Dear Friends of Kingston Inner Harbour,
Thanks so much SkEyeStream for the great photo!
Yet another fun Inner Harbour winter activity!
NOTE: We may not be able to issue charitable receipts for another couple of weeks if you donated after Dec 4, 2021. We had been in the process of updating the purposes of our organization and relevant financial reports with both the provincial and federal governments. Everything is fine with the province but the process got stalled with the feds due to COVID. As a result the federal government has temporarily disallowed our charitable status. All the necessary documentation has been submitted and is in good order. We are now simply waiting for the reply that will ensure that our charitable status has been officially renewed. Very frustrating!
THREE IMPORTANT MEETINGS RE INNER HARBOUR FUTURE
1. Public Meeting re Tannery Development Proposal, Thurs, March 2022, 6 pm
2. Meeting with Feds (Golder Consultants) on Inner Harbour Clean-Up, Tues, March 29, 6 pm
3. Trees in Kingston’s Future, Tues, April 12, 2022, 6 pm
LOCAL STUFF OF INTEREST
4. Correction on Davis Tannery Paper
5. New Advocacy Group for Housing
6. Volunteering for the Kingston Historical Society?
7. Kingston Police Warn of Scammers Using Fake QR Codes
8. City Programs Aimed at Facilitating Home Ownership and Improvements
9. Weather-Based Parking Ban Notifications
10. More of Eric Gagnon’s Fascinating Historical Tidbits
11. Friday Singing Online with Anthony and Judy
FROM FARTHER AFIELD
12. Finding the Mother Tree with the wonderful Suzanne Simard
13. The Importance of Wetlands and Flooding
14. Landfill Caps and Replacements: Potential Problems
15. People are Booking Airbnbs in Ukraine They are Never Going to Use
1. Public Meeting re Tannery Development Proposal
Why: Due to a high number of letters from community members expressing concern about this project, and pressure from the newly formed group No Clearcuts in Kingston City, Council is having an extra non-statutory publicmeeting to address community concerns- including but not limited to:
– the proposed filling in of a Provincially Significant Wetland,
– the lack of plan and oversight for the proposed clean-up,
– suspicion that the clean-up will be superficial,
– the apparent lack of future monitoring of contaminants,
– the clear cutting of over 1800 trees including amazing 220 year old oak
– the disconnect between proposal and city’s stated climate emergency
– concerns the developer might ask for an MZO (Ministerial Zoning Order)that would allow the developer to disregard important concerns such as flooding due to climate change that could result in money having to be spent by the city in the future.
– car-centric design that could result in further traffic problems in the downtown.
– the very large turtle population along the Tannery shoreline that would be devastated by the proposed “clean-up” Suggestions about compensating elsewhere are never as successful.
As the Cataraqui Region Conservation Authority has pointed out – The basic problem is that Jay Patry, the developer, has created a design and wants to fit the site to the design. The design is simply not appropriate for that site for many reasons.
Density is needed. More housing is needed. There are lots of empty lots along Montreal St. much better suited to this sort of density. And, given climate change, it is simply not wise to build on shorelines like this.
Residents can participate in committee meetings three different ways:
- Send your comments via email to the Committee Clerk (efawcett@cityofkingston.ca).
- Participate in the Zoom meeting. Register via Zoom and receive the meeting link.
- Participate by phone – call 613-546-4291 extension 1170 and leave a message with your name, phone number and the agenda item(s) you wish to speak to; staff will respond to your voicemail within 24 hours to provide you with the call-in number for the meeting. Phone registration closes 2 hours before the start of a meeting.
If you just wish to follow along, all meetings will be live-streamed on the Kingston City Council YouTube channel.
If you would like to do a 5 minute delegation that is also possible.
Contact the Committee Clerk, Elizabeth Fawcett, for details (efawcett@cityofkingston.ca .
More Details Here:
What: The City of Kingston has received applications for a: Proposed Official Plan Amendment (OPA) and Zoning By-Law Amendment (ZBA)
Purpose and Effect of the Applications: To amend the Official Plan and Zoning By-law to permit the subdivision of the subject lands and to develop four (4) separate four to eight storey buildings with a total of approximately 1500 residential units, approximately 3,600 square metres of commercial space, and 6,000 square metres of ‘flex’ commercial space.
