HomeMy WebLinkAboutCSD-15-006 - Motion re: Upper Doon Review Staff Report
ETC tl R Community Services Department wmkitchene►:ca
REPORT TO: Finance & Corporate Services Committee
DATE OF MEETING: January 19th, 2015
SUBMITTED BY: Alain Pinard, Director of Planning
PREPARED BY: Brandon Sloan, Manager of Long Range & Policy Planning
519-741-2200 x7648
WARD(S) INVOLVED: Ward 4
DATE OF REPORT: December 24th, 2014
REPORT NO.: CSD-15-006
SUBJECT: Motion re: Upper Doon Review
RECOMMENDATION:
That staff be directed to undertake the following in order to strengthen the City's
ability to conserve the Upper Doon Heritage Conservation District:
1) Until the planning framework for the District is updated, the Ward
Councillor shall be invited to meet with staff, the Upper Doon
representative from Heritage Kitchener and the proponent of any heritage
permit application in the District proposing significant alterations,
demolition and/or new construction prior to the application being
considered at Heritage Kitchener;
2) Heritage staff, in consultation with Legislated Services staff, shall review
and report to Heritage Kitchener on the community notification process for
agenda items and reports regarding any heritage permit application in the
District proposing significant alterations, demolition and/or new
construction; and
3) The Planning Division shall pursue the course of action outlined in the
"Directions" section of Community Services report CSD-15-006."
BACKGROUND:
On November 17th, 2014, Council considered Report CSD-14-116 regarding the
proposed demolition of existing houses at 1094 and 1112 Doon Village Road and the
construction of new houses. The matter was deferred pending further work and
discussion. Report CSD-14-117 identified that the applications were subsequently
withdrawn following additional effort and dialogue of heritage planning staff and the
proponent. At the December 18th, 2014 Council meeting further discussion occurred
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regarding future actions within the Upper Doon Heritage Conservation District. The
result was the deferral of the following motion:
"That consideration of the following be deferred to the January 19, 2015 Planning and
Strategic Initiatives Committee meeting to allow additional time for review:
`That Heritage Planning staff, in cooperation with Heritage Kitchener, be directed to
review a variety of options to strengthen the City's ability to protect the Upper Doon
Heritage Conservation District (HCD), with the intent to ensure there are clear and
understandable procedures for any future purchaser of property within the District; and,
That consideration be given to policies that consider height, size, massing and design as
well as all other heritage features that presently exist in the Upper Doon HCD; and,
That staff be directed to review the notification process for Heritage Permit Applications
to ensure that residents are made aware of possible demolitions and/or significant
alterations proposed to be undertaken within a District; and further,
That the review of the Upper Doon HCD policies and guidelines as well as the
notification process be referred for inclusion as part of the Corporate Business Planning
process.
REPORT:
The recent proposals within the Upper Doon Heritage Conservation District ("the
District") have highlighted the fact that additional clarity is required for the 26 year old
Upper Doon Heritage Conservation District (HCD) Plan. The suggested motion from the
December 18th, 2014 Council meeting has several implications to work programming,
resourcing and processes.
Staff agree with the need to update the planning framework in Upper Doon, however
recommend that this work be done in conjunction with other initiatives in a logical
sequence and note that the work program is now 100% full. Other work program
projects for 2015-2016 that already have been approved or directed by Council include
the Comprehensive Review of the Zoning By-law (CRoZBy), the Cultural Heritage
Landscape Study, Rapid Transit Station Area planning (PARTS implementation), the
Urban Design Manual Update (which includes Residential Infill Guidelines and Tower
Separation Guidelines), and the Kitchener Growth Management Plan update (KGMP
2015-2017). Some considerations from staff on the proposed motion include the
following:
• The City currently goes beyond the legislated requirements when dealing with
prospective or current owners on Heritage Permit Applications in the District.
Discussions and meetings are held to review/explain the process and the HCD Plan.
The Heritage Kitchener representative for the District is involved in the review of
draft submissions and elevation drawings prior to the matter going to Heritage
Kitchener and other steps depending on the proposal. It would appear that the broad
and general nature of the guidelines and policies in the Upper Doon HCD Plan are
the issue rather than procedures.
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• The expectations of community involvement in Heritage Permit Applications must be
balanced with the understanding that under the Ontario Heritage Act, only the owner
of the property subject to the application may appeal a decision of Council to the
Ontario Municipal Board (OMB).
• There is a risk in opening up the HCD Plan as it is appealable to the OMB.
• As part of annual work plan discussions, Staff had already identified that the Upper
Doon HCD Plan, as well as the existing Upper Doon Community Plan and zoning
should be reviewed. It is likely that tools other than the HCD Plan will be best suited
for achieving the desired results. For example, revising the HCD Plan to specify
different heights or house sizes will not have very much effect if the zoning still
permits it. Staff should continue to focus on the new Zoning By-law and the review of
the Urban Design Manual (which will include expanded Infill Design Guidelines) in
2015-16 as this will be the best use of resources to help achieve the end objective
within areas such as Upper Doon.
