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MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
Every fall, municipalities
containing institutions of higher education welcome returning and
new students into their community. Every fall there are news reports
of police charges and by-law enforcement actions taken to address
the issues of misaligned expectations of students living away from
their parental home. This year has been different. Many news
agencies are now reporting on how well "frosh" or "orientation" week
has been planned, with very little issues for the local community.
When asked why this year is different, many communities are pointing
to the fact that within their community a "town and gown"
association has evolved, either formally or informally. Discussions
are occurring, partnerships are being forged and solutions are being
implemented. Municipalities are seeing the benefits of hosting a
higher level educational intuition within their community and the
challenges are being managed.
Much of the success of
"starting off the year" in a positive direction stems from the
discussions that have occurred between institutions of higher
learning and the communities in which they reside. Student leaders
are talking to police sergeants. City by-law enforcement officials
are talking to college administrators. Neighbourhood associations
are talking to Mayors…and the list goes on.
The Town and Gown
Association of Ontario (TGAO) is here to help. TGAO is dedicated to
improving the quality of life in those municipalities that host post
secondary institutions by promoting and supporting activities that
ensure cohesive communities that are safe, healthy and enjoyable.
Our mandate is threefold: to collect and disseminate information
such as education, research and best practices; to identify issues
and develop solutions to problems of common interest; and to work
with all levels of government to effect change. To implement our
mandate, we provide a template or organizational structure for town
and gown communities which facilitates communication and action on
local issues.
Membership in TGAO is open
to all interested stakeholders in municipalities which host
post-secondary institutions in Ontario. These stakeholders could
include any individual or organization associated with
post-secondary institutions, host municipalities, neighbourhood
organizations, residents, Business Improvement Areas, landlords and
student organizations.
We urge you to go to www.tgao.ca and contact any of
the board members for further information.
Sincerely,
Orest
Katolyk
TGAO President
City of London
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MAYORAL CANDIDATES
SURVEYED
The Town and Gown Association of
Ontario (TGAO) is dedicated to improving the quality of life in
those municipalities that host post secondary institutions by
promoting and supporting activities that ensure cohesive communities
that are safe, healthy and enjoyable. One of our mandates is to
collect and disseminate information such as education, research and
best practices.
Every fall, municipalities containing
institutions of higher education welcome returning and new students
into their community. While these municipalities recognize the
importance of hosting an institution of higher education, there are
inherent challenges for municipal leaders.
This year, with the upcoming municipal
election taking place in October, we asked mayoral candidates of
several Ontario municipalities three questions focusing on benefits,
challenges and solutions of hosting higher level educational
institutions.
The questions and each candidate's
answers can be found at www.tgao.ca
, after October 13th. Our media contact would be pleased to answer
any questions you may have.
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Local
Town & Gown Committee Nears Establishment
Momentum is building in and around York
University's north-west Toronto campus to develop a practical
solution-focussed near campus neighbourhood coalition.
In June, after a long campaign from the
Village at York Residents Association (VAYRA) and a very significant
security incident in April (see
attached statement from Dr. Mamdouh Shoukri, President
and
>> Vice-Chancellor of York University), a
first-term Toronto city councillor coordinated an initial planning
meeting with University administrators, the York Federation of
Students and City of Toronto officials to outline the practical need
for a proactive and coordinated approach to addressing the many
issues of Toronto's newest near campus neighbourhood.
VAYRA is the local residents
association for residents living in the near campus neighbourhood
located to the south of the Keele Street campus of York University.
It is a residents association -- not a homeowners' association nor a
landlord association. Membership is open to all who live in what is
now known as "The Village". VAYRA is a member of the TGAO and has
been active in seeking out best practices from other jurisdictions
and making the case in Toronto for a real effort to ensure that
students taking up off-campus residence next to campus are given the
opportunity to better connect with their non-student neighbours.
VAYRA has hosted BBQs prior to York Lions football games, partnered
with the Crime Prevention Association of Toronto on a "Neighbours'
Night Out", conducted CPTED surveys with Toronto's 31 Division, gone
door-to-door campaigning with York students in a call to action
about safety and security issues in the neighbourhood and conducted
impromptu public park clean-ups. VAYRA has also helped vulnerable
residents, both student and non-student, with landlord and tenant
issues.
Prior to the start of this school year,
VAYRA partnered with the staff of the local city councillor and
York's Student Orientation Committee to offer off-campus students
and those visiting the neighbourhood the opportunity to know what
their rights as tenants are and what their responsibilities as
neighbours are. Great effort is being made.
