HomeMy WebLinkAboutDTS-09-144 - Deferral of the Mike Wagner Heritage Awards & Urban Design Awards
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Development &
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Report To: Development and Technical Services Committee
Date of Meeting: October 5, 2009
Submitted By: Alain Pinard, Interim Director of Planning
Prepared By: Sandro Bassanese, Urban Designer (741-2305)
Michelle Wade, Heritage Planner (741 2839)
Ward(s) Involved: All
Date of Report: September 23, 2009
Report No.: DTS 09-144
Subject: DEFFERAL OF MIKE WAGNER HERITAGE AWARDS AND
URBAN DESIGN AWARDS TO OCTOBER 2011
RECOMMENDATION:
That the presentation of the next scheduled Mike Wagner Heritage Awards and the Urban
Design Awards be deferred to October 2011; and,
That Planning staff review the Mike Wagner Heritage Award and Urban Design Award
programs to determine if a change in presentation andlor award venue is merited; and
further,
That Planning staff review the Mike Wagner Heritage Award and Urban Design Award
criteria and processes to better reflect current urban design trends and city initiated
urban design policies
BACKGROUND:
The Mike Wagner Heritage Award program was established in 1997 to pay tribute to property
owners and businesses who have contributed to the conservation of the City's heritage
resources. The program is named after former City Councillor Mike Wagner who served on City
Council from 1989 to 1997, and who was a strong advocate for heritage, culture and the arts.
The program has recognized projects throughout the past decade that have contributed to the
conservation of heritage resources through adaptive re-use, rehabilitation and restoration.
The Urban Design Awards program was established in 1988 to honor developments throughout
the City of Kitchener that were designed and built in a manner which enhances the public realm.
The awards have been well received by industry professionals as well as the general public and
have increased the awareness of the importance of urban design to the public realm.
Both of these award programs have assisted in increasing public awareness of the importance
and necessity for high quality urban design and the conservation of cultural heritage resources.
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In order to continue to offer relevant and vibrant award programs it is proposed that the award
process, judging criteria, presentation format and venue be critically reviewed and updated
accordingly.
REPORT:
The establishment of the Mike Wagner Heritage Award and Urban Design Awards programs
have raised the profile of heritage conservation and urban design throughout the City. Planning
staff seek to further build the reputation of these award programs.
Current Context:
After the award presentation at Council in September 2008, planning staff was asked to explore
alternatives that would serve to improve the award presentation format and provide an
appropriate venue for the ceremony.
Planning staff have initiated a preliminary review of both the Mike Wagner Heritage Award and
the Urban Design Awards programs. The following items were noted by staff as potential areas
for improvement.
Urban Design Awards:
During staff's preliminary review it was noted that a large volume of nominations had been
recognized during the 2008 presentation. This was due to the broad scope that the current
design awards encompass. Currently there are three types of awards:
• The Award of Excellence, which is for site development exemplifying superior
design; and,
• The Award of Merit, which recognizes unique project specific elements which
make developments worthy of recognition.
• The Urban Design Finalist which recognizes projects worthy of submission to the
final judging committee that did not receive either an "Award of Excellence" or an
"Award of Merit".
The original intent was to make the two categories broad-based in order to have a large pool of
nominees to draw from. The scope of the awards has served its original intent and over the
past two decades the Urban Design Awards program has recognized a significant number of
high quality developments while increasing the profile of Urban Design in the City of Kitchener.
The standard of urban design in the City has increased in the past decade. This has resulted in
an increase in the number of projects that merit recognition under the current award criteria to a
point where the awards have lost some of their relevance. As our urban design standards have
evolved so should our criteria for evaluating urban design award nominations.
Mike Wagner Heritage Award:
The Mike Wagner Heritage Award program offers two award categories: Outstanding
Achievement and Award of Merit. Up to four awards may be presented in either of the two
categories.
The current Mike Wagner Heritage Award program involves the submission of nominations;
short listing and evaluation by sub-committee; the evaluation and recommendation by Heritage
Kitchener; and, confirmation of award recipients by Council. Short listing by the sub-committee
and the evaluation by Heritage Kitchener Committee is not subject to specific evaluation criteria.
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In order to ensure a consistent, fair and transparent award program, planning staff recommend
that the program be reviewed to incorporate evaluation criteria.
Staff Review:
Planning staff have conducted a preliminary comparative review of heritage conservation and
urban design award programs offered by other municipalities of similar size to the City of
Kitchener.
With respect to heritage conservation awards, the preliminary review suggests the following
items should be considered:
^ The provision of a range of heritage conservation award categories;
^ The establishment of eligibility criteria; and,
^ The establishment of general and specific evaluation criteria.
With respect to urban design awards, the preliminary review suggests the following items should
be considered:
• The restructuring of categories to recognize various forms of development;
• The creation of more focused criteria for judging each built form category;
• The discretion to have awards of Merit and Excellence award in each category; and
• The ability for staff to regulate the number and types of awards to be given in each
category.
Planning staff have also considered ways in which to improve the awards ceremony and
presentation, and have noted the following items for consideration:
• Format of awards (possible standardization of awards and or certificates);
• Venue of awards ceremony; and
• Frequency of awards programs.
Next Steps:
A deferral of the next scheduled presentation of the Mike Wagner Heritage Award and Urban
Design Awards programs from 2010 to 2011 would allow planning staff to undertake the
following review:
1. Review the urban design awards criteria to better reflect current urban design trends;
2. Establish general and specific evaluation criteria for the Mike Wagner Heritage Award
program;
3. Review and update Urban Design categories to reflect urban design polices and
guidelines;
4. Review and update the Mike Wagner Heritage Award program categories;
5. Exploration of other venues for award presentation other than Council meetings;
6. Liaise with Homebuilders and development industry to gauge response to potential
changes related to categories, criteria and venue; and,
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7. Liaise with the Heritage Kitchener Committee to gauge response to potential changes
related to categories, criteria and venue.
It is the opinion of staff that current fiscal constraints further reinforce a recommendation to
review and defer these awards to better streamline their administration. If a deferral of the
award programs is not granted, the awards will continue to be presented in 2010 in their current
format.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:
Should Council approve the recommendation made in this report, it is expected that capital
funds assigned to the Mike Wagner Heritage Awards and Urban Design Awards program will be
made available in 2011 instead of 2010. It is also staff's expectation that streamlining the
administration of the awards programs and standardization of the award certificates may lead to
potential cost savings.
CONCLUSION:
Planning staff acknowledge the significance of the Mike Wagner Heritage Award and Urban
Design Awards programs and are of the opinion that a deferral to facilitate a review would
benefit the long term viability and relevance of these award programs.
CONTRIBUTING AUTHORS:
Heather Holbrook, Planner (Urban Design)
REVIEWED BY:
Leon Bensason, Interim Manager of Long Range and Policy Planning
Brian Page, Supervisor of Site Plan Development
ACKNOWLEDGED BY: Jeff Willmer, Interim General Manager
Development and Technical Services
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