Report to: Development Services Committee                              Report Date: January 15, 2008

 

 

SUBJECT:                          Renaming the Markham Inventory of Heritage Buildings as the Markham Register of Property of Cultural Heritage Value or Interest and the Addition of Properties to the Register

PREPARED BY:               Regan Hutcheson, Manager, ext. 2080

 

 

 

RECOMMENDATION:

That Council is of the opinion that the existing Markham Inventory of Heritage Buildings, which includes properties reviewed by Heritage Markham and approved by Markham Council for inclusion, meets the criteria of a “register” as outlined in Section 27 of the Ontario Heritage Act;

 

That the Markham Inventory of Heritage Buildings be renamed the Markham Register of Property of Cultural Heritage Value or Interest;

 

That Council endorses the inclusion of the additional properties of cultural heritage value or interest identified in Appendix “A” of this report (which have been reviewed by the Town’s municipal heritage committee), on the Markham Register of Property of Cultural Heritage Value or Interest;

 

That the Markham Register of Property of Cultural Heritage Value or Interest continue to include non-designated properties identified as having cultural heritage value or interest, Part IV properties (individual designation) and Part V properties (district designation);

 

That the addition of new property addresses to the Markham Register of Property of Cultural Heritage Value or Interest and the removal of the former addresses from the Register does not require Council approval in the following situations:

  • Relocation of the previously identified resource within the municipality (ie. Markham Heritage Estates);
  • Incorporation of the identified resource with a new plan of subdivision or development site;
  • Creation of a new lot as the result of a lot severance;
  • Re-addressing the property for administrative purposes;
  • Creation of a new municipal right-of-way resulting in new lots within a heritage conservation district;

 

That as per the requirements of the Ontario Heritage Act, Council will consult with the Town’s municipal heritage committee (Heritage Markham) before including or removing a property from the Register;

 

That Council reiterates its policy requiring all applications and permits affecting properties identified on the Register to be circulated to Heritage Markham for review as part of the Town’s regular approval process;

 

And that Staff be authorized and directed to do all things necessary to give effect to this resolution.

 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

Not applicable

 

1. Purpose                     2. Background                      3. Discussion                        4. Financial        

 

5. Others (Environmental, Accessibility, Engage 21st, Affected Units)             6. Attachment(s)

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this report is to rename the Markham Inventory of Heritage Buildings as the Markham Register of Property of Cultural Heritage Value or Interest, and to recommend the inclusion of additional properties on the Register, including the Town’s historic cemeteries.

 

BACKGROUND:

Markham has an existing inventory of heritage properties

Identifying properties of cultural heritage value is an essential part of municipal heritage conservation.  The Town has the Markham Inventory of Heritage Buildings which was reviewed by Heritage Markham and adopted by Council resolution (1991, 1993).  The Inventory includes “listed properties” or non-designated properties, individually designated properties and properties in heritage conservation districts.  All development and building permit applications as well as policy documents affecting Inventory properties are reviewed by Heritage Markham as part of the approval process.

 

Changes to the Inventory since 1993 were for administrative purposes

The Inventory was last adopted by Council in 1993.  Since that time, there have been no new additions to Inventory.  However, changes have occurred as follows:

 

  1. Address Changes- certain properties listed on the Markham Inventory of Heritage Buildings were subsequently assigned new addresses due to:

a.       relocation within the municipality (i.e. Markham Heritage Estates subdivision);

b.      incorporation into in a new plan of subdivision on a new street or within a new development;

c.       lot severance;

d.      new addressing for administrative/clarification purposes. 

 

The new addresses of these properties were automatically added to Markham Inventory of Heritage Buildings since Council had already approved the inclusion of the heritage resource on the Inventory.

 

  1. New Address in a heritage conservation district – if a new street was created in a heritage conservation district, the properties on that street were automatically added to the Markham Inventory of Heritage Buildings (i.e James Walker Court in Markham Village Heritage Conservation District).
  2. Adoption of a heritage conservation district – once Council adopted a heritage conservation district, the addresses of all properties were added to the Inventory (i.e. Unionville Heritage Conservation District in 1997)

 

Changes to the Ontario Heritage Act were approved in 2005

New changes to the Ontario Heritage Act came into force on April 28, 2005.  These changes provide municipalities with new powers to identify and protect heritage sites and districts.  Prior to 2005, heritage inventories were encouraged, but never recognized or required in the Ontario Heritage Act.

 

Section 27 of the Ontario Heritage Act now indicates that a municipality shall keep a register of property situated in the municipality that is of cultural heritage value or interest.  The register must contain all Part IV (individual designations) and may also include property that has not been designated, but that the council believes may have cultural heritage value or interest.  If the municipality has appointed a municipal heritage committee (such as Heritage Markham), the council must consult with the committee before including a property on the register or removing the reference to such a property from the register.

 

The Ontario Heritage Act also requires the municipality to keep a register of all heritage conservation districts designated under Part V and ensure that the register contains a map or description of the area of each such heritage conservation district.

 

Changes to the Building Code Act in 2006 affected heritage conservation

Changes to Ontario’s Building Code Act, which took affect January 2006, brought new, accelerated building permit review timeframes.  These include, for example, 10 days for a house and 20 days for a large building.  In many municipalities, so called “listed” properties were at the mercy of building department officials as to how quick a demolition permit would be processed.  However, in Markham, any building identified on the Markham Inventory of Heritage Buildings was allowed to be fully reviewed, evaluated and if necessary, provided protection through designation notwithstanding the timeframes.