It is expected that the strong
commitments made in June 2010 to develop a local Town & Gown
Committee will help to develop neighbourhood solutions
to:
- address critical personal safety and
security issues;
- create awareness of serious fire
safety concerns in off-campus student housing;
- develop enforcement efforts to
unsafe and illegal property conversions that does not penalize
students.
VAYRA has also helped other Toronto
neighbourhoods connect better with their local post-secondary
institutions. (Please see Humber College's terrific program at: http://www.humber.ca/students/offcampusconnection
)
You can check out more about this
neighbourhood association at www.villageatyork.ca
Submitted by Simon Burke
Member,
VAYRA
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City of London
Tackles Parking Troubles
When residential lots are planned for
future development, there are driveways and parking spaces
identified for the purpose of parking vehicles associated with the
dwelling unit. The size and location of the driveways and parking
areas are based on zoning regulations with respect to location, lot
coverage, driveway width and parking standards (required parking
spaces per dwelling unit). In areas where there is a high
concentration of rental properties, such as neighbourhoods
surrounding university and college campuses, there have been many
instances where the demand for parking per rental property is higher
than the required and supplied parking spaces. For instance, in
order to accommodate more vehicles in the parking spaces and
driveways, front lawns of the subject and adjacent properties are
being used for access purposes.
Using front yards as access areas for
parking spaces results in damaged front lawns, reduces the
residential amenity of the neighbourhood and creates potential
safety issues of vehicles travelling over sidewalks adjacent to
front yards to access parking spaces.
In July 2010 a by-law was passed,
intended to regulate how motor vehicles can be parked while in
outdoor residential parking spaces that are authorized under the
zoning by-law (for example, in driveways). The by-law contains the
following regulations:
- a Parking Space shall only be
accessed directly via a Driveway located on the same Lot, or
directly via a street or lane;
- a Parking Space shall not include
any part of a City sidewalk;
- a Parking Space shall be comprised
of a stable surface that does not produce dust or loose
particles;
- where a Parking Space is located on
a Front Yard or Boulevard, as those terms are defined in the
City's Residential Front Yard and Boulevard Parking Policy, it
shall comply with the City's Residential Front Yard and Boulevard
Parking Policy; and
- a Parking Space shall conform to the
requirements contained in any applicable City by-law, including
but not limited to the City's Zoning By-law.
This fall while students are moving
into the neighbourhoods, Municipal Law Enforcement Officers are
issuing warnings in an effort to educate the new citizens of
acceptable community standards. A set fine of $50 has been approved
for any infractions.
Submitted by Orest
Katolyk
Manager, By-law Enforcement
City of
London
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McMaster
Students Contributing to the Community
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Welcome
Week at McMaster University is one of the craziest times of
the year. The number of noise complaints and by-law violations
rise as students celebrate their return to school. The
McMaster Students' Union is conscious of the impact students
have on the neighbourhood and has created a new Welcome Week
event to counteract any litter left behind. Approximately 500
students showed up on Friday September 10th to participate in
the first ever Residence-Wide Community Clean-Up and
BBQ!
Groups of 10 students along with
their upper year Welcome Week Representatives were each
assigned a route in the Westdale/Ainslie Wood Area,
surrounding the campus. Armed with garbage and recycling bags,
the students set off into the community with fervour - trying
to earn points towards the Residence Cup, to be awarded at the
end of the week.
McMaster students collected over
150 bags of garbage and recycling and celebrated with a
barbeque at the campus restaurant '1280'. Community members
were invited to join in and there was representation from the
Neighbourhood Association. City Councillor Brian McHattie and
MSU President Mary Koziol acted as "judges" totaling the
number of bags brought in by each
residence. |
This event allowed first year students
to take steps exploring their local off-campus community. We also
aimed to inspire a lasting sense of ownership and responsibility
towards the greater Hamilton community.
The Welcome Week
Community Clean-up and BBQ has all the signs of a tradition in the
making and will hopefully become a staple of Welcome Weeks in the
future.
Submitted by Laura
Stevens
McMaster Student Community Support Network (SCSN),
Director
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TGAO At
AMO
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TGAO is always interested in
meeting new potential partners and members, and building on
established relationships. An outreach project was undertaken
to raise awareness of TGAO across the province and meet
representatives from town and gown communities while they
attended the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO)
conference held in Windsor. All town and gown host
municipalities in Ontario were invited to a reception on
August 16, 2010 hosted by TGAO in partnership with the City of
Windsor Town and Gown Committee; the reception was held at St.
