Dominion Foundry Complex Vik Pahwa Photo
How do you stop a demolition?
That of course is the perennial question for built heritage advocates.
Remembering Parks Canada’s Historic Places Initiative
London Doorways — Celebrating a Unique Feature of London’s Heritage
Just when we thought the status of Heritage Conservation Districts — and their pre-2005 and post-2005 HCD plans — was settled1, along comes an Ontario Municipal Board decision that seems to throw a wrench in the works.
Yes, it’s the OMB, in 2017 actually, when the metamorphosis to Local Planning Appeal Tribunal was still underway. It’s an obscure decision no one much had ever heard of. Too bad it didn’t stay that way.
Another guest contributor this time! Shannon Kyles is the owner of ontarioarchitecture.com. She has taught History of Architecture at Mohawk College for many years and is active in Architectural Conservancy Ontario.
Brandon House, Ancaster (Photo credit: Carol Priamo)
This time we welcome another guest contributor: Gordon Prentice.
Gordon is the past president of the Newmarket Branch of Architectural Conservancy Ontario. He was a Labour MP at Westminster from 1992-2010. Since coming to live in Canada he has blogged on local politics, planning and development issues at www.shrinkslessorsquare.ca.
The new Provincial Policy Statement, 2020, replacing the PPS, 2014, comes into force on May 1, 2020.1
What do you need to know?
The last posts for 2019 looked at two recent cases of the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT) involving the potential demolition of a built heritage resource.1 In both cases the Tribunal determined that demolition was not inconsistent with the “shall be conserved” policy of the Provincial Policy Statement.
Significant built heritage resources and significant cultural heritage landscapes shall be conserved. ~ PPS policy 2.6.1
We’re looking at recent cases where the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT) has explored the meaning of “conserved” — and whether demolition of a built heritage resource is necessarily antithetical to provincial planning policy.1
Isn’t the demolition of a heritage building the antithesis of its conservation?
Well, under Ontario’s land use planning rules, the answer seems to be: Not necessarily…
The starting point of course is the bedrock cultural heritage policy set out in policy 2.6.1 of the Provincial Policy Statement: