Etobicoke York Community Planning District office of the City Planning Division is engaged in leading a revitalization initiative for the Mimico-By-The-Lake community.
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What's New
Community Status Update Meeting
A Status Update Meeting was held on December 7, 2011, 7:00 p.m. in the Auditorium at John English School.
As promised at the meeting, the overhead slides presented can be found on the following links:
Part 1 - Project History presented by City Planning
Part 2 - Overview of Previous and Current work phases by Urban Strategies Inc including Heritage Study
Many thanks for all of those in attendance and for your valued feedback. Please stay tuned for updates in the new year.
Project Newsletter - April 2011 Update
Please see attached Newsletter providing a Project update as we begin work on the Policy Development Phase.
Background
Project Initiation
On September 13, 2006, Etobicoke York Community Council (See item 7.105 on page 92, Report 7 Clause 86) requested the Director, Community Planning, Etobicoke York District to report on the next steps involved in moving the "Mimico by the Lake Project 20/20: A Perfect Vision for our Community" initiative forward.
This document was brought forward to initiate a formal community revitalization process following discussions between local Councillor Mark Grimes and area residents. The document preliminarily identifies some of the opportunities, challenges and potential implementing mechanisms to secure revitalization of the Mimico apartment strip and surrounding area. The document also reiterates a desire in seeking broad participation from all stakeholders throughout the process.
Based on the recommendations contained in the ensuing Planning staff report, on February 13, 2007 Etobicoke York Community Council (EYCC) directed staff to facilitate a broad based public consultation process to establish a vision, and determine potential next steps towards the revitalization of the Mimico-By-The-Lake Community.
June 16, 2007 – Mimico 20/20 Community Workshop
The above directive resulted in a community workshop facilitated by professional facilitator Sue Cumming of Cumming+Company, and was attended by over 100 participants on June 16, 2007. The results of the community workshop are contained in the consultant's report entitled Mimico 20/20 Workshop Report and Recommendations For Next Steps. This document along with a project update and outline of next steps was provided in a Planning Report at the January 15, 2008 EYCC meeting.
February 25, 2008 - Open House/Information Session
On the evening of February 25, 2008, City Planning was pleased to host an Open House/Information Session under the theme "Moving Forward: Process, Priorities, Participation". Held at the Mimico Public Library, the event was very well attended with over 140 area residents and community stakeholders. The purpose of the event was to provide information and encourage public discussion and feedback on the next steps of Project Mimico 20/20, namely:
- the preparation of a study/action plan Terms of Reference; and
- the hiring of study consultants
The first part of the evening was conducted as an informal Open House session. Questionnaires in hand, members of the public had an opportunity to visit "info stations" and meet with/ask questions of City (and TRCA) staff having expertise within each of the 7 broad Study Priority Areas. The aim of this session was to assist the public in completing the questionnaire and personally meet your Project partners.
Following welcoming remarks from Councillor Mark Grimes, the next portion of the evening featured short presentations from the City Divisions of Planning, Parks, and Economic Development. City Planning provided an overview of the area, the Project history and update, a summary of the key June 16/07 Workshop findings and the proposed next steps.
Staff from Parks and Economic Development with the assistance of the local BIA, provided updates on recent, current and near term activities. The presentations underscored that there is already 'something going on' within the Mimico-by-the-Lake community, and stimulated thought for future study/action to complement existing initiatives.
The final segment of the evening included a question and answer period, where members of the public had the opportunity to be heard and have their concerns addressed in an open forum.
City staff considers the evening to be a great success, where the dialogue was found constructive, and the level of public interest, cooperation and enthusiasm most encouraging.
Open House Questionnaire Results
Planning staff developed a public Questionnaire to seek feedback that was incorporated in the Study Terms of Reference preparation and consultant hiring Project phase. The questionnaire focussed on reaffirming the community 'Vision', and ranking of the 7 broad Study Priority Areas.
Community Vision Affirmation
Based on the submitted responses, "Community Vision" statement now reads:
"Mimico-By-The-Lake is a historic Toronto Community that is known for its unique lakeside location within Toronto's waterfront. It has exemplary public spaces and connections to and along the waterfront with trails, parks and places for community gathering and play; an accessible, attractive and vibrant main street that supports transit and a mix of shops, services, employment opportunities and community activities and is a draw for residents and others outside the area; housing choices and opportunities for renewed rental and ownership; and inclusive participation from an active mixed income community which celebrates its history, diversity, environment, arts and culture."