Clair College Centre for the Arts in downtown Windsor.
Outreach was also made to Provincial Ministries most related
to town and gown matters. A beautiful view of the river, good
food and interesting conversations were enjoyed by those in
attendance. Mayors, members of council, residents and
municipal staff were able to network and share information,
resulting in the great outcome we hoped for and expected when
town and gown stakeholders are
engaged. |
Submitted by Kaye
Crawford
Manager, Community Relations
City of
Waterloo
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Project
Compliance: An Alternative Choice to Rental Licensing
The City of Hamilton has initiated an
18-month proactive by-law enforcement pilot program known as Project
Compliance. The program was created in response to the City's
investigation into the feasibility of licensing rental housing. A
Community Liaison Committee was established in 2009 to examine the
feasibility of regulating rental housing namely licensing. The
Committee recommended a proactive by-law enforcement program as an
alternative to licensing based upon feedback from stakeholders,
namely landlords and realtors. The common theme echoed by both these
groups was, "The City currently has by-laws in place (property
standards and yard maintenance); why don't you enforce these
by-laws?".
The initial recommendation was focused
on the City's two wards that have the highest number of student
rental properties. However, due to concerns that the pilot would
focus on a particular group (i.e., students) and due to the request
by other Councillors concerning rental housing across the City, the
pilot program encompasses Wards 1 through to 8, which are the former
City of Hamilton boundaries. Overall, the objectives of the program
are:
- To advance the City's strategic
goals related to a safe and healthy community by proactively
identifying property standards and maintenance issues and seeking
compliance by property owners; and,
- To assist in determining the need
for a residential rental licensing program.
The pilot consists of 6 part-time
officers and one full-time licensing clerk to provide back- end
support to the officers. The pilot program was approved in April
2010. The Project Compliance Officers (PCO) were hired over the
month of May. They attended the Ontario Association of Property
Standards training course at the end of May in order to complete
Level I training. Over the month of June, they received further
training with the City's existing Municipal Law Enforcement
Officers. The pilot program went live in July 2010.
Staff met with the eight councillors in
order to share complaint statistics and establish key focus areas
and neighbourhoods for their Ward. Overall, the scope of the program
is focused on exterior and interior property standards and yard
maintenance of single/semi-detached housing and multi-residential
buildings/complexes including public housing. As well as monitoring
illegal dumping in key areas of the pilot area. Multi-residential
buildings have been identified as a focus in three of the wards and
these buildings will undergo an audit similar to the
Multi-Residential Audit Program that exists in the City of
Toronto.
Each PCO has been assigned a specific
ward(s) and is responsible for managing the issues and
inspections/enforcement associated with each ward. They are also
responsible for preparing for the "blitzes" and/or multi-residential
audits that will be carried out in each of the wards. The PCO will
identify properties for their "blitz" based on the
following:
- Select a geographical area of the
ward - e.g., four block radius;
- Review problem properties from
compiled data, i.e., check property history over the last two
years;
- Drive out to the proposed blitz area
and identify the properties to assess whether or not they should
be part of the blitz;
- Identify other properties that
should be part of the blitz;
- Finalize the blitz list for tthe
Supervisor's approval.
On the day of the "blitz" the ward PCO
assigns a number of properties to each Officer who will undertake
the inspection. Once the blitz is complete, orders, notices and/or
courtesy letters are issued. The ward PCO is responsible for
re-inspection to ensure there is compliance.
Over the month of
August, four blitzes were undertaken. A total of 147 houses were
inspected with the following results:
- 76 Orders to Comply (Property
Standards 03-117),
- 58 Notices/Field Orders (Property
Maintenance 03-118),
- 70 Courtesy Letters
The success of the program is dependent
upon the PCO achieving compliance with property owners. If the
program is successful, it may provide an alternative to licensing of
rental housing.
Submitted by Joe Xamin
Senior
Project Manager, City of Hamilton
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| Thank you for taking the time to read
this newsletter. We certainly hope it was useful for you. Please
take a moment to send us your thoughts and feedback for future
issues. Also, feel free to forward this to others you think might be
interested in hearing what going on in the area of "Town & Gown
Relations".
Sincerely,
Jennifer
Kleven
TGAO Board Member
McMaster
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