Heritage Burlington Advisory Committee Meeting

Minutes

Meeting #:
Date:	Wednesday, June 09, 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, Angela Richardson, Marwa Refaat, Len Collins, Jenna Dobson, Robert Korporaal, Alan Harrington, Rick Wilson and Dan Allan (alternate)

2.

Regrets:

Sille Nygaard Mikkelsen, Barry Duffey, Trisha Murray and John Ouksouzoglou (alternate)

3.

Others Present:

Councillor Rory Nisan, Danika Guppy (Heritage Planner) and Jo-Anne Rudy (Clerk)

4.

Declarations of Interest:

None

5.

Approval of Minutes:

5.1

Approve minutes from meeting held May 12, 2021

On motion, the minutes from the meeting held May 12, 2021 were approved as presented.

6.

Delegation(s):

None

7.

Regular Items:

7.1

Heritage Planner update 

a.

Discussion of heritage property not listed on the Register

• Danika advised that the City was circulated on an application to the Niagara Escarpment Commission (NEC) to demolish a dwelling at 6507 Jane Street (formerly 2087 Alice Street) that was not heritage-designated or listed on the City's Heritage Register, but was listed on the City's Inventory.
• Danika noted that as the approval authority, the NEC has its own responsibility to consider heritage value and due to community interest, they required the property owner to complete a heritage evaluation which found the property did not meet the criteria prescribed by Reg. 9/06 for determining cultural heritage value or interest.

b.

Other project updates

• Danika provided a brief update on the status of other heritage projects and estimated timelines in which Heritage Burlington will be consulted, including staff’s response to SD-02-20 involving the “potential cultural heritage landscapes” identified in ASI’s 2019 Downtown Cultural Heritage Assessment Report.
• Danika also provided a brief update about the Province’s recent direction that certain amendments to the Ontario Heritage Act made through Bill 108 will be proclaimed into effect on July 1, 2021. 

7.2

Review of Communication Plan for evaluations and letter to property owners 

• Committee reviewed the revised Communication Plan for evaluations and letter to property owners and agreed that the letter is much clearer and has a more personal, less corporate feel to it. Suggestion was made to provide more information on who Heritage Burlington is in the FAQ section. Motion - Approve Communication Plan for evaluations and letter to property owners. CARRIED

7.3

Chair's update 

• Michele advised that she and Don attended the Corporate Services, Strategy, Risk & Accountability Committee meeting on June 7 to be available for questions on the committee's annual report and 2021 work plan/budget. Final approval will be done at the June 22 Council meeting. Michele stated that the Mayor asked a question about Item #4.7 in the New Approach recommendations as it relates to the comments under the status column as "Not Implementable - Spin off project in progress" and asked Danika to update the status to provide a clearer explanation.  

7.4

Heritage Week update 

• Don stated that with the Province moving to Step 1 on June 11, he is hopeful that some of the Heritage Week activities in August will be able to be in-person.
• Don advised that an article promoting Heritage Week activities will be included in the City Talk newsletter which will be distributed to every household in Burlington in late June.

7.5

Heritage tours 

• Jo-Anne provided some background on the work that has been done for the three virtual heritage tours . Thanks to Don and Sille for their work in providing the information for each property. 
• Jo-Anne shared the three heritage tours - Queenshead Tour, St. Luke's Parish Tour and Old Library Tour and noted that they will be available online and accessible on your mobile device. Links to the tours will be added to the committee's webpage for Heritage Week.

8.

Other Business:

• David brought up the subject of designation and asked about City owned or City controlled properties (e.g., Central High School, Lakeshore Public School, cemeteries, etc.) as well as some select other properties and wondered what the City's appetite was for designating them. Councillor Nisan commented that the City is very supportive of protecting Burlington’s cultural heritage resources, while also noting that in the case of City-owned properties, these may already be afforded a certain level of protection by the fact that they are managed by the City. It was also noted that non-designated heritage properties are also afforded some protection under the Heritage Act, namely the required 60 day notice of any intention to demolish or remove a building or structure on the property. Danika agreed, and suggested that continuing efforts to list currently unprotected properties on the Register remain a priority for the committee.
• David voiced his concern about a recent article that he had circulated about a designated property in Toronto being demolished without permission and asked Danika what the penalty was for doing this. Danika said she would check and get back to the committee at the next meeting.
• David expressed his opinion that non-designated properties currently on the Register should be reviewed with a view to initiating designation of those found to be worthy of designation. It was noted that this, while a worthy initiative, was not on the Work Plan for this year and there was no budget allocation for completion. The Committee’s main priority this year is the review of inventory homes for addition to the Municipal Register.
• David brought up the subject of developing a process for identification and protection of heritage trees. Staff will continue to work with Roads, Parks and Forestry staff on this item.
• Allan advised that two rail cars arrived at Freeman Station on June 2 - a Canadian National caboose made in Winnipeg in 1929 and a Canadian Pacific Boxcar built in 1913. These century old cars will be "polished and shined" and opened as soon as COVID permits.
• Len shared that the King Edward Fountain has been removed to be repaired and asked if it might be ready for Heritage Week celebrations. Likewise, he asked if the Brant Inn panel will be installed in time for Heritage Week. Action - Jo-Anne to follow up with RPF staff on fountain repair and Dee Signs on estimated completion date for panel.

9.

Adjournment: 8:35 p.m.