The following draft letter & email addresses has been provided to residents  to communicate their point of view to our political leadership at the Municipal levels of government. This letter has been created at the request of residents to communicate their opposition to the modular housing proposal at 175 Cummer Avenue.

This will be letter will be sent to sent to: councilmeeting@toronto.ca
c.c to:  23+ councillors
Councillor_Crisanti@toronto.ca, councillor_holyday@toronto.ca, Councillor_Morley@toronto.ca, councillor_perks@toronto.ca,
councillor_nunziata@toronto.ca and more….

MM7.20 – Relocation of Proposed Modular Housing and Designation of 175 Cummer Ave

Dear Councilor,

I am writing to you as a constituent of Ward 18, Willowdale. During the pandemic a decision was made to place modular supportive housing at Willowdale Manor Toronto Seniors Housing Corporation and Cummer Lodge Long Term Care. The seniors at Willowdale Manor are not digitally savvy and a majority, who do not speak English as a primary language, were not engaged in any meaningful or accessible way. Further, there has never been a consultation with the residents and families residing at Cummer Lodge.

Previously, Council decided to approve the procurement months before notice to the public, and seek a Ministerial Zoning Order (MZO) to remove protections on the site which had designated it for seniors only. The Province of Ontario denied the MZO after considering the location, the fact that construction had occurred prior to any consultation, and the presence of vulnerable seniors living on the site and adjacent long-term care facility.

Rather than assembling the facility on an alternative site, the previous Council decided to put the modular components into storage and sought to remove the seniors’ site specific protections at the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT). Instead of building the modular facility on a different location, Council placed the components in storage at a cost of now $77,000 per month. To date this has cost the City over $1 million, and could more than double to $2 million with cumulative rental fees, and the OLT appeal costs.

At a time when we are grappling with budget shortfalls and a need for housing – surely we can find a compromise that can allow this matter to move forward with clarity. This would also help the seniors, many of whom have lived with ongoing anxiety because they do not know what is going to happen.

I am asking you to consider Councilor Cheng’s motion as a way of moving forward with clarity for the seniors as well as a clear path towards implementation of the constructed units. Our neighborhood, including the vulnerable seniors living on the property would like to maintain the entirety of their greenspace and relocate the units that have been constructed. We are therefore asking you to support our seniors, and support MM7.20 – Relocation of Proposed Modular Housing and Designation of 175 Cummer Ave.

Thanks