Thread by @GraphicMatt

Toronto Council meets today! It’s the March Mini Meeting — a short agenda just to clear the decks on Planning & Housing Committee and Community Council items. They should be able to speed run this. I’ll be tweeting as they do.

You can watch live here:

A new addition to the Council agenda: a report from Toronto Medical Officer of Health Dr. Eileen de Villa, recommending Council drop the city’s mask requirements as soon as the provincial government drops their mask requirements.

toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2… (PDF)

Up first: the modular housing project at 175 Cummer Avenue. Council previously asked the prov to issue an MZO to speed along this new affordable housing. Province said no. So, out of options, Council will vote on whether to pursue slower method of rezoning app.toronto.ca/tmmis/viewAgen…

And here we go. Councillor Michael Thompson with a purple virtual background honouring International Women’s Day. Councillor Paula Fletcher is in an orange void. Deputy Mayor Denzil Minnan-Wong is in blurry void.

Mayor John Tory kicks off with some remarks about Ukraine. “What Russia is doing is completely wrong, and totally beyond any justification whatsoever.”

Tory pivots to a presentation in recognition of Domee Shi, director of the new movie TURNING RED. Tory says he loves that there is a movie where Toronto actually gets to play itself.

If Tory is endorsing TURNING RED he is also, by transitive property, also endorsing the return of the name SkyDome for our baseball stadium. That’s the law.

Director of TURNING RED Domee Shi is here! Virtually. “Hope you all enjoy this love letter to Toronto coming out March 11 on Disney Plus,” she says.

Up now: Councillor Jennifer McKelvie shares a Tik Tok she made celebrating the women of Toronto council.

Councillor Mike Colle, with no comment, withdraws his motion that would have requested the TTC to wrap a bunch of streetcars in the Ukrainian flag. app.toronto.ca/tmmis/viewAgen…

Agenda confirmed. 29 items left for debate. Up now is the 175 Cummer Ave modular housing debacle, where provincial inaction on an MZO has left the city with literal pieces of affordable houses left languishing in a TTC parking lot. app.toronto.ca/tmmis/viewAgen…

The Bayview Cummer Neighbourhood Association has a letter asking Council to cancel the project, and “start working together with the province to find a new site in Willowdale that doesn’t put our seniors at risk.” Unclear how housing puts seniors at risk. toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2…

The BCNA letter also says they plan to appeal the rezoning to the LPAT. Helps explain why city wanted an MZO — they aren’t subject to appeal. toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2… (PDF)

Mayor John Tory is first so speak on the Willowdale modular housing project. He says the “failure to act” by the province is “difficult to understand.” Housing is an urgent problem, so why would they block a housing project?

Tory says he’s still optimistic that a MZO could be issued, “because I haven’t really heard why it isn’t being issued.” Calls it bizarre that the city has housing units sitting in storage they can’t use. Hopes Council will support recommendation to go forward with process.

Notable tidbit in this 175 Cummer Ave debate is that Nathan Gomes, President of the Bayview Cummer Neighbourhood Association, also works in the Ontario Cabinet Office. (Thanks @brianbswizzle)

Councillor Bailao on this modular housing project: “I just can’t make sense of, when there’s housing summits being hosted by the province, when there’s money being thrown at municipalities to approve things faster, and when the most vulnerable are at risk, we see no action.”

Council votes 25-0 to APPROVE starting the rezoning process for the modular affordable housing project at 175 Cummer Avenue. This route will be slower than an MZO, but the provincial government is refusing to issue an MZO.

🌲🌲🌲 It is now time for a TREE DEBATE.

The TREE: this Colorado blue spruce at 171 John Street.

Staff are recommending the tree LIVE, with no permit issued for removal. The Etobicoke York Community Council voted to overrule staff and let the tree DIE.

app.toronto.ca/tmmis/viewAgen…

Councillor Gord Perks moves that the homeowner requesting the tree removal provide five replacement trees.

Councillor Frances Nunziata — the tree’s in her ward — moves instead that the homeowner only provide one replacement tree. “The yard’s not big enough for five trees,” she explains.

Councillor Shelley Carroll points out the five replacement trees would not all need to be located on this property. Homeowner could provide cash-in-lieu.

Councillor Nunziata’s motion to only require the homeowner to plant one tree (not five) to replace this tree, should Council vote to allow the removal permit, FAILS 12-12. Loses on a tie.

Councillor Perks’ motion to require five trees to be planted to replace this one tree, should Council vote to approve the removal permit, CARRIES 17-8.

And Council votes to APPROVE the tree removal permit by a show of hands. The tree shall DIE, but five smaller trees may rise to take its place.

Lots of people in my mentions pointing out it is absurd that the Council of Canada’s largest city is debating a single tree. I agree. But also: they’re about to have another one.

But first, on an item about a development application for 3280 Dufferin Street, Councillor Mike Colle has a motion for a public education campaign that would explain what the Ontario Land Tribunal does. app.toronto.ca/tmmis/viewAgen…

Colle complains that he has more development applications in his ward than “six or seven provinces combined.” He’s worried about “hyper-development.”

