Thank You, Jeffrey Simpson.

Re: Jeffrey Simpson’s column, “Strike a blow for democracy: Scrap the OMB: In an age when municipalities have planning staffs, it’s an affront to suggest they need to have their actions overseen by a nanny,” Globe and Mail, Friday, January 28, 2011. The following is my experience.

On Monday, January 24, 2011, I experienced my first OMB hearing that lasted one day. The adjudicator made her decision on the spot in favor of the developer, that same day. The issue was a proposed 15 storey condo that will destroy 50 % of an existing woodlot, on a high elevation on the corner of Harwood & Rossland Ave., an already overburdened intersection in North Ajax, amidst an established residential neighbourhood of 181 two storey townhouses. No one wanted it.

We first got notice on Christmas Eve 2008. Two years later, I was the lone ‘party’ along with another participant appearing before a team of five ‘experts:’ a lawyer for the developer, planner for the developer, building architect, town planner and town lawyer. Our biggest stumbling block was fear, mostly of legal liability. My neighbours voted against forming a neighbourhood association, were reluctant to contribute to the planner’s $8,500 consulting fee or hire a lawyer.

I have four university degrees and work as a teacher, writer and part-time university professor. I listened to a lot of ‘experts.’ They seemed to be talking about a different neighbourhood than mine, where there is ‘no wildlife of any significance’ in the woodlot (Sharp-shinned hawk, Fowler’s toad, cardinals, woodpeckers, evening grosbeaks notwithstanding), and ‘no traffic concerns’ (despite the fact I walk to work daily amidst dangerous conditions) and transit is wonderful (I am car-free for 16 years and there are no bus shelters, irratic service after 10 pm…). At a December 13 Town of Ajax council meeting I was allowed five minutes to speak. At the OMB hearing I listened to the experts talk from 10 am to 1 pm about a neighbourhood I didn’t recognize. Madame chair asked, ‘Do you realize you cannot appear both as advocate and witness?’ Ummmm. I took one hour presenting my ‘Neighbourhood Analysis’ and pictures of the Sharp-shinned hawk that lives in the woodlot. I spoke of my concerns using phrases such as ‘tower in the park’ and ‘insensitive infill,’ quoting sections of the Ajax Official Plan. At the end I was a gracious loser and shook everyone’s hand and left.

I was not intimidated by the experts and their telephone-book-thick stacks of evidence and slick foam core illustrations, their long-winded posturing and witness testimomy about a neighbourhood they have visited, at most, probably three times. I had done my research. The OMB is established as an impartial venue to hear both sides of planning issues and sometimes ‘the little person’ really does have a chance. I feel proud that I conducted myself with integrity, stood by what I believe in, passionately defended the trees, hawks and toads, and that I didn’t back down. But as an educator, I can’t help but think that as a society we have outgrown this top down, archaic, authoritarian model. There must be more fair and creative ways to make sound and wise planning decisions for future generations. If I assigned the topic as a class project, I bet my high school students could probably come up with some.

“Be the change you want to see in the world” ~Ghandi

My Christmas wish and a thought to live by for 2011…’Be the change you want to see in the world’ by Ghandi.

Ajax Council and the 15 Storey Condo

Attending Ajax Town Council on December 13, 2010 to discuss the 15 storey condo proposed for Harwood and Rossland was like stepping into a Stephen Leacock novel. Mayor and councilors from high on their elevated platform hunkered behind desks and computer screens, while one by one residents approached a microphone for their allotted five minutes.

The group listened for over half an hour as town planner Nilesh Surti gave an overview of the proposal with glossy computer graphics. He repeatedly mixed up street names, glossed over issues of insufficient parking spaces, dangerous traffic concerns, and a fuzzy promise from the developer to hold 50 per cent of the woodlot in perpetuity. He quoted experts saying there was no wildlife of any concern in the woodlot, described special outside lighting that would somehow turn inward, assured council water drainage would not be a problem and quoted provincial policy to justify putting a 15 storey building amidst a neighbourhood of two storey town homes.

Ward 2 Councilor Renrick Ashby in the final hour backed the residents of the North Ajax neighbourhood by opposing the development. He explained the high density designation was in place during the 1980’s and was retained in 2000, and today 15 storeys represents a structure that is ‘over-capacity’ and a disconnect with existing two storey townhouse development. Councilor Ashby stated the proposed building is too large for the existing site. He suggested that with insufficient parking the developers should consider reducing the number of units. Councilor Ashby questioned why the developer insists on 15 storeys and whether they would negotiate with residents for something smaller. The developer’s answer, ‘It’s financial.’

