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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHK Minutes - 2018-05-01 HERITAGE KITCHENER MINUTES MAY 1, 2018 CITY OF KITCHENER The Heritage Kitchener Committee met this date, commencing at 4:01 p.m. Present: A. Reid - Chair Councillors J. Gazzola, B. Ioannidis and P. Singh, Ms. K. Huxted, S, Hossack and Messrs. P. Ciuciura, R. Parnell, S. Miladinovic, S. Thomson, S. Burrows and S. Strohack. Staff: B. Sloan, Manager Long Range & Policy Planning L. Bensason, Coordinator of Cultural Heritage Resources M. Drake, Senior Heritage & Policy Planner S. Brickman, Design & Construction Project Manager T. Malone-Wright, Senior Planner D. Saunderson, Committee Administrator 1.STORMWATER UTILITY INITIATIVE TO INSTALL SIGNAGE IN VICTORIA PARK LAKE The Committee considered an internal memo entitled “Stormwater Utility Initiative to Install Signage in Victoria Park Lake”, dated April 16, 2018 recommending the endorsement for the proposed installation of two interpretive signs. Ms. S. Brickman provided an overview of the Victoria Park Lake rehabilitation project, noting permanent signage is being proposed to inform residents that the lake is man-made and functions as a stormwater management facility that requires annual maintenance. She indicated the signage is intended to provide a greater transparency between the City and residents regarding the lake and how it functions as well as its maintenance requirements. She indicated two signs are being proposed, providing an overview of the work anticipated for the installation of the interpretive signs. Ms. Brickman advised the exact location of the second sign is still yet to be finalized, as the Victoria Park Working Group has requested a site visit to view the possible options. She indicated any member of the Heritage Advisory Committee wishing to participate in the site visit with the Working Group would be welcome to attend. In response to questions, Ms. Brickman advised staff are working with Communications to ensure uniformity between the existing signs in Victoria Park and the proposed signs. She further advised the signs are being funded through the Stormwater Utility Budget. Questions were raised regarding the proposed concrete pad and whether consideration had been given to the colour of the concrete. Ms. Brickman advised there are style requirements for Victoria Park that help to inform those decisions and those guidelines will be complied with. On motion by Mr. S. Burrows - it was resolved: “That staff be permitted to install two interpretative signs in Victoria Park near the forebay and the outlet generally in the locations as presented at the Heritage Kitchener meeting on May 1, 2018, which would inform the residents about the lake and its maintenance requirements.” Councillor P. Singh entered the meeting at this time. 2.STATUS UPDATES - HERITAGE IMPACT ASSESMENT FOLLOW-UPS Ms. M. Drake advised it was identified at a previous meeting that members were interested in having status updates on Heritage Impact Assessments (HIA)’s previously considered by the Committee. Ms. Drake noted at the January 9, 2018 meeting, the Committee considered an HIA for the property municipally addressed as 883 Doon Village Road in support of a proposal to sever four lots from the side of the property abutting Bechtel Drive. She indicated the application was considered and deferred at the February 20, 2018 Committee of Adjustment meeting. She advised following that meeting, staff hosted a Neighbourhood Information Meeting in March 2018 to inform the neighbourhood about the applications. She stated the Committee of Adjustment subsequently considered and approved the Consent Applications at their meeting on April 17, 2018. Ms. Drake further advised the application is currently within the appeal period following the Committee’s decision. HERITAGE KITCHENER MINUTES MAY 1, 2018 - 14 - CITY OF KITCHENER 2.STATUS UPDATES - HERITAGE IMPACT ASSESMENT FOLLOW-UPS (CONT’D) Ms. Drake advised the Committee also considered an HIA at the March 6, 2018 Heritage Kitchener meeting for the property municipally addressed as 50 Brookside Crescent. She indicated the property is listed on the Municipal Heritage Registrar (MHR) and the property owner was proposing to sever a parcel of land from the subject property. She indicated the Consent application went to the Committee of Adjustment April 17, 2018 meeting and was approved. Ms. Drake further advised the application is currently within the appeal period following the Committee’s decision. Ms. K. Huxted noted at the January 9, 2018 Heritage Kitchener meeting a Committee member questioned if staff are aware the Designation By-laws are out of date, and suggested a review process to ensure they are relevant to the existing condition of the Part IV properties. She questioned whether this could be added as a future agenda item for the Committee. Mr. L. Bensason advised Heritage Planning staff have a two-year Business Plan that aligns with the term of the Heritage Advisory Committee. He indicated staff do not have any additional capacity to complete this work at this time. He stated staff will be reviewing the Business Plan again with the new term of the Committee. 