The Hon. Dennis Timbrell, OMB Presentation, 04 May 2010, Summary


Mr. Timbrell provided some information on his career background, including his teaching career in Don Mills, followed by several terms as a Don Mills Alderman and Member of Legislature, Minister of Municipal Affairs, and other portfolios held in the Government of Ontario. He also mentioned that he was proud to hold Membership No. 1 of the Don Mills Residents' Association, the forerunner of today's Don Mills Residents Inc. (DMRI).

In addition to basing his presentation on the points contained in our list of Myths and Facts, Mr. Timbrell raised the following issues, among others:

  • The community accepted years ago that the Don Mills Centre site would some day be redeveloped. That is why so much work was committed by the community and its municipal representatives (Timbrell, Penfold, Yuill, Labatte) to the development and regular updates of the Central Don Mills Secondary Plan, including taking into account, from the early 1970s, possible future transit upgrades on the Don Mills Road corridor.
     
  • The Secondary Plan would allow 1.7 million square feet of development. Mr. Timbrell's repeated calls for Cadillac Fairview (CF) or DMRI to explain why CF should be allowed 2.7 million square feet, remained unanswered.
     
  • There was misleading information in the March 2010 DMRI Newsletter.
     
  • Mr. Timbrell mentioned that he had called some City councillors prior to the October 2009 Council vote and was told that they realized the application did not constitute good planning, but they would vote for it because they owed Cliff Jenkins [a favour].
     
  • Because a review of the Central Don Mills Secondary Plan had been ordered, this review should precede the approval of any new development—the application should not drive the outcome.
     
  • Don Mills does have existing community centres, such as Taylor Place, the Library, churches.
     
  • At the hearing, CF's planning consultant stated that CF's original plan for a 14,000-sf recreation centre included a pool. The planning consultant also disclosed that the 37,000-sf community centre would include retail and office space for rent. Therefore, other than moving the building to the Don Mills Road/Donway West corner, it is difficult to say how much additional community space would actually be gained.
     
  • Mr. Timbrell also raised the serious concern that by 2020, the Civitan arena would close, and there may not be a new site available, thus potentially killing one of the most successful community hockey programs for girls and boys in all of Canada.
     
  • Mr. Timbrell stated that there is no provision in the settlement for a certain percentage of low-income housing to be included.
     
  • During the mediation process, the Planning Staff Report and its authors were not consulted. When Mr.Timbrell made this statement, Mr. Davies (CF lawyer) interrupted, requesting clarification and details. Mr. Timbrell replied that this is what he had been told by city contacts, and challenged Mr. Mascarin (DMRI lawyer) and Mr. Davies to prove him wrong. Mr. Timbrell's challenge to Mr. Mascarin and Mr. Davies to refute what he said went unanswered, their silence confirming what had been stated. Since the hearing, Mr. Timbrell reconfirmed this information with a City Councillor.
     
  • Mr. Timbrell stated that the application does not constitute good planning, and the development would affect surrounding properties in a negative way, paving the way for other applications for similar heights and densities.
     
  • Near the end of the hearing, Mr. Davies tabled proposed zoning and Official Plan amendments which may actually be setting the stage for an eventual Phase 3 Development, e.g., more condos when CF gets back the lands presently leased to the Metro food store when their long-term lease expires in the next few years. (Given the shaky start to the "Shops at Don Mills," Mr. Timbrell is concerned that this may be CF's insurance policy for eventual redevelopment of a considerable portion of the land now committed to retail.)
     
  • At the end of his presentation, Mr. Timbrell suggested to the OMB vice chair that she:

a) send the application back to the City, or

b) set it aside until the Secondary Plan Review has been completed.
 

In the cross-examination that followed the coffee break, Mr. Mascarin challenged Mr. Timbrell's qualifications to speak to the subject by asking if he was a planning expert, to which Mr. Timbrell replied, "No, but neither are you."

Mr. Mascarin asked Mr. Timbrell if he was running for public office, to which Mr. Timbrell replied: "No. My wife would kill me," eliciting chuckles from some of us. 

After the lunch break, Mr. Davies again put CF's planning expert on the witness stand to give evidence to the fact that there would be no risk to the surrounding buildings and properties (in term of similar requests arising from these) if the application were approved.

Mr. Davies also tried to discredit Don Mills Friends by pointing out that we had switched positions from being a party to the hearing (where Rein Kuris, without consulting us, had signed the settlement agreement), then we resigned as a party, and now rejoined as participants. He mentioned that this was "the trouble with unincorporated groups," effectively trying to paint the picture that we were inconsistent and unreliable in our position. Some individuals from our group later wrote to the OMB vice chair in defense of our group, explaining the situation.

Mr. Mascarin challenged Mr. Timbrell's statement that the application did not represent good planning. He stated that just because Mr. Timbrell had been the Minister of Health, this did not qualify him to perform "open heart surgery." This elicited laughs from Mr. Timbrell and the Don Mills Friends in attendance.