The proposal also includes new public and private roads, as well as private and public park space. The water lot is proposed to be a boathouse for the Kingston Rowing Club.
The site is located at 2 River Street (former Davis Tannery Site) and 50 Orchard Street . The property has an area of approximately 13 hectares. The property is currently designated ‘Residential’, ‘Environmental Protection Area’, ‘Open Space’ and ‘Arterial Commercial’ in the City of Kingston Official Plan and is zoned Site-Specific Multiple Family ‘B3.135’ Zone, General Recreation Park ‘P’ Zone, Water-Area ‘P2’ Zone, Industrial ‘M6’ Zone, Environmental Protection Area ‘EPA’ Zone and Site-Specific Arterial Commercial ‘C2.136’ Zone in Zoning By-law Number 8499, as amended.
The applicant is requesting an amendment to the Official Plan to redesignate some areas as ‘Residential’, ‘Open Space’, and ‘Environmental Protection Area’. The lands would also be in a site-specific policy area to allow for high density residential uses, ground floor commercial uses, and flexible commercial / residential space, and associated park space.
The application is also proposing to adjust the extent of Official Plan overlays for the Provincially Significant Wetland and Riparian Corridor, Significant Woodland, and Natural Hazards.
The applicant is requesting an amendment to the Zoning By-law to establish four site-specific Multiple Family ‘B3’ zones to permit commercial uses, as well as to incorporate zoning relief to various provisions including setbacks, lot occupancy, density, landscape open space, parking, accessible parking and loading facilities. In addition, sections of the public and private open spaces are proposed to be placed in Environmental Protection (EPA), Public Open Space (OS1) and General Recreational Park (P) and Water-Area (P2) Zones to permit the intended uses. A portion of the water lot is to remain in the Water-Area (P2) Zone. *****
Name of Applicant: IBI Group Inc. City File Number: D35-009-2017
Zoom Public Meeting Date: March 24, 2022, 6:00 p.m.
The Planning Committee will receive a preliminary information report with respect to the applications at the Public Meeting, which will be available to the public on the City of Kingston’s website at www.cityofkingston.ca/PlanningCommittee on March 18, 2022 by 3:30 pm.
When: All public meetings are scheduled for 6:00 p.m. The Planning Committee will deal with them in the order in which they appear on the agenda.
Additional information about the applications can be viewed by accessing the Development and Services Hub (DASH) at www.cityofkingston.ca/DASH.
Enquiries may be made by telephoning Chris Wicke, Senior Planner, 613-546-4291, ext. 3242.
Written comments for or against this change may be sent to Planning Services via: Mail: 216 Ontario Street, Kingston, ON K7L 2Z3 Fax: 613-542-9965 Email: cwicke@cityofkingston.ca
Public Consultation: Anyone may attend the Public Meeting and make a verbal statement, and/or submit comments in writing, either in support of or in opposition to the proposed Official Plan Amendment and Zoning By-Law Amendment. These can be made by contacting the City clerk, John Bolognone (jbolognone@cityofkingston.ca) and requesting that they be considered official correspondence on the Tannery file.
A comprehensive report will be presented at a future meeting of the Planning Committee. The public is provided an additional opportunity to make oral submissions on the matter at the time the Committee considers the comprehensive report from staff.
Please note: City Council has delegated to the Planning Committee the authority to hold the Public Meeting instead of Council. All representations, both verbal and written, will be considered only by the Planning Committee, which will submit a Committee Report with its recommendations to Council for a decision on the matter. If a person or public body would otherwise have an ability to appeal the decision of the Council of the Corporation of the City of Kingston to the Ontario Land Tribunal but the person or public body does not make oral submissions at a public meeting or make written submissions to the City of Kingston before the proposed Official Plan Amendment is adopted or the by-law is passed, the person or public body is not entitled to appeal the decision.
If a person or public body does not make oral submissions at a public meeting, or make written submissions to the City of Kingston before the proposed Official Plan Amendment is adopted or the by-law is passed, the person or public body may not be added as a party to the hearing of an appeal before the Ontario Land Tribunal unless, in the opinion of the Tribunal, there are reasonable grounds to add the person or public body as a party.
