3. Application to alter 225 cloverdale road, a property located in the rockcliffe park heritage conservation district and designated under part v of the ontario heritage act

DEMANDE VISANT À TRANSFORMER LA PROPRIÉTÉ SITUÉE AU 225, CHEMIN CLOVERDALE, DANS LE DISTRICT DE CONSERVATION DU PATRIMOINE DE ROCKCLIFFE PARK, ET DÉSIGNÉE AUX TERMES DE LA PARTIE V DE LA LOI SUR LE PATRIMOINE DE L'ONTARIO

STAFF AND OBHAC RECOMMENDATIONS

That the Ottawa Built Heritage Advisory Committee recommend that Planning and Environment Committee recommend that Council:

1. Approve the application to alter 225 Cloverdale Road, as per plans submitted by FoTenn Consultants Inc. on February 4, 2010 and included as Document 3.

2. Issue the heritage permit with a two-year expiry date from the date of issuance.

(Note: The statutory 90-day timeline for consideration of this application under the Ontario Heritage Act will expire on May 9, 2010.)

(Note: Approval to Alter this property under the Ontario Heritage Act must not be construed to meet the requirements for the issuance of a building permit.)

RECOMMANDATIONS DU PERSONNEL ET DU CCPBO

Que le Comité consultatif sur le patrimoine bâti d’Ottawa recommande au Comité de l’urbanisme et de l’environnement de recommander à son tour au Conseil :

1. D’approuver la demande de transformation de la propriété située au 225, chemin Cloverdale, conformément aux plans soumis par FoTenn Consultants Inc. le 4 février 2010 et joints en tant que document 3.

2. De délivrer un permis aux termes de la Loi sur le patrimoine de l’Ontario, ce permis devant expirer deux ans après la date de sa délivrance.

(Nota : Le délai réglementaire de 90 jours d’examen de cette demande, exigé en vertu de la Loi sur le patrimoine de l’Ontario, prendra fin le 9 mai 2010.)

(Nota : L’approbation de la demande de modification aux termes de la Loi sur le patrimoine de l’Ontario ne signifie pas pour autant qu’elle satisfait aux conditions de délivrance d’un permis de construire.)

Documentation

1. Deputy City Manager's report Planning, Transit and the Environment dated 17 February 2010 (ACS2010-ICS-PGM-0053).

2. OBHAC Extract of Draft Minutes of 4 March 2010.

Report to/Rapport au :

Ottawa Built Heritage Advisory Committee

Comité consultatif sur le patrimoine bâti d’Ottawa

and / et

Planning and Environment Committee

Comité de l'urbanisme et de l'environnement

and Council / et au Conseil

17 February 2010 / le 17 février 2010

Submitted by/Soumis par : Nancy Schepers, Deputy City Manager, Directrice municipale adjointe,

Infrastructure Services and Community Sustainability, Services d’infrastructure et Viabilité des collectivités

Contact Person/Personne-ressource : Richard Kilstrom, Acting Manager/Gestionnaire intérimaire, Development Review-Urban Services/Examen des projets d'aménagement-Services urbains, Planning and Growth Management/Urbanisme et Gestion de la croissance

(613) 580-2424, 22379 Richard.Kilstrom@ottawa.ca

Rideau Rockcliffe (13)

Ref N°: ACS2010-ICS-PGM-0053

SUBJECT:	Application to alter 225 cloverdale road, a property located in the rockcliffe park heritage conservation district and designated under part v of the ontario heritage act

OBJET :	DEMANDE VISANT À TRANSFORMER LA PROPRIÉTÉ SITUÉE AU 225, CHEMIN CLOVERDALE, DANS LE DISTRICT DE CONSERVATION DU PATRIMOINE DE ROCKCLIFFE PARK, ET DÉSIGNÉE AUX TERMES DE LA PARTIE V DE LA LOI SUR LE PATRIMOINE DE L'ONTARIO

REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS

That the Ottawa Built Heritage Advisory Committee recommend that Planning and Environment Committee recommend that Council:

1. Approve the application to alter 225 Cloverdale Road, as per plans submitted by FoTenn Consultants Inc. on February 4, 2010 and included as Document 3.

