Glossary of terms

It may be useful to create various additional files such a glossary of terms and an alphabetical index. Kindly mention any errors or omissions.

Example words, terms: condominium, rental building, tenants, tenants association, developers (insert names), City Council, Legislative Assembly of Ontario, federal government, Toronto Hydro, Toronto District School Board, Webex.

An alphabetical index is being worked on. Please note that in this (phpBB) bulletin board software the stock "Search" box only references messages and omits looking through sub-pages and links. As well the stock search does not return proximity references... so what you see here - stock plus alphabetical plus FreeFind - is rather cool.

This page mainly has to do with Toronto, Ontario. Canada

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100 Wellesley - an example of an aging, hard-to-manage tall building in downtown Toronto. Have we learned anything since the last incident?

2 Secord Ave. - a Preston Group property that experienced a transformer explosion. Power was out for days and tenants were literally left in the dark!

Application Information Centre - sometimes referred to as the "AIC" this is a set of web sub-pages on the city of Toronto's web site "toronto dot C A". We first encountered this one in the wake of the February 23 "virtual consultation" about the Osmington Gerofsky proposal for 7 St. Dennis Dr.

There seems to be an acknowledgement on the part of the chief planner that the AIC needs work. See also 25problems.com/app.php/aic

algorithm - a formula or a series of mathematical steps. In our sphere this most recently called to mind Facebook Corp., which has been accused of intentionally promoting addictive software and processes

alleyway - the irregular paved road that runs along the lot between the community centre, daycare and some other buildings, and the parking lot for the original tower at 25 St. Dennis Dr. It is littered with the remains of burned-out vehicles (eg. toxic waste) and, like most of the area, it is infested with rats

AOL - company that was involved with Webex in the past. Ergo it may be important to know that Webex was/is a big part of the early internet, at the turn of the century

Bell Canada - a company with a near-monopoly on telecommunications services in Toronto. A major sticking point is that they do not appear to service the tower at 25 St. Dennis Dr.

Burnside, Jon - city councillor for Ward 16

condominium - a mostly urban housing/real estate/investment concept where you "buy a unit" in a building that has been erected — or in some cases that is proposed — by a specialist development... syndicate or consortium. Circa 2021-2022 condomium sales probably average a few hundred thousand dollars, so to do this, eg. take part or "buy in" etc. most people would probably have to take out a mortgage with a bank or other lender. You can live in the unit or rent it out although the idea at least vaguely has to do with creating communities of stable residents. "Owners" share in the "common elements" such as hallways and carpeting, heating and cooling systems and underground parking, and amenities which usually means a party or games room and a swimming pool or gymnasium. Monthly fees for maintenance are set by a volunteer board of directors, a legal requirement which is often easier to say than it is to actually create) operating under direction or advice from lawyers, accountants and other professional managers and the fees pay the managers' and advisors' salary. Generally speaking things are fine until... as the years go by wear and tear causes cracks to appear in the foundation, or there are capital expenses like the boilers or the lift mechanism(s).

Everyone has to agree to a written set of rules such as maximum occupancy and waste disposal protocols, and "owners" are required by law to meet, usually once a year, an annual meeting presided over by the board, their managers, and (usually) a lawyer whose task it is to interpret the Condomium Act

One emerging trend with condominiums, especially over long periods of time, is that the number of "original owners" diminishes and in their place the population starts to include more tenants of owners or corporate owner/entities. This can greatly alter the character of a community! The other wrinkle to be considered as we diverge from the original concept is how do you form a tenants' association when there are a hundred or more "landlords"?

The above summary was written on a whim in one pass
by Roman Kowalczuk (the phpBB board Admin here) and it is not to be construed as professional advice. Haha, I'm not a lawyer (!) but I hope I've touched on the basics. A professional review of this placeholder file is pending.