Study Priority Area Rankings
Respondents were asked to identify in order, their top 3 rankings of the 7 broad Study Priority Areas. The following Table summarizes the final results:
| Overall Summary Table |
| Overall Rank |
Study Priority Area |
Frequency
(no. of times voted as 1, 2 or 3) |
Total Points |
| 1 |
Parks, Recreation & Waterfront |
39 |
94 |
| 2 |
Housing |
28 |
93 |
| 3 |
Land Use/Built Form |
31 |
78 |
| 4 |
Transportation |
27 |
47 |
| 5 |
Business/Economic Development and Promotion |
16 |
40 |
| 6 |
Infrastructure/Public Realm |
15 |
21 |
| 7 |
Social Services |
12 |
21 |
Planning staff note that despite these rankings, all of the above have been established as Priority Areas, as identified at the outset of the Project through the original June 16/07 Community Workshop day, and will continue to be treated as such. This exercise has however produced a tool that will be useful for assisting in the efficient allocation of limited resources. There is no compelling evidence to suggest elimination of any of the established Study Priority Areas.
Terms of Reference Overview Report
This Information Report was presented at the July 7, 2008 Etobicoke-York Community Council (EYCC) meeting. The Report provides background information on the study process to date and sets the framework on which a detailed Request For Proposals will be prepared. Upon hiring the successful consultants in the summer of 2008, staff anticipate initial public contact in the Fall and completion of the report in the first quarter of 2009.
Hiring Announcement
City Planning is pleased to announce the return of Urban Strategies Inc. to complete the final "vision-to-implementation" phase of the Mimico 20/20 Project. As previously mentioned, Urban Strategies is an award winning Toronto based, internationally respected planning and urban design firm that has assembled an impressive multi-disciplinary team to complete this task. You are invited to explore some more of Urban Strategies' work here.
Results - Mimico 20/20 Revitalization Charette - April 6-9/09
Hosted by Urban Strategies Inc., the Charette was a very successful major community event attracting over 200 participants, including residents, community groups, politicians, City staff, agencies, land owners and businesses. Over 20 separate city-building themed sessions were offered in varying formats including round table discussions, workshops, invited guest speakers, walking tours, on-going scale modeling and hands-on design sessions.
Charette participants identified targeted strategies to direct future change across Mimico-By-The-Lake and created a large scale model that explored potential future development opportunities. The scaled model was a physical interpretation of the community’s vision and acted as the conceptual framework plan for future redevelopment and revitalization opportunities.
The full results of the Charette are found in Mimico 20/20: Revitalization Action Plan Proceedings Report (PDF 6.4 MB), prepared by Urban Strategies Inc. This document is followed by the Mimico-By-The-Lake Implementation Action Memo (PDF), which presents a recommended development framework necessary to implement the established community Vision.
At the core of the Action Memo, the consultant’s key implementation recommendation is for a City-initiated Official Plan amendment for the creation of a framework that addresses key policy areas including Land Use, Rental Housing, Density, Infrastructure, Design and Open Space.
On behalf of City Planning and all Project Partners, we’d like to thank Urban Strategies for their most valued input and participation in this Project phase.
On October 13, 2009, Planning staff presented a report to EYCC (Item 30.20) to introduce the above documents, as well as to announce the commencement of the final Project implementation phase through a City-initiated Official Plan Amendment exercise.
Pending council authorization, Planning staff intend to conduct a community consultation meeting in winter 2009/2010 to discuss the consultant’s reports, and have targeted June 2010 for the presentation of a Final Report to Council.
Need more information?
To add your name to the mailing list, to submit and/or to request information, please contact the project coordinator:
Matthew Premru, Planner
Community Planning, Etobicoke York District
2 Civic Centre Court, 3rd Floor
Toronto, Ontario M9C 5A3
Tel: 416-394-6004
Fax: 416-394-6063
Email: mpremru@toronto.ca
You may also contact your local ward councillor:
Councillor Mark Grimes
Ward 6 Etobicoke-Lakeshore
(416) 397-9273
Email: councillor_grimes@toronto.ca
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