If you wish to be notified of the decision of the City of Kingston on the proposed Official Plan Amendment or the proposed zoning by-law amendment, you must make a written request to: City of Kingston, Planning Services 216 Ontario Street Kingston, ON K7L 2Z3
2. Meeting with the Feds (Golder Consultants) on Inner Harbour Clean-up
What: Workshop given by Golder Consultants. At this workshop they have promised to outline the rationale they used to come to the conclusion that a clean-up of the Inner Harbour is warranted.
To many of us it appears that they have massaged the data to come up with that conclusion so that the people who hired them (Transport Canada) will be able to sell their water lots at Fair Market Value, a scheme Transport Canada has had for a number of years. Now that they have sold off their environmentally clean lots, they are faced with the need to clean up their contaminated water lots prior selling them. The real problem is that their proposed clean-up could well create more problems than it solves for a variety of reasons. If you would like to know more, contact me at inverarymary@yahoo.com
When: Tuesday, March 29, 6 pm.
Note: If you are interested in attending this session, please e-mail at inverarymary@yahoo.com and I will make sure you get invited.
3. Trees in Kingston’s Future
As you may know, Kingston has a tree by-law that has needed updating for a few years nowl
A meeting with the City’s Environment, Infrastructure and Transportation Policies Committee (EITP) is scheduled for Tuesday, April 12.
Both No Clearcuts Kingston and Little Forests Kingston are planning delegations.
NOTE: Details are not yet posted. More will be forthcoming in the April newsletter.
LOCAL STUFF OF INTEREST
4. Corrections on the Davis Tannery piece by John Duerkop originally published in Historic Kingston, 2020.
Thanks so much to Petroleum Geologist Brenda Curtis for drawing this to our attention. Always wonderful to have feedback.
Brenda is retired now but used to be a petroleum geologist. Her hobby for years was collecting petroleum related postcards and oil company envelopes (known as covers in the industry). That led her to research and to publish an article (years ago) called “Canada’s Early Oil Industry – A brief history” in a publication called “the Petrophilatelist,” that was illustrated with some of the material from her collection. She has also given a talk to the Petroleum History Society in Alberta on the same topic in 2000 and will be giving another talk to the Calgary Philatelic Society. She has a 1862 Canadian Oil Company cover in her collection and so of course I wanted to know if this company was in any way related to The Canadian Oil Company Ltd (of White Rose fame), so she looked into it. So long story short from this collector and amateur historian.
Here is her correspondence in full received March 8, 2022
I have seen a number of articles which discuss the history of Canadian Oil Companies Ltd (of White Rose gasoline fame) but the easiest to access is Wikipedia. You will notice that they say the company began in 1904 but other articles give 1901 as the start date because that is the incorporation date of the Canadian Oil Refining Company a forerunner to Canadian Oil Companies ltd. Here is an excerpt from the Wikipedia:
The history of Canadian Oil Companies, Limited began in March 1904 when four oil companies from Southwestern Ontario amalgamated into a single holding company. The companies included in the amalgamation were the Canadian Consolidated Oil Company, Limited; the Canadian Oil Refining Company, Limited; the Sun Oil Refining Company of Hamilton, Limited; and the Grant Hamilton Oil Company of Toronto, Limited. The new holding company was named the Canadian Consolidated Oil Company, Limited and was headquartered in Toronto.[2] On 4 April 1904 Canadian Consolidated changed its name to the Canadian Oil Company, Limited.[3] The first president of the Canadian Oil Company was William Irwin.
By 1908 the Canadian Oil Company had gone bankrupt. That year, the National Refining Company acquired Canadian Oil for $400,000. National had been incorporated in 1884 in Cleveland, Ohio and was founded by Julius I. Lamprecht (1853-1920). After the purchase, National reorganized the assets of Canadian Oil and on 4 December incorporated a new company called Canadian Oil Companies, Limited.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Oil_Companies
As for Canadian Oil Company which was formed by James Miller Williams in 1860, here are two excerpts from Wikipedia:
In 1860, Williams reorganized his business as the Canadian Oil Company, with a capitalized value of $42,000.[12]
Williams gradually passed control of the Canadian Oil Company to his son, Charles Joseph, selling full control of business in 1879.[9][3] Within two years, the Canadian Oil Company merged into the Canadian Carbon Oil Company; a business made up of several leading Ontario refiners.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Miller_Williams
If you want further references let me know and I will see if I can dig some out.
