It is that time of year again to Fall Back!

Remember that Daylight Savings Time ends this weekend. Turn back your clocks one hour Saturday night before going to bed (so you have an extra hour of sleep Sunday morning).

Great News! Fall Leaf Pickup coming to Birch Glen!

Fall Leaf Pickup During the fall, the City of Mississauga provides Vacuum Leaf Pickup service to streets that are more than 35 years old and contain many mature large trees. Streets with fewer and younger trees are not included in the program. Addresses eligible for Leaf Pickup will receive a direct-mail notice that indicates when leaves will be picked up in their area.  Our neighbourhood (and surrounding area north of the Lakeshore) qualify under the GREEN Flyer Schedule, which means our leaves will be vacuumed the weeks of Nov. 5-9 and Nov. 26-30.  Rake leaves to the edge of the grass by Sunday of the week before your scheduled vacuum leaf pickup. Do not rake leaves onto the road. Do not mix items such as wood, brick or brush with the leaves as they can damage equipment or injure workers. Help reduce potential flooding by keeping curbside storm drains clear of leaves. Help our crews by removing cars from the street during leaf pickup. http://www.mississauga.ca/portal/residents/leafpick-up Missed Leaf Pickup? Here are your options for disposing leaves: The Region of Peel will also pick up leaves on your regular waste collection day until December 13, 2018. Leaves must be placed curbside in open, reusable containers such as bushel baskets, labelled rigid plastic containers or paper yard waste bags weighing less than 20 kgs (44 lbs) when full. Do not use plastic bags or recycling boxes. You can also compost your leaves or spread them around the base of your trees. Leaves will fertilize the soil and act as a buffer against extreme temperatures. Remember that oak leaves are difficult to compost. Questions? For more information on the City's Leaf Pickup program, contact 3-1-1 (or 905-615-4311 from outside the City) from Monday to Friday between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. For more information on Region of Peel yard waste collection, call 905-791-9499 or visit their website.

Clarkson Road butcher shop building demolished!

Another old building that was a part of the history of Clarkson has been relegated to the dust bin of history! The building that most recently housed the Doug Auld & Son Butchers Shop, at 1109 Clarkson Road North, was demolished this week to potentially pave the way for a new development. The proposed development is for five 4-storey back-to-back stacked townhouse buildings comprising 136 units to be built on the site which has been home to the former butcher shop, a former car detailing business, a wellness centre, an outdoor storage unit, a yoga studio, and a bicycle shop.

The Auld Butcher Shop circa 2011 (Google Street View)

Building in 2016 (Google Street View)

As noted in previous posts, this group of buildings, plus the buildings on the northwest side of the railway track and a house on the northeast side of the tracks, are known historically as the original Clarkson Corners. The former Clarkson railway station was located close by. The current yoga studio building was a cold storage unit for preserving produce. The building that was just demolished began its life as the original post office for Clarkson, then a bank, before becoming Auld's Butcher Shop. It has been an integral part of the community for well over 150 years, and it will be missed.

The City of Mississauga and Heritage Mississauga had wanted to preserve some of the buildings on this site and were supposed to be meeting with the developer to discuss possibilities. The developer has already appealed to the OMB because the City is opposed to the development as currently proposed.

We will now never know the possibile outcome of those meetings. It would have been great to have seen the buildings restored as historical reminders of Clarkson's past. The residents of Clarkson are proud of its history and the role the village played in the settlement of Mississauga. This is the first European settlement in the area, and the Clarkson family was instrumental in its formation as a village. Clarkson Corners was definitely its heart. We are fortunate to be home to two fantastic musuem properties -- Benares Historial House on Clarkson Road North, and the Bradley House Museum on Orr Road at Meadowwood Road. This latter property already houses several historical buildings, but there was no indication that the butcher shop would have been added to the site. It is a mute point now. All we have left are photographs and memories, and a sense that there has been a disruption in the time continuum. We will have to wait to seee what the future brings.