“They’ve gone mad! There’s a frenzy out there.”

Colle’s motion for a public education campaign re: the role of the Land Tribunal CARRIES 23-2.

Now: a TREE debate, AGAIN.

The tree: this Siberian elm tree at 24 King High Avenue in North York.

Homeowner says tree is in bad condition and worries it’ll fall over. City arborist visited and says tree looks fine.

Council will have the final say: LIFE or DEATH.

On this one tree, Councillor Gord Perks moves the staff recommendation to DENY the tree removal permit and let the tree LIVE.

Councillor James Pasternak moves to let the tree DIE, provided the homeowner provide five replacement trees.

Pasternak explains that he went to visit the site and see the tree. He was so concerned that branches might fall on him that he didn’t get too close.

Councillor Paula Fletcher asks if Pasternak considering bringing along city arborists when he visited this tree to assess it. Pasternak says no.

Alas, we will have to wait until after the lunch break to the learn the fate of this tree.

The adrenaline and anticipation will probably make it a challenge to eat, but please try to at least have some crackers and soup or something.

Back at 2 p.m.

We are back. The fate of this one tree will be decided by Toronto council in mere moments. The anticipation is building. The countdown clock is ticking. Here. we. go.

Council votes 14-10 to DENY the tree removal permit for 24 King High Avenue in North York.

The tree shall LIVE.

Undefeated.

FYI for my @CorktownTO neighbours: Councillor Wong-Tam’s motion for public realm improvements to the area underneath the highway ramps near King & Sumach was adopted unanimously. app.toronto.ca/tmmis/viewAgen…

Seven items left on the agenda.

Up now is the day’s other main event: this COVID report, which includes a recommendation to drop Toronto’s mask bylaws at the same time Ontario drops the provincial mask rules. app.toronto.ca/tmmis/viewAgen…

Medical Officer of Health Dr. Eileen de Villa gives Council a presentation affirming her recommendation to drop Toronto’s mask bylaws in lockstep with the province, which means most masking ends March 21, except TTC, long-term care homes, shelters, etc.

Councillor Bailao asks the City Manager when we’ll be getting some guidelines re: holding public consultations in person again. Murray says communication should be coming soon re: bringing those back after March 21.

Councillor Stephen Holyday asks de Villa if there’s any value at all in wearing just a cloth mask anymore. De Villa says the science suggests simple cloth masks are of “very limited value.” Well-fitting N95 or KN95 recommended.

Mayor John Tory says he’s confident Dr. de Villa has come up with these recommendations based on “the very best science” regardless of politics. He moves the recommendations to cancel the city mask bylaws on the provincial schedule.

Councillor John Filion moves to request more PCR testing and access to antiviral meds for those who test positive to COVID-19.

Filion says he thinks dropping the masks is “too soon.” He doesn’t think the city should do it just because the province is. He’d like to see lower numbers before making this move.

Councillor Wong-Tam has a motion to consult with the Accessibility Advisory Committee re: masking and public health, and to look at measures to combat hate crimes, including anti-Asian hate crimes, related to masking and other public health measures.

Councillor Paula Fletcher moves for Dr. de Villa to continue to provide monthly reports re: COVID. There’s some brief consternation over whether those reports should go to the Board of Health or straight to Council. Ultimately, it’s decided they should go to the Board of Health

Council votes 24-1 to APPROVE Dr. de Villa’s recommendation to end Toronto’s mask bylaws on the provincial schedule.

The other three motions on the COVID item — from Fletcher, Wong-Tam and Filion — also carry, via show of hands.

Council jumps over to an Ontario Line item. Councillor Paula Fletcher moves for a report on a mechanism that would allow the city to review all tree removal proposals related to the Ontario Line.

Fletcher’s tree motion carries via show of hands. A motion to have staff attend public meeting re: right-of-way permits needed for Ontario Line construction carries, 21-2. Remainder of Ontario Line item, which includes request to bury eastern part, also carries via show of hands.

Two items left. But Councillor Gord Perks and Councillor Shelley Carroll want to go into private session to discuss them. Items are a couple of development proposals. Nunziata thinks the private session will only take about ten minutes. “Oy vey,” says Colle.

After a lot longer than ten minutes (43 minutes), Council returns from private session. Carroll and Perks both aren’t unhappy with a (confidential) motion from Councillor Grimes re: an application for townhouse development at 80 Thirtieth Street. But Grimes’ motion CARRIES 17-3.

And that’s all for Council’s March Mini Meeting. Their next meeting is a full-size session starting on April 6. For the first time in a long time, members of council will have the option of attending in person.

Thanks for reading! I bet you weren’t expecting so many tweets about trees. If you enjoyed this thread and want to keep up with all sorts of City Hall news, please consider subscribing to @CityHallWatcher. It supports me and the stuff I do. graphicmatt.substack.com/subscribe