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Concerns raised over proposed heritage designation for York Street area

April 29, 2026   ·   0 Comments

By JAMES MATTHEWS

The boundaries that will determine a proposed heritage district in Orangeville have yet to be established.

That point was clearly made during a public meeting on April 27 when York Street area residents voiced concerns about how they might be affected by a heritage conservation district (HCD) designation.

SGL Planning and Stantec Consulting Ltd. determined in December 2024 that the York Street neighbourhood meets the prescribed criteria to pursue further study for potential HCD designation.

A project workplan and budget were developed and approved in February 2025.

Lashia Jones, the senior cultural heritage specialist at Stantec Consulting, said the York Street HCD Study was prepared throughout 2025.

Stantec conducted historical background research, inventoried and assessed all properties in the study area, examined archival material, and reviewed existing planning documents for the area.

The HCD study concluded that more than 70 per cent of properties met two or more criteria for designation under provincial rules.

The York Street neighbourhood is a representative collection of mid-19th- to early-20th-century properties, including examples of Gothic Revival, Italianate, Edwardian, Georgian, and Ontario vernacular architecture. There are properties associated with the town’s early settlement and those broadly associated with the rapid growth of Orangeville after the arrival of its former railway service. The neighbourhood has historical and physical links to Mill Creek.

“Based on council’s direction in proceeding with the plan and feedback received to date, we recognize that there may be adjustments to the boundary as the (heritage conservation) plan phase progresses,” Jones said.

Two boundaries have been suggested, one by the consultants and another by town staff. She said council is the ultimate decision-maker. But under the provincial legislation, 25 per cent of more of the properties in the HCD need to meet two or more criteria.

So if the boundary is to be adjusted, that provincial threshold still has to be met, she said.

Mayor Lisa Post said the HCD boundaries haven’t been set or even voted on yet.

“As we work through the process, I think it’s really important that we continue to tighten in the area to make it be the conservation district that we want it to be,” she said.

Orangeville’s Royal Canadian Legion Branch 233 is on nearby John Street. Chuck Simpson, the Legion’s past-president, said in a letter to council that members voted in March to petition council to exclude the Legion from heritage conservation.

“It was determined that there was no need to have another level of control added to the operations/mandate of Branch 233 Orangeville,” he said.

Scott Wilson and his wife live on Bythia Street at a property determined by Stantec to be of no heritage contribution, he said in a letter to council. His neighbour’s property has also been deemed to have no heritage contribution.

“To be required to comply with policies and regulations designed to protect heritage features which don’t exist on our properties seems unfair and potentially represents an unnecessary use of time and expense,” Wilson wrote.

He said he and his neighbour suggested the municipality set modified HCD boundaries as opposed to those outlined in the Stantec report.

York Street residents Brenda and Terry Giles also ask that their home be excluded from the HCD boundaries. They said in a letter to council that the York Street homeowners in favour of the heritage district should have gone about registering their own properties under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act.

“Instead, they imposed their will on everyone else in the neighbourhood,” they wrote. “Homeowners chose not to go this route, which would have carried a small title registration fee of $70-$100.”

Tens of thousands of Orangeville taxpayers’ dollars were used to foot the bill for another heritage study in an attempt to achieve very similar end results, they stated in their letter.

Bythia Street resident Henry Vandendam said he’s apprehensive about the amount of control that comes with heritage designation. A homeowner becomes limited in what can be done with their property.

Vandendam said residents would have to use the same material and window shape when carrying out renovations. That means an arched window will have to be replaced with another arched window.

And that could be as much as four times the cost of a square window, he said.

“And if it’s a wood window, you need to go with wood,” he said. “That’s another increase on the cost.”

Homeowners can appeal such requirements, he said, and he asked what that would entail and what the cost would be.

“This plan, it’s proposed,” Vandendam said. “But do you know the actual percentage of the (property) owners that want it? Has that ever been looked at?”

Jones said the HCD plan doesn’t include a policy requiring a window to be replaced with one of the same material as in a situation posed by Vandendam. Rather, policy is geared toward maintaining the window shape.

Jones said there are no percentage numbers of property owners who support heritage designation.

Brandon Ward, the town’s planning and infrastructure manager, said property attributes are considered during the study process.

“If they meet or surpass certain thresholds for significance, then it warrants pursuit for designation,” Ward said.

Not all feedback was against the heritage designation. York Street resident Elizabeth Smith supports the idea.

“The careful, informed guidance for future change is important to keep the area’s unique vibe,” Smith said. “Some clarification of the day-to-day impacts on house changes would be helpful to all neighbours. There are some conflicting opinions on what is planned or will be decided later.”

Bythia Street resident Don Schimp supports the HCD proposal as a means of preserving the beauty and history of Kay Cee Gardens.

Karen Jones also lives on York Street. She agrees with most of the proposed district boundaries, and she hopes residents’ concerns can be resolved and all parties will come together in favour of the designation.

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