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Planning Board's Activities Covered Wide Range In 1953 By NORMAN C. MILLMAN Chairman, Oshawa Planning Board The work of the P] Board during 1953 covered a e range ®f activities related to the even- tual design of this city. The amount of land which was sub-divided, or/for which sub-div- sion plans were developed, was far al than di any previous - month perio&in the city's his- ta Some, 00% 3 Lap ns in crease calls for a corresponding Sxpansion of housing facilities and turn demands the sub- n of additional land, 650 HOUSES rmits were 659° welling units as with 424 during 1952 and 1951. submitted, 953, for 48 subdivisions roughly 1,200 building lots. Sub-division as it affects the per- manent pattern of the city con- with the lay-out of , In fact, it might be that the total of all sub-divi- sions constitutes the map of the city as far as streets are concern- . It is of extreme importance that various sub - divisions should so inter-related that ma- jor traffic arteries and more local district arteries shall be continu- and of correct width and grade. Concurrontly consideration must p given to the of use of the subdivision (i.e., Residential, In- dustrial, Commercial, etc. and the need for race or Souls amd "lay s mus Tne mind The design of a sub-division is also affected by the contours or levels of the land and the conse- quent grades of streets, and of sewage flow. It is obvious that land which is close to basic services, such as water supply and sewage collec- tion, can developed at less cost to the city than land which is out- MANY OPINIONS TAKEN All the above and many other points have to be considered at the time of sub-division. Not only does he Planning Board. have to con- them in detail but opinions be obtained from the city engineer, assessment commission- She medical officer of health and the city solicitor. Then the prope sal must be accepted by ty council and finally the approval of the Minister of Pl and De- velopment is obtained. The plan is then ready for registration in the county registry office. All these steps are taken in or- der to protect the design of the city and the ultimate owner of the Hn wil ig? preciated that all t ap this work related to the number of subdivisions .and lots mentioned above has placed a very heavy load on your Planning Board and its small staff. ZONING BY-LAW ; A Zoning by-law has been under development ever since annexation took in 1951. In order to have an enactment of this kind which will stand up in practice, it is nec- essary to first obtain a tremendous to- |amount of information. The neces- sary fore-runner of a zo law is a Land Use Plan. The latter outlines the different uses to which various parts of the land within' the city may be put -- such as residential, industrial, etc. A zoning by-law goes farther and divides each category into sub- categories. For example, residen- tial areas may be grouped as areas limited to single family dwellings or to those that will per- mit apartments. The minimum lot sizes may be defined and the dis- tance that a building must be set back from a street. These and many other regulations are intend- ed to protect the purchaser of property from subsequent deterior- ation of his investment which might be due to undesirable land use adjacent to him. While zoning does impose a limited amount of regimentation, this feature is far more than set-off by the benefits that zoning provides. It protects the great majority against the in- dividual who might make a gain for himself at the expense of all adjacent landowners. he Land Use Plan for Oshawa was developed and approved two years ago. The draft Zoning By- law has now been drawn up. It includes 15 maps covering every foot of land within the city. It is now being studied by the Planning Board as a whole and by the city officials. After this study, and con- NORMAN C. MILLMAN sequent amendments have been completed, it will be passed to the City Council for adoption or amend- ments and it is hoped that this action will take place'before long. COMMERCIAL AREAS The general plan calls for a cen- tral core of commerce adjacent to the Four Corners. Also for district shopping centres in the north, west and east, and possibly later in the south. There will also be small neighborhood centres of between six and 12 shops to serve residen- tial districts as the latter develop. The largest planned development during 1953 took place in the King Street West-Stevenson road area where a national retailer obtained a large tract of land to be used for itself and its associates. An exten- sion of