Heritage Conservation Districts
Heritage Conservation Districts are created under Part V of the the Ontario Heritage Act. The Creation of a Heritage Conservation District Plan is a two-stage process.
Stage 1 is the preparation of an HCD Study:
Area study 40 (1) The council of a municipality may undertake a study of any area of the municipality for the purpose of designating one or more heritage conservation districts. 2005, c. 6. s. 29.
Scope of study (2) A study under subsection (1) shall,
(a) examine the character and appearance of the area that is the subject of the study, including buildings, structures and other property features of the area, to determine if the area should be preserved as a heritage conservation district;
(b) examine and make recommendations as to the geographic boundaries of the area to be designated;
(c) consider and make recommendations as to the objectives of the designation and the content of the heritage conservation district plan required under section 41.1;
(d) make recommendations as to any changes that will be required to the municipality’s official plan and to any municipal by-laws, including any zoning by-laws. 2005, c. 6. s. 29.”
If the Study is approved, Stage 2 is the writing and approval of an HCD Plan:
“A heritage conservation district plan shall include,
(a) a statement of the objectives to be achieved in designating the area as a heritage conservation district;
(b) a statement explaining the cultural heritage value or interest of the heritage conservation district;
(c) a description of the heritage attributes of the heritage conservation district and of properties in the district;
(d) policy statements, guidelines and procedures for achieving the stated objectives and managing change in the heritage conservation district; and
(e) a description of the alterations or classes of alterations that are minor in nature and that the owner of property in the heritage conservation district may carry out or permit to be carried out on any part of the property, other than the interior of any structure or building on the property, without obtaining a permit under section 42. 2005, c. 6, s. 31.”
The SLNA and others in our neighbourhood started to lobby for the creation of a Heritage Conservation District in St Lawrence in about 2005 and in 2012 the City finally approved an updated policy on establishing HCDs. The St Lawrence Area was immediately selected as a potential Heritage Conservation District.
Though the boundaries can vary as a Study proceeds, it is clearly necessary to set initial Study boundaries. For the St Lawrence Area Study the City's Heritage Staff suggested (and Council approved) that the initial Area should be “... inclusive of the area located east of Yonge Street (including the buildings on the west side of the street), south of Adelaide Street (including all buildings on the north side of the street), west of Parliament Street (including all buildings on the east side of the street) and north of the railway corridor."
To conduct the Study the City hired the experienced heritage architects Fournier Gersovitz Moss Drolet et Associés Architectes (FGMDA) (The firm is now now called EVOQ Architecture - http://evoqarchitecture.com/en/ ) Many residents participated in the Study phase taking photographs, finding historic photographs and giving local input into the process; during the Study Phase, to keep residents and property owners informed, two community consultation meetings were held.
During these consultations the Study area was slightly changed to accommodate resident and expert opinions. The Study was completed in May 2014 and was presented to and approved by the Toronto Preservation Board.
The HCD Study Report recommended the creation of TWO HCD PLANS in St Lawrence.
FGMDA were then appointed to prepare a Heritage Conservation District Plan for the St Lawrence Historic District.
As with the Study phase, there are community consultations during the development of an HCD Plan.
After the consultations FGMDA and City Heritage Preservation Services staff reviewed the public comments, revised the draft Plan and then reported to the Toronto Preservation Board, to the Toronto and East York Community Council and to Toronto City Council.
The Plan (slightly amended for clarity) was approved by Council in December 2015.
The Plan was appealed to the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT) and this was heard at hearings held throughout November and December 2019. The SLNA was a participant and submitted a statement that can be read here.
The final decision from the Tribunal was received on July 27th. We will continue to discuss moving ahead with a Plan for the “St Lawrence Residential District”.
Heritage Conservation Districts are created under Part V of the the Ontario Heritage Act. The Creation of a Heritage Conservation District Plan is a two-stage process.
Stage 1 is the preparation of an HCD Study:
Area study 40 (1) The council of a municipality may undertake a study of any area of the municipality for the purpose of designating one or more heritage conservation districts. 2005, c. 6. s. 29.
Scope of study (2) A study under subsection (1) shall,
(a) examine the character and appearance of the area that is the subject of the study, including buildings, structures and other property features of the area, to determine if the area should be preserved as a heritage conservation district;
(b) examine and make recommendations as to the geographic boundaries of the area to be designated;
(c) consider and make recommendations as to the objectives of the designation and the content of the heritage conservation district plan required under section 41.1;
(d) make recommendations as to any changes that will be required to the municipality’s official plan and to any municipal by-laws, including any zoning by-laws. 2005, c. 6. s. 29.”
If the Study is approved, Stage 2 is the writing and approval of an HCD Plan:
“A heritage conservation district plan shall include,
(a) a statement of the objectives to be achieved in designating the area as a heritage conservation district;
(b) a statement explaining the cultural heritage value or interest of the heritage conservation district;
(c) a description of the heritage attributes of the heritage conservation district and of properties in the district;
(d) policy statements, guidelines and procedures for achieving the stated objectives and managing change in the heritage conservation district; and
(e) a description of the alterations or classes of alterations that are minor in nature and that the owner of property in the heritage conservation district may carry out or permit to be carried out on any part of the property, other than the interior of any structure or building on the property, without obtaining a permit under section 42. 2005, c. 6, s. 31.”
The SLNA and others in our neighbourhood started to lobby for the creation of a Heritage Conservation District in St Lawrence in about 2005 and in 2012 the City finally approved an updated policy on establishing HCDs. The St Lawrence Area was immediately selected as a potential Heritage Conservation District.
Though the boundaries can vary as a Study proceeds, it is clearly necessary to set initial Study boundaries. For the St Lawrence Area Study the City's Heritage Staff suggested (and Council approved) that the initial Area should be “... inclusive of the area located east of Yonge Street (including the buildings on the west side of the street), south of Adelaide Street (including all buildings on the north side of the street), west of Parliament Street (including all buildings on the east side of the street) and north of the railway corridor."
To conduct the Study the City hired the experienced heritage architects Fournier Gersovitz Moss Drolet et Associés Architectes (FGMDA) (The firm is now now called EVOQ Architecture - http://evoqarchitecture.com/en/ ) Many residents participated in the Study phase taking photographs, finding historic photographs and giving local input into the process; during the Study Phase, to keep residents and property owners informed, two community consultation meetings were held.
During these consultations the Study area was slightly changed to accommodate resident and expert opinions. The Study was completed in May 2014 and was presented to and approved by the Toronto Preservation Board.
The HCD Study Report recommended the creation of TWO HCD PLANS in St Lawrence.
- It was recommended that one of these HCD Plans (for the St Lawrence Historic District) should be created as soon as possible.
- The second Plan (for the St Lawrence Residential Neighbourhood)should be created at a later date.
FGMDA were then appointed to prepare a Heritage Conservation District Plan for the St Lawrence Historic District.
As with the Study phase, there are community consultations during the development of an HCD Plan.
After the consultations FGMDA and City Heritage Preservation Services staff reviewed the public comments, revised the draft Plan and then reported to the Toronto Preservation Board, to the Toronto and East York Community Council and to Toronto City Council.
The Plan (slightly amended for clarity) was approved by Council in December 2015.
The Plan was appealed to the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT) and this was heard at hearings held throughout November and December 2019. The SLNA was a participant and submitted a statement that can be read here.
The final decision from the Tribunal was received on July 27th. We will continue to discuss moving ahead with a Plan for the “St Lawrence Residential District”.