2. Issue the heritage permit with a two-year expiry date from the date of issuance.

(Note: The statutory 90-day timeline for consideration of this application under the Ontario Heritage Act will expire on May 9, 2010)

(Note: Approval to Alter this property under the Ontario Heritage Act must not be construed to meet the requirements for the issuance of a building permit.)

RECOMMANDATIONS DU RAPPORT

Que le Comité consultatif sur le patrimoine bâti d’Ottawa recommande au Comité de l’urbanisme et de l’environnement de recommander à son tour au Conseil :

2. De délivrer un permis aux termes de la Loi sur le patrimoine de l’Ontario, ce permis devant expirer deux ans après la date de sa délivrance.

(Nota : Le délai réglementaire de 90 jours d’examen de cette demande, exigé en vertu de la Loi sur le patrimoine de l’Ontario, prendra fin le 9 mai 2010.)

Nota : L’approbation de la demande de modification aux termes de la Loi sur le patrimoine de l’Ontario ne signifie pas pour autant qu’elle satisfait aux conditions de délivrance d’un permis de construire.)

BACKGROUND

The property under review, 225 Cloverdale Road is a two-storey wood-framed house with an attached one-storey garage built in 1973 in Rockcliffe Park. The existing house featured a mansard roof with dormer windows and stone cladding. The house is located on the west side of Cloverdale Road on a triangular lot (Document 1).

The current owners purchased the property in 2007. The previous owners proposed minor alterations to the existing house to include a second floor over the existing one-storey garage and a one-storey addition with basement to the rear of the property. At that time, staff felt that the proposed alterations were minor in nature and did not significantly impact the heritage value of the Rockcliffe Park Heritage Conservation District. Therefore, an application under the Ontario Heritage Act was not required. An application to the Committee of Adjustment was required for a minor variance to the Floor Space Index (FSI). The new building would have an FSI of 0.50, which was greater than the 0.375 permitted by the Zoning By-law. The Committee of Adjustment granted a minor variance on July 26, 2007 and a building permit was then approved on April 1, 2008.

In the fall of 2008, the current owners revised the approved plans but did not submit these revisions to the City. The renovation work began in the spring of 2009. Once the construction began, the existing roof was found to be severely rotted, and extensive mould issues were discovered. At this point, the owners decided to replace the existing mansard roof together with various other changes. Document 2 illustrates the original and current condition of the building. The City issued a stop work order on the property in May of 2009, in the absence of a revised building permit.

As a result of the expanded scope of work, staff now feel that the proposed alterations were significant enough to require an application under the Ontario Heritage Act. Staff have worked with the applicant and the Rockcliffe Park Resident’s Association over the past number of months to come to an appropriate solution that makes best use of the alterations that have already been made.

In addition to this application, a new application for minor variances will be required. The required variances include rear and side yard set back requirements and an increase to the Floor Space Index to reflect what has already been constructed.

DISCUSSION

Recommendation 1

225 Cloverdale Road is located in the Rockcliffe Park Heritage Conservation District (HCD). The property is not listed on the Heritage Reference List compiled by the former Village of Rockcliffe Park. The Rockcliffe Park HCD was designated in 1999 for its cultural heritage value as an early planned residential community first laid out by Thomas Keefer in 1864. The district is also important for its historical associations with Keefer and his father-in-law, Thomas MacKay, the founder of New Edinburgh and the original owner of Rideau Hall. The picturesque nature of the Village also contributes significantly to the cultural heritage value. The Statement of Heritage Character (Document 6) notes that today, the “Village of Rockcliffe Park is a distinctive community of private homes and related institutional properties within a park setting.”

The Rockcliffe Park Heritage Conservation District Study contains guidelines for the management of development in the district. The guidelines related to buildings and landscape are applicable to this proposal:

Section iv) Buildings

4. Any application to construct a new building or addition should be reviewed with consideration of its potential to enhance the heritage character of the Village.

