Item - 2018.NY32.89

North York Community Council recommends that:

1. City Council request the Executive Director, Social Development, Finance & Administration, to assign a Community Development Officer to the Lawrence Heights Revitalization project.

The Lawrence Heights Revitalization is Toronto Community Housing's largest Revitalization project. At 100 acres, it is almost twice the size of Regent Park. Underway since 2015, this sites transformation will create a vibrant, mixed-income community, including 1,208 TCHC units and over 4,000 new private market units, along with new parks, retail space, and roads connecting Lawrence Heights to the surrounding community.

Unlike other neighbourhoods that are identified under the City's Toronto Strong Neighbourhoods Strategy 2020 (TSNS 2020), Lawrence Heights does not have a dedicated Community Development Officer for the largest revitalization project in the City. Recently, the Lawrence Heights Inter-Organizational Network (LHION) has asked me to make a request for increased supports from City Divisions for the next phase of the revitalization. The community is facing challenges with a lack of communication between the City’s planning department, local stakeholders, and existing residents. Dedicated resources are needed to engage the neighbourhood’s various stakeholders as well as to create a new action plan that can be monitored and evaluated throughout the redevelopment. 

There is a unique opportunity with the upcoming RFP for Phase 2 of the redevelopment.  On behalf of the Lawrence Heights community, I want to ensure that Phase 2 includes key elements that have been identified during the initial consultations:

- support projects and initiatives that address food security;

- ongoing access to community spaces including garden areas and a greenhouse;

- improved environmental designs;

- development of a community hub with incubator spaces and supports; and

- better mix of housing, community benefit agreements and pedestrian safety initiatives during construction.

A dedicated Community Development Officer will offer a critical link between existing Lawrence Heights residents, City divisions, TCHC, local NGO's and the future private sector partner, and can provide the focus needed to deliver on the initiatives outlined in this letter.