Report
to/Rapport au :
Local Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee
Comité consultatif sur la
conservation de l'architecture locale
and /
et
Planning
and Environment Committee
Comité de l'urbanisme et de
l'environnement
and Council / et au Conseil
5 October 2005 / le 5 octobre 2005
Submitted by/Soumis par : Ned Lathrop, Deputy City Manager/
Directeur municipal adjoint,
Planning and Growth Management/Urbanisme et
Gestion de la croissance
Contact
Person/Personne ressource : Grant Lindsay, Manager
Planning and Infrastructure
Approvals/Approbation des demandes d’aménagement et d’infrastructure
(613) 580-2424 x 13242,
grant.lindsay@ottawa.ca
REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS
That the Planning and Environment Committee recommend Council:
1. Approve
the designation of the Central Emergency Government Headquarters, "The
Diefenbunker," 3911 Carp Road, under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act;
2. Be
directed to write a letter to the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada
to consider expanding the area of its designation of the Diefenbunker to
include the entire former site.
RECOMMANDATIONS DU RAPPORT
Que le Comité de l’urbanisme et de
l’environnement recommande au Conseil :
1. d’approuver
la désignation du SFC Carp Siège central du gouvernement d'urgence, le
Diefenbunker, au 392911, chemin Carp, conformément à la partie IV de la Loi sur le patrimoine de l’Ontario.
2. d'être
enjoint d'écrire une lettre à la Commission des lieux et monuments historiques
du Canada en vue d'examiner l'agrandissement du secteur de la désignation du
Diefenbunker afin de comprendre l'ancien site dans son intégralité.
Local Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee Recommendation - 13 October 2005
LACAC supports the departmental recommendation.
BACKGROUND
The Diefenbunker, 3911 Carp Road, in the Village of Carp, (See Location Map, Document 1) was constructed by the Federal government from 1959-61 as a response to the Cold War. A vast underground complex, it was intended to house the Prime Minister, Cabinet and senior military and government personnel in the event of a nuclear war in order that they could continue to run the country. The Diefenbunker, Canada's Cold War Museum, now operates a museum dedicated to the interpretation of Canada's role in the Cold War within the Diefenbunker. The part of the Complex that has been designated as a National Historic Site, includes only the lands owned by the Museum. In order that the national designation and the proposed designation under the Ontario Heritage Act apply to the same site, it is recommended that City Council request the Historic Sites and Monuments Board to expand its designation to cover the entire site.
ANALYSIS
The Diefenbunker Complex is the best example of Canada's response to the Cold War in the entire country (for a detailed description of the complex, see the attached Heritage Survey Form, Document 2). The facility was never used for its intended purpose, although there were plans to move to it during the Cuban missile crisis. It served as the hub of a communications network until its closure in 1994.
Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act gives municipalities the power to designate properties of cultural heritage value. In order to be designated, the City’s Local Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee (LACAC) considers the designation and makes a recommendation to Planning and Environment Committee and City Council. The Act requires that a short statement of the property’s cultural heritage value, including its heritage attributes, be prepared and published in a local newspaper (See Statement of Cultural Heritage Value, Document 3).
Section 2.5.5 of The Official Plan contains policies related to the Ontario Heritage Act, stating that "Individual buildings, structures and cultural heritage landscapes will be designated as properties of cultural heritage value under Part IV of the Heritage Act." In addition, Section 2.5.5, Section 16 states that:
1. As the owner of many heritage resources, the City will protect, improve and manage its heritage resources in a manner which furthers the heritage objectives of this Plan and sets an example of leadership for the community in the conservation of heritage resources, including:
a. designating its heritage resources under the Heritage Act where appropriate and reviewing all conservation plans for their maintenance with LACAC;
Although the actual Diefenbunker is not owned by the City, the lands surrounding it are and it would comply with the above policy if those lands were designated under the Ontario Heritage Act. Furthermore, the designation of these lands, as shown on Document 1, would ensure that future plans for these lands are compatible with the character of the Diefenbunker and do not detract from its cultural heritage value.