5. New buildings and additions should be of their own time, but should also harmonize with the existing cultural landscape. They should be sited and designed so as to retain the existing topography. The use of natural materials should be encouraged.

Section v) Soft and Hard Landscape

1. The dominance of soft landscape over hard landscape should be recognized as an essential feature of the past history and present character of the Village.

2. New buildings, fences and other landscape features or alterations and additions to existing buildings and features, should be designed and sited so as to protect and enhance significant qualities of the existing landscape.

The complete Rockcliffe Park Heritage Conservation District Study was previously distributed to all Ottawa Built Heritage Advisory Committee (OBHAC) members and is on file with the OBHAC Co-ordinator (Document 8). The Heritage Planning Rationale as submitted by the architect is included as Document 7.

The proposed alterations for 225 Cloverdale Road include the replacement of the mansard roof with a new gambrel roof with asphalt shingles featuring curved dormer windows. The gambrel roof will feature an overhang to accommodate a new front porch supported by tapered columns clad in stucco and stone. The existing stone cladding will be removed and salvaged for use on the lower portion of the first storey. The stone cladding will return around the side of the south elevation of the house. This is the side elevation visible from the street. The remainder of the house will be clad in stucco. Elevations and a rendering are included in Documents 3 and 5.

The proposed alteration is sympathetic to the character of the Rockcliffe Park Heritage Conservation District through its use of natural materials, the introduction of a contemporary take on an Arts and Crafts motif with the asymmetrical second storey dormers and roofline. The new windows will be wood with true divided lights.

The existing landscaping will be generally maintained and enhanced. The existing hard surfacing of the driveway will be maintained as is. Existing trees and other soft landscaping will be maintained and new trees and landscaping will be added. No mature trees are expected to be lost through the construction work. A landscape plan is included as Document 4.

The Department supports this application because the proposed alterations are compatible with the heritage character of Rockcliffe Park while maintaining a contemporary appearance. The use of natural materials and the maintenance and enhancement of existing landscaping all contribute to the overall success of the proposal.

Recommendation 2:

The Ontario Heritage Act does not provide any timelines for the expiry of heritage permits. A two-year expiry date is recommended to ensure that projects are completed in a timely fashion and according to the approved heritage permit.

RURAL IMPLICATIONS

N/A

CONSULTATION

Heritage Ottawa is aware of the application

The Rockcliffe Park Resident’s Association is aware of the application and had the following comments:

The design of this house has been substantially improved. Our primary concern is to ensure quality, natural, materials, particularly for the soffit and roof shingles. The soffit should be painted wood. The shingles, if asphalt, should be plain colour, not multi-tab to look like some other material. The applicant has agreed to wood framed windows with true divided lights.

We remain fundamentally opposed to all the additions to this house being 'shoe-horned' into an undersized, odd-shaped lot. When an application was made in 2007 to add a second floor to the garage and a one-storey addition at the rear, this entailed an increase in mass from 348 square metres to 379 square metres. The RPRA opposed this application at the Committee of Adjustment, but the Committee granted an increase to 374.85 square metres. The FSI limit for this property is 37.5 per cent, the Committee granted 50 per cent. In its rationale, the Committee noted "that the proposed expansion to the dwelling will meet all the other provisions of the Zoning By-law". It now appears that the proposed rear addition would require a reduction in rear yard setback from 12 metres to 9.1 metres.

We understand the need for variances to regularize the original side yard conditions, but, as in 2007, the RPRA opposes variances that would substantially increase the FSI or substantially reduce the already tiny back yard.

COMMENTS BY THE WARD COUNCILLOR(S)

Councillor Jacques Legendre provided the following comments:

Councillor Legendre is supportive of the arguments put forward by the RPRA. The recent history of this property AND the previous decisions ought to be taken fully into account when considering whether further latitude is accorded in this case.

LEGAL/RISK MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS

There are no legal/risk management implications associated with this report

CITY STRATEGIC PLAN

F2: Respect the existing urban fabric, neighbourhood form, and limits of existing hard surfaces, so that new growth is integrated seamlessly with established communities.