Regional Councilor (Wards 1 and 2) Shaun Collier listened to residents’ concerns. He said he was not convinced because of outstanding issues of parking, low density of the existing neighbourhood, and that traffic volume at Harwood and Rossland is already at capacity. ‘It needs more study’ was his summary.

Regional Councilor (Ward 1) Marilyn Crawford was refreshing in her candor and the most frank in her assessment as she acknowledged residents’ concerns. She cited the only similar high rise development at Westney Road and Highway 2 (3.5 km away) which has been built on a good lot size that is not the case in this area. ‘I don’t know about zoning by-laws, but what I see here is a really big building on a very small lot.’

Ward 4 Councilor Pat Brown’s logic was that ‘all the professionals say it is appropriate, and that’s what the OMB will go by.’ Her pronouncement, ‘It’s the perfect place for it.’

Ward 3 Councilor Joanne Dies initially asked about the woodlot and stressed the importance of retaining what we have. (Councillors failed to point out that disturbing land around the existing woodlot will harm growing trees. And that leaving a narrow strip of trees, as opposed to a full clump is also harmful to biodiversity and health of the woodlot. Birds and trees, like people, are healthier when closer together). Later she said the condo should go up because government policy such as ‘Places to Grow’ mandates higher density. (But provincial policy also legislates new infill must be sensitive to existing neighbourhoods and town’s Official Plans take precedence in planning decisions). She explained the merits of having a diversity of residential options and spoke at length on reasons one chooses to live in a condo, among them, having no children, wanting to travel, being older, or not having a vehicle.

Committee Chair Colleen Jordan, Regional Councilor Wards 2 and 4 voted in favor of the condo. She acted as time keeper for the meeting, cutting residents off at the five minute mark. When I wanted to ask a question of the developer, her curt answer, ‘No you may not.’

The mayor spoke at length, offering protection for half the woodlot and prevention of further drainage problems, and even asking the developer to install a bus shelter for good measure. He sagely spoke of development in other areas that residents had at first resisted, but with the passage of time had grown to accept. He assured residents that with the backing of town council, the condo would pass OMB approval in January, 2011. His final word, anyone opposing had ‘zero chance.’

*****************

Over and over residents of the area approached the microphone expressing concerns over lack of parking, traffic hazards at Harwood and Rossland, threats to the existing woodlot by construction, concerns about increased population density, and protection of the biodiversity of the woodlot.

I spoke of a contextual analysis I completed in the neighbourhood, surveying 181 two storey townhouses and stressed that a 15 storey structure would be out of character. I am a resident of Twigg Drive and walk to work daily across Harwood and Rossland and the intersection is dangerous. As a pedestrian who regularly uses public transit, it is sporadic with cutbacks to two buses, poor northbound service after midnight and no existing bus shelters in the area. The high school is already over-crowded. I noted draining issues with saturation of the backyard properties from an east to west run-off, and that the woodlot forms a natural green corridor for biodiversity. I questioned the planning report stating there were ‘no species of significance’ in the woodlot. I have four bird feeders and the trees are thick with migrating birds in the spring and fall. Protected/endangered species include: Sharp Shinned (Sharpie) Hawk, cardinals, woodpeckers, Monarch butterflies, and Fowler’s toads. I cited Town of Ajax Official Plan, Section 2.3.5 c) All development applications for high density housing shall be compatible with surrounding development and 3.1.1 b) the sensitive integration of new development with existing development. ‘Neighbourhood character should not be sacrificed at the expense of infill and intensification projects. And it is not a done deal.’

‘My home will be completely in shadow,’ one woman stated who attended with her two children. She noted seeing a mother rabbit and baby rabbits one day on the edge of the woodlot. She said traffic was already heavy in the area and called the proposed building ‘an eyesore.’

Smales Drive resident Diane Dickson cited concerns over potential water drainage, and how the proposed 15 storey structure would increase population density and further stress already overburdened traffic conditions on Rossland Road. ‘I have photos of cars backed up as far as Church Street.’