The Village of Carp Community Design Plan, Section 6.3, stresses that "The Diefenbunker Site is a unique cultural heritage resource that should be preserved."
The national historical significance of the Diefenbunker has been acknowledged by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada. The City of Ottawa "Official Plan" makes it clear that cultural heritage resources should be protected and designated under the Ontario Heritage Act. The Planning and Growth Management Department therefore supports the request from "The Diefenbunker, Canada's Cold War Museum" to have the property designated under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act.
CONSULTATION
The curator of the Diefenbunker, Canada's Cold War Museum initiated this application for designation under the Ontario Heritage Act, and the Board of the Museum supports it.
The property has two owners; the Diefenbunker, Canada's Cold War Museum, owns a parcel of land, highlighted within the box of the Location Map, Document 1, that it uses for museum purposes and the City of Ottawa owns the remainder of the site. There is a library, community centre and playing fields on the site. The Ottawa Public Library (OPL) operates the Carp Branch Library and they have no objection to this request for designation. The OPL has been informed that the designation would not impede the regular operation of the library branch and its associated "reading garden."
Parks Canada is aware of the proposed designation and supports the City of Ottawa's initiative to have the site protected under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act.
Heritage Ottawa is aware of this request for designation.
The Ward Councillor is aware of the proposed designation.
The Cultural Services and Community Funding Branch of Community and Protective Services supports this designation as it is in keeping with the objectives of the Arts and Heritage, Growth Management Plan.
The Real Property Asset Management Branch of Corporate Services is aware of the proposed designation.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
The cost of the statutory advertising of the designation in the Citizen shall be paid from the operating budget of the Planning and Growth Department, Account Number 112762-502210.
SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION
Document 2 Heritage Survey Form
Document 3 Statement of Cultural Heritage Value and Heritage Attributes
Document 4 Photographs
DISPOSITION
1. Corporate Services Department, Secretariat Services Branch to notify the property owner (City of Ottawa, ) and the Ontario Heritage Trust (10 Adelaide Street, 3rd Floor, Toronto, Ontario, M5C 1J3) of Council's decision to designate the Diefenbunker, 3929 Carp Road, under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act.
2. Planning and Growth Management Department, Planning and Infrastructure Approvals Branch to advertise the Notice of Intention to Designate and Notice of the passage of the by-law.
3. Corporate Services Department, Legal Services to prepare designation by-law, submit it to City Council for enactment and to register the designation on title following enactment.
Statement of Cultural Heritage Value
3911 Carp Road
The Central Emergency Government Headquarters, 3929 Carp Road, now known as the Diefenbunker, Canada's Cold War Museum, is recommended for designation under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act for its cultural heritage value.
Constructed from 1959-1961 by the government of John Diefenbaker, the underground complex was intended to house key government and military personnel in the event of a nuclear war. It was the largest of a series of seven emergency government headquarters built across Canada as the federal government's response to the threat of nuclear attack during the Cold War. It was equipped with supplies that would have allowed 535 people to live for 30 days. It served as a communications centre for the government until 1994.
As constructed, The Diefenbunker, as it came to be called, was barely discernable at grade, as the bunker, where the government functions were located, is underground. Access to the bunker is provided through a butler hut which opens into the "blast tunnel" which is lined with corrugated steel and was designed specifically to withstand a nuclear blast. Inside the four storey, hardened concrete structure, there is a rich mix of rooms, reflecting the function of the complex, including the offices of the Prime Minister and the Chief of the Defence staff, a vault in which to store the gold reserves of the Bank of Canada, a communications facility including a CBC studio, meeting rooms, an infirmary, a dentist's office, living quarters, and kitchens etc. The entire underground complex is included in the designation.
The entire former site, including lands owned by the Museum and the City of Ottawa, is included in the designation. Above ground, there are a number of site elements that contribute to the Diefenbunker’s cultural heritage value. These include; the guard house, the contoured hill that covers the actual bunker, that was engineered specifically to withstand a nuclear blast, the security fences, the vents and exhausts, the parking lots, the former antennae field and the helicopter landing pad.
The Public Library is included in the designated parcel, but the reading garden and other library-related site elements are not to be regulated by this designation.
