Ann Marie presented decision note and provided the background on the matter. She stated that over the years the City has identified a need to have a stronger position for enforcement of heritage preservation. The following background was provided:
As background, the City adopted its first Heritage By-Law in 1977, followed by its first St. John’s Municipal Plan in 1984 and first St. John’s Development Regulations in 1985. The Development Regulations incorporated many of the heritage provisions of the By-Law. Thus, by the 1990s, it was felt that the By-Law was no longer needed, and it was eventually repealed.
During the Envision St. John’s review of the Municipal Plan and Development Regulations, staff recognized that a Heritage By-Law would provide better protection of built heritage. A by-law derives its authority from the City of St. John’s Act, which has specific provisions for built heritage, whereas the Urban and Rural Planning Act is silent on built heritage. The City Act provides a more secure foundation for heritage protection.
The NL Department of Environment, Climate Change and Municipalities recently gave a provincial release for the draft Envision St. John’s Plan and Regulations. Once some revisions are made, Envision will be brought to Council to consider adoption and referral to a commissioner’s public hearing. The approval of the Heritage By-Law will be coordinated with approval of Envision St. John’s to avoid any gap in heritage regulations.
The draft Heritage By-Law is now available for public review. Staff previously presented to Council on the draft By-Law and comments from that meeting have been incorporated into the attached version. Below is a summary of the changes from the heritage standards in the current St. John’s Development Regulations that have been incorporated into the Heritage By-Law, plus proposed next steps.
Heritage Advisory Committee/Built Heritage Experts Panel
Heritage Advisory Committee (HAC) is the term used in the City of St. John’s Act, and this must be used in the Heritage By-Law. We can still refer to the HAC as the Built Heritage Experts Panel (BHEP). The terms of reference for the BHEP will form Schedule A of the Heritage By-Law.
Heritage Areas
Heritage Areas 1 and 2 remain the same under the new Heritage Area map. Heritage Area 3 is mostly the same except for the Battery area. Staff recommend a new Heritage Area 4 with design standards unique to the Battery neighbourhood. For example, in existing Heritage Areas, windows at the rear of a house are not regulated unless they face a public street. For Heritage Area 4, windows that face St. John’s harbour (even at the rear of a house) will be regulated, given the importance of maintaining traditional building forms facing the harbour.
Heritage Reports
A Heritage Report is a new requirement for applications to demolish a Heritage Building, applications to change or revoke the designation of a Heritage Building, and any other application as recommended by the appropriate staff member (termed an “Inspector” in the By-Law). A Heritage Report addresses the anticipated impacts that the proposed work may have on the heritage value of a building, neighbourhood or streetscape. The report informs Council and the public on heritage impacts before Council makes a decision on an application. Heritage Reports will be similar to Land Use Assessment Reports (LUARs); Council will set terms of reference, the applicant will pay for the report by a suitably qualified consultant, and the report will be made public. Sample terms of refence from Waterloo, Ontario, are attached.
Heritage Design Standards
The Heritage Design Standards in the new Heritage By-Law expand on the standards in the current Development Regulations, with additions and clarifications. These include:
- Adding a column for designated Heritage Buildings. These can be located anywhere in the city, including a few that are outside any Heritage Area. Under the current regulations, there are no specific standards for Heritage Buildings.
- For residential buildings, the proposed standards include criteria for dormer windows, metal roofs, solar panels, green roofs (that is, roofs that have landscaping and plantings), heat pumps, and accessory buildings. We recommend allowing roof decks in Heritage Area 1 under certain conditions. We propose requiring that iron fences be maintained for Heritage Buildings and in Heritage Area 1; many fences have been lost over time. Iron fences qualify under the City’s Heritage Financial Incentives Program.
- The current standards do not deal with residential garages, and therefore every application with a garage had to be referred to the BHEP and Council for direction. The proposed standards allow consideration for the addition of a garage to an existing building, or for a new development to include a residential garage.
- The standards for non-residential buildings are proposed to include the same design elements which now apply only to residential buildings. These include window styles, rooflines, door styles, and so on. Non-residential building standards now also include proposed standards for building facades, recessed entries, outdoor service area fencing (such as fences for outdoor eating areas), and banking machines.