• The review of the heritage, planning and design for each neighbourhood should be
done together and it is preferable to conduct landowner engagement on the package
of proposed changes. Engaging a specific neighbourhood several times over the
course of several years on interrelated initiatives uses can be confusing to the
community and is less efficient for the corporation.
• The 2014-16 Heritage, Planning and Corporate Business Plans are well underway
and include a significant number of initiatives which may go beyond the current
resource capacity. Sudden program changes would require the deferral or removal
of other previously committed initiatives.
• Upper Doon is one of many areas within the City that are experiencing different
levels of pressure from new development or change. Upper Doon is also one of
several areas identified as a Cultural Heritage Landscape that are under study. One
of the primary reasons for conducting the Cultural Heritage Landscape Study is then
to prioritize implementation actions. The relative priority for the 55 locations under
consideration is still being assessed and a report recommending next steps will be
presented to Council in the spring of 2015 as previously reported.
• Beyond working on numerous heritage specific initiatives (including focusing on
completing the review of properties for the Heritage Register in 2015), Heritage staff
are also involved in the PARTS project, the Comprehensive Review of the Zoning
By-law (CRoZBy) project, and numerous other planning and corporate projects.
Considering that there will be continued interest in alterations and development from
prospective and current owners in Upper Doon, there are some immediate steps that
could be reviewed and undertaken until such time as studies are complete. Prior to
heritage permit applications being considered at Heritage Kitchener, staff consult with
the neighbourhood representative on the proposal and provide the feedback to the
applicant. Although not typical, in the interim, the Ward Councillor could be invited to
participate with the Upper Doon representative. Also, staff could review the notification
process for applications and reports with Heritage Kitchener (as suggested by the
proposed motion but with some clarifications).
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Directions
There is a logical sequence of projects and actions currently underway and within the
Planning Division's work program that will address the objectives of the original motion.
The projects are interrelated and address all of the layers of policy, regulation and
guidelines that inform recommendations and decisions on heritage permits. Continuing
with this course of action makes the best use of resources to achieve the desired
results. The course of action is as follows:
Course of Action
Action Explanation
1. Continue with the CRoZBy project as New options for residential infill
planned (Several phases as presented zoning will be developed with the
previously, 1St statutory public meeting opportunity to consider different
March 2015 ) options for different neighbourhoods
depending on context, which will be
informed by other projects
2. Approval of the Cultural Heritage To confirm the priorities for
Landscape Study (April 2015) implementation and next steps on 55
heritage landscapes. All Heritage
Conservation Districts, including
Upper Doon have been identified as
Cultural Heritage Landscapes.
3. Comprehensive Review of the Urban Will include expanded residential infill
Design Manual (Update of work program design guidelines with specific
to be presented March 2015) sections for heritage conservation
districts, including Upper Doon
4. Work with landowners to study and Will utilized the results of Actions 1-3
update the framework in specific to then include neighbourhood
neighbourhoods specific policies, zoning, guidelines
and tools for existing infill Community
Plan areas such as Bridgeport,
Hidden Valley, Lower Doon and
Upper Doon.
Will include reviewing development
considerations such as building
massing, height, setbacks, urban and
architectural design elements and
other features.
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ALIGNMENT WITH CITY OF KITCHENER STRATEGIC PLAN:
Heritage matters typically align with the Community Priority of `Quality of Life' and
Planning considerations are aligned with the Community Priority of `Development'. The
course of actions within the "Directions" section and the staff recommended revisions to
the motion for Upper Doon would help achieve an `Effective and Efficient Government'.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:
The recommended course of action can be accommodated within the current Capital
Budget Forecast. The Planning Division is not resourced to advance the updating of the
planning and heritage framework in Upper Doon faster than what is outlined above.
Should there be an interest to advance this work, then the following options would have
to be considered:
1) Defer key components (to be determined) of the ongoing Comprehensive Review of
the Zoning By-law (CRoZBy); or
2) Defer the previously committed review of the land use framework in Hidden Valley
which would ultimately delay the review of issues in Lower Doon/Conestoga College
(schedule to start in 2017); or
3) Add approximately 1.5 FTE for the duration of the project to conduct the heritage,
planning, urban design and community engagement components; or
4) Hire a consultant team at an estimated cost of approximately $60,000 along with
adding approximately 0.5 FTE to manage the project and delay some of the currently
programmed priorities of heritage, planning and urban design staff in order to review,
assist, and complete the work of the consulting team.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT:
INFORM — This report has been posted to the City's website with the agenda in
advance of the council / committee meeting. Future action on reviewing the planning,
design and heritage framework within Upper Doon will utilize the INFORM, CONSULT
and COLLABORATE themes of the City's Community Engagement approach.
CONCLUSION:
Staff recommended that the proposed motion from the December 15th Council meeting
regarding the Upper Doon Heritage Conservation District be amended in order to clarify
work that is underway and to communicate process enhancements in the District. More
specifically, the staff recommendation outlines a course of action for the comprehensive
review of the planning, heritage and design framework within Upper Doon that aligns
with the Planning Division's work program and Capital Budget Forecast.
REVIEWED BY: Michelle Drake, Heritage Planner
Leon Bensason, Coordinator of Cultural Heritage
ACKNOWLEDGED BY: Michael May, Deputy CAO, Community Services Department
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