Twigg Drive resident Nancy Henry has 600 signatures on a petition of area residents who are opposed to the building. Her concerns focus on the proposed right turn flow of traffic from the building onto busy Rossland Road, noise from garbage trucks, shading onto neighbouring two storey homes, and insufficient parking available per unit. She noted that an existing strip mall owned by the developer has set a precedent of not being properly maintained with litter out front at the picnic tables. Ms. Henry presented comparison photos of similar development projects located on wide lots that are close to amenities such as firehalls, major grocery stores and shopping malls.

Twigg Drive resident Nick Aggelonitis said in 1995, prior to purchasing his lot with the area under new construction, he researched and was assured by town staff that developers could not build on the existing woodlot behind his home. He and other first-time owners reportedly paid an extra $5,000 for properties with backyards facing the woodlot. He could have moved anywhere but chose to live in Ajax for the small town feeling. His children grew up attending neighbourhood schools. Mr. Aggelonitis spoke of the beauty of the natural woodlot where he often sees eight blue jays. ‘This area used to be all farms. Not in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine a 15 storey condo would be built there.’

Philip Underwood is a new resident in the area, buying property over a year and a half ago, not knowing the area was under development and considered for a condo project. ‘It will be a blight on the landscape,’ he said.

Ajax resident Michael Baker questioned the length of time it took for residents to get a copy of the town planning report. He questioned the use of ‘photometric light’ that will somehow turn inward. He suggested that instead of a reduction in parking spaces, a more common sense approach is to reduce the size of the building to better suit the lot. He questioned what the developers would provide for landscaping, stating residents should get clearer reassurances as to exactly what that is.

Resident of Ingold Lane, Laura Perri voiced concerns over emergency vehicles such as fire engines ‘that will be turning around in my back yard.’ She questioned the right lane only turn onto Rossland Road, and traffic concerns for emergency vehicles, traffic flow, and garbage pick up.
***************

By 10 pm the vote was a close 4-3 in favor of the proposed 15 storey condo deveopment. Voting against the development were Ward 2 Councilor Renrick Ashby, Regional Councilor for Ward 1 and 2 Shaun Collier. Councilor Diane Crawford carried the other vote in support of residents, opposing the too large building for a comparatively small sized lot.

****************

Some Numbers:
Height 15 storeys
Underground parking 2 levels
Total units 220 units
One bedroom/den 135 units
Two bedroom/den 61 units
Three bedroom 24 units
Total parking spaces 300 (262 underground, 38 surface)

Building setbacks

North to lot line Rossland 5.6 m (18.4 ft.) to Unit 1
West to lot line Trowell 12.2 m (40 ft.) 21.5 m (70.5’) Unit 35
South to lot line Twigg, Ingold 58 m (190 ft.) and a max of 75 m (246 ft.) from tower of building
11.9 m (39 ft.) and max of
20.9 (68.8 ft.)
From outdoor garden area
To proposed east lot 8.9 m (29.2 ft.)

Closest highrise building 3.5 km at Hwy. 2 and Westney Rd.
181 homes surveyed 2 storey attached townhouses
With adjoining driveways and connected backyards with open slat wood fencing, some facing woodlot.
*************
What’s next: Ontario Municipal Board hearing on January 24-26, 2011 at Ajax Council Chambers, 65 Harwood Avenue beginning 10 am. Come out and support your North Ajax neighbourhood !

Condo tower approved at Harwood and Rossland in Ajax
SABRINA BYRNES / METROLANDCondo issue

AJAX — Nick and Maria Aggelonitis attended the December meeting about the proposal to build a 15-storey condominum at the corner of Harwood Avenue and Rossland Road.

Residents oppose project but Town says it can’t win at OMB

Dec 15, 2010 – 08:41 AM

by Reka Szekely
AJAX — With a narrow majority, Ajax councillors supported a plan to build a 15-storey condo tower near the corner of Rossland Road and Harwood Avenue.

The land in question sits next to a plaza on the southwest corner of the intersection and is zoned private open space. However, the land is designated as high density residential in the Town’s official plan with a maximum height of 15 storeys.

The issue is currently before the Ontario Municipal Board and councillors were deciding whether to support the site plan application and zoning change application from Dunbury Developments.