commerce was developed by individual merchants along the west side of Simcoe Street North above Switzer Drive, and two larg- er concerns in the form of a char- tered bank and an international food chain have since entered this area. New neighborhood shopping PLANNING BOARD (Continued on Page 20) THE DAILY TIMES-GAZETT Combining The Oshawa Times and Whitby Gazette and Chronicle OSHAWA WHITBY VOL. 12--No. 305 . OSHAWA-WHITBY, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 31, 1953 , PAGE THREE Over Million Spent On Publ 1C Tax Collections Hit High Record y Once again Oshawa taxpayers are to be complimented on their ability and co-operation in paying taxes to the extent of over 98% r cent of the current tax levy for 1953, surpassing the previous year again, Complimentary letters and phone calls from other municipalities, along with editorials in newspapers during 1953 and other years on the City of Oshawa tax record shows the loyalty of the citizens of Osh- awa in this regard. With reference to 1952 payment i of taxes, The Toronto Daily Star recently printed in part of their | editorial "Oshawa collected 97.90 per cent of its 1952 taxes in 1952, and with 'arrears included, 99.21 per cent and it had the lowest per- centage of arrears, at the year's end, only 1.08 percent." 1953 COLLECTIONS During 1953 (up to December 18) out of a current levy of $2,804,996 there remains a balance outstand- ing of $33,534 and out of 1952 and prior years' arrears of $24,207 as of January 1, 1953, there remains a balance of $3,353 outstanding. Therefore, the amount collected for current was $2,771,462 and for arrears $20,854, resulting -in - 98.80 City's Credit High As Year 1953 Ends By HAROLD E. TRIPP City Treasurer During 1953 debentures amount- ing .to $1,337,12269 were issued and these funds provided for the ase of the electrical distribu-| system in the Annexed Area from The Hydro Electro Power Commission of Ontario -- $200,-| 000.00; partial cost of the sewage treatment plant, $500,000.00; and the remainder was expended for the construction of sidewalks, pave- ments and sanitary sewers. Nine tenders representing twenty three firms were received for the debentures sold in December. While a premium ce was re- ceived this was highly satisfactory, but only reflected the condition of the bond market at the time the debentures were offered. However, it was very gratifying to see the large number ers interested in Oshawa deben- tures. This indicates that the credit of the City of Oshawa has become | i of investment deal-| more firmly established, and the reluctance to deal with Oshawa debentures because of dependence | on one industry is decreasing. The gross debenture debt, includ- ng that assumed from The Town- hip of East Whitby on tion, will amount to $6,075,996,76 $137.77 per capita as at Decem- bbr 81, 1953. Of this amount $1,- v893,855.10 represents issues for water, electric and gas which are repayable from utilities revenue. Issues for public schools and the Central Collegiate institute amount to $1,108,677.10. From the above figures it will be seen that one- half of the debenture debt is for utility and school purposes. No person is desirous of having the debenture debt increase, but it cannot be avoided in view of the rapid expansion that is taking place causing capital expenditures to be made which can only be financed by debenture issues. Our present debt compares favourably with oth- er cities of similar size in the Province of Ontario. With increased costs and the ad- ditional services required in 1953 annexa- HAROLD R. TRIPP the budget of revenue and expen- ditures was in excess of three mil- lion dollars. Therefore, at election time the citizens of Oshawa elect their Board of 'Directors to oper- ate a three million dollar business. While a large portion of the ex- penditures is required by statutes, and not under control of Council, it is they who must decide the manner in which the revenue is to be obtained. The operations for 1953 show that the budgets of most departments have been closely ad- hered to and while some neces- sary expenditures that were not provided for have been made, these were offset by increased revenue. After the adjustments have been made in the various accounts at the end of the year, the final re- sult should be a balanced budget for 1953. Assessment Increased By $9.491.260 #* By W. ELDON KERR City Assessor Following is a brief outline of the activities of the Assessment De- sartment for the year ending De- | cember 31, 1953. A in 1953 order to obtain the information nec- essary to complete the assessment rolls. * The total assessment