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On September 23, 2021 the CLRA met with Councillor Josh Matlow and his Planning and Policy Advisor Slavisa Mijatovic.  The meeting was held on Webex.  Although city employees are gradually returning to the office, meetings with the public are still restricted to online.

Several issues were discussed:

1. Business at Casa Loma

Neighbours have noticed what looks like bathroom and kitchen work taking place at the Casa Loma stables that may be related to plans for a new restaurant there; work that is without permission or permits.

This activity took Matlow by surprise.  He will ensure that a freeze is put on any such activity until there is a genuine opportunity for community input on the reasonableness of any plans and their impact on the neighbourhood.  He will meet with Economic Development who has stewardship of Casa Loma and Nick Di Donato of Liberty Entertainment Group.

2. Casa Loma Transportation & Traffic Mitigation Study

Implementation of recommendations in the Study which took place through 2018 and 2019 in which we all had significant input, is now in limbo.  Many of the staff in Transportation services have been seconded to the City’s Covid response through programs like CafeTO, ActiveTO, etc..

3. Parking Restrictions on Neighbourhood Streets

Residents have been questioning the myriad of parking restrictions in our neighbourhood.  Matlow explained that parking restrictions throughout the City have developed on an ad hoc basis over the years based on requests.  There is no overall rationale for the differences from street to street including streets designated for overnight parking permits.  Historically, the City has responded to petitions from residents which starts with a petition signed by 25% of residents on a street followed by a formal polling by the City.

4. Front Yard Parking

We reviewed the subject of Front Yard parking as residents have brought concerns to our attention.  A Front yard parking pad can negatively affect the root structure of trees and cause water runoff problems in addition to potentially making the streetscape less attractive. For these reasons the City requires a permit for a Front Yard Parking pad.  This permit is not transferrable to a new owner and has to be re-applied for by the new owner.  We have created a section on Front Yard and Street Parking Permits on our website.  It includes an overview, streets in our neighbourhood designated for Street Permit parking and links to permit Applications and a list of homes in Toronto that have Front Yard parking permits.  Please follow this LINK.

5. Scheduling of Collection and Removal of Leaves

Matlow will enquire what public facing maintenance schedules the City has and get back to us.  He also asked us to put forward our recommended schedule for the collection and removal of the leaves in our area including temporary suspension of street parking to allow for proper and efficient collection.

6. Implementation of the Casa Loma Heritage Conservation District (HCD) Report

The City’s Planning Department is challenged city wide.  They are currently in the process of preparing a report on their capabilities for 2022.  Until this report is received, reviewed and acted on by City Council, it is unlikely that there will be any movement on the HCD designation.  A related matter is our ongoing effort to have the property at 5 Austin Terrace, the E.J. Lennox house and gardens, upgraded from Listed (1973) to designated under Part IV of the Heritage Act in the City of Toronto Heritage Register.

7. Heritage Marker and Plaque for our Neighbourhood

We explored the construction of a heritage marker and plaque to be placed at an entry point for our neighbourhood, perhaps on the area created in 2019 by the reconfiguration of the intersection of Wells Hill, Melgund and Lyndhurst.  We will be gathering ideas from residents over the next few months and Transportation staff will help us with the placement to ensure it conforms with traffic site line requirements.

8. Gypsy Moths

Monitoring the Gypsy Moth infestation in our area has been an annual focus of the CLRA.  The last neighbourhood spraying took place in June 2019.  We were not able to have our neighbourhood sprayed in 2021 as the City had other neighbourhoods in priority.  Matlow’s office will assist us in getting Forestry to evaluate our needs in the spring of 2022.

9. Garden Homes

Garden Homes will be encouraged by the City much like Laneway Homes have been for the past few years and for that reason public consultation has taken place and guidelines issued prior to a final report later this year. There is a link on our website HERE.  Matlow will ensure that the CLRA will have the opportunity for further input.

Garden Homes like Laneway homes are being supported by the City to increase density, reduce the cost of housing and at the same time increase the property tax base.  Matlow’s preference is to increase density along major streets which are now populated largely by 2 to 3 story buildings encompassing retail and residential by permitting heights similar to those along Paris streets.

Although our neighbourhood may not be a prime location for Garden Homes, we will represent our residents in the current evaluation stage to ensure any development is appropriate.

10. Proposed Self Storage building at Bathurst and Dupont

Although not in our neighbourhood, the proposed building will have implications for views from our escarpment and noise reverberating from railway tracks adjacent to the building.  We are working with neighbouring residents associations and Matlow will bring our concerns to Mike Layton, Councillor for the area.

11. Development at former Petro Canada property at St. Clair & Bathurst

There was no new information on this project which has significant implications for traffic congestion around us, capacity limits at our schools and environmental concerns and unanswered questions from its former usage for many years as a gas station.  We will likely be getting more information in the weeks ahead following its sale last June to a new developer and conversion from a proposed apartment complex to a condominium complex.

Residents with comments, questions and suggestions are encouraged to contact the CLRA at . We are in continuous contact with our Councillor’s office in addition to the formal Quarterly Meetings with our Councillor.  Through his office we are connected to the relevant City staff responsible for attending to the matter.

The proposed regulatory framework has four parts:

1. Enhanced operator licensing requirements to promote health and safety
2. An enforcement and compliance program
3. City-wide zoning standards that permit the use across the city, and
4. Initiatives to support tenants and maintain affordability of housing

Residents who may be renting rooms or are considering renting rooms should participate in the discussion.  Details on a Questionnaire available until May 18 and a public meeting scheduled for 12:30 p.m. on May 11, 2021 are available HERE.

