Beer bottles fuel drunken nuisances A Cabbagetown South heritage district could bring liabilities

Dennis Hanagan –

South Cabbagetown residents want their local Beer Store to make bottle returning easier, hoping that will reduce the number of empties in residential recycling bins and the number of noisy bottle scavengers going onto private property looking for them.

Bottles bring scavengers deposit money to buy single cans. That’s brought problems such as drunks urinating and defecating in local laneways.

“There have been problems with public intoxication, drinking in Allan Gardens and in the laneways,” Don Purvis, new president of the Cabbagetown South Residents’ Association (CSRA) told The Bulletin.

It was one of the topics addressed when the association—bounded by Parliament, Sherbourne, Carlton and Shuter—held its annual general meeting in early January.

“We’d like it (the Beer Store) to make it easier and more pleasant to take returns back,” said Purvis. Ideally, the CSRA says a 24/7 “donations window” would let residents return their empties any hour of the day.

The deposit money would be donated to charity.

“The Beer Store recently opened two beer boutique stores Downtown (Dundas Square and the Distillery District). We would like to see donation windows added at the boutiques as well as the LCBO outlets,” he said.

The CSRA wants to bring new life to the Dundas St. commercial strip between Parliament and Sherbourne.

It plans to work with two Ryerson urban planning students to study the area. They’ll look at parking, who the employers are, and how many people work there.

With that and more, the CSRA hopes to attract new business. “We’re trying to take on a little bit of a BIA aspect,” Purvis said, noting the strip right now has no BIA.

It appears South Cabbagetown could be designated a heritage district, and Purvis wants residents to understand what that entails.

Residents seem to be 50/50 about the idea, said Purvis. But he cautions, “The people who don’t know a lot about it think it’s a great thing until you start delving into it a little more.”

It’s more than just putting a plaque on one’s house. “There are ramifications about future renovations…that could make life a little more difficult or expensive for people,” said Purvis.

Though it’s one of Toronto’s oldest neighbourhoods, South Cabbagetown is the last district to be studied for heritage conservation, according to Purvis.

“A heritage designation district can be a good thing as long as they’re not overly zealous and controlling of property use.

“We feel it’s going to happen.”

At the general meeting, Toronto Centre-Rosedale Councillor Pam McConnell presented outgoing president Patricia Smith with a plaque for her “creativity, determination and passion for community.”

For more information about CSRA’s work visit: CabbageTownSouth.ca.