Recent Change in Ownership for Petro-Canada Lubricants

Below is the official notice from the new owners of the local Petro-Canada Lubricants facility at the foot of Southdown Road in Clarkson.

February 1, 2017: - HollyFrontier Corporation completed the acquisition of the Petro-Canada Lubricants (PCLI) business, which is based in Mississauga, Ontario. 

HollyFrontier Corporation, headquartered in Dallas, Texas, is an independent petroleum refiner and marketer that produces high value light products such as gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel and other specialty products.  With the addition of the Petro-Canada Lubricants business, HollyFrontier becomes the fourth largest lubricants producer in North America.

Although the ownership has transitioned, the values that are held at PCLI are shared with HFC and will remain unchanged.  Commitment to safety, environmental stewardship, continuous improvement and good corporate citizenship continue to be the priority.  

The facility has been a part of the Clarkson landscape since 1943, and has changed ownership and name several times over the years -- first as British American Oil, then Gulf Oil, to Petro-Canada Lubricants in 1985. Under HollyFrontier, it will continue to operate under the Petro-Canada Lubricants, Inc. name and it will be business as usual for PCLI and the community.

The Community Liaison Committee,  of which the Birch Glen Residents' Association has been a functioning member for over 20 years, will continue to meet bi-monthly with senior staff at Petro-Canada throughout the year, bringing community concerns to management, and relaying information back to the community.

Residents can still call the Community Emergency Response/Notification line at 1-866-644-5678 to file noise or odour complaints or to receive up to the moment information about specific situations.

Earth Day 2017

This coming Saturday, April 22, is Earth Day. Although we have not organized a formal neighbourhood cleanup this year, some residents may be in the park and wandering the streets picking up litter. We would ask residents to celebrate the day by cleaning up their own properties and boulevards or joining with neighbours to clean up their streets.

Housing Developments in Clarkson-Lorne Park area

The landscape of Clarkson-Lorne Park is changing with a number of housing and business developments being proposed during the latter part of 2016 and the early part of 2017. Here are some of the applications being considered by the City of Mississauga Planning & Building staff:

1. 1190-1200 Lorne Park Road -- This is the site of the now-closed St. Paul's Anglican Church, just north of the plaza, and on the corner of Lorne Park Road and Garden Road. The applicant's proposal is to revise the official plan and zoning to permit a condominium development consisting of 4 semidetached homes and 6 townhouses on the east portion of the property, plus 2 freehold detached and 2 freehold semi-detached homes fronting onto Garden Road. Information can be found on the City of Mississauga's website at https://www7.mississauga.ca/documents/PublicNotices/2017/oz16014_notice-complete_application_n3.pdf 
2. 1101-1109 Clarkson Road North -- Currently, this site houses a couple of vacated properties (the former Auld & Son butcher shop, and a former luxury car sales and detailing operation), as well as a yoga studio, bicycle shop, medical facilities  The developer is proposing four (or five) buildings that could possibly house 136 four-storey stacked back-to-back townhouses parallel to Clarkson Road on the south side of the railroad tracks. Also proposed -- some retail adjacent to, and parallel to, the tracks, with the road/driveway access on the north side of the property between the retail buildings and the townhouses. City Council and residents oppose this application, The developer has already appealed this decision to the OMB.  http://www7.mississauga.ca/documents/PublicNotices/2015/Public_Notice_-_OZ15003.pdf
3. 1137 and 1141 Clarkson Road North -- This heritage property is located immediately north of the railroad tracks on the east side of Clarkson Road. The applicant is proposing to revise the official plan and zoning to permit two detached homes on Hollow Oak Terrace and additional commercial and office uses within the existing heritage dwelling known as The Clarkson Paisley House (1141 Clarkson Road North). https://www7.mississauga.ca/documents/PublicNotices/2016/public_notice_-_OZ_16012CompApp.pdf  
4. 2200 Bromsgrove Road -- The plan here is to develop 84 three-storey back-to-back stacked townhouses. This property is immediately east of a newly-proposed 104 townhouse development by a different applicant and owner.    https://www7.mississauga.ca/documents/PublicNotices/2017/oz16015_notice-complete_application_n3.pdf
5. 1516-1526 Southdown Road  -- The applicatant is proposing build a two-storey office building on what is currently a residential property.    https://www7.mississauga.ca/documents/PublicNotices/2016/Public_Notice-OZ_15010.pdf