as shown on the roll as of December 21st, 11953, in comparison with the 1952 *During the year the rs | made approximately 15,000 calls in | #Taxable all nas Liable school and relief rates only 'Exempt Property $47,341,925 4,311,700 total t as revised is as follows: 1952 1953 $56,243,390 167,140 4,901,495 Increase $ 8,901,465 None 589,795 167,140 $51,820,765 $61,312,025 $ 9,401,260 During the year 1953, $1,720,460 __ assessment was added by way of a supplementary roll made in ac- cordance with Sections 51 and 51A of the Assessment Act. This in cludes land that had been previous- assessed as exempt, buildings | t had been added to or com-' pleted after the return of the 1952 sessment roll, or new business | hat commenced during the year, Any amount of assessment add- | ed under this section of the act is | liable to taxes from the time it is added to the roll until the end of the year. . The department is unable at this time to include as usual in our re- port the breakdown as to the in- crease in the number of awellings, fapartment housc®, stores, etc., lo- cated in the city. This has been due to other more important mat- ters with which we have had to contend, plus the fact that we are too cramped for space in our pres- ent offices to accommodate the xtra help needed to gather such information. This department is also responsi- ble for the sale of city-owned land, and the total sales to date amount to $108,000. - ¥ i | & W. ELDON KERR By HERBERT CHESEBROUGH Oshawa's high level of employ- ment and expansion in 1953 ! clearly reflected in the work of the | Oshawa Public Welfare Depart- | ment. "Although Oshawa continued to grow, the number of persons on | relief during 1953 averaged only 178, compared with an average of 190 in 1952. As a result, the Wel- fare Department finished the year with a surplus of slightly over $7, | 000.00, despite the fact that the employment situation deteriorated badly during November and De- cember" Mr. Chesebrough stated. The Oshawa Public Welfare Board directs the activities of the ¢ | Department, and is composed of Alderman Cephas Gay, Chairman, Alderman R. Halliday, Alderman C. Harman, Mrs. T. K. Creighton, Mrs. R. Thomas, vice-chairman, Mrs. A. W. Smith, Mrs. B. A. Brown, Mr. A. J. Hicks, and Mr. E. Cheetham. The administrator who is secretary of the Board, took over his duties on November 1st of this year, following the resigna- tion of Mrs. Marion Dwyer, who was connected with the Welfare Department as a Social Worker and Administratix since January 21st, 1942. SOCIAL CASES HANDLED Although the number of relief recipients declined during the year, the work of the Department was at a high level, owing to the large Social Needs of Oshawa Keep Wellare Dep't. Busy HERBERT A. CHESEBROUGH number of social cases handled at no cost to the City. Urgent housing needs, used furniture re- quirements, family problems, and personal matters were among the items in this category that were handled and in most cases com- pleted to the satisfaction of all. By WESLEY R. ELLIOTT Chief of Fire Department The disasterous fire at the Osh- awa Arena, owned by the Hambly Brothers which occurred on Tues- day, September 15, resulting in total loss; is responsible for the high fire loss of $442,159.86 in the City of Oshawa for the current year. To date this Department has answered four hundred and fifty seven (457) fire calls of which eight were in the Township of East Whitby. The work of our inspection branch has increased to an all time high. Other than regular in- spections carried out in factory and mercantile buildings, the inspectors have inspected over two thousand oil burning units and certified to their proper installation. For nine months of the current erated the Ambulance service for the City of Oshawa and surround- ing territory; answering seven hun- dred and ninety seven calls to date, including forty-two calls to hospitals in Toronto. This work re- give the operator essential train- ing to provide good service. Col- lection for ambulance services is handled by this department office, correspondence in such cases of accident, compensation and DVA. The personnel of the Department has been increased during the year by six men making a total of fifty- six officers and men. Five men were added for the ambulance ser- vice and one man as the depart- year the Fire Department has op- | ; quires a great deal of attention to | Arena Fire Raised 1953 Total Losses WESLEY R. ELLIOTT ment's mechanic. New appointees during the year were Firemen V. Johnston (Mechanic), J. Sorochan, N. Mallette, R. Glover, M. Mroc- zeck, G. Hickey, J. Peeling, J. Foreman. 