Heritage Burlington Advisory Committee Meeting

Minutes

Meeting #:
Date:	Wednesday, September 22, 2021
Time:	7:00 P.m. - 9:00 P.m.
Location:	Virtual

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1.

Members Present:

Michele Camacho (Chair), Don Thorpe, David Barker, Barry Duffey, Angela Richardson, Marwa Refaat, Len Collins, Jenna Dobson, Robert Korporaal, Alan Harrington and Rick Wilson

2.

Regrets:

Sille Nygaard Mikkelsen, Trisha Murray, Dan Allan (alternate) and John Ouksouzoglou (alternate)

3.

Others Present:

Councillor Rory Nisan, Kevin Arjoon (City Clerk), Danika Guppy (Heritage Planner), Todd Evershed (Coordinator of Special Projects and Urban Design), Alison Enns (Manager of Policy and Community) and Jo-Anne Rudy (Clerk)  

4.

Declarations of Interest:

None

5.

Approval of Minutes:

5.1

Approve minutes from meeting held July 14, 2021

On motion, the minutes from the meeting held July 14, 2021 were approved as presented.

6.

Delegation(s):

6.1

Major Transit Station Area (MTSA) Area-Specific Planning Project 

• Alison Enns, Manager of Policy and Community, provided a presentation on the Major Transit Station Area (MTSA) Area-Specific Planning Project. She spoke to area specific planning in Burlington and gave an overview of the Mobility Hubs Study and Engagement that took place in 2017 and 2018. Alison advised of the project timeline and next steps which will include several engagement opportunities for the community to participate in.  

7.

Regular Items:

7.1

Heritage Planner update

• Danika advised that this will be her last meeting with Heritage Burlington as she has accepted another position outside of the City. She noted that in the interim, Todd Evershed, Coordinator of Special Projects and Urban Design, will oversee the heritage portfolio until a Heritage Planner is hired.

a.

Proposed heritage plaque at the Valley Inn Bridge

• Danika stated that staff were contacted by City of Hamilton staff advising of a proposal to remove and replace the Valley Inn Bridge. A Cultural Heritage Impact Assessment was completed for Hamilton which recommended documentation, salvage and commemoration of the bridge as appropriate mitigation measures. One of the potential plaques is to be placed on the Burlington side of the bridge and staff are consulting with Heritage Burlington on this project for their awareness and to seek feedback on the suggested wording.
• Members supported the suggested wording with the exception of the term "watering hole" but realize the historical context for using it. Further comments can be sent to Michele. 

b.

Status update re: downtown cultural heritage landscapes study

• Todd advised that the downtown cultural heritage landscapes study is on hold until the Heritage Planner role has been filled. Updates will be provided as they are available.

7.2

Heritage Week Review

• Don advised that Heritage Week was very successful and thanked the Sub-committee for a job well done. Some of the highlights of the week were the downtown walking tour, the Aldershot bike tour and the virtual presentation at the library of the history of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. This presentation had almost 70 participants and is something that will be part of Heritage Week moving forward. Don noted that the Heritage Week content on the City's social media channels did very well and received much interest.  

7.3

Discussion regarding inviting applicant to Heritage meeting where file is being discussed

• Michele noted that this was discussed at the March 10, 2021, where Danika confirmed that this process is already in place and staff ensure that applicants and/or property owners are invited to the Heritage Burlington meeting where their application is being reviewed, although it is not a requirement for them to attend. Jo-Anne added that all advisory committee meetings are open to the public and instructions with how to attend as an observer is provided on the city calendar for the respective meeting. If an applicant and/or property owner wishes to speak at the committee meeting, they would have to register with the Clerk by noon the day before the meeting.

7.4

Change of October meeting date

• Jo-Anne asked if the Committee was amenable to moving the October meeting to the week of October 18. Committee members agreed to October 21. Motion - Change the Heritage Burlington meeting date from October 18 to October 21. CARRIED 

8.

Other Business:

• Marwa advised that she is currently working on updating the list for the evaluations.
• Alan advised that the Brant Inn panel was officially unveiled last week and noted that the Mayor and Councillor Kearns would like to see more signage like this throughout the City. The King Edward Fountain has been refurbished and reinstalled by the Cenotaph.
• Len asked why City flags were not at half-mast for the residential schools matter and noted that both the Federal government and the Provincial Government have lowered their flags until further notice. Action - Jo-Anne to follow up with Mayor's Office who oversees flag lowering.
• Committee brought up the subject of Reconciliation and agreed that it was appropriate for a land acknowledgement to be read at the beginning of every meeting to recognize Burlington's ties to the Indigenous community. Jo-Anne noted that the Office of the City Clerk will commit to having a land acknowledgement read at the beginning of every advisory committee meeting going forward.
• David asked why there was no agenda item to follow up on the matter noted as Item 6.1.d Planner's Update in the July 14, 2021 committee minutes and asked if Danika had consulted with Legal as to who would initiate enforcement and how this would be done. David gave his opinion as to who would initiate legal action and how that might be done in the event of damage to or demolition of a heritage property. He also drew the Committee's attention to the different manner in how initiation of legal action would likely happen in circumstances where damage or destruction of a heritage tree was to occur.
• Michele ended the meeting with reading the following Land Acknowledgement, which will be read at the beginning of each committee meeting moving forward.

  • Burlington as we know it today is rich in history and modern traditions of many First Nations and the Métis. From the Anishinaabeg to the Haudenosaunee, and the Métis – our lands spanning from Lake Ontario to the Niagara Escarpment are steeped in Indigenous history. The territory is mutually covered by the Dish with One Spoon Wampum Belt Covenant, an agreement between the Iroquois Confederacy, the Ojibway and other allied Nations to peaceably share and care for the resources around the Great Lakes.

    We would like to acknowledge that the land on which we gather is part of the Treaty Lands and Territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit.

9.

Adjournment: 8:33 p.m.