Present: Richard Cavanagh, Linda De Giorgio, Wendy Fletcher, Bridgid Higgens John Keating, Brian MacConnell, David Raymont, Carrie Schipper, Florence Watts, Dick Watts, Mike Foderick (Councillor Palacio's representative).
Regrets: Anita Kung, Beth Marcilio, and David Shanoff.

1. Heritage and History.
   “St. Clair West in Pictures” We have not received an answer to our March 2 request to the Library Board for a reprint of this book. Mike Foderick will follow up on the request.



2. Street Beautification.
   1. Street Trees
      1. Replacement trees at 54 & 56 Highview are expected to be planted in mid-May.
      2. Urban Forest Policy Review: Mike suggested that we consider a slightly different approach (rather than through committees of Council as suggested in our March 10 letter to Councillor Palacio). It was agreed that the RHRA Special Committee on Urban Forest Policy will plan to deal with the issue more directly by meeting with Forestry personnel, their policy and procedures staff and Councillor Palacio.
      3. Tree Planting Campaign: John Keating is preparing materials for the campaign. Jerry Hodge & Dick will give John copies of photos of trees and other materials from the 1998 campaign. Several members volunteered to canvas certain areas. Dick will give John a list of members who have said they are interested in tree issues. Councillor Palacio will be sending a letter to all Regal Heights residents re tree issues. John Keating will work with Mike Foderick to coordinate the message with our tree- planting campaign.
   2. Gardens
      1. Daffodil Hill Spring Clean up: About 15 people came out on April 10 to remove litter and dead plant material from the hill. Large loads of these materials were taken away the next day by City parks personnel under the direction of Mike Hindle. Many thanks to Mike Hindle for this essential help and to all community members who helped.
      2. Oakwood Collegiate North Side Gardens: Florence and Marla Percy are assisting the Oakwood Collegiate Environment Club in selecting three cedar trees and other plant materials. Planting will begin on Tues Apr 26.
      3. Compost Supply : Free, City compost will be available as follows: - Oakwood Collegiate parking lot, Mon. May 16, 4:30 pm. to dusk; - No Frills parking lot, Fri. May 20, 4:30 pm. to dusk.
   3. Litter - City Clean-up Day is Saturday April 23. Meet at Oakwood Collegiate parking lot at 10 am. Gloves and bags will be provided. John Keating is coordinating the project.
   
   
   
3. Planning and Zoning.
   1. 75 Regal Road/ OMB Hearing: On April 6, six RHRA members assisted David Self in presenting evidence in opposition to the construction of a fire escape which had been installed without approval and without a building permit. Board representative J.A. Smout is expected to announce her decision, in writing, within a few days.
   2. Communications Tower at 1142 Davenport Rd. : An addition has recently been made to the tower which increases its negative impact on the streetscape, but it appears unlikely that anything can be done to have the tower removed. As a result of Councillor Palacio's initiatives, the city is preparing regulations to give the City greater local control over the installation of such towers. The matter is expected to be before the next Planning and Transportation Committee meeting.
   3. St. Clair Transit Study: The Minister of Environment's decision on this matter has not yet been released. Nevertheless, the City and the TTC are proceeding with planning and scheduling for construction to begin in Sept. 2005 . Current plans are to complete Phase 1 (Yonge to Bathurst) before starting Phase 2 (Bathurst to Gunns) in April 2006. On April 14, City and TTC reps. presented urban design concepts to a public mtg. arranged by Councillor Palacio at Oakwood Collegiate. These can be viewed on the web at:
      http://toronto.ca/wes/techservices/
      involved/transportation/st-clair_construction/cdcg.htm., go to "workshop 04" then click on "presentation". You will have to download Adobe Reader in order to see the pictures.
   4. 21 Lauder: Construction has been going on at this address for about 3 years. Apparently the City has not issued a building permit for the current work. Some local residents are annoyed by on-going piles of earth and unused construction equipment. Mike Foderick will meet concerned residents together with necessary buildings staff to determine what is the exact nature of the problem and how it can be rectified.
   5. Mount Royal Parkette Plan: Draft concept plans for revisions to Mount Royal Parkette will be reviewed at a public meeting Tuesday May 10, 6:30 pm in the library at Regal Road School. Come and help decide what should be done to improve the only little piece of public park in Regal Hts. other than the Oakwood Parkette.
   
   
   
4. Annual Meeting.
   Principal Patsy Agard has kindly agreed to host our Annual Meeting at Oakwood Collegiate on May 17, 6:45 pm. to 9:30 pm. It was agreed that the agenda should include reports and discussion of all RHRA activities and issues. It was agreed that care must be taken to prevent street-tree issues and St. Clair Transit issues from taking undue time from other items. Mike Foderick will try to obtain St. Clair Transit drawings and plans in addition to the usual displays.
   
   
5. Finances:
   Bank Balance: $367; petty cash $37; in trust for murals: $305. Approval was given to purchase 4 new soaker hoses for the Rosemount gardens (est. $50)
   
   
6. Other
   1. Siva Swaminathan (54 Glenholme) is looking for a venue to explain how she used the money she raised here to assist the people of eastern India who suffered from the tsunami disaster. She spent several weeks working with the local people and has a lot of pictures and stories to tell. We are trying to help her find a location for a meeting of about 100 people (and with a screen to show the pictures). She would like to give the presentation in mid-June. Any suggestions?
   2. Regal Road School Spring Fair is on May 25.
   3. Charles Caccia is giving away small spruce trees at Dufferin Mall on Sat. April 23 in celebration of Earth Day. He has given Regal Heights Community 75 of these trees for use in our public gardens and school grounds. Thanks Charles.
   4. Mike Foderick noted that the idea of "Poetry in the Sidewalks" is gaining momentum.

Next Meeting: RHRA Annual Meeting, Tuesday, May 17, 6:45 pm at Oakwood Collegiate.