October 06, 1995 - Glebe Report

GCA
GCA represents the views of our community
By
G.C.A.
President
Diane
McIntyre
The Glebe Community Association's
first fall meeting touched on
a wide range of topics from property
development and zoning concerns,
to much broader social issues.
Many services and programs
that we have taken for granted to
sustain our quality of life are being
reevaluated as various levels of
government look for ways to cut
public expense.
Each of us has an opportunity,
and a duty as citizens, to advocate
our positions to the decision makers.
Only through participation at
the decision making stage can we
influence the directions that will
alter our communities' futures.
Fortunately, we have numerous opportunities
to provide input to the
City, Region, school boards, and to
school councils by participating in
public budget and long term planning
meetings. Elected officials
need our input in order to understand
our priorities for public
spending, and they need our feedback
on results to ensure that plans
and programs put in place are administered
effectively.
REPRESENTING COMMUNITY
VIEWS
The GCA Board has played an active
role providing input to various
official plans and policy papers.
We have represented community
views on traffic planning, zoning
and development, environmental
protection, taxation, safety and security
and local policy by hosting
discussion sessions on taxes and
heritage and facilitated candidates
debates. The GCA has focused
mainly on local issues - within the
purview of the City, the Region or
the NCC- only addressing other
levels of government on issues such
as MVA, funding for restoration of
the Aberdeen Pavilion or in appeals
to the Ontario Municipal Board. At
our September 26 meeting, Brian
Jonah our Social Planning Chair,
initiated a discussion question on
how the GCA could best serve community
interests in light of the
curtailment of various Government
programs. Budget cuts could alter
seniors drug benefits, hospital
accessibility, classroom sizes, UI
coverage , subsidized housing and
daycare. While many of us may not
feel the direct impact of cutbacks
to social programs immediately we
will not have to look far to see the
October 6, 1995 Glebe Report-8
effects on seniors, students, low
income families, and the local
businesses. Beyond program cuts,
the federal government which pays
grants in lieu of taxes to the City
and the RMOC is considering cuts to
our local government in the order of
$30 Million - this action would
have a serious impact on municipal
services or taxes.
We'd like your input. Should the
GCA take a stand on these issues or
continue to focus on only direct
municipal affairs? Should we provide
for community think tank discussion
evenings focusing on various
social issues ? Please call
234-7911 ext. 1 or use our mailbox
at the Glebe Community Centre to
let us know what you think . Please
also let your elected representatives
know what you think.
PLANNING AND ZONING
At our October 24 meeting, GCA
Planning Chair Bill Metz will guide
us through the processes that provide
for community involvement.
We'll publish a summary in the
next Glebe Report.. In the meantime
please get involved by monitoring
and providing comments on
any changes proposed for your part
of the community.
We will review current City policy
on front yard parking and revisit
the GCA position. The Glebe
does not have a surfeit of private
parking space for cars but our
proximity to services and the core
of the city provides many transportation
options. Our current
policy is to oppose front yard
parking in an attempt to preserve
our limited green spaces, to maintain
soft surfaces to allow for
runoff and for tree survival. I hope
this community will take every
opportunity to protect our green
spaces and pleasant streetscapes. I
have no desire to live in a parking
lot. What are your views on front
yard parking for residents ? Call us
at 234-7911 ext. 3 or leave us a
note in our GCA mailbox at the
Glebe Community Centre.
PARKDALE AND BYWARD
MARKET
The GCA Board has written to the
Mayor and City Council asking that
they not proceed with an appeal to
the court decision to strike the new
Market Bylaw. The Board also
agreed unanimously that the bylaw
placed unreasonable limits on merchants
and had negative effects on
the markets.
THE FEDERATION OF
COMMUNITY ASSOCIATIONS
Brian Jonah, our representative
reported the FCA's priorities for
95/96 as being: to participate in
the review of the Regional Official
Plan; to increase membership from
20 organizations; to comment on the
newly structured zoning bylaws
2020 ; and to participate in City
and Regional budget processes.
