The Decision Document is for preliminary reference purposes only.  Please refer to the Committee’s Report to  City Council or to the Minutes for the official record.

The Parks and Environment Committee:

1.          requested the General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation, to:

a.         include in the consultation on Parks Service Plan a focus on ways to engage communities in parks design, maintenance and programming, and to consider parks planning as a community development methodology, specifically engaging racialized and marginalized communities;

b.         ensure that Parks plans are pragmatic and actionable;

c.         propose proactive partnerships with organizations such as the Toronto Arts Council (TAC), the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA), to promote community involvement in parks programming;

d.         report back to the Parks and Environment Committee on the permit process with a view to identifying barriers for community programming, in particular work to developing a single portal for arts programming;

e.         profile and advance the telling of community stories through social media and the City’s web site; and

f.          include the school boards in her discussions so that the City can create more opportunities to increase the programmable community space; and

2.         referred the motions in Item PE29.1a to the General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation, for consideration in the development of the Parks Plan.

The following persons gave presentations to the Parks and Environment Committee outlining their thoughts and visions for the future of the City's parks system:

-           Jane Farrow, Executive Director, Centre for City Ecology and Jane's Walk;

-           Adele Freeman, Director, Watershed Management, Toronto and Region Conservation Authority;

-           Claire Hopkinson, Executive Director, Toronto Arts Council;

-           Uzma Shakir, Atkinson Economic Justice Fellow, Atkinson Charitable Foundation; and

-           Luigi Ferrara, Director, School of Design and the Institute without Boundaries, George Brown College.

Expert panel to discuss ideas and opportunities for a strong sustainable and longer term vision for our parks.

The panel members will be Luigi Ferrara, Director, Arts + Design, George Brown College; Jane Farrow, Executive Director, Centre for City Ecology, Jane’s Walks;  Adele Freeman, Director, Watershed Management, Toronto and Region Conservation Authority; Uzma Shakir, Atkinson Economic Justice Fellow, Atkinson Foundation and Claire Hopkinson, Executive Director, Toronto Arts Council.

City Council on February 22 and 23, 2010, adopted this Item (10-PE28-3) as amended, and referred the following motions to the Parks and Environment Committee for consideration at its March 10, 2010 meeting:

A.        Moved by Councillor Moscoe:

That the General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation be requested to:

1.         develop a qualitative measure of existing parks and green spaces;

2.         evaluate the physical condition of parks space, including equipment and amenities and establish minimum standards for each classification with a view to upgrading those below standards and ensuring that all citizens have access to quality park space irrespective of their location within the City of Toronto; and

3.         evaluate the degree to which local park design and amenities relate to the diverse and evolving character of its neighbourhood and changing demographics, and develop policies and procedures that will allow the park space to reflect changing demographics and neighbourhood ethnicity so that local parks can best serve local needs.

B.        Moved by Councillor Vaughan:

That the General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation be requested to report to the Parks and Environment Committee, during this process, on the possibility of using the local levy provisions of the City of Toronto Act to create Parks Improvement Associations (PIAs), and to bring forward other ideas that might facilitate community partnerships aimed at assisting neighbourhoods as they participate in the design, maintenance and programming of local parks.