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York St. homeowner supports downtown heritage designation

August 16, 2018   ·   0 Comments

By Mike Pickford

One downtown Orangeville homeowner believes the only way he can protect his century-old neighbourhood is to convince the town to officially adopt the controversial Prince of Wales Heritage Conservation District.

The plan for the proposed district has been kicked around at town hall for much of the past year. It calls for the heritage designation of some 238 downtown area properties in Orangeville, encompassing homes on Broadway, Zina Street, York Street, Bythia Street, First Street and First Avenue.

The area was first identified as a neighbourhood befitting heritage designation by Orangeville’s council of the day in 2003, and a municipal committee has spent the best part of 2 1/2 years formulating a plan appropriate for all the 238 homes. While several residents appeared before council in July to voice opposition to the plan, Richard Oliver, a homeowner on York Street, offered his encouragement during a short speech on Monday.

“Council has received submissions from several residents opposed to the implementation of a Heritage Conservation District (HCD). All of those concerns appear to be for reasons relating to their own property,” Mr. Oliver said. “While we have no wish to unduly restrict someone’s personal enjoyment of their property, their views do not protect HCD neighbourhoods.”

Having swapped Etobicoke for Orangeville several years after growing tired of the “constant development” occurring around his former heritage worthy property, Mr. Oliver says he would be saddened to see a similar thing occur in his new home.

“In this climate, all property is under intense pressure for redevelopment. Multiple notices of applications appear in our local newspapers each week, requesting various permissions required to erect new residential buildings in town. The properties within the proposed (HCD) are not exempt from this pressure, in fact they may be under more intense pressure,” Mr. Oliver said.

He added, “Some of these properties come with large lots, big back yards. … All it could take is the acquisition of two of these properties and a developer would have sufficient space to put together a townhouse development or apartment complex, what has already occurred at 60 and 62 First Street and is about to happen on Centre Street. The town does not have any way to prevent this from happening.”

“The implementation of a HCD would provide us with the protection we need. The benefits far outweigh any inconvenience. I would urge Council to accept this report from Heritage Orangeville and urge the Town to designate this zone as quickly as possible,” Mr. Oliver concluded.

He informed Council that he had gathered 23 signatures from residents in the proposed HCD area supporting his request.

As part of a HCD, homeowners in the area would need to seek approval for any proposed renovations on the front exterior of the building. Lynda Addy, a member of Heritage Orangeville, has worked strenuously on this plan since 2015. She informed Council last month that the “guidelines” put in place in the plan would apply only to that portion of the property and would not stop homeowners from making any changes to the inside of their homes. She also noted homeowners would be free to complete any routine maintenance or repair work, including things such as painting, roofing, gardening and landscaping and changes to rear patios and decks, small rear yard outbuildings and any interior renovations.

Coun. Nick Garisto last month stated he would not want to impose a heritage designation on any homeowner who does not want it. He continued with that stance on Monday, informing Mr. Oliver he “has to side with the comments of the people over the plan.”

Mayor Jeremy Williams thanked Mr. Oliver for his presentation, noting it was important Council listen to comments on both sides of the argument.

“We’re here to hear what residents’ opinions are on this matter. Some are opposed, some are in favour. I think it’s good we get to hear all the pros and cons on this,” Mayor Williams said.

With the end of this current term of council rapidly approaching, Deputy Mayor Warren Maycock made a motion that his issue be deferred to the next council, who would, ultimately, make the final decision. That motion did not receive the necessary secondary support from a fellow council member.

The final HCD plan is expected to come back to council for consideration on Sept. 10.


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