ENVIRONMENT
John Zvonar, our new Environment
chair has some interesting ideas for
the coming year. They include:
continued care of our green spaces
by involving the community , initiating
projects with local schools
and working to identify and preserve
our community's trees. Come
out to meet him and join the community
in a fall clean-up day in
Central Park, Saturday, October 14
from 9 till noon. We need lots of
volunteers. Bring your gardening
gloves and tools for trimming, edging
and weeding. This is a great way
to meet the community.
MEMBERSHIP -
Thanks to the skills and hard
work of Valerie Swinton, Martine
Bresson and Kathryn Bradford, who
organized this year's blitz, and the
dedicated team of Area Representatives
who made it happen, the
GCA membership campaign is
drawing to a close. If we missed you
please make an effort to join by
visiting the Glebe Community Centre
reception desk; or call 234-
7911 ext. 2; or by contacting your
block or area rep listed on the flyer
dropped door to door.
Our objective is to represent all
households in the Glebe and Dow's
Lake communities.
We welcome Kate Preston Thomas
and Eleanor Taylor as new representatives
for the North East Area -
Area 6, and bid farewell and thanks
to Gary and Lisa Zed, who will be
active in other capacities.
Area Directors
Zone 1
(Dow's Lake)
Zone 2
(Southwest)
Zone 3
(Midwest)
Zone 4
(Northwest)
Zone 5
(East)
Zone 6
(Northeast)
WASTE MANAGEMENT
The GCA is looking at the opportunities
citizens have to recycle
and reuse materials in our community.
The Great Glebe Garage Sale
is our major GCA sponsored recycling
event. The municipal blue
box program recycles all cans,
newspaper and #1 plastics. As the
Region's capacity to stack garbage
in landfill sites decreases, they
are looking at an expanded mandate
for blue boxes. In the meantime
community spirited organizations,
businesses and individuals have
established extended recycling
opportunities.
Thanks to the Girl Guides who organize
a semi annual depot at First
Avenue School for plastics and
cardboard, the City who provide
Sue Killam
George Falconer
Inez Berg
Steve Gurman
Reija Hilska-Hall
Rochelle Handelman
Janice Gautreau
George Hiemstra
Ginny Haysom
Karen Hunter
Kate Preston-Thomas
Eleanor Taylor
bins at the Glebe Community Centre
for fine paper recycling, Loeb Glebe
for providing a site for plastic
containers, and Blind Images for
providing for cardboard reuse. Congratulations
to Jessica Beaubier, a
Grade 13 student in Mary Ann
Martin's Canadian Studies - Economy
and Environment Class who
initiated a student run paper recycling
program at Glebe Collegiate
that has blue boxes in all classrooms.
Jim McKeen of Loeb Glebe
generously offered his support and
is working with the Bike Stop
(Ottawa South) to provide a monthly
Saturday recycling depot that is
more accessible. A GCA subcommittee
will contact the RMOC Solid
Waste Division to see what other
gaps exist and to push for extended
Blue Box pickup.
Thanks to each of you and
thanks to businesses who provide
recycling opportunities and information.
CLIP AND SAVE THE LIST OF RE-
CYCLING DEPOTS ON THE OPPOSITE
PAGE
TRAFFIC
We have had community comment
on increased traffic volumes coming
off Bronson onto Holmwood and
Powell Avenues. We have also
heard grumblings about on- street
parking arrangements. If you'd like
to help us evaluate the traffic concerns
for the community please let
us know by calling 234-7911 ext.
3.
230-4496
234-9532
233-6063
235-2992
230-5583
234-4032
567-3251
238-4016
563-7044
234-0813
233-0038
232-8084
GCA COMMUNITY CONTACT
You are welcome to attend GCA
meetings on the fourth Tuesday
each month at 7:30 PM at the Glebe
Community Centre or to contact me
with agenda items. The next
meeting is October 24. You can
reach us by phone at 234-7911
where messages are taken for
various committee chairs: extension
1 - agenda, priorities, environment,
social planning, etc.; extension 2 -
membership; extension 3 -
planning, zoning, traffic. Or you
can contact Board members
directly. You can also send mail to
GCA President, 1 Renfrew Ave,
Ottawa K1S 1Z2.