Kind regards,
Brenda 5. New Advocacy Group for Housing
Bob MacInnes, Matt Silburn, and Vic Sahai have formed a small committee to try to help neighbours David and Ina Caddick find housing as their eviction is pending. They will be approaching high rise owners, developers, property managers etc. It is important to build community-wide awareness of the housing issue and help David and Ina at the same time. Here is the letter in full.
Dear Friends and Neighbours,
We are writing to you today to ask for your help. David and Ina are about to be evicted from their home and have nowhere to go. We need your help to find them accommodation. We are hoping that you, your friends, your neighbours may have knowledge of the City that will help us locate a suitable new home.
We are employing the “pebble in the pond” approach hoping to reach as many people as we can given the serious lack of housing in Kingston and their particular needs. We encourage you to let us know if you have ideas that might help and we are asking you please to send this appeal on to your contacts.
The developer who owns their rental unit applied to the city to re-develop the building in which they have lived for 43 years and his proposal has passed at City Council. They are to be evicted. They are frightened as there is no place for them to move. They are on the Kingston geared-to-income Housing and Homeless list, however it is known to be years long.
David lives with ALS, Lou Gehrig’s disease. He must use a wheelchair and has limited use of his hands and feet. Ina, his sister, who does most of his care, is nearing 65 and has some health issues. They live on a restricted income.
They are desperate to find an accessible, two bedroom, apartment on the ground floor, because David is claustrophobic and cannot use an elevator. And, it is necessary that David not be subject to cigarette or diesel exhaust. David currently uses a manual wheelchair but is looking forward to an electric one “so that I can have some of my independence back in my life.”
We understand that there is a shortage of affordable housing and the need is years long. They do not have years to find a new home. We anticipate that eviction will follow their appointment before the Landlord Tennant Board. Ina and David cannot survive homelessness.
We are asking that you help us, if you can, with your ideas and outreach to others who might be able to help. Please reply to David.Ina@kos.net .
This @KOS.net email was created and is dedicated to gathering the ideas/suggestions you may have.
Because a geared-to-income home is needed, but unlikely except through the City, we may at a later date make a Go Fund Me Appeal, should interim housing need to be subsidized until City housing is available.
Thank you for helping in any way that you can.
Friends of Ina and David
6.Volunteering for the Kingston Historical Society?
A small committee of two needs some help on the Collections Management Committee to help sort out artifacts and archives. This committee is a joint effort between the Kingston Historical Society and its museum staff at the Murney Tower. Contact Tabitha Renaud if interested – director@murneytower.com
7. Kingston Police Warn of Scammers Using Fake QR codes
Received from the Kingstonist, March 1, 2022
QR codes have become increasingly popular in recent years, especially due to social distancing efforts and a need for contactless services. They are commonly used to access restaurant menus, discount codes, and to make payments.
Unfortunately, cybercriminals have taken advantage of this tool, creating fake QR codes that trick you into providing your personal information, according to a release from Kingston Police.
“Since custom QR codes are easy to generate, cybercriminals can easily create fake codes for various malicious purposes,” police said. “For example, cybercriminals could place a fake code in a coffee shop, encouraging you to connect to free Wi-Fi. Or, they could place the fake code on a parking meter, enticing you to make a quick and easy payment. However, if you scan these fake QR codes, the cybercriminals may steal your payment information or redirect you to a malicious website.”
Police provided the following tips to stay safe from QR code scams:
- Cybercriminals use the convenience of QR codes to trick you into acting impulsively. Always think before you scan.
- Be cautious of QR codes without labels, or codes that promise outrageous deals. Remember that if an offer seems too good to be true, it probably is!
- Don’t share payment information or personal details via QR codes. Instead, navigate directly to a safe website to make the payment or share the details.
