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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-01-29 Minutes CLARINGTON HERITAGE COMMITTEE Minutes of Special Meeting — 407 Salvage January 29, 2013 MEMBERS PRESENT: Allan Kirby Angela Tibbles David Reesor Bonnie Seto Colin Maitland Andrew Kozak Karin Murphy Councillor Hooper Kim Vaneyk (Ex-officio) REGRETS: Tracey Ali MEMBERS ABSENT: Ruth Goff (Ex-officio), Tenzin Gyaltsan STAFF: Faye Langmaid, Kristy Kilbourne Angela welcomed all to the meeting. COUNCIL UPDATE At their Council meeting on January 28t", Council received and supported the CHC recommendation from the last meeting regarding the 407. BUSINESS ARISING MTO Cost Coverage 1) Removal of Items Oshawa's recent experience having to allocate funds for the removal of the items from the properties to be demolished was discussed (See Attachment 1). It was explained that once the Consortium took over for demolition, the properties were no longer under the control of the MTO and consequently, the MTO was negated of their responsibilities to assist in the removal of the items for salvage. Whitby was able to remove some items prior to the demolition but is also in the same position as Oshawa with now having to pay for the removal of the remaining items for salvage. Like Oshawa, the CHC has been informed that any salvage in Clarington will have to wait until the demolition. Draft Resolution is attached. 1 2) Relocation Pickering's relocation of Don Beer Park was discussed (See Attachment 2). It was explained that the issue of the park was brought up by the City of Pickering during the Environmental Assessment. Since the park is a public amenity, as part of the mitigation measures MTO include it relocation as part of the EA conditions. Cultural Heritage Evaluation Reports Two of the CHERs for the five-shortlisted properties were reviewed by CHC members prior to the meeting. Bonnie reported on the Bloor property and noted that it appeared to be a good candidate for relocation, is still occupied by tenants, and is structurally sound. David reported on the Bethesda property, indicating that it does not appear to be in as good a shape as the Bloor property. He noted that many of the windows are newer and questioned the authenticity of the banister as being original to the house. Since this house has been vacant for awhile, there are also concerns around what items of heritage value are left to be salvaged that have not deteriorated significantly or already been removed by thieves. Relocation of the short-listed properties was discussed. Most of the heritage properties are either in the countryside portion of the Greenbelt and designated as either open space or agriculture in the Official Plan or in future industrial area. There are some policy restrictions on severances in the rural areas; MTO has been asked to look into the feasibility of relocation of the buildings — looking at both physical barriers (railway tracks, bridges, etc.), as well as relocation from a land use planning perspective. It was also suggested that the Committee might give some thought to which properties they would like to focus their efforts on. For example, the Museum has expressed interest in creating a heritage village at Kirby. They have been looking into moving the Kirby United Church across the highway next to the school house. There is a possibility that the heritage home on Highway 35/115 in close proximity might be of interest to the Museum as well. The first step would be for the Museum to put together an overall vision and concept and have it endorsed by Council. A matrix of feasibility of relocation as well as architectural and cultural heritage value should be done for each of the five short-listed properties to help prioritize. 2 Salvage Lists The MTO provided a list of identified items for salvage for each of the properties along with floor plans indicating where the items were located. They did not however, include images of the items as requested. Faye will request they provide images, as well as measurements since a heritage property owner would need to know the size of the item as well as the aesthetics in order to determine whether it would fit their need. It was noted that the inventory lists did not include certain items that might be of interest to a heritage property owner such as wood sills or hot water heater knobs. There was also an image in the CHER for the Bethesda property showing a "summer beam" that was not listed in the appendix for the property. The Committee asked whether there were any municipal projects currently in development (e.g. parks or facilities) where salvaged materials could be used to effectively commemorate local heritage. This was thought appropriate since there is already a juxtaposition between old and new development in Clarington. Staff will inform the Parks Manager, Community Services, and Operations of the availability of these materials. It was also suggested that some project that had been "moth-balled" for lack of funds could benefit from the availability of free heritage salvage. 1930's — 1960's Structures Further to MTO's inquiry at the CHC meeting on January 15t", staff where provided with the addresses of five structures built between 1930-1960. If there is any local interest, these buildings could be candidates for relocation or salvage as they are older than 40 years. Most are from the 1950's, are still inhabited and demolition is not imminent. The Municipal heritage inventory was first created in 1986 and has been updated piecemeal over the years. At present, it does not include any post-1920's buildings, and there is currently no definitive list of the best of each era of architecture in Clarington. The Ontario Heritage Act allows municipalities to include buildings that are 40 years old and up, meaing that buildings from the 1960's are now eligible. However, Clarington's inventory was done at a time when they were not the case. There was some discussion around the architectural and cultural heritage value of buildings from this period. It was determined that more information