3.SECONDARY PLAN/NEIGHBOURHOOD REVIEW The Committee considered an internal memo dated April 18, 2018 regarding the Secondary Plan/Neighbourhood Review, and the opportunities for Heritage Kitchener’s involvement. Ms. T. Malone-Wright advised staff are required to review and update its Secondary Plans. She indicated the Secondary Plans were initially deferred, as part of the 2014 Official Plan, pending the completion of the “Planning Around Rapid Transit Stations (PARTS)” planning. She stated the City has now completed three Planning Around Rapid Transit Station (PARTS) Plans: PARTS Central, PARTS Midtown, and PARTS Rockway. She advised now is an appropriate time to begin the review and update of the existing Secondary Plans through a process called a Neighbourhood Specific Review to implement recently approved studies such as PARTS, the Cultural Heritage Landscape (CHL) Study and Residential Intensification in Established Neighbourhoods Study (RIENS). Ms. Malone-Wright advised there are 9 Secondary Plans to be reviewed with the possibility of boundary changes and lands being added or deleted from existing Secondary Plans. She stated notice would be circulated in the following week inviting residents to the first Open House, which has been scheduled for May 29, 2018. She indicated staff would like to continue to engage Heritage Kitchener throughout this process as the CHL Study is an informing document for the Secondary Plan. Ms. M. Drake advised staff will begin with the Cedar Hill Secondary Plan and a portion of the Mill Courtland-Woodside Park Secondary Plans, noting the first round of feedback is due to be received in May. She further advised staff would be coming back to the August or September Heritage Kitchener meeting to discuss the Cultural Heritage Landscapes related to the Secondary neighbourhoods at that time. 4.VICTORIA PARK PARKING LOT RENOVATION The Committee considered a letter regarding the Victoria Park parking lot improvements, dated April 17, 2018 regarding the proposed improvements to the parking lot located south of the Dill Street park entry. Mr. L. Bensason advised Ms. DeWitt was unable to be in attendance this date. He indicated this matter is for information only to receive feedback from the Committee on the proposed changes to the “back parking lot” in Victoria Park located south of Dill Street. He stated any questions or feedback from the Committee would be forwarded to the relevant staff for their consideration. Ms. M. Drake presented the information outlined in the letter, noting staff intend to formalize 22 parking stalls with continuous barrier curb, new asphalt, line painting, and low-impact development stormwater features. She noted consideration was given to the Victoria Park Area Conservation District Plan Guidelines to ensure heritage compliance. HERITAGE KITCHENER MINUTES MAY 1, 2018 - 15 - CITY OF KITCHENER 4.VICTORIA PARK PARKING LOT RENOVATION (CONT’D) In response to questions, Mr. Bensason advised the parking lot is adjacent to the new exercise equipment proposed for the park that was discussed at the Hertiage Kitchener meeting in April. 5.HERITAGE BEST PRACTICE - DELEGATED APPROVAL BY-LAW UPDATE The Committee considered an internal memo entitled “Heritage Best Practice - Delegated Approval By-law Update”, dated April 17, 2018 regarding the delegated approval By-law for Heritage Permit Alteration applications. In addition, the Committee was in receipt this date of correspondence entitled “Heritage Best Practices - Delegated Approval Discussion Paper - Heritage Kitchener”, dated May 1, 2018, including the existing Delegated Approval By-law. Mr. L. Bensason provided an overview of the discussion paper, noting staff are in the process of reviewing and possibly updating the Delegated Authority By-law related to Hertiage Permit Applications. He stated generally delegated authority is regarded as a customer service measure, as it reduces the timelines for granting heritage approval from approximately 6 to 7 weeks in length to approximately 10 days. He indicated delegated authority could provide more efficient use of time and resources for staff, the Committee and Council. He provided an overview of Ontario Heritage Act and what the legislation provides related to delegated authority. Mr. Bensason then provided an outline of the current practises for heritage approvals for Part IV and Part V properties. In response to questions, Mr. Bensason advised delegated authority is not permitted for demolition approvals. Questions were raised on what recourse would be eligible for a Heritage Property owner if they were unsatisfied with the staff recommendation related to their permit. Ms. M. Drake advised a Heritage Permit Application (HPA) would only be eligible for delegated authority if the applicant, staff and Heritage Kitchener were in agreement with the staff recommendation. She noted where one of the three parties were unsatisfied with the recommendation it would follow the regular process and would proceed to Council for final approval. Mr. Bensason further advised where Planning staff have recommended refusal on a HPA it would not be eligible for delegated authority. Mr. Bensason provided examples of HPA’s previously considered by the Committee and the process in which those applications followed to receive final approval. He advised staff have undertaken a review of delegated authority procedures, currently being utilized by other municipalities. Mr. Bensason further advised there are three possible options for discussion and consideration by the Committee this date: 1. Do nothing and leave the existing By-law as is. 2. Revisit the By-law and amend the criteria applicable to Part V designated property. 