After listening to about a half dozen residents opposing the condo and a representative of the developer, Mayor Steve Parish and the councillors Pat Brown, Joanne Dies and Colleen Jordan voted to support the project. North Ajax councillors Shaun Collier, Marilyn Crawford and Renrick Ashby all opposed it.

Mayor Parish said that given the high-density designation of the property and the Province’s policy of supporting intensification in urban areas, which means denser communities, he expected the OMB to approve it.

“The chances of this rezoning being turned down by the municipal board … is in my view remote to say the least,” he said, adding it would be a waste of taxpayers’ dollars to oppose it.

Since Town staff supported the developer’s plan, council would have had to hire outside planners to oppose it at the OMB if it wanted to oppose the application, said Mayor Parish. Town staff would likely have been subpoenaed to testify for the developers.

Before the decision was made, councillors heard a variety of concerns from residents, including the building’s impact on traffic at what is already a busy intersection due to the nearby plazas and the high school of Notre Dame and J. Clarke Richardson.

“The traffic just cannot take that kind of building in that area,” said Diane Dickson of Smales Drive.

Drainage issues and the fact that the building would cast a shadow on nearby properties during certain times of the day were identified, as were noise concerns. Residents were upset about the potential loss of the natural area some of the homes back onto.

Over and over, councillors heard that nearby residents didn’t feel the building fit with the rest of the community.

“Neighbourhood character should not be sacrificed,” said Victoria Plaskett, a Twigg Drive resident.

Nancy Henry, also of Twigg Drive, said she has a petition signed by 600 residents who opposed the condo.

Michael Manett, a planner speaking on behalf of Dunbury Developments, addressed some of the concerns, saying that a woodlot will be maintained adjacent to the condo.

“The intention long-term is to maintain it in the same way for the enjoyment of the residents as well,” he said.

Before approving the plan, Mayor Parish asked for additions to the staff recommendation including that developers provide a bus shelter outside the building, a commitment to maintain the woodlot and to address drainage issues encountered by the residents while preserving the woodlot.

The mayor said he had heard similar opposition to larger buildings in Ajax including the condos that now sit at the foot of Harwood Avenue near the waterfront.

“In all those situations, my experience has been a lot of these concerns are not borne out,” he said.

Coun. Crawford, who drew applause from the audience, said she’s not opposed to building up, but she’s opposed to building up at that site.

“All I see is that it’s a really big building going on a very small lot.”

Following the meeting, Dr. Plaskett said residents would continue to fight the issue at the OMB and dismissed Mayor Parish and councillors who said they can’t win.

“I think they’re wrong. They don’t know, it could go either way.”

Me and my new bike after doing 86 k’s at Turkey Point. Great ride!

Me and my new Trek 2.1 WS roadbike.

A great 86 k ride around Turkey Point. Camping at Norfolk Conservation Area, great perch dinner at Callaghan’s in Port Dover, chocolate peanut butter ice cream in Port Rowan, swimming and corny jokes at the campfire. Great memories of growing up along Lake Erie and swimming at the sandy beach every day.

Ajax condo project heads tothe Ontario Municipal Board

Sabrina Byrnes / Metroland
AJAX — Victoria Plaskett, John Ziolkowski, Jeff Taylor and Nancy Henry are opposed the idea of a condo development being built at the corner of Harwood Avenue and Rossland Road. July 13, 2010
Ajax condo project heads to the Ontario Municipal Board

August 03, 2010
Reka Szekely
AJAX — Approval for a proposed condo at Rossland Road and Harwood Avenue is out of the Town’s hands and heading straight to the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB).

The 15-storey condo proposal is coming from Dunbury Developments. In order to get the project moving, the developers need a zoning change to the land and approval for their site plan.

Steve Goldenberg, director of Dunbury Developments, explained why the project went straight to the Ontario Municipal Board.

“Sometimes you have to go to the OMB to get approvals if municipalities don’t work with you,” he said. “I guess in this case we feel it’s a requirement.”

Gary Muller, Ajax’s manager of planning, said the developer’s applications were originally received in 2008. If the developers don’t get a decision within 120 days, they can take the issue to the OMB. Mr. Muller said the reason Town staff haven’t made a recommendation on the project is because they’re still waiting for documents from the developers, specifically a planning justification report. He expects the information will go to OMB eventually.

“The OMB will need that evidence for it to make an informed decision,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mr. Goldenberg suggested there’s another reason the Town has not made a decision.