on the properties from the 1950's that MTO has identified is needed in order for the Committee to make 3 an informed decision on the value of these properties, and whether they should be included in the salvage plan. Karin and David were provided with the addresses of the properties and will photograph them and report back at the next meeting. Faye has also asked the MTO for any photographs they might have of the buildings. Letter to designated property owners As part of Heritage Week, a letter will go out to designated heritage property owners the second week in February to thank them for their stewardship of heritage buildings and inform them of the Heritage Week events. It was suggested that one or two lines be added to this letter to inform designated property owners that there may be an opportunity for them to request materials for their properties as part of the 407 salvage strategy in Clarington. A second letter would be issued with more information on this in the future, this would just plant the seed. Discussion ensued around whether heritage property owners on the primary and secondary listing could be given the opportunity to request materials as an incentive to have them designate their home. Further discussion on this concept will occur at future meetings. OTHER BUSINESS Heritage Week A reminder will be sent out to the Heritage Week Working Group on the agreed upon responsibilities of the various partners. Selling of Books for Heritage Week The following people/groups will be selling the books during Heritage Week: COAA — all week (To Be Confirmed) Councillor Hooper— at his store (will pick up books from MAC) Karin Murphy — at the Orono Home Movie Night (took a few books on consignment) Colin Maitland — at Apple Blossom Flower shops (took a few books on consignment) Kim Vaneyk— at the Closing Ceremonies at the VAC (Planning Staff will bring books to this event) Museum — Kim will check the Museum's inventory and let staff know how many they need. 4 Next event : Council - Heritage Award Presentations, February 11, 2013, 7:00 p.m. at Clarington Municipal Offices, Council Chambers Next Regular CHC Meeting: February 19, 2013, 7:00 p.m., at Clarington Municipal Offices, Room 1A Attachment#1 —Oshawa Salvage— Durham Region News Article Attachment#2 — Pickering Park Relocation — Durham Region News Article 5 Oshawa picks up cost for Hwy. 407 heritage home salvage It'll cost the City of Oshawa approximately$7,000 to salvage objects from 10 historic homes slated to be demolished to make way for the Hwy. 407 extension in Oshawa. Members of Heritage Oshawa were told they could salvage items from the homes and compiled a list of 58 items they would like. The original plan was the Province's contractors would salvage the items and City workers would pick them up. They would be used as museum pieces or in existing heritage homes. However, City staff was recently informed that only licensed contractors can conduct the salvage and if Hwy. 407 contractors were to do it,the City would have to pay them for the work. Alternatively,the City can hire its own licensed contractor to salvage the items or forgo them altogether. Councillors chose to hire their own contractor at a cost of roughly$7,000. 6 Pickering's Don Beer park to be moved out of Hwy. 407 path Park could get bigger ball diamond PICKERING--Councillors are questioning the cost of proposed upgrades to Don Beer Memorial Park as plans get under way to move the park out of the path of Hwy. 407. The original estimated cost to move the park was$900,000, but has been raised to$1,344,383 to reflect additional costs due to the new site's larger size and planned upgrades, including an expansion of the baseball diamond. City staff are recommending the park be moved from its current location east of Hwy. 7 and Brock Road in Brougham slightly west,to Hwy. 7 and Orchard Heights Drive.The City would be responsible for$296,365 of the estimated cost,with the Ministry of Transportation covering the rest of the costs as compensation for moving the park out of the path of the Hwy. 407 east extension'. Councillor Peter Rodrigues questioned the need for a larger baseball diamond in the park. "One reason the cost of this project is going up is the fact that this new baseball park will be 50 to 60 per cent larger than the previous one,"he explained. "Would it be possible to have a new baseball park about the same size and have some land just not developed, but put off to a future date?" Coun. Doug Dickerson expressed similar concerns, suggesting a new field would better serve residents if it was located in south Pickering. "It seems like an awful lot of money to be spending on primarily a practice field,"he said. The planned expansion to the diamond came about after consultation with the Pickering Baseball Association,which has regularly used Don Beer as a practice field in the past. The group suggested the diamond be expanded. "It is possible to build it smaller but it will be a sub-standard size for rep baseball, if we build it to a larger size it can be better utilized for all levels,"said Richard Holborn, division head, engineering services for the City. "Once this is constructed it will be of a size and at a location, being at 407 and Brock and near the future Seaton development,where we can see other teams from other municipalities coming to play.What we have to keep in mind is it's a memorial park for Don Beer,who was a resident of Brougham. Staff felt it would be good to keep the park and diamond up in Brougham." The old park was decommissioned in October 2012 and staff estimate that construction on the new park could begin this spring and be completed by the fall, if approved. The new park design includes a playground area that will house the play structure from the original park, an asphalt basketball court, a gravel parking area with 32 spaces and a hardball diamond similar in size and configuration to Kirky Field in Brockridge Park, complete with a grass infield and lighting. A final vote on the recommendation will be held at the upcoming council meeting on Jan. 28 7