- The design standards include a proposed new section for additions to existing buildings and for new developments (residential and non-residential). The current standards give no guidance for a designer. With the proposed standards, new developments will be required to blend with the existing neighbourhood and surrounding buildings. This allows the use of modern elements so long as they reflect the surroundings. For taller buildings, the area from the ground to 18 metres (approximately 4 storeys) high, the base or podium of the building, is most visible at street level. There will be flexibility to relax the standards above 18 metres, where the building will be required to step back. This keeps a traditional streetscape while allowing modern designs above the 4th storey. The wording used in the section is similar to Parks Canada’s Standards & Guidelines for the Conservation of Historic Places in Canada. Photos are attached for reference, showing examples of how modern additions and new developments can complement older buildings while maintaining the character of a heritage area.
- Council will maintain the ability to exempt the owner of a new building from the Heritage Design Standards.
- Under the current regulations, Council in its discretion may require public notice and/or a public meeting for any application. While this will remain the same under the Envision Development Regulations, staff recommend mandatory public consultation for certain applications involving Heritage Buildings or Heritage Areas. These include:
- an application to demolish a Heritage Building;
- an application to amend or revoke the designation of a Heritage Building;
- an amendment of an existing Heritage Area;
- the designation of a new Heritage Area; and
- any other matter where Council so directs.
- Public consultation on heritage applications would be carried out using the procedures of the Development Regulations (public notice, newspaper ads, mailed notices, City website, independent facilitator).
Draft Heritage By-Law - Public Consultation
Staff have prepared an Engage St. John’s page (https://www.engagestjohns.ca/heritage-bylaw) which contains Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) as well as relevant maps and documents. It will show the stages in the By-Law adoption process and where we are in it.
The Panel was informedtThere will be two virtual public sessions on the draft Heritage By-Law on Wednesday, April 28th at 7pm and Thursday, April 29 at 1pm. Members of the BHEP are welcome to attend, but attendance is not required. Having them at the end of the month allows time for residents, property owners and organizations to review the matter prior to attending the public sessions. Staff are also setting a meeting for owners of designated Heritage Buildings who may have questions. Along with the public information sessions, staff have contacted the Newfoundland and Labrador Historic Trust, Heritage NL, the NL Association of Architects, the Canadian Home Builders’ Association NL, Downtown St. Johns and the George Street Association to discuss their specific questions or concerns. Any proposed changes to the By-Law will be brought back to Council for consideration.
Housekeeping Items
The Panel was informed there are still a few housekeeping items left to do. These include updating the Heritage Buildings list to include Parcel ID numbers, finalizing the design of the maps, and formatting the Heritage Design Standards table.
Lengthy discussion took place with panel members seeking clarification and providing comments on the topics listed above and acknowledging this session was more broad based so as to enable the Panel to give insight into potential recommendations.
Toward the end of the meeting discussion concluded with the following recommendations:
- Enforcement of the by-law should be top of mind once it is adopted. It was recognized that while this may be a challenge it should be well-defined so its effect is meaningful.
- The Panel and Council should recognize that litigation will likely arise out of by-law enforcement.
- Endorsement of the heritage impact assessment as it is vital information for heritage preservation and to assess the development on a historic property.
- There should be an impact assessment before any demolition which should be clear and definitive.
- Any Land Use Assessment Report should outline minimum expectations in the terms of reference.
- Consideration should be given to a review of demolition fees.
- Landscaping requirements ought to be included. minimum expectations for TOR
- Should include preservation of architecture through retention, recycling or other means of preservation.
Katherine Hann offered to assume role of a sub-committee to provide additional information from other jurisdictions and agreed to forward this information to the panel and if required, for inclusion, in subsequent agendas of the panel.
Discussion concluded that recommendations from the Panel is premature at this time. However, it will assist staff in preparing for the next meeting of the Panel and it will also assist staff in reviewing the proposed by-law before the engagement sessions and subsequent presentation to Council.