“I guess there’s an election coming up and they put things on hold and we don’t want to wait for that,” he said.

A group of Ajax residents is vehemently opposed to the project and have vowed to stop it, listing a variety of concerns including loss of part of a woodlot at the current site, traffic and worries the height of the building will cause privacy problems for residents in nearby houses.

Most of the opponents live on Trowell Lane, Ingold Lane, Smales Drive and Twigg Drive.

The group has created a petition against the development and Twigg Drive resident Victoria Plaskett said the response has been great at the door.

“Every single person except one signed and sometimes three people in one household are signing. They’re all against it,” she said.

Nancy Henry, also of Twigg Drive, said the ultimate goal is to stop the condo and perhaps come to an agreement with the developer. As a group, she said, the residents wouldn’t mind an alternative type of development such as townhouses.

The group plans to base its fight at the OMB on the fact that developments are supposed to fit with neighbourhoods.

“It’s the wrong place for it,” said Ms. Plaskett of the condo.

“You would expect to see highrises off the highway,” added John Ziolkowski, a resident of Trowell Lane. He pointed out that with J. Clarke Richardson and Notre Dame high schools nearby, traffic is already a problem in the neighbourhood and he fears the condo would add to it.

Ms. Henry said the majority of area residents support the fight against the condo and Ajax politicians should as well. As it stands, Ajax council has no official position on the condo because a recommendation from staff has not yet come to council.

“It’s the community as a whole and we want them to please help represent the community,” she said. Subsequent to making those comments, Ms. Henry has registered to run for her local council seat.

The Wave

The Wave

“Come to the edge, he said. They said: We are afraid. Come to the edge, he said. They came. He pushed them and they flew.” ~Guillaume Apollinaire

Oh my God if I hear one more person
Describe life as a journey down some pastoral pathway
With turns and detours and forks
Where we meet along the way for a short time or long
I think I will puke.

Real life is an obstacle course-
At least that’s the way it’s been for me.
With mountains and fiords
Orange blazing sunrises and purple red sunsets
Stepping stones slippery with seaweed and cold rain
Long swims in a cold August lake with a startled loon
I am fish woman, alive and sleek, all arm and shoulder muscles
Pushing pulling, breath, pushing pulling, breath, pushing pulling, breath.
A sea journey on a flimsy boat with one paddle
Clinging to this tiny spec of driftwood
Riding the wave
Riding the wave
Riding the wave…..

Life is the lone plane ride to foreign lands where no one knows my name.
Plodding across dry dessert sands with heavy boots and no water
The narrow trail of Mount Sinai up mauve mountains under the blue Egyptian sky
To stand right here. Right in this very spot where Moses stood 2,000 years ago.

Or pristine snow under crystalline skies of blue streaked with white cirrus clouds.
And the swish swish swish of skis and my breath the only sound
A yellow harvest moon and stars in a soft petalled sky
Summer cosmos blooming in purples, yellows and golds.
Breath deeply the heavy honey scent of alyssum, velvet petunia and purple hosta
Dripping with morning dew.

Now…catch the bus, exact change please, find your keys
And just show up day by day by day by day–for work.
Good morning Miss. Guess what? Please stand for O Canada.
Sorry for the interruption for this brief announcement,
Take out your novel studies please.
And so it goes.

The people on this, my metaphorical pathway?
Like Appollinaire, they come to the edge, take my hand and say, Let’s fly!
Let’s ride the thermals in the glider plane on this brilliant June summer day,
Trek the late winter blue ice to Stoplog cabin in the woods.
Swim naked under a star filled September sky warmed by the Chinook
Dance in those puddles under a summer thunderstorm
Sing Beatles songs loudly into the autumn night of the old abandoned cabin
Fall asleep midday under the ancient marble of the Parthenon
Write poetry at the Taj Mahal, the marble monument to love,`
Snorkel at sunrise in the coral reef of the Red Sea,
Paint the picture, write the novel,
Climb the mountain
Ride the wave
Yes. Come to the edge with me.

Sunday, April 19, 2009
~Victoria Plaskett.

Woods Threatened by Developer: Twigg Drive, Ajax. “Public Open House Meeting–Proposal for a 15-Storey Condominium Apartment Building”

Woodlot designated Protected Open Area (POA) threated by developers.

