Excavation started last week at 52 Sumach; the site of one of the three 5-6 story condo buildings that Streetcar Developments is building in Toronto during Phase 1.  The developer has posted a set of rules which they will follow, to minimize the negative impact of this construction.

Streetcar Developments is planning a larger building on King East as Phase 2; their Vineger Lofts conversion on River Street is nearing completion.

You are invited to attend and participate in the city’s  Public Consultation Meeting on Jan 29 @ 7pm, Toronto City Hall), in relation to a new City of Toronto Sign By-law (see flyer).

During the past few years, community activists have spoken out against the visual pollution in Toronto, caused by numerous, illegal billboards.  You may have heard about the Toronto Public Space Committee: “dedicated to protecting our shared common spaces from commercial influence and privatisation”.

The City of Toronto is preparing a new sign by-law. It will replace the individual sign by-laws of the former municipalities.  The new sign by-law will update the standards for signs on private property, address current sign issues, and reflect the diverse character found in Toronto communities. The Sign By-law project will also explore ways where signage will support the City’s efforts in energy conservation and revenue generation.

For information on project updates, please visit the City’s website.

At a Jan 6 neighbourhood meeting, Police Inspector Heinz Kuck from 51 Division talked about graffiti.  Of the 7 major categories of graffiti, the most prevalent is “hip hop”, of which there are 3 types:  tagging (single colour, done in a few seconds), throw-up (2 colour) and “piece” (multi-colour, 3 dimensional).  Less prevalent categories include gang and hate crime graffiti.  Since graffiti can be done in a few seconds, persons are rarely caught; during the past year, the police charged only 18 persons for graffiti in 51 Division.  Widespread graffiti in Corktown is a relatively recent phenomenon, unlike the entrenched “street art” of Queen West.

The police have a 5 point “Graffiti Eradication Program” to help communities.  When enforced, a city bylaw can compel a property owner to remove grafitti from their private property (except during winter months).  For public property (according to the city website):  “City staff will remove graffiti on city owned buildings, overpasses, bridges, and public parks … within a 72-hour period to prevent further proliferation.”

If citizens see persons in the act of creating graffiti, that activity can be reported to 911.  After the fact, the property owner can also report the graffiti to the police.  Inspector Kuck observed that a building which already has a few graffiti tags will quickly attract more graffiti; whereas a surface kept totally clean of graffiti is less likely to be tagged.