Public meetings have already been held for each of these proposed developments. However, if you are interested in information on any of these projects, you can search for information online either through the Google search engine or on the City of Mississauga website. It is interesting to note that three of the four housing applications are for back-to-back stacked townhouses. A public information centre was held at the Living Arts Centre on March 29 to discuss how the City of Mississauga will approach and handle applications for stacked, back-to-back, and stacked back-to-back townhouses. The discussion was lively and some interesting points were raised regarding accessibility, appearance, setback, and landscaping.

Check out our Facebook page!

We try not to do too much duplication over our social media sites. However, we do realize that some readers and residents are not "on" all forms of social media.

If you are on Facebook as well, go to http://www.facebook.com/birchglenresidentsassociation to keep abreast of what is posted there.

Let us know which format you prefer.

Canada 150 Celebrations in Clarkson

Stay tuned for information on what will be happening in Clarkson Village for Canada 150!

The Clarkson BIA and the ratepayer associations of Clarkson-Lorne Park will be celebrating Canada 150 along Lakeshore Road West in Clarkson Village on June 24, 2017, starting at 12 noon and continuing on through the day until 5 p.m.

We will provide a poster and details as they become available.

Real Estate Bidding War in Birch Glen!

Can you believe that an attached townhouse in Birch Glen recently sold for $130,000 over list price?

We all have heard there is a real estate boom in the GTA with constant bidding wars where offers are well above the asking price. And, yes, we acknowledge that sale prices within the neighbourhood have generally been $10,000 to $40,000 over list during the past 12 months (through 2016). However, we were not totally prepared for this latest hike.

House prices in Birch Glen have been steadily on the rise over the past ten (10) years -- a somewhat slow slog at first, but a meteoric climb in the past year. It has been encouraging to see residents and homeowners ask a going market rate, and even more encouraging to discover buyers were not only willing to meet the asking prices but, in some cases bid higher! Prices for townhouses, attached and semi-detached houses are in the range of average house prices for Mississauga. Prices for detached houses are only slightly below average for Mississauga, but are edging up.

Talk in the newspapers seems to predict a slowdown or downturn in house prices on the horizon. We will simply have to keep our eyes and ears open as houses go on the market. For now, it appears to be a boom for sellers. And what a boom!

$10,000 Fine for Toronto Homeowner for Use of Airbnb to Attract Short Term Rental Tenants

Will a large fine such as this put an end to short-term rentals, as some people might hope? This is not a simple issue with a "one size fits all" solution. Read the Toronto Star article here.

Concepts such as Airbnb, Uber and other sharing economies are, of themselves, a necessary and welcome part of the overall business environment and should not be shunted aside simply because they do not work for everyone. They are extensions of existing businesses that the public already uses -- hotels and other forms of short-term accommodation, for example. When we travel to a city or country for a holiday or on business, we do have to find a place to stay for the duration of our visit. Some people prefer to stay in well-known luxury hotels or resorts where their every whim is catered. Some look for lower-priced hotels or motels to suit their budgets and time constraints. Others prefer the bed-and-breakfast scenario, where they can obtain accommodation in (usually) a house with the feel of being at home yet having someone else do the cooking and cleaning. And since the owners of a bed-and-breakfast establishment usually live on the premises, and there may be visitors in other rooms, it does become a sharing experience over breakfast and in the common areas. Visitors are encourage to meet and mingle in the evenings as well. So how does this compare to short-term rentals such as Airbnb?