Squirrels in the old oak tree in Twigg Drive woodlot.

The old oak tree that is home to a family of raccoons.

Blue jay at the backyard platform feeder.

A squirrel enjoys my backyard 'heated' birdbath.

When my feet touch my lapas lazuli coloured Greek carpet each morning the first thing I do is gaze out my back window at the woods. Each day of each season brings new wonders as ‘my’ woods ever-changes, teeming with life. After 12 years of living in the Annex in Toronto in concrete apartments where my feet did not touch grass and at times I could not see sky, the woods is a pleasure to behold. It is my my sanctuary, my respite, my serenity and peace. 

My backyard was a bare patch of green of which the previous owner took great pride. I merely saw a blank canvas and promptly stripped sod and planted anything that bloomed: crabapple, forsythia, lilac, dogwood, hostas, hydrangeas, trilliums, cosmos, geraniums and petunias. In spring the back woods is alive with wild trillium in soft pink and white. My giant blue morning glories bloom along the fence line. A family of rabbits comes out to nibble on soft clover. One day after waking from a nap, I stayed still seeing a brown rabbit dozing on the grass within feet of me. Hummingbirds dodge from a bare branch high up to my sugarwater window feeders all summer long. They hover in and out of water dripping into the birdbath, dipping their beaks for a drink, as I hold my breath watching red and irridescent green feathers gleaming in the sun. 

The first October when I moved into this townhouse, I bought a simple wooden bird feeder and fought off the squirrels that enthusiastically raided it. The neighbours thought they were seeing a Chevy Chase movie, as I ran outside in plaid shirt and jog pants, glasses perched on my head, shaking my broom like a madwoman. Cayenne pepper and mothballs only made a mess. Four years later, the squirrels and I have made peace. They have nests built high up in the tall maples close to the chain link fence. Spring loaded feeders, bow-peep hooks and baffles work. Purple and golden finches, nuthatches and buntings feast on nyger and black oil sunflower seed. Woodpeckers, evening grosbeak, blue jays, cardinals, and an indigo bunting prefer the platform feeder with homemade peanut butter suet. On sunny days a Cooper’s hawk swoops hunting small songbirds. Neighbouring cats of black and orange hide in my forsythia, lilac and dogwood and ambush unsuspecting birds.

I have made peace with the resident raccoons, also. I spy on them with my binoculars as they sleep in the crook of the huge old oak tree during the day. They were particularly busy this summer tearing up my tiny patch of lawn in search of plentiful grubs and rotting sunlfower seeds. Each morning I would stomp huge hunks of sod back into place. They are quite at home, leaving trails of pawprints on the swing cushions and muddy evidence in the birdbath. One morning I woke at early dawn to the entire raccoon family happily frolicking in the middle of my yard-a fat thick-furred dad, mom and two baby kits snuffling, mewling and rolling around in a cuddly ball of playfullness. 

The seasons unfold in the woods. In spring the leaves are velvety soft green before they burst into full bloom. No lights can emerge from dense foilage from back houses and traffic noises from the interesection are almost muffled. Fireflies are often aglow up in the treetops at dusk; I haven’t seen them since I was a small girl. A fat Fowler’s toad lives under my broad blue-green hosta leaves, seeking sanctuary in the damp of my perennial garden.

On mid-summer I fall asleep on the backyard swing to the scent of petunias and honey scented alisum, listening to song birds, with the soft-sweet night smell of oxygen wafting heavily from the canopy of trees. I breath deeply, with a background of crickets and night sounds, the first stars glimmer, as the moon slowly arches across the sky. I often awaken in the dark, wrapped in my old brown wooly blanket, pausing to recollect my surroundings: the safety and comfort of nature, the muffled neighbourhood noises, screen doors locking, a far-away dog barking.

In fall, of course, there’s the turning colours, displays of orange, yellow and red as leaves swirl to the ground. And then nothing but bare branches and crispy brown leaves. The friendly twinkle of lights behind me seem to be closer somehow. Then the first snow settles on tree boughs and bark, the raccoons hibernate, the squirrels are more insistent in getting to the feeder, and birds less timid as they store up for the first cold days.

