1. DESIGNATION OF THE CLEMOW ESTATE EAST
HERITAGE CONSERVATION DISTRICT UNDER PART V OF THE ONTARIO HERITAGE ACT DÉSIGNATION DU DISTRICT DE CONSERVATION DU
PATRIMOINE DE L'EST DU DOMAINE DE CLEMOW AUX TERMES DE LA PARTIE V DE LA LOI SUR LE PATRIMOINE DE L'ONTARIO |
OBHAC
RECOMMENDATIONS
That the Ottawa Built Heritage Advisory Committee recommend that
Planning Committee recommend that Council approve:
1.
Designation
of the Clemow Estate East Heritage Conservation District, as identified in
Document 1, under Section 41 of the Ontario
Heritage Act; and
2.
The Clemow
Estate East Heritage Conservation District Plan as shown in Document 4.
RECOMMANDATIONS DU CCPBO
Que le Comité consultatif sur le patrimoine bâti
d’Ottawa recommande au Comité de l’urbanisme de recommander à son tour au
Conseil d’approuver :
1.
la désignation du District de conservation
du patrimoine de l’est du domaine de Clemow, défini dans le document 1, aux
termes de l’article 41 de la Loi sur le
patrimoine de l’Ontario.
2.
le plan du District de conservation du
patrimoine de l’est du domaine de Clemow, illustré dans le document 4.
Documentation
1.
Deputy
City Manager's report, Infrastructure
Services and Community Sustainability, dated 11 May 2011 (ACS2011-ICS-PGM-0108).
2
Extract of
draft minutes 8, Ottawa Built Heritage Advisory Committee meeting of 16 June
2011
Report
to/Rapport au :
Ottawa Built Heritage
Advisory Committee
Comité consultatif sur le patrimoine bâti
d’Ottawa
and / et
Planning
Committee
Comité
de l'urbanisme
and Council / et au Conseil
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
REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS
That the Ottawa Built Heritage Advisory Committee recommend that
Planning Committee recommend that Council approve:
1.
Designation
of the Clemow Estate East Heritage Conservation District, as identified in
Document 1, under Section 41 of the Ontario
Heritage Act; and
2.
The Clemow
Estate East Heritage Conservation District Plan as shown in Document 4.
RECOMMANDATIONS DU RAPPORT
Que
le Comité consultatif sur le patrimoine bâti d’Ottawa
recommande au Comité de l’urbanisme de recommander à son tour au Conseil
d’approuver :
1.
la désignation du District de conservation
du patrimoine de l’est du domaine de Clemow, défini dans le document 1, aux
termes de l’article 41 de la Loi sur le
patrimoine de l’Ontario.
2.
le plan du District de conservation du
patrimoine de l’est du domaine de Clemow, illustré dans le document 4.
BACKGROUND
In September 2003, the City received a letter from the Glebe Community Association requesting that an area east of Bank Street, centered on Central Park be designated under the Ontario Heritage Act (Document 1). The neighbourhood around Central Park east of Bank Street features an eclectic mix of architectural styles, with many houses designed by Ottawa architect W.E. Noffke. The area was developed as an upper middle-class suburb in the early 20th century.
City Council approval is required to designate a Heritage Conservation District (HCD) under Part V of the Ontario Heritage Act. If City Council passes a by-law designating the Clemow Estate East Heritage Conservation District, there is a 30-day appeal period during which any member of the public can appeal the by-law. Appeals are forwarded to the Ontario Municipal Board for a hearing.
DISCUSSION
Recommendation 1:
Policy Framework:
Part V, Section 41.(1) of the Ontario Heritage
Act states:
Where there is in effect in a municipality
an official plan that contains provisions relating to the establishment of
heritage conservation districts, the council of the municipality may by by-law
designate the municipality or any defined area or areas thereof as a heritage
conservation district.
The City of Ottawa Official Plan, Section 2.5.5 (2) states that:
…Groups of buildings, cultural landscapes,
and areas of the city will be designated as Heritage Conservation Districts
under Part V of the Heritage Act.
In the fall of 2004, City Council passed a by-law to study the Central Park Heritage Conservation District as shown in Document 2. The objective of the study was to examine the history and architectural character of the area and evaluate its significance.
Through the study, staff have determined that the area identified in Document 3 meets the criteria for designation as a HCD under Part V of the Ontario Heritage Act.
Clemow Estate East is an area of the Glebe developed as an upper-middle class suburb in the early 20th century. The core of Clemow Estate East is Central Park, an early 20th century park designed as a space for passive recreation and represents not only trends in North American park design but also of the beautification of the national capital by the Ottawa Improvement Commission. Central Park was one of the first large parks created in Ottawa and is significant for its association with early Canadian landscape architect, Frederick Todd’s 1903 plan for Ottawa’s parks and driveways.
Clemow Estate East is a good example of an early 20th century upper middle class suburb in Ottawa with an eclectic mix of houses in a variety of architectural styles. The arrival of the streetcar on Bank Street in 1891 allowed the growing upper middle class to move out of the core of the city and into an area of impressive houses and a population within the same social class.
Designation under the Ontario Heritage Act will give the City the authority to review and approve the design of new buildings and alterations to existing buildings within the HCD. Under the provisions of the Ontario Heritage Act, City Council can also deny an application to demolish a building in the heritage conservation district. The owner has the right to appeal such a decision to the Ontario Municipal Board.
District Name
The proposed Heritage Conservation District was originally known as the Central Park East Heritage Conservation District; however, during the study of the area, staff discovered that when it was initially developed it was known as Clemow Estate. The Clemow Estate extended beyond this area, to the area west of Bank Street, and therefore the proposed district was renamed to the Clemow Estate East Heritage Conservation District.