The majority of Airbnbs or STRs are in private homes where the owner may dedicate one or more bedrooms or floors (basement, upper floor or loft space) to rental accommodation while sharing the kitchen and living room with visitors and welcoming them to watch television or share in other activities. Some offer breakfast and tourist information as well, echoing traditional bed-and-breakfast establishments. They may differ in that some STRs have only one room to rent out at a time. Some STR/Airbnb owners may offer a complete house for rent, offering privacy to the visitor. This goes back to the roots of online home-sharing where two people trade homes for a specific amount of time to enjoy a vacation in another city or country. Usually there was no money exchanged, just keys and the assurance that the visiting party would take care of the house or apartment  while there, would clean up before leaving, and would leave the place in the same state they found it. There was a mutual respect, treating the home as you wanted the other person to treat yours.This evolved over the years into what it has become today.

One benefit to short-term rentals such as Airbnb is that many of them may be pet-friendly, which the majority of hotels are not. For travellers who wish to bring Fido along, this is extremely attractive. STRs are, generally, less expensive than hotels, making them attractive to a wide variety of guests. Most also require a minimum of two or three nights per booking. However, some offer single night options, while some define "short-term" as four to seven days -- even up to a month.

Problems arise when an owner -- or owners -- take advantage of the situation and become hands-off absentee landlords of more than one property. Even one home without oversight or monitoring can lead to problems and concerns from neighbours. Where, and to whom, can complaints be filed? Is it the responsibility of the municipality, the police or Airbnb itself? Who has the authority to deal with the owner of the STR? A look at the Airbnb website provides information on the company's policies. It seems that the company would welcome feedback in the form of complaints re noise or other abuses. The reputation of the "brand" should be of utmost importance to its founders.

Is the ownership of one STR considered a business that must be licensed and pay appropriate fees and taxes to the municipality? If the owner lives in the house and rents one or more rooms, is that considered a business? Where does one draw the line, and how can STRs be accommodated within the City without causing upheaval for residents or for the City?

A $10,000 fine may be appropriate for an absentee landlord renting out a complete home without supervision or monitoring, or for one who owns multiple properties. However, what would be the effect if a similar fine were applied across the board? Would it cause individuals to rethink the idea of renting out a room on Airbnb, Expedia or any other STR site? Average homeowners who might consider hosting an STR might be looking at this as a means of supplementing income to help pay mortgage or property taxes. Is this any different than deciding to turn a basement into an accessory apartment to rent out? And whose business is it anyway if a homeowner wants to do this -- neighbours, the municipality?

STRs, exemplified by Airbnb, are not for everyone, whether a host or guest. Not everyone wants to share their home with strangers as guests, and not everyone feels comfortable spending the night in the home of a stranger as host. As with any and all sharing economies, a person's comfort level will determine how deeply to get involved. That same comfort level will determine how a person will react to having an STR in the neighbourhood or even next door.

Whether it is done or not, it seems that a first step before joining Airbnb or any other group as a host would be to talk with neighbours to guage reaction and determine whether or no they are in agreement with this decision of they will oppose it. It would also pay to talk with the Board of the ratepayer association representing the neighbourhood community. Find out about parking regulations, local by-laws, etc. which might influence the decision to become a host.

However, STRs have filled a niche in the accommodation market, one which many people feel is necessary. Have they taken away homes that could have been affordable long-term rentals? Yes. Do they provide an immediate solution for someone moving to a city such as Mississauga but without sufficient information or knowledge about the city to decide where they would like to live -- and at an affordable investment? Yes again.

This issue of short-term rentals is not going away any time soon. It needs -- and deserves -- clear heads and calm minds and a great deal of discussion and deliberation. That discussion needs to start at the neighbourhood level -- which means that neighbours should begin by getting to know each other (if they don't already) and having frank conversations amongst themselves and with their ratepayer/resident association about issues such as this. Then the discussions can progress to the next levels involving neighbouring ratepayer associations within the Community, within the Ward, and within the City.

We have groups and connections in each of these levels. Many of them are studying this very issue. There have been deputations and discussions at Mississauga City Council as well. The more input we -- and they -- have, the closer we can come to a resolution..

Please have your say by commenting below. We are eager to hear your point of view now. What would you think about having an STR on your street or next door to you? Can we have this discussion?