Migrating birds use these woods as a stop off point. Huge dark flocks of sparrows and black birds will descend in the spring chattering noisily, pausing before taking flight again. It’s the only section left. Looking down into the basin from Harwood, Rossland and Westney Roads, you now see endless rooftops and a tiny strip of this woods to the east. It’s really all we have left, except for one small section up on Harwood Avenue North, behind Fishlock.

Yesterday I received a notice in the mail. The western corner of the woods is proposed for a 15-storey high rise condominium of 220 units with underground parking for 272 and above ground parking for 45 vehicles. I was invited to a meeting at city hall on January 6  because according to their ‘Public Open House Meeting’ notice….’we would like to hear from you.’  A phone call to Town of Ajax By-the-Lake Development Approvals Coordinator Mr. Nilesh Surti just makes me momentarily less sad. I want to tell Mr. Surti, the condo developer and the people at city hall about the mysteries of photosynthesis– carbon dioxide and oxygen exchange without which humans and animals cannot live. I want to remind them of the need for biodiversity in our precious ecosystem. But mostly I want to tell them about the wild honeybees, dragonflies and butterflies that nestle into my little patch of green each summer. I want to plead with them to take care of the woods, protect it with all their hearts, because it’s got life and soul and spirit and energy that took years and years and years and years to grow and develop. I grew up exploring the rocky shores of Lake Erie, swimming the sandy beaches, and tree climbing and exploring the woods across from my house. My young body and imagination needed nature to survive and thrive, to grow in strength and spirit. Our young people need nature today, for physical and spiritual energy for their futures. I want to warn city council about those dreaded woodchippers, how woodchippers can reduce a tree to mulch in less than ten minutes….a tree that took 25 to 100 years to grow. Mr. Surti sounds friendly and patient as he says my comments would be heard; that Durham works in consultation with the GTA environmental protection programs to protect its sgreen space.

My heart is heavy with sadness and my eyes fill with tears for my woods; the melancholy caused by this notice received in my mail two days before Christmas. I do not want the developer to prevail. I do not want the plans to be be approved, the woods to be cut down, the wood chippers to grind the trees to mulch, the bulldozers to strip the soil, the trucks to come, the concrete footings to be poured, the cranes to swing, and the sawing and hammering to begin. I do not want the wildlife to be squeezed into a smaller and smaller and smaller corner of the world so we have less oxygen to breath. Is this our definition of “progress” for the western corner of Harwood and Rossland in Ajax beginning sometime in 2009.  

There’s still time before approval is granted and construction begins to save our little woods. The connection we feel for the woods and all the precious life it holds is difficult to convey to Mr. Surti, his associates at city hall, and all the fine folks at Dunbury Development Inc. with their Christmas notice in the mail of a ‘proposal for a 15-storey condominium apartment bulding.’ I watched as a young mother tromped happily through the woods on a sunny Christmas morning, holding her small baby bundled in a pink snowsuit, her big black dog sniffing and following behind, leaving a trail of foot and nose prints in fresh fallen snow. We all need those woods! So, the residents of Twigg Drive, Ingold and Fishlock must do what we can to protect that little woods from being destroyed.

My tax money is being used to bail out car companies?

Re: Tax Bail Outs for the Auto Industry
I disagree with the government using my tax money to bail out the auto industry. I live near Oshawa, Ontario and the average annual income in that city is among the highest in the province. Their tax rate is also among the highest and their services the poorest. Go figure. But that is not my main concern. My issue is that for 15 years, by choice, I have been car-free. I ride my 21 speed hybrid bicycle, walk, jog or use city transit or sometimes even splurge on a taxi. Not always a fun proposition when municipalities refuse to spend a few dollars on a bus shelter which makes a world of difference in protection from rain, wind and snow. Also disheartening is watching the roads get plowed and salted, while I walk in knee deep snow  for ten minutes to get to work. But, these are minor irritants for the payback in lifestyle and health benefits. I have used my ‘car’ money and travelled around the world with a backpack….India, Greece, Kenya, Egypt, Thailand, Cuba. I hate the thought of car companies getting my tax money while they continue to hire workers in assembly lines to make widgets and parts for cars, while others are hired to hang doors or screw in parts for gas guzzling machines that require more highways that chew up our green space and spew pollutants into the atmosphere. I say let the car companies go the way of the dinosaur; put the money into improved public transit instead. Interestingly, I am a high school teacher and my students are continually amazed and shocked that I do not own a car. After their initial puzzlement, they wonder how I manage to get around. ‘How do you get to work?” they sputter; they are truly stunned. The concept of getting around on their own two feet, of actually walking somewhere, is beyond their reality. They get driven from the door of their home, to the doorway of the school, or the mall, or the recreation centre, or wherever. Not only do they not engage with nature or their environment, but they don’t have to have any independence whatsoever….just get in a car and load up with stuff from the mall and go home. So, even though it’s now a ‘done deal’ that the auto companies are getting our tax money, we should now be pressuring them to use it to create ‘greener’ more environmentally friendly vehicles, more efficient road systems and improved public transit. Car companies should also be forced to contribute to public transit and keeping the highway systems as green and sustainable as they can be. There are many alternatives to millions of cars on the highways with one person driving and three seats empty. We just have to use our intelligence and political pressure to push for a better way for the future. As for me, I love not having to buy gas, antifreeze, new snow tires, or check the oil or pay inflated car insurance rates. I think for my next trip I will go to Peru, to climb Machu Pichu!