3. Consider an approach taken by most other municipalities and amend the By-law to identify classes of alterations or to reflect an all-alterations approach Mr. Bensason stated one other item for discussion is the current practise of requiring unanimous recommendation of approval. He indicated at some point in time during 2015 or 2016, a change in process regarding the approval of HPA’s was introduced at Heritage Kitchener and has since been put in regular practice. He stated currently, only alteration applications unanimously recommended for approval are forwarded to the Coordinator, Cultural Heritage Planning for final approval through delegated authority. He advised applications that did not receive a unanimous recommendation of approval are forwarded to Council for final consideration. He further advised this protocol has been informally adopted by Heritage Kitchener when considering alteration applications made for both Part IV and Part V designated property, but is not formally addressed in the existing delegated approval By-law. In response to questions, Mr. Bensason advised he was unsure this date of the number of applications considered by the Committee that did not receive unanimous consent and were forwarded to Council for final consideration. Ms. K. Huxted advised that she was aware of one property on David Street that was considered in 2017 that did not receive unanimous consent HERITAGE KITCHENER MINUTES MAY 1, 2018 - 16 - CITY OF KITCHENER 5. HERITAGE BEST PRACTICE DELEGATED APPROVAL BY- and was forwarded to Council for their consideration. Mr. Bensason provided a summary of f the number of applications that are processed annually. Mr. Burrows indicated, from his review of the existing Delegated Authority By-law there are references to when the preference to clearly identify when the Committee members or neighbourhood representative on the Committee would be consul no heritage district representative identified on the Committee, consulting with the Committee Chair or Ward Councillor could be another possible option. Mr. S. Strohack stated if the By-law is going to be amended; it would be his preference to see the current practice of the Committee providing unanimous consent also being formalized within the By-law. Mr. R. Parnell indicated amending the Delegated Authority By-law would have some benefit to reducing timelines for heritage property owners, especially in the case of a more urgent situation. He indicated the Committee considered an application in 2017 specifically for fire damage on a property. He indicated delays can increase fees and there would be some benefits to reducing the timelines. Ms. Huxted stated the Upper Doon Heritage Conservation District plan would not be eligible for delegated approval as the District Plan states that the Heritage Committee needs to be Mr. Bensason noted staff would be following up with Legal staff to receive an interpretation of the conflict identified by Ms. Huxted. He stated the Ontario Heritage for Part V properties. He stated the Upper Doon District was established prior to establishing the Ontario Heritage Act. He further advised he would require an interpretation to determine whether the language in the District would supersede the Act with regards to delegated authority. Mr. Bensason indicated as a possible option, consideration could be given to providing an exception for the Upper Doon District related to the delegated authority By-law. Councillor P. Singh indicated he could see benefits for time-saving measures. He noted as long as there are some checks and balances that would provide options for recourse it is likely something Council would consider favourably. Questions were raised regarding the municipalities that were surveyed and whether they had identified any issues with extending the delegated authority process. Ms. Drake advised generally delegated authority is seen as favourable, as heritage planning often has a negative connotation. She indicated extending the By-law would possibly allow property owners to receive heritage approval in the same amount of time as it would take to receive a building permit. Mr. Parnell suggested as a means of keeping the Committee more informed about that have received delegated approval, the tracking sheet could be updated to include more information on what the application was requesting. Councillor J. Gazzola left the meeting at this time. Ms. A. Reid stated one item of consideration that should be reviewed further is to provide greater direction within the By-law if the neighbourhood representative or member of the Committee would have a conflict of interest when providing comments on an HPA and what would be the process if an alternate Committee member could not be identified. Councillor B. Ioannidis advised if consideration was being given to extending delegated authority, it is his opinion that all of the Districts should be afforded the same protection and subject to the same process as the rest of the heritage districts. Mr. Bensason advised staff would follow up with Legal Services on the language outlined in the Upper Doon District Plan and report back to the Committee on their interpretation. HERITAGE KITCHENER MINUTES MAY 1, 2018 - 17 - CITY OF KITCHENER 6.ADJOURNMENT On motion, this meeting adjourned at 5:26 p.m. D. Saunderson Committee Administrator