TECHNICAL IMPLICATIONS

N/A

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

N/A

APPLICATION PROCESS TIMELINE STATUS

This application was completed within the 90-day time period prescribed by the Ontario Heritage Act.

SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION

Document 1 Location Map

Document 2 Previous and Existing Condition of Property

Document 3 Elevations

Document 4 Landscape Plan

Document 5 Colour Rendering

Document 6 Statement of Heritage Character

Document 7 Heritage Planning Rationale

Document 8 Rockcliffe Park Heritage Conservation District Study (Held on file with the City Clerk.)

DISPOSITION

City Clerk and Solicitor Department, Legislative Services to notify the property owner and the Ontario Heritage Trust (10 Adelaide Street East, 3^rd Floor, Toronto, Ontario, M5C 1J3) of Council’s decision to approve the application for 225 Cloverdale Road.

LOCATION MAP DOCUMENT 1

PREVIOUS AND EXISTING CONDITION OF PROPERTY DOCUMENT 2

Looking south along Cloverdale Road

Front facade of house prior to renovations

Looking west across Cloverdale Road

Front facade of house prior to major renovations

Existing condition, looking west across Cloverdale Road

Front facade of the house with roof replaced and new dormers added.

Existing condition looking north along Cloverdale Road

ELEVATIONS DOCUMENT 3

East Elevation

West Elevation

South Elevation

LANDSCAPE PLAN DOCUMENT 4

COLOUR RENDERING DOCUMENT 5

STATEMENT OF HERITAGE CHARACTER DOCUMENT 6

Rockcliffe Park Heritage Conservation District

i.) Description

The Village of Rockcliffe Park is a planned residential community first laid out in 1864 by Thomas Keefer. It was created as a partial subdivision of the large estate belonging to his father-in-law, Thomas McKay. Development occurred slowly, but in 1908 a Police Village was created, and by 1926 the Village of Rockcliffe Park had been incorporated. The boundaries established in 1908 have remained intact, and the present Village of Rockcliffe Park is a distinctive community of private homes and related institutional properties within a park setting, still true to the spirit of Keefer’s original vision.

ii.) Reasons for Designation:

The Village of Rockcliffe Park is proposed for designation as a heritage district because of:

The significance of its original design intentions;
The continuity in its evolution;
The richness of its current urban condition;
Its relationship with its wide setting, and
The importance of its historical associations.

iii.) Original Design Intentions

The Village of Rockcliffe Park is a rare and significant approach to estate layout and landscape design adapted in Canada from 18^th Century English precedents. McKay had adopted this approach in his initial development of the estate, and the original McKay villa and grounds survive as Rideau Hall, the estate of the Governor General of Canada, on the western boundary of the village. When, in 1864, Keefer advertised his Park and Villa lots for private residences, he focused on the picturesque qualities of the scenery, and the importance of curving roads, extensive plantings, and naturalistic settings as key features in any future development. Lots were sold as components of the larger Estate, implying a cohesive landscape approach- purchasers were enjoined from erected anything that would be “inconsistent with the maintenance of the Estate as a park for private residences.” Tree planning on road fronts was an immediate requirement on purchase, and commercial and industrial uses were explicitly banned. This type of ‘suburban’ or borderland development is also a reflection of a particularly North American response to rapid industrialization and urbanization in the 19^th Century, with its emphasis on healthy living in a rural or country setting.

iv.) Continuity in Evolution

The Village of Rockcliffe Park today is a remarkably consistent reflection of the ideas set out by Keefer. Although development of the residential lots has taken place very gradually, the ideas of Estate management, of smaller lots as part of a larger whole, of picturesque design, of residential focus, have survived as controlling aspects of the Village’s form and character. This has been in part somewhat fortuitous and unconscious- the cumulative effect of precedent and example. The early estates such as the MacKay villa and Rockcliffe were followed quickly by Birkenfels and Crichton Lodge, which in turn inspired smaller estates on Buena Vista, Mariposa, and Acacia and later Crescent Road. These types of properties continue to establish a Rockcliffe image, which is continually translated by architects and designers into individual variations on the theme. The strong landscape setting is able to embrace a rich diversity of lot and building sizes and configurations.