Boundary
The proposed boundary for the HCD has changed since the study area was approved by City Council in 2004. The proposed boundary is smaller and strongly reflects the reasons for designation of this area (Document 3). The cultural heritage value of Clemow Estate East lies in its development as an early upper middle class suburb in Ottawa centred on a park, and featuring a number of architect-designed houses. This is the rationale for the boundary as it has been drawn. The HCD includes Central Park, houses that back or face directly onto the park, houses designed by Werner Noffke, houses that are adjacent to Noffke designed houses and other houses from the development period that are in keeping with the character of the district. After the study was completed, the boundary was redrawn to remove 13 properties that did not fall into these categories and thus did not contribute to the heritage value of the district.
Recommendation 2:
The Ontario Heritage Act requires that a Heritage Conservation District Plan (HCD Plan) be adopted by by-law at the time of designation. Section 41.1 (5) of the Ontario Heritage Act. This section notes that a HCD Plan must include:
(a)
A statement
of objectives to be achieved in designing 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.
The Clemow Estate East HCD Plan meets the requirements outlined above. The objective of the HCD Plan included as Document 4 is to identify the heritage attributes that define the character of the District and to determine a framework to protect its cultural heritage value. The Plan is intended to provide guidelines for the management of the area to help planners, homeowners, architects, policy makers and developers to enhance and conserve the area’s resources.
The guidelines are broken into sections including restoration guidelines, guidelines for the park and streetscape, landscaping guidelines, guidelines for additions and alterations and guidelines for new buildings within the HCD.
RURAL IMPLICATIONS
N/A
CONSULTATION
Section 41.1 (6) of the Ontario Heritage Act requires public consultation prior to City Council passing a bylaw adopting a HCD Plan. Section 414.1 (6) says that, the municipality must ensure that:
(a)
Information
relating to the proposed heritage conservation district plan, including a copy
of the plan is made available to the public;
(b)
At least one
public meeting is held with respect to the proposed heritage conservation
district plan; and
(c)
If the
council of the municipality has established a municipal heritage committee
under section 28, the committee is consulted with respect to the proposed
heritage conservation district plan.
A public meeting was held on December 1, 2004 to introduce the project and solicit volunteers to assist with the evaluation of the buildings in the proposed district. All property owners in the proposed district were invited, by letter to the meeting. The meeting was also advertised in the “Glebe Report” on November 12, 2004. Sixteen people signed the attendance sheet at that meeting; of those, seven people volunteered to assist with the evaluation. Ultimately, six members of the community assisted.
A second public meeting was held in the community on March 24, 2010 to review the findings of the project and to provide residents with an opportunity to comment on the heritage conservation district plan. This meeting was advertised in the “Glebe Report” on March 12, 2010. Forty-one people signed the attendance sheet at that meeting. This meeting was the first meeting in five years about the project and many residents were unaware of the project and requested more time to consider the impacts of the proposal. City staff agreed to delay their report to allow for more consultation. At this meeting, residents were invited to sign up for an email information list to keep up-to-date on changes within the study area.
In May of 2010, the Glebe Community Association held a public meeting to discuss the district with the residents. Approximately 20 to 25 people were in attendance. City staff also attended this meeting to answer questions.
At the end of June 2010, a petition was submitted to City staff on behalf of 22 property owners in the district. The petition was accompanied by a letter objecting to the proposed heritage conservation district designation. City staff acknowledged the receipt of the petition by letter to each of the signatories. Throughout the summer and fall of 2010, City staff met and corresponded with individual property owners regarding the implications of a heritage conservation district designation under Part V of the Ontario Heritage Act.
During the 2010 consultation process, a number of residents asked the City to survey the property owners in the district individually. In February 2011, the City sent a letter and a questionnaire to each property owner soliciting their opinion regarding the proposed district. Responses were received from 23 of the 55 properties in the district. This is approximately a 42 per cent response rate. Eleven (48 per cent) of the respondents supported designation and 12 (52 per cent) of the respondents did not support designation.
Councillor Chernushenko is aware of the proposed heritage conservation district and supports its designation under Part V of the Ontario Heritage Act.
The adoption of a by-law to designate a Heritage Conservation District is subject to appeal to the Ontario Municipal Board. Should one or more appeals be received with respect to the proposed Clemow Estate East Heritage Conservation District, it is anticipated that the necessary legal counsel and opinion evidence could be provided from within staff resources.
There are no risk management implications associated with this report
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
There are no financial implications.
There are no technology implications associated with this report
Objective E8: Operationalize the Ottawa 2020 Arts and Heritage Plan
Section 2.1.2 Identify and protect archaeological and built heritage resources.
SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION
Document 1 Glebe Community Association Request to Designate
Document 2 Original Study Area
Document 3 Proposed District Boundaries
Document 4 Clemow Estate East Heritage Conservation District Plan (Issued separately and held on file with the City Clerk)
DISPOSITION
1. City Clerk and Solicitor Department, Legislative
Services to notify the property owners and the Ontario Heritage Trust
(10 Adelaide Street East, 3rd Floor, Toronto, Ontario, M5C 1J3)
of Council’s decision to pass a by-law designating the Clemow Estate East
Heritage Conservation District and District Plan.
2. Planning and Growth Management to cause notice of the
passage of the designation by-law to be published in a newspaper having general
circulation in the city of Ottawa.
3. Legal Services to prepare a by-law to designate Clemow
Estate East as identified in Document 3 as a heritage conservation district
under Section 41 of the Ontario Heritage
Act and also adopt by by-law the Clemow Estate East Heritage Conservation
District Plan.