HomeMy WebLinkAboutHK - 2013-11-05 - Memo - Cultural Heritage Landscape Study InternalMemo
K, Community Services Department www1itchenera
Date: October 10, 2013
To: Members of Heritage Kitchener
From: Leon Bensason, Coordinator, Cultural Heritage Planning
(519-741-2200, ext. 7306)
cc:
Subject City of Kitchener Cultural Heritage Landscape Study (CHLS)
Background information & request for two volunteers from Heritage
Kitchener to participate on Study Team
Introduction
The City of Kitchener is anticipating undertaking a comprehensive study of
cultural heritage landscapes located within the City's boundaries. By
proactively identifying, evaluating and documenting cultural heritage
landscapes, the City will be in a better position to make informed land use
planning decisions and plan for the conservation of its irreplaceable cultural
heritage resources.
Context/ Rationale
Through the Provincial Policy Statement, 2005 (PPS), the Province of Ontario
requires that significant cultural heritage landscapes be conserved (policy
2.6.1). The PPS defines a cultural heritage landscape (CHL) as a
"geographical area of heritage significance which has been modified by human
activities and is valued by a community. It involves a grouping(s) of individual
heritage features such as structures, spaces, archaeological sites and natural
elements, which together form a significant type of heritage form, distinctive
from that of its constituent elements or parts. Examples may include, but are
not limited to, heritage conservation districts designated under the Ontario
Heritage Act; and villages, parks, gardens, battlefields, mainstreets and
neighbourhoods, cemeteries, trailways and industrial complexes of cultural
heritage value."
The Region of Waterloo's Official Plan and the draft of the City of Kitchener's
new Official Plan also include policies relating to the conservation of cultural
heritage landscapes. In accordance with the policies in the Regional Official
Plan, the Region of Waterloo has prepared an Implementation Guideline for
Cultural Heritage Landscape conservation. The approach to be taken in this
Study will be consistent with Regional Official Plan policy and the Regional
implementation guidelines.
Study Approach and Organization
The Cultural Heritage Landscape Study will be undertaken in the following five
phases of work commencing in the Winter of 2014 and ending in the Spring of
2015, with a professional consultant completing phases two through five:
2 - 1
InternalMemo
K, Community Services Department www1itchenera
Phase 1: Background Research
Phase 2: CHL Candidate Identification
Phase 3: Preliminary Recommendations
Phase 4: CHL Candidate Documentation and Evaluation
Phase 5: Final Recommendations
The City's Coordinator, Cultural Heritage Planning will serve as the City Project
Manager and as the City's main contact for this study. In addition to seeking
public input and implementing a comprehensive communication and
consultation strategy, a Study Team will be appointed to oversee the study
process and will be made up of the following members:
• Consultant Project Manager
• Coordinator, Cultural Heritage Planning, Planning Division, City of
Kitchener
• Heritage Planner, Planning Division, City of Kitchener
• Two Heritage Kitchener Committee Representatives, City of Kitchener
• Cultural Heritage Specialist, Region of Waterloo
At the November 5th meeting of Heritage Kitchener, City Staff will be seeking
two members of Heritage Kitchener to volunteer to be part of the Study Team.
One member is requested to be the Council representative who sits on
Heritage Kitchener. Staff estimate that there may be 8 Study Team meetings
over the course of the study, with meetings being held in the late afternoon or
early evening to accommodate Study Team member schedules.
ACKNOWLEDGED BY: Brandon Sloan, Manager of Long Range & Policy Planning
Community Services Department
2 - 2