However, the continuity has also been provided by an active effort by overseers and residents. In the early years, Thomas Keefer and his associates developed special arrangements to control public and private initiatives as Trustees of the MacKay Estate. Later this effort fell to the overseers of the Police Village and then the councillors of the incorporated Village. Considerable energy has been spent by every successive generation to manage development and change, through formal and informal reviews and by a variety of by-laws, planning directives, and special designations. In most communities such initiatives have focused on economic development and minimum property standards; in Rockcliffe there is an extraordinary effort to maintain the scenic qualities, the park setting, the natural features and plantings, the careful informality of streets and services. This continuity of vision is very rare in a community where development has occurred on such a relatively large scale over such a long time period.

v) Current urban condition:

The Village of Rockcliffe Park has combined public and private initiatives to create an unusually rich urban landscape. The deliberately curved roads, without curbs or sidewalks, and the careful planting of the public spaces and corridors, together with the careful siting and strong landscaping of the individual properties, create the apparently casual and informal style so integral to the picturesque tradition. The preservation and enhancement of topographical features including the lake and pond, the dramatic Ottawa River shoreline, the internal ridges and slopes, and the various outcroppings, has reinforced the design intentions. The architectural design of the residences and associated institutional facilities is similarly deliberate and careful, but in the casual elegance and asymmetry of the various English country revival styles which predominate throughout the Village. The generosity of space around the homes, and the flowing of this space from one property to the next by continuous planting rather than hard fence lines, has maintained the estate qualities and park setting envisioned by Keefer. This informal elegance has been a consistent theme throughout the long process of development from the mid-19^th Century to the present. There are relatively few examples of the strict neo-classicism that would suggest a more geometric ordering of the landscape.

There is also a set of community practices, intangible rituals that are both public and private, which continue to make sense of this environment- individual and collective outdoor activities, pedestrian and vehicular movement, areas of congregation and encounter, areas of dispersal and isolation. The urban landscape is also sustained by a variety of ongoing planning regulations, reflected most particularly in the current Official Plan and related zoning by-law.

vi.) Relationship with its wider setting:

The Village of Rockcliffe Park has an important and integral association with its larger setting, as a result of patterns of historical development. With the Rideau Hall estate there is a symbiosis that dates back to Keefer’s original vision of the village set within the larger grounds of this original villa. With Rockcliffe Park, there is a deliberate relationship again defined by Keefer, who saw the park as a natural extension and highlighting of the village’s picturesque setting. This relationship was further strengthened with the expansion of the park to the east, and with the addition of the Rockeries. Beechwood Cemetery has also served as a compatible landscape boundary to the southeast from the earliest period of settlement through to the present. These various border areas create important gateways to the village, and help establish its particular character. The views to and from the Ottawa River, the Beechwood escarpment, and the other park areas are integral to the picturesque quality of the Village. These extensions also form an integral part of the Village’s environmental ecosystem. It is unusual to have the internal character of a neighbourhood so strongly reinforced by adjacent land uses; it once again reflects the foresight of the original planners.

vii.) Historical Associations

The most important historical associations of the village as a whole are with the MacKay/Keefer family, major players in the economic, social, cultural and political development of Ottawa. The village today is a testament to the ideas and initiatives of various key members of this extended family, and their influence in shaping this key piece of Canadian landscape. Additional associations have occurred more randomly throughout the history of the village, as people of regional, national, and international significance have resided here and made this community their home base. Such associations are in some ways more private than public, and are an aspect of the village that is preserved more in the intangible continuities and oral traditions of village life than in the stones and mortar of monuments and plaques.

There are also specific associations with individuals who, whatever their prominence elsewhere, have made special contributions within the Village at a public and private level. These people have been part of an unusual form of self-governance, which has blurred the lines between formal and informal participation in the affairs of the Village.

HERITAGE PLANNING RATIONALE DOCUMENT 7