BUILDING OUR FUTURE COMMITTEE REPORT

For the Annual Congregational Meeting

February 8^th, 2009

The Building our Future Committee was formed in March 2007. The objective of the committee is to make recommendations to the congregation as to the direction redevelopment of Lansing’s facilities should take.

Members of the Committee

George Duncan Bryan Ransom

Blanche Fernandez Chandran Ratnaswami

Bruce Hemming Gillian Roulston

Dave Henry John Roulston

Steve Lee

We have undertaken the following activities during 2008

1. Direction for Development at Lansing

Based on a report from our planning consultant, our discussion with architects and city planning staff we have proposed development at Lansing to maintain at least 50% of the current structure. The key benefits are:

· By maintaining portion of current structure we can build more square footage of new facilities but with a completely new structure on the site the local by-laws restrict the building size to no more than 15,000 sq. ft.

· Parking is a big issue, by maintaining a portion of current structure, fewer parking spots would be required and make the project feasible

2. Selection of a Community Partner

· The committee felt that a community partner would be needed to help make the project a success – a partner which would fit with Lansing’s vision for outreach and provide funding to help with building the new space and sustain church activities

· After reviewing different ideas (some of which were – seniors housing, a life-lease development and space for non-profit organizations) the committee decided that a not for profit day care centre would be a good fit at Lansing

· We have been working closely with a not for-profit day care operator with a proven track record of successful centres at other churches – at this point the operator is advising us on requirements of daycare centres based on guidelines from the provincial ministry – we have no agreement in place with the operator

3. Selection of an Architect

· At the beginning of 2008 we had narrowed our selection of architects down to two. Both developed plans that kept the existing sanctuary structure in place and provided for day care space

· We selected J.D. McAuley Architects to move forward with and have them develop a site plan and floor plans for the new facility, which we could then present to city planning for their review.

· McAuley Architects only work with church developments and we have been pleased with their work to date. We have not entered into any long term contract with them as their work to date has been billed on an hourly fee basis

· Some of the highlights of the proposed design for Lansing are:

o Increase in building footprint from 20,000 sq. ft. to 24,000 sq. ft.

o New multi-purpose sanctuary

o Existing sanctuary to be used as community hall

o Modern large kitchen on main floor for easy access to food services

o Renovated space for Nearly New program including more storage

o Renovated space for Food Bank program including more storage

o Elevator for easy access to lower level

o Better access for the disabled and elderly

o Addition of all purpose rooms for meetings and program space

o Additional office space for meeting and counselling

o Lower level for day care centre (approximately 8,700 sq. ft.)

o Proposed increase in parking area – 50 plus spaces

4. Proposed Sale of Lansing Density to Emerald Park Development

· In the spring of 2008 the Lansing Trustees were presented with a proposal from the developers of Emerald Park to purchase density from Lansing

· The potential proceeds from this sale along with the proceeds from Lansing’s previous density sale will allow Lansing to fund the proposed new development – this transaction will be dealt with in more detail in the Trustee’s Report

5. Submission of Formal Development Application by Emerald Park to City of Toronto Planning

· In July, Emerald Park submitted their formal development application to the City of Toronto – Lansing gave consent to have their site plan and floor plans submitted with the Emerald park application – The transfer of Lansing’s density is an integral part of the application based on Emerald Park’s desire for more density for their development

Submission by Lansing of a PAL Application to City of Toronto Building Department

· In July, Lansing requested a Pre-application Applicable Law Review (PAL) from the City of Toronto Building Department – the application asks for a review of proposed site plan and floor plans submitted and a written response from the city as to what areas of the submission are not in conformance with city by-laws

· In September, we received a response to our application – the response was brief which was good and suggested that there are three areas at variance with city by-laws:

o parking

o setbacks

o landscaping

6. Ongoing Discussions With City Planning

· As the result of the formal development application submitted by Emerald Park in July, members of Lansing’s BOF committee along with our architect and consultants have met with city planning to discuss:

o how much density will the city allow to be transferred to Emerald Park based on the social component of our proposed facilities ( social component includes day-care space and other social and community programs )

o what should be the footprint of Lansing’s new facilities

· These discussions are ongoing and future meetings are to be scheduled in 2009

7. Communications with the City of Toronto

· As the result of the formal development application submitted by Emerald Park in July, the city planning department tabled a preliminary planning report on the Emerald Park development in November 2008

· One of the key recommendations in the report was to have a public consultation meeting about the development in December 2008

· The local councillor had the meeting deferred and it is being re-scheduled for early February 2009

· To support this public consultation process, Lansing has written letters to the local councillor and the other members of the local community council stating that Lansing supports the Emerald Park development

8. Communications with the Lansing Community

In the summer, signage was erected on Lansing’s property indicating that a future development was being proposed for the site. The BOF committee moved forward with a communication strategy that would help interested parties understand what type of development was being proposed at both Emerald Park and Lansing

· In October, Lansing held an information session for the groups that use Lansing for their programs to give them an overview of how the Emerald Park development will benefit our community. These groups included Lansing church groups, other congregations that use Lansing facilities, social program groups and tenants that rent space at Lansing for their programs. A public relations consulting firm presented an overview of the benefits to the community of the Emerald Park development and members of the BOF committee provided an overview of the benefits to the community of Lansing’s proposed development

· The BOF committee prepared a brochure, which outlines the benefits of new Lansing facilities for the neighbourhood. This brochure has been provided to various groups and was handed out at Lansing’s bazaar in November

· A meeting has been scheduled with the executive of the local ratepayer’s association, BOF committee members and the Emerald Park consultants to discuss development in the community

· A letter writing campaign has been undertaken in January 2009 where members from different groups that use the church are writing to the local councillor to show their support for the future development at Lansing. Some of these individuals will also speak at the public consultation meeting that is being scheduled for February.

2009 is shaping up to be a very interesting year at Lansing

Thanks to the committee members for all their time and efforts to help move us further along on our development journey.

Respectfully Submitted

Bruce Hemming