Help us keep you informed about more issues like this. Subscribe to Kingstonist.
8. City Programs Aimed at Facilitating Home Ownership and Improvements
Received from the Kingstonist, Feb 28, 2022 – Jessica Foley
Residents of Kingston and Frontenac County are invited to take advantage of two programs aimed at helping make homeownership and necessary home improvements more affordable.
According to a release from the City of Kingston, the programs are as follows:
Become a homeowner with down payment assistance from the Home Ownership Program.
Improve the accessibility of your home or complete urgent repairs with support from the Kingston-Frontenac Renovates Program.
“These programs target renter households that can afford the monthly cost of homeownership but are unable to assemble the down payment and existing homeowners that need financial assistance to complete urgent repairs or accessibility improvements so that they can stay in their home,” said Ruth Noordegraaf, Director of Housing and Social Services. “Both programs are components of the 10-Year Housing and Homelessness Plan which includes a variety of housing and homelessness strategies across the housing continuum.”
The city provided the following information:
About the Home Ownership Program: Down payment assistance
The Home Ownership Program helps Kingston and County of Frontenac renters with low-to-moderate incomes purchase a home by offering down payment assistance up to a maximum of 10 per cent of the purchase price. Interested community members can review the program’s eligibility criteria on the Home Ownership Program webpage.
About Kingston-Frontenac Renovates: Home improvement assistance
The Kingston Frontenac Renovates Program offers low-to-moderate income households up to $10,000 for emergency repairs and up to $5,000 for renovations that make their home accessible. Eligible repairs may include, but are not limited to, furnace or window replacement, roof repair or replacement, foundation work, and accessibility ramp or lift installations. Interested community members can review the program’s eligibility criteria on the Kingston-Frontenac Renovates Program webpage.
How to apply:
Homeowners – or soon-to-be homeowners – can find eligibility criteria and application forms for both the programs at CityofKingston.ca/Housing. Kingston-Frontenac Renovates applications are now being accepted and Home Ownership applications will be accepted starting Monday, Mar. 14, 2022. Funding is awarded on a first-come, first-served basis, according to the city.
Applications may be submitted:
By mail to City of Kingston, Housing and Social Services at 362 Montreal St., Kingston, Ont., K7K 3H5
In person to main reception on the second floor at 362 Montreal St.
Questions? Email housing@cityofkingston.ca or call 613-546-2695, ext. 4949.
Increasing housing affordability is one of Council’s strategic priorities.
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9. Weather-Based Parking Ban Notifications
The City will use the following methods to inform residents of a weather-based parking ban:
Social media, follow the City on Twitter or Facebook
Email notifications, sign up to receive City news releases
This page will always have the current status listed at the top of the page
During the winter the City uses on-street parking restrictions to respond quickly to winter weather. Plows are large vehicles, and it is safer, easier and more efficient to clear streets without vehicles parked on them. The City will use two types of parking restrictions depending on the month.
Blanket Ban
During the months of January and February – when we typically see more frequent snowstorms, which require snow plowing and snow removal operations. On-street parking is not permitted at all between the hours of 1 a.m. and 7 a.m. and from 12 a.m. to 7 a.m. on the streets that surround Kingston General Hospital.
Weather-based ban
During the months of March and December – when we typically see fewer snowstorms, on-street parking will only be banned if required due to the weather.
A ban will be declared in advance of forecasted precipitation of more than 5cm of snow. Or if freezing rain is forecasted. Or any other time that it is deemed necessary to perform winter maintenance operations.
While the ban is in effect on-street parking is prohibited between the hours of 1 a.m. and 7 a.m. and from 12 a.m. to 7 a.m. on the streets that surround Kingston General Hospital. Once declared, the ban will remain in effect until the City announces it has ended and road surfaces have been effectively cleared/treated via plowing and/or sanding and snow removal operations.
The City will aim to announce winter parking restrictions by 4 p.m.
When a ban is declared the City will notify residents via the methods listed in the notification section.
