A group called Revitalize the Humber is calling on the City not to renew the lease of a Humber yacht club and the property should be returned to the people.
More than 1,500 people have signed an online petition calling for the City to refuse the renewal of a long-term lease with a west-end yacht club.
The Toronto Humber Yacht Club (THYC) has been located at 101 Humber Valley Road, for about 70 years and some residents want to reclaim the land for use as a park or paddling club.
A group called the Revitalize the Humber (RTH) in a petition said the club’s lease expires on July 31 and a City staff report on the use of boat club lands is expected by the end of the year.
The report will first be considered by a General Governance and Licensing Committee and then City Council for a vote.
Aerial view of the Toronto Humber Yacht Club. Its lease is up for renewal on July 31.
“… we are still fighting an uphill battle with the city to reject THYC’s 20-year lease request,” group member Jason Sills wrote. “It’s always easier for City staff and the bureaucracy to go with the status quo vs working to create something wonderful for the general public.”
The RTH claim marine life are in jeopardy from pollutants as dirt and unburned fuel from boat; many which create a wake that erodes the shoreline.
The group said online that personal water craft, as jet skis, stir sediment in the shallow river, ‘introducing pollutants such as unburned fuel.’
The RTH said construction of 60 gazebos along the shore has degraded the riparian zone, displacing native species and disrupting natural habitats.
Some in the community wants the yacht club property to be turned into public parkland.
Sills said the river is being used as a private playground “with little regard for the impacts on local residents and those who come to enjoy the peace the river provides.”
They are suggesting the City grant the lease to an Indigenous-led group for ecological restoration, for use as a park or motor-free paddling club.
You can check out Revitalize the Humber on Facebook or sign their petition on change.org