As you may have noticed, Brescia will be starting the construction of its new residence and dining pavilion this spring. This will necessitate the removal of a number of mature trees from the north and south sides of Ramsay Road as well as the “courtyard” area between the Library and Ursuline Hall on the Brescia campus. Brescia has indicated that they plan to plant at least two trees for each one removed.

The parking lot will be moved to the southwest corner of Ramsay and Brescia Lane. To that end, Brescia has filed a revised application to amend the city’s Official Plan and zoning by law for its lands on the west side of Brescia Lane. The change is to permit a variety of uses at the corner from roughly the old Gunn House, north to Ramsay Road. The rest of the property, currently in a low density residential land use, will be changed to a Regional Facility use, but without a zoning change at this time. This clarifies that there are no current plans for developing the lands south to Sarnia Road. The details of the notice are included below.

A public participation meeting before the city’s Planning and Environment Committee will be held this spring at city hall. Information on the date and time will be posted when it is available.

SHERWOOD FOREST SCHOOL SITE

A group of ratepayers have been busy working on alternative uses for the school site. One set of options has been prepared by students at Fanshawe College. You can see these options presented to the community on March 21 at 7 pm at the Church of the Transfiguration, 33 Bromleigh.

An update to the community from the “school site group” of ratepayers will be at the upcoming annual general meeting. While a date has not yet been set, it is hoped to have this meeting around mid May this year. Stay tuned for details.

The city’s urban forester has advised us that there are ash trees on the school property. It is not known at this time when the Board will remove them or if they will be removed by a new owner.
WESTERN UNIVERSITY UPDATE

The university is undertaking a parking study. It has retained the firm, IBI Group, to do this work for them. The firm has been charged with looking at “everything,” according to staff quoted in the Western News. This includes lot types, designations and locations to alternative transportation options, traffic patterns and future needs.

Currently, the company is in the initial data-collection phase. Campus community involvement soon follows via surveys and focus groups over the next three or four months.

A final report is due in July. Those recommendations will be used to inform a parking master plan, which will be integrated into the campus master plan.

If you work on campus, please participate in the study.

MEDWAY VALLEY

There is no new information on when the Conservation Master Plan for the Valley will start. This will be managed by the City with most of the work done by consultants hired by the city. Unlike previous studies, this study will include the entire Valley within the city, including the section north of Fanshawe Park Road which was not included in previous work.

BRESCIA’s APPLICATION FOR A CHANGE IN LAND USE AND ZONING

Revised Notice – Southwest portion of 1285 Western Road on the lands immediately to the west of Brescia Lane, south of Ramsay Road. – The proposed amendment is to permit the relocation of the existing parking lot, currently located on the north side of Ramsay Road, to the subject site and to recognize the existing Physical Plant, Administration Offices, and ESL School Administration Offices as conforming land uses. Possible amendment to the Official Plan by amending Schedule A – Land Use – FROM Low Density Residential TO Regional Facility on the subject lands. Possible amendment to the Zoning By-law Z.-1 FROM a Residential R1 (R1-10) Zone which permits one Single Detached dwelling TO a Regional Facility Special Provision (RF(_)) Zone on only the northern portion of the subject lands to permit the following uses: Adult secondary schools; Churches; Commercial parking structures and/or lots; Commercial schools; Community colleges; Day care centres; Elementary schools; Emergency care establishments; Hospitals; Institutional uses; Libraries; Nursing homes; Private schools; Recreational buildings; Secondary schools; Ancillary residential and/or hostels and accommodations, together with permitted uses in this zone; and Universities with a minimum west interior side yard depth of 6.0m. Please note: The revised amendment is intended to reduce the land area that is subject to the Zoning By-law amendment and to revise the list of uses requested for the area of land intended to be rezoned.

The Boundary Review Parent Community Input Form for Orchard Park, Sherwood Forest, Clara Brenton and Eagle Heights is now available. The information is going home with students from Orchard Park and from Sherwood Forest today (Thursday, December 15). Responses are due back to the school on Monday, December 19th. However, the Board’s process is that only parents of students in the school are to submit forms. The rest of us are to have our say at the Board meeting the evening of January 10th at the Board offices, 1250 Dundas Street.