Recommendation:
THAT the Heritage Markham Committee has the following comments and recommendations concerning the Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendments in support of the redevelopment of the property (7750 Bayview Avenue):
a) The property has cultural heritage value which includes the following features: the Main House, Gate House, Stable Building, Gardener’s Cottage, Forecourt, Formal Gardens, Stone Gates and Pillars, Pomona Creek Valley lands within the Western Grounds, and Curvilinear Driveway;
b) The identified cultural heritage resources should be protected through designation under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act, including interior features of value in the Main House such as decorative plaster details, wood mouldings and trim, original windows, doors and hardware, and the ornate curved processional black granite staircases on each level;
c) Given the proposed road configuration, there is no objection to the relocation or removal of the Greenhouse complex subject to it being properly documented and advertised for potential relocation;
d) The Official Plan Amendment should include cultural heritage policies that address the protection, conservation and interpretation of these features; and
e) For the proposed new tower building immediately northwest of the Shouldice Hospital/Formal Gardens, the applicant should give consideration to a lower multi-storey building with a more animated base to provide a more sensitive transition to the adjacent existing cultural heritage resources/landscapes.
THAT the proponent be requested to undertake necessary maintenance on the existing cultural heritage resources including repairs to the Gate House, and the proper boarding and low level heating of unoccupied buildings if they are to continue to be left vacant;
AND THAT as a condition of future development approval for any part of the property, the City should:
- secure a Heritage Easement Agreement for the cultural heritage resources on the entire property;
- obtain a Conservation/Restoration Plan for the cultural heritage resources on the property including both maintenance and restoration requirements, with implementation secured through a financial security;
- require the implementation of a historic landscape plan for the Formal Gardens including reinstating the curved treeline on the northern edge of the Formal Gardens to maintain the existing terminus and views from the Main House;
- secure commitments from the owners to undertake necessary maintenance on existing cultural heritage resources including repairs to the Gate House, and the proper boarding and low level heating of unoccupied buildings if they are to continue to be left vacant.
- secure one or more Markham Remembered plaques to highlight and celebrate the identified cultural heritage resources on the property.