The Au Pair

I’m an au pair for the Karn’s who live on Depew Avenue in Buffalo, New York. I get to take the bus on Friday after school from Ridgeway across the Peace Bridge, black leather satchel packed for a weekend of watching their children. Until Sunday night, I have my own attic bed sitting room on the third floor. Knotty pine, narrow bed against the window, round pedestal oak table, and navy carpeting and big bathtub with clawed feet and I’m away from home and free.

 

My price to pay for freedom is to care for six month old baby Daniela: pick her up when she fusses, feed her a bottle, change her diaper, put her down to sleep. I am 16 and I wear Janie’s fur coat down the street with Daniela in the carriage and Aiden walking alongside, and I pretend to be ‘the mother.’ Aiden is four and I feed him his snack and help him make it to the bathroom on time when he has a movement. When Janie and Archie go out I wear her pink plush bathrobe, admire her Chanel No. 5 perfume bottles, flip through her wedding album, wander through the sunken living room and dream. She is so calm, so serene, so articulate, so poised, so rich. When entertaining their friends they include me—I help prepare dinner, peeling and de-veining fresh shrimp, washing the fresh cauliflower for a dip, checking the dishes, setting the table, making the salad. I clear the table and wash up afterwards. While the Karn’s enjoy after dinner conversation on their Swedish designed furniture, I put the children to bed. This is my favourite time. Blinds are drawn, bathroom trips made, glass of water by the bed. A bottle for Daniela in the rocker and her soft eyes lock into mine with tranquil trust. Stories for Aiden by his pillow, feather lashes flutter, fighting sleep. Baby powder and bubble gun, yellow gingham and navy blue blinds. A boy and a girl. I am mother but not mother. They are mine but not mine. Included yet excluded. They pay me $25 for the weekend.

 

Archie asks me to recite the song I have memorized, ‘Alone Again, Naturally’ that I have been hearing that summer. I know every word and he listens intently. A friend works for the Lafayette Public Library in Buffalo and he will publish my poems full of teen angst and laments of black holes of love and loneliness. I want to be a writer. I want to experience life. I’m going to go to college. I’m going to get out of Crystal Beach.

 

We visit the Albright Knox Art Gallery, the Buffalo Zoo, and their cottage on Lake Chautauqua. We ride the speed boat and eat fresh baked coconut macaroons and go for neighbourhood cookouts. The women and children sleep upstairs in the boat house. I do not know where the men sleep. In the morning the grandmother is fishing with a bobber off the dock with Aiden. I get Daniela from her crib and give her a morning bottle and place her in her playpen, then put on my bathing suit for a swim. It is different here….spongy bottom, not sandy like my beach. I have to tread water and not touch. I still cannot call either of them by name, so in awe am I of this little family. I am awed by their privilege, their grammar, their manners, their civility, their grace and their wealth. Janie has been to charm school, sold her piano to buy a Volkswagen, and once designed clothes—woven wool ponchos with fringe. She even had her own brochures, posing with her sleek, fine Audrey Hepburn looks. She has a simplicity, grace and elegance I want to have when I grow up. So, years later, when I meet my husband-to-be, I just assume he knows the script, how it will be. We shall be married at 23, have our first child at 27 and he shall be named Aiden. And when he wants to buy me perfume, I say, ‘I only wear Chanel No. 5.’