 

In June 2006, amendments to the Ontario Heritage Act addressed this issue and provided interim protection for listed properties.  Being a non-designated property on the register now allows a request for demolition to be delayed for 60 days.  Section 27 (3) indicates:

“If the property included in the register under subsection (1.2) has not been designated under Section 29, the owner of the property shall not demolish or remove a building or structure on the property or permit the demolition or removal of the building or structure  unless the owner gives the council of the municipality at least 60 days notice in writing of the owner’s intention to demolish or remove the building or structure or to permit the demolition or removal of the building or structure”

 

Under the previous provisions of the Ontario Heritage Act, only Part IV (individual) and Part V (district) properties had demolition protection.   This new provision for listed properties allows the time for the municipality to evaluate the resource and decide whether designation is warranted.

 

 

OPTIONS/ DISCUSSION:

Identifying all properties of cultural heritage value is important

A comprehensive register of cultural heritage properties, including both designated and listed properties has many benefits to a municipality, including:

 

  • The register recognizes properties of cultural heritage value in the municipality;
  • The register promotes knowledge and enhances an understanding of the community’s cultural heritage
  • The register is a planning document that can be consulted by staff and Council when reviewing development proposals or permit applications;
  • The register provides easily accessible information about cultural heritage properties for land use planners, property owners, developers, the tourism industry, educators and the general public;
  • The register provides interim protection for listed property.

 

Requests to list a property on the municipal register may come from anyone including the general public, property owners, municipal heritage committees, staff, resident associations or historical societies.  However, only Council, after consulting with its municipal heritage committee, can add a property to the register.

 

Markham has an inventory that meets the criteria for a register as the Heritage Act

In Markham, the existing Inventory has always included listed non-designated properties (which were reviewed by Heritage Markham and approved by Council for inclusion on the Inventory), as well as Part IV and Part V designated properties.  Staff recommends that this be continued, but that the document be officially renamed as the Markham Register of Property of Cultural Heritage Value or Interest to use the language of the Ontario Heritage Act.

 

New cultural heritage properties have been identified

During reviews and studies undertaken throughout the Town, staff has identified a number of properties which may possess cultural heritage value or interest for the community (See Appendix A for listing of new properties and Appendix B for the Heritage Markham criteria).  Included in this list are some properties from the early 20th Century, significant barns and the Town’s historic cemeteries.  Although detailed research and evaluation is not required to list a property, it is recommended by the Ministry of Culture that a brief rationale be provided as to why the resource may be important to the community.  For the recommended new properties, a rationale has been provided using the criteria adopted by Heritage Markham for selecting properties for inclusion on the existing Inventory (see Appendix “B” ).

 

Heritage Markham reviewed and endorsed the list of new properties at its meeting on December 12, 2007.

 

It is recommended that these properties be added to the Register.

 

Administrative changes to addresses need not be approved by Council

Council must approve all property to be included and removed from the register after consulting with its municipal heritage committee.  However, it is recommended that the addition of new property addresses to the Markham Register of Property of Cultural Heritage Value or Interest and the removal of the former addresses from the Register should not require Council approval in the following situations:

  • Relocation of the previously identified resource within the municipality (ie. Markham Heritage Estates);
  • Incorporation of the identified resource with a new plan of subdivision or development site;
  • Creation of a new lot as the result of a lot severance;
  • Re-addressing the property for administrative purposes;
  • Creation of a new municipal right-of-way resulting in new lots within a heritage conservation district

 

This will avoid having to take administrative changes to addressing of previously identified properties through the Council approval process.

 

Further process improvements to the Register are forthcoming

Staff is in the process of updating and transferring the existing paper-based inventory to an electronic database that will be fully linked to AMANDA.  In addition, staff is also preparing a web-based program to allow browsing and searching of the Register using the Town of Markham website.  The proposal is to allow the searching of properties by address, by ward boundary, by heritage conservation district boundary, by date of construction or by architectural style.  The program will include a current and if available, historic photograph of the property.  Further details will be provided to Council when the program has been fully tested and is ready for public use.

 

A procedural protocol is also being developed by staff to ensure that the Register is updated and maintained on a regular basis.

 

FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS AND TEMPLATE: (external link)

Not applicable

 

 

ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS:

Not applicable

 

 

ACCESSIBILITY CONSIDERATIONS:

Not applicable

 

 

ENGAGE 21ST CONSIDERATIONS:

The protection of cultural heritage resources helps achieve a quality community by ensuring the Town of Markham’s historical buildings remain part of the fabric of the Town, strengthening the sense of community.

 

 

 

BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:

This report has been reviewed by Legal Services Department.

 

RECOMMENDED

                            BY:   

                                     

 

 

 

 

 

Valerie Shuttleworth, M.C.I.P., R.P.P.

Director of Planning & Urban Design

 

Jim Baird, M.C.I.P., R.P.P.

Commissioner of Development Services

 

 

 

ATTACHMENTS:

Appendix “A” –         Proposed Additions to the Markham Register of Property of Cultural Heritage Value or Interest

 

Appendix “B” -         Heritage Markham Criteria for Selecting Properties of Historical or Architectural Value in the Town of Markham

 

 

 

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