Condo Tribunal, Ontario - like the purported mandatory "school" for directors, this is another hard to swallow, new wrinkle in condo land. See “The powerful organization that now rules over condo life” by May Warren in the December 6, 2022 edition of the Toronto Star


Crosstown LRT - a partly submerged, partly elevated streetcar line that is supposed to run east-west-east along Eglinton Avenue. Still not operational as of early 2023


DBL Developments - a company that is attempting to put up a high-rise (skyscraper) condominium building on the city block, just across the street from the Ontario Science Centre on Don Mills Road south of Eglinton Avenue East, that also encompasses the buildings at 10 Grenoble and 7 St. Dennis Drive. This new, chameleon-like project may have started life as a "rental" building; it seemed to change in mid-stride as it were. As recently as February 2023 it was not clear how these projects relate to each other and there is some weird stuff afoot such as an apparent plan to transport garbage from the new tower, onto the grounds of the existing tower. There is already a huge rat infestation on the old tower grounds!

'EHON' - the city's jargon for Expanding Housing Options in Neighbourhoods. Example: multiplexes aka duplex, triplex, fourplex etc.

Elevated - a rail transit system or section that runs above ground. Going through a valley or rugged terrain may involve noisy bridges and trestles. The "Ontario Line" extension to Toronto's subway system was supposed to be elevated, *across the street* almost directly in front of the four proposed Osmington-Gerofsky buildings that were at issue in February 2023

FRPO - lobby group which holds "webinars" about the RTA which you cannot attend

Gerofsky, David - a developer who was active on the lot that included the buildings at 10 Grenoble and 7 St. Dennis Drive and 25 St. Dennis Drive. He was seeking approval for four new buildings on the lot. DBL Developments had apparently started on a fifth new building on the lot. Very little mention of the suitability of this type of accomodation, eg. existing condos on the lot have not worked out that well, long-term eg. they... tend to drift towards becoming rental buildings of a sort, even though this is not a part of the plan. References - "aging condos" item in Canadian Lawyer magazine circa 2019-2021 - to be added.

emergency planning

High-Rise Units, Toronto Fire Services - crews and equipment that are/is able to attend emergencies in tall buildings. Probably limited to about 20 storeys, and there aren't that many of them. (High-Rise Units that is; there are lots of tall buildings)

Curiously the four or five planned buildings on the block that includes 10 Grenoble and 7 St. Dennis are all slated to be higher than 20 storeys... you would think that the... lack of equipment and crews might put a cap on how high things can go, but apparently not


Ksiazek, Stephen - former head of Don Mills Residents Inc. (DMRI) and he stepped forward as a candidate for City Council, for the Ward 16 seat that was eventually taken by Jon Burnside. Ksiazek's circa 2022 notes on the need for planning oversight and revision were unique.

Landlord and Tenant Board

LPAT

N.Y.C.C. - “North York Community Council”. Five councillors: Shelley Carroll, John Pasternak, Mike Colle, Lily Cheng and Jon Burnside

Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) - a provincial comission which oversaw development for many years. Very controversial

Osmington Gerofsky Corp. - see Gerofsky, David above

rat infestation - an issue north of the Hydro corridor situated north of the 'Glen Valley' condominium complex. Very bad around the McDonald's hamburger stand and it increases with the poorly-maintained building at 25 St. Dennis Dr. and continues north towards the Foresters building and the "Sonic" towers

Reichmann, Paul - original developer of Flemingdon Park

RTA - provincial Residential Tenancies Act

Robinson, Jaye - former city councillor for the ward that is beside Ward 16

Salomon, David Bela - original builder of the old, 17 storey (approx.) apartment tower at 25 St. Dennis Dr.

Salomon, Gloria - head of "Preston Group" and "25 St. Dennis Inc.", operators of the east end of the block that also encompasses the buildings at 10 Grenoble and 7 St. Dennis Drive, across from the Ontario Science Centre on Don Mills Road just south of Eglinton Ave. East

Skyjack - a type of harness that can be used to facilitate egress from a tall building during an emergency. Based on a long, very thin steel cable they are pricey (over $1,000) and only one person can used it at a time. It is also hard to duplicate smoke and emergency conditions etc. in order to facilitate a practice run

Toronto City Council - https://www.toronto.ca/city-government/council/

"vacant lands" (sic) - a term applied by Osmington Gerofsky to describe the wooded lot between 7 St. Dennis Dr. and 25 St. Dennis Dr.

Webex - American company that was engaged by the city of Toronto to try and facilitate "virtual" meetings

Zoom - another virtual meetings scheme

Related glossaries: https://pc.net/glossary/ (computer terms)
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LAST UPDATED ON MAY 5, 2024