The St. Clair right-of-way has been back in court the last two days. Save Our St. Clair is still fighting the City on whether the TTC has the right to build the dedicated streetcar lane since St. Clair was not considered a traffic corridor in the 1994 official plan. The 1994 plan was the legally binding document when council approved the ROW in November 2004, SOS argues. There are articles in the Globe from yesterday and today that can give you a lengthy description of the arguements.
Following up on yesterday’s post about money and the waterfront: there is still much confusion whether the city is on the hook for $500 million is cash to the redevelopment, or if that $500 million includes land. It looks like the sparring sides of council are in lock-step with one another on this issue — both sides believe that land was part of the deal, while Robert Fung, the chair of the Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corp., believes the City’s contribution must be made in cash. Does this finger-pointing seem like deja vu?
While that was being discussed, an agreement to speed up renewal of Toronto’s waterfront, and clarify who is in charge, was approved yesterday by City Council. The Globe and Mail reports, “In effect, TWRC takes the lead on redeveloping about 29 hectares (116 acres) of 100 hectares (400 acres) owned by Toronto Economic Development Corp., the city agency that retains its lead role on a film studio and other projects under way in the Port Lands. Significantly, the city retains ownership of the land and will monitor long-term leases between TWRC and the private sector.”