10. More of Eric Gagnon’s Fascinating Historical Stuff
Inner Harbour smelters: Kingston’s Hanley Spur: Inner Harbour Smelters – History
Wartime ship building in Kingston: Kingston’s Hanley Spur: Wartime Shipbuilding in Kingston
11. Friday EveningSinging Online with Anthony and Judy
Judy Bierma and Anthony Gifford have organized a fun Friday evening pastime – joining them to sing oldies but goodies at 7 pm on Fridays online. If interested in joining contact judybierma@gmail.com
FROM FARTHER AFIELD
12.Finding the Mother Tree – with the wonderful Suzanne Simard
What: Public Talk and Discussion on how we as humans need to rethink our relationship with the natural world around us
Who: Suzanne Simard, Event hosted by Nature Canada
When: Sat, March 26, 7 pm
More Info and To Register: check out their Eventbrite page
13. The Importance of Wetlands and Flooding
Thanks Mabyn Armstrong for this.
https://www.facebook.com/100069175030754/posts/271714315144401/?d=n
14. Landfill Caps and Replacements: Potential Problems
Thanks so much Jerri Jerreat for this
http://www.cpeo.org/techtree/ttdescript/lancap.htm
15.People are Booking Airbnbs in Ukraine They are Never Going to Use
Received from Kristin Houser, March 4, 2022
Across the globe, people are booking Airbnbs in Ukraine not because they plan to use them, but as a way to get money directly to hosts living in the nation, which is currently under siege by the Russian military.
The challenge: Since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine on February 24, people in all parts of the world have donated millions of dollars to organizations in support of the nation and its citizens.
Once the money is sent, though, it’s hard for donors to know exactly how it’s being spent or whether it’ll make a difference for people living in Ukraine.
“You can’t even imagine how pleased we are to hear we are not alone.”
UKRAINIAN AIRBNB HOST
The idea: One clever attempt to make an immediate, direct impact on the lives of Ukranians: booking Airbnbs in Ukraine’s hardest-hit cities and then messaging the hosts to let them know they won’t be visiting.
“For me it was the simplest way to feel connected to a person like boots on the ground,” Sarah Brown, who booked a four-night stay in Kiev for $200, told TODAY. “It just seemed like the natural thing to do.”
Posts spreading the word about this creative way to contribute to Ukrainian relief have been circulating on social media, along with screenshots of what Airbnb users say are messages from hosts in response to the bookings.
“You can’t even imagine how pleased we are to hear we are not alone, tears in our eyes,” reads one shared message. “I am very grateful to you for your support in this difficult time for us and all of Ukraine.”
Airbnb’s contribution: In response to news of the bookings, Airbnb has agreed to temporarily waive its guest and host fees for Airbnbs in Ukraine, meaning more of what a person pays for a rental will go straight to the host.
On March 4, the company revealed that Airbnb users had booked more than 61,000 nights in Ukraine in the previous 48 hours. More than half of the nights were reserved by people in the U.S., and the surge in bookings will put $1.9 million in the pockets of hosts.
In a separate initiative, Airbnb is also offering free temporary housing to 100,000 refugees displaced by the war. More than 1.2 million of Ukraine’s 44 million people have now fled the country, as Russian shelling of Ukraine’s cities intensifies.
Airbnb is temporarily waiving its guest and host fees for Airbnbs in Ukraine.
Beware of scammers: As with most anything online, there’s always the possibility that scammers will try to take advantage of people’s generosity, so if you’re interested in booking one of the more than 300 Airbnbs in Ukraine, be sure to do your homework first.
Hosts that have been with Airbnb for a while — you can see when they joined on the app — are probably more likely to be legit, as well as listings that have some sort of review history. (Of course, that will necessarily limit the number of people who can be helped.)
Once you’ve found a rental that appears to be on the up and up, you’ll likely want to book it for the soonest available date — hosts aren’t paid until after the check-in date, so that will ensure they get the money as soon as possible.
If donating through an Airbnb isn’t for you, you can still choose to support Ukraine through one of the many groups providing relief.
We’d love to hear from you! If you have a comment about this article or if you have a tip for a future Freethink story, please email us at tips@freethink.com.
So that’s it for March. Back again in April
Cheers,
Mary Farrar, President,
Friends of Kingston Inner Harbour