If the Casa Loma Residents Association can be of help, please email

The CLRA Executive, the Head of the Ardwold Gate Association, Slavisa Mijatovic of Councillor Matlow’s office and Chris Papadopoulos, COO of Casa Loma met at Casa Loma on April 10^th for an update on progress to improve the traffic, parking, noise and other issues being experienced by residents in the proximity of Casa Loma.

Considerable progress has been made and the foundation has been laid for further progress. We believe the makings of a good relationship between the CLRA and the management of Casa Loma are in place.

We are pleased to report that the Italian National Day event has been scaled down by Casa Loma compared to previous years. This year’s event is scheduled for Sunday June 2^nd. Our concerns are being brought to the attention of the event’s co-organizers from the Toronto Italian community.

Casa Loma has already put in place a drop off/ pickup area (east parking lot) for Uber, Lyft, Taxis and others. A-Frame signage is being used to direct this traffic during popular events. Permanent signage will require Heritage approval. Residents across from the castle are encouraged to use this location for drop-off and pick-up when using these services

Management has engaged a Toronto based global leader in parking management to study the parking configuration of the 235 spaces at the castle and identify appropriate solutions and technology to address the congestion at the parking lot entrance. The first meeting took place April 11^th. Management will also review the process used by its valet parker to remove any congestion its process may cause. This is not likely a major cause of congestion as according to Chris his experience has been that at most 12 cars use the service on a Saturday night and far fewer during the week.

Casa Loma has a Parking Manager and Security in front for all popular events. Paid duty police are also employed but occasionally the contracted officer may cancel at the last minute. New, more visible and authoritative jackets are being considered for the Casa Loma attendants. Casa Loma has started to track data to identify peak periods to assist in staff planning and positioning.

BlueBlood restaurant will be opening a patio lounge this summer. The location is on the south west side of the castle. Chris advised that this is not a party lounge but instead a high-end cocktail lounge. The expected ambient music should not pose an inconvenience to any of our residents.

The CLRA, Casa Loma and Councillor Matlow’s office have not received any update from the TMMP Study Group. However, the TMMP have sent Casa Loma a questionnaire so they are working on the study. They have been consistent in telling us that we will receive notice when they are ready.

Slavisa Mijatovic will be sending us information on the process required and resident approval needed to change parking restrictions on streets in the vicinity of Casa Loma, including setting earlier hours for overnight parking permits and obtaining temporary parking permits. As soon as we have the information, we will communicate with residents on those streets and ask for an area captain to organize the process. We were told it takes about 2 months for the signs to be changed once an application is submitted. Slavisa will also look into regulating where taxis can park.

Casa Loma has recently refreshed its website. We have asked Casa Loma to put public transportation options more prominently on the home page of its website. The new site has public transportation four levels (navigation clicks) below the home page and secondary to driving instructions. One idea discussed to bring public transportation to the forefront is for the TTC to attach Casa Loma to the Dupont station name.

Casa Loma lists upcoming events on its website http://casaloma.ca/events. We were informed that the After Dark Summer Series this year will run Monday to Wednesday evenings beginning with Soul in the City June 3^rd and ending with Just for Laughs on August 28^th. Like in previous years if weather is favourable the series may be extended. Other events scheduled are the Kerry Stratton Maestro Gala Benefit April 30^th indoors, Mother’s Day Brunch a sold out event on May 12^th and the above mentioned Italian National Day on June 2^nd. Private weddings and corporate events will also take place through the summer.

Chris Papadopoulos offered to initiate a hot line to site security that can be used by residents to report urgent situations that should be brought to management’s attention. We will let residents in the vicinity of the castle know what the hotline number is when operational. Respectfully, some requests received by Casa Loma this past winter for snow removal on neighbourhood properties and free use of Casa Loma facilities for neighbourhood events were not well received by management.

We were told by Chris that there are no concrete discussions underway with the City regarding the Stables lease which we understand is renewable in 2020. Chris mentioned that the City as property owner is evaluating paving the staff parking lot behind the stables and erecting a new fence along the back perimeter of the property. Slavisa Mijatovic will check with Museum and Heritage Services to see what info he can get about the city’s plans for the Stables lease.

Management is sensitive to the issue of noise at the castle and last year implemented an agreement with the City. As a result of efforts by the CLRA and others, this past fall all the loud screaming sounds were moved indoors for the Legends of Horrors month. Neighbours reported a significant improvement this past October and expressed appreciation for Casa Loma efforts. We have requested signage on exits from the castle notifying patrons that they are exiting into a residential neighbourhood and a request to minimize noise and respect private property. Signage has been used by Casa Loma at the exit from the stables but we would like to see this made permanent and extended to other exit points from the property and perhaps used in some literature. Casa Loma management will bring this up with Heritage who have to approve all permanent signage.

We also addressed attendance management for Casa Loma events and were assured that Casa Loma manages capacity within its licensed capacity as stipulated by the fire department.

Slavisa Mijatovic will be following up with city departments (i) to get more information on the noise by-law, the definition of outdoors and confirm the 10pm limit on outdoor noise, (ii) check with Signs and Markings about having some Quiet Zone/ Residential Area signage near Casa Loma, and contact Fire Services on how the outdoor capacity was determined. He will also contact the TTC about the suggestion to change the name of Dupont Station to Dupont-Casa Loma and the possible re-routing of buses to pick-up/drop-off people at large events.

The CLRA will meet regularly with Chris Papadopoulos and his team on a regular basis to maintain a good relationship. The meeting on April 10^th was friendly, cooperative and professional and bodes well for a productive dialogue between the CLRA and Casa Loma on behalf of our residents. We will keep you posted.

We will also let you know as soon as we hear from the TMMP Study Group.

Comments, questions and suggestions can always be directed to