Ajax heritage register - strengthening protections

NRU
Sept. 13, 2017
By Dominik Matusik

Ajax is strengthening protections for over 100 of its non-designated properties, creating a lengthier review process for demolitions, but disagreements linger over which buildings should be included.

Ajax senior planner Michael Sawchuck said, in an email to NRU, that listing non-designated heritage properties in a register rather than maintaining a simple inventory will give staff more time to evaluate demolition applications.

"The main issue with the existing heritage inventory is the lack of demolition control," he says. "Transitioning nondesignated properties to the heritage register will provide the town with the extra time necessary to make informed decisions when faced with demolition applications.

There's also the added benefit of having only one comprehensive directory of heritage properties, rather than the two that currently exist."

Sawchuck explains that, under the Ontario Heritage Act, properties listed on a heritage register must undergo a 60-day review process for any demolition applications, thus giving staff more time to determine the property's heritage significance and the impact of demolition. Properties on the current heritage inventory, however, are subject only to the requirements of the Ontario Building Code, which gives staff 10 days to review single-unit residential properties and 15- 20 days to review others.

Sawchuck says that the criteria for determining whether a property should be included on the register have resulted in some properties on the inventory no longer being considered significant by staff.

"When the heritage inventory was developed, it did not include any criteria for inclusion," Sawchuck says. "For the heritage register, however, the town has decided to adopt a set of criteria developed by the Province of Ontario... [these] criteria [were] originally established to determine whether a property can be designated under section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act, but town staff [has] deemed it to be an appropriate tool for measuring whether a nondesignated property should be added to the heritage register. If a property is assessed to satisfy one or more of the nine [criterion], listing on the heritage register is warranted. There are several properties that are included on the heritage inventory that do not meet the threshold requirement for listing on the heritage register."

However, ward 4 councillor Pat Brown is not convinced that all of the buildings staff is recommending for inclusion on the register warrant being there. For example, she questions the heritage value of 1950s-era apartment buildings.

"They've got places on this list that may not be something that should be saved, but we want to put a plaque on the property to say what it used to be, the heritage value. But I don't think that people need to put out $3,000 to $5,000 for a report to have to do that. Because that's what happens when they're on the register. Staff will require a study to be done before they develop or demolish it," she says.

In total, staff has identified 118 properties for potential inclusion on the town's register, 109 of which had previously been on the inventory, which was created in the early 1990s. The remaining nine have recently been identified as having heritage value.

The town register currently includes 29 provincially designated heritage properties, and the Pickering Village Heritage Conservation District.

Monday, Ajax general government committee directed staff to consult with property owners and report back to the community affairs & planning committee at its meeting November 6.