29Y2 Simcoe S. -- CASH --- FOR EMERGENCIES SIGNATURE - CAR - FURNITURE | TRY THE BELLVUE WAY AND PAY FROM INCOME PLAN | THAT FITS YOUR BUDGET i BELLVUE FINANCE G. H. WILSON -- MANAGER Oshawa Dial 5-1121 CLARENCE L. COX per cent collected for current taxes and 86.14 per cent for arrears of taxes. Both amounts and percent- ages are higher than during 1952. The per capita figure for all ar- | rears of taxes outstanding (1953 and prior years) is 83.6 cents for a population of 44,101. ser 15,000 Tax Bills were issued during 1953. POLL TAX COLLECTIONS $20,251.86 Poll Tax collections were up; considerably compared with $12,744.03 for 1952. This increase was partly due to the increase of Poll Tax levy from $7.50 to $10, and partly due to more notices being issued to the many temporary construction em- ployees at the GMC Plant. Only | four Poll Taxpayers (amounting to | $40) remain outstanding, and these | have been fined in Magistrate's Court. There were 345 Court Sum- mons issued during 1953. The per- centage of collectable poll tax col- lected to date is 99.80 per cent. On the whole, regardless of the limited office space, it is felt that the City of Oshawa can well be proud of the successful tax collec- . | tions during 1953 through the afore- said loyal citizens and also through efficient and sincere co-operation of the tax office staff. The new city hall will be most welcomed and should help uphold the past record tax collections with maximum convenience and efficiency to the taxpayer and the municipal office staff. The Oshawa Daily Times-Gazette, through the use of its new columns, provided invaluable assistance in bringing the most urgent cases be- fore" its readers who almost in- variably made a generous re- sponse. An indication of the amount of social work handled is the fact that over 2,800 house calls and interviews were made by Miss Olive Redman and Mrs. Joyce Hamer, Welfare Department social workers during the year. Other activities of the Depart- ment that remained at a high level were investigation of indigent hos- pital accounts, recovery of ac- counts paid for by the City for persons who were temporarily in indigent circumstances, acting on behalf of the City's interests in Childrens Aid Society cases, On- tario Training School cases and the various Provincial institutions. FAIRVIEW LODGE During 1953, requests for aec- commodation at Fairview Ta continued to increase. Oshawa has 75 beds and at the present time 71 patients with a waiting list of 5. All Oshawa's available accommo- dation for female patents is in use, and the waiting list is comprised entirely of female applications. Ap- plications and investigations are handled by the Welfare Depart- ment and present indictions show that additional facilities for female | patients may have to be consider- ed in the near future. The Department looks after the welfare of T.B. patients who are ¥ released from Sanatoriums, but not financially" able to look after their WELFARE (Continued on Page 20) BROUGHAM Pupils Give Fine Concert NINA L. SHEPPARD - Correspondent BROUGHAM -- Brougham school house was lighted the evening of December 21, in preparation for the annual school conert, a big night in the lives of the children. They were more at home on the platform than any other place The scholars big and little, all said their pieces and sang their songs like little troopers. The program was not too long and the Christmas tree was of course the delight of the evening with the tr and teacher in By F. E. CROME City Fuginver lie Capital expenditures on pul Wor constructed in 1953 under the supervision of the Works De- partment amounted to a total of $1,022,000. Of this total, works cost- ing $316,000 were carried out with works department labor and equip- ment. SEWERS AND SEWAGE TREATMENT Construction of the sewage treat- ment plant was continued during 1953 and by the end of the year this work will be about 85 per cent complete. The completion of the attendance to help along the good work of delivering to each child a gift from the tree. Preparations for the concert part had been a daily routine for sometime, but after all was over, each left for home feel- ing they had accomplished some- thing, hoping to start out the first of the New Year to study and pass the examinations that would even- tually come along. Joy Rebekah Lodge, No 355, Brougham held its annual Christ- mas Dance in the Township hall. Everyone enjoyed the social get to gether with baloons decorating the hall spot and door prizes to the lucky couples who all spet a pleas- ant evening dancing to the music of the good orchestra. The lodge also had. a Christmas party after their last meeting with the exchange of gifts. Santa Claus made an appearance, red suit, white beard and a merry Oh! ho! ho! as each gift was presented. The Women's Institute will start the New Year euchre parties each Tuesday evening beginning Tues- day, January 5, at 8.30 o'clock in the Township Hall. Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Vernon Ellicott on the birth of a baby daughter, Karen Fancis. Our old firehall is gradually be- ing. dismantled to be taken away, its departure will leave quite a vacancy. The Christmas Service held in St. John's United Church Sunday afternoon with v. H. Lackey in charge, was well attended. The choir rendered Christmas music and Mr. Lackey delivering a Christ- mas messabe to the congregation which sang the ancient carols with enthusiasm. BIRTHDAYS pumph and installation of equipment represents the main | work to be completed. Completion is scheduled for late spring. Two major trunk sewer' con- tracts were completed during the | year and a contract has been] awarded for a third. The southwest | sanitary trunk sewer which was | made necessary by plant construc- | tion at General Motors Park Rd. | site was completed at a cost of | $192,000. The main city sanitary! trunk sewer was constructed this year at a cost of $53,000. This 48- inch diameter sewer was built to carry the sewage from the Osh- awa Creek valley trunk sewer and the old Haig Street trunk sewer to the new sewage treatment plant lo- cated beside the "second" marsh east of Farewell Ave. A contract has been awarded for the third section of the Oshawa Creek Val- ley sewer, which will extend this sewer from Thomas Street to Whit- ing Avenue at an estimated cost of $104,000. Works department forces worked continuously on the construction of sanitary sewer laterals in various areas of the city, including the Col- lege Hill area, the Wilson Road South district, and the Southmead subdivision at a cost of $79,000. A | total length of 5'2 miles of sani- 1a1y sewer was constructed during A total length of 2% miles of storm sewer was constructed throughout the city at a total cost of $105,000. Five hundred and forty-two sew- er connections were laid in 1953 by works department staff. The total length of pipe laid amounted to 5% miles and represented an expenditure of $74,000. Of the 654 building permits issued for new dwellings in 1953, 251 were for houses in areas not presently sew- erable, although there are large Works In 1933 Sewage Projects Major Items of Expenditure begun /during the year were on Bond Street, Park Road and Bloor Street. Bond Street West from Mec- Millan Drive to Park Road, which was opened to traffic last year with the completion of the bridge over Oshawa Creek, and Park Road North from Bond Street to King Street were paved at a cost of $67,000. Another section of Park Road South, south of Malaga Road, was paved at a cost of $66,500 to PUBLIC WORKS (Continued on Page 20) STAFFORD BROS. MONUMENTAL WORKS Memorials @ Markers 318 DUNDAS ST E., WHITBY PHONE WHITBY 552 Congratulations are extend- ed to Jean Louise Turpin, 654 King Street, East, who is cele- brating her birthday today, De- cember 31. OWL ATTACKS MEN PORT ARTHUR (CP)--A giant owl with a five-foot wingspread Tuesday night attacked two men on a nearby island, removing a piece of one man's ear and knock- ing the other to the ground before being + subdued. The big bird swooped down on Toivo Erickson and Dick Cullen, bush-workers, as they made their way through the bush. Cullen finally grabbed the birdg by the leg and killed it. Wheat is reported to have been grown as high as 14,000 feet alti- tude in Tibet. Closed all day Jan. 2 R. WHITTINGTON ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES 5 BOND ST. W. OSHAWA HARE OPTICAL G. T. BAKER OPTOMETRIST 8 Bond St. East HOURS: 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Closed Wednesdays EVENINGS BY APPOINTMENT PHONE 3-4811 - Wolf 30 PRINCE ST. Dial 3-2248 LECTRIC TOOLS nnouncement After-Sales Service on the Premises HILL-CORNISH ELECTRIC LTD. As from Jan. 1st, 1954 HILL-CORNISH ELECTRIC LIMITED are appointed Wolf Main Stockists OSHAWA Night Call Whitby 2670 on-the-march. for the world. At the stroke of twelve a New Year arrives. A bright New Year, a fresh page of history- With hearts high and faith strong, let's make each day count in building a better life and a better future for our families, for our country and May 1954 bring you all the goodness that life can hold -- health, friendship, joy and above all -- peace. Millwork and Building Supplies and Staff : 1279 SIMCOE N. DIAL 3-4694