Cindy and John Purtill were invited to the meeting and proceeded to outline their intent to designate their building and add a café establishment to their existing bed and breakfast.
The Panel was informed the City received an application to designate the building at 50 Bonaventure Avenue as a Heritage Building. The subject property is located within Heritage Area 2, is designated Residential Downtown under the St. John’s Municipal Plan and is zoned Residential Medium Density (R2). Should Council designate the building as a Heritage Building, discretionary uses in the R2 Zone include Heritage Use.
The staff review, including the Designation Criteria review, has not been completed to date and therefore this application is presented to the Built Heritage Experts Panel (BHEP) as an Information Note. Following staff review, a Decision Note regarding the application will be sent to the BHEP for an e-vote.
Background information submitted by the applicant included in the agenda. Should Council decide to proceed with designating the building, the applicants will apply for a Heritage Use under the R2 Zone. The subject property is currently a Bed & Breakfast and the applicant would like to offer High Tea at the property. Under the St. John’s Development Regulations, this would be considered a café/Eating Establishment which is not permitted under the R2 Zone. If the building is designated, Council could consider the café as a discretionary Heritage Use. The applicants would like to include an area in the café which describes the history of the building.
The Panel discussed the matter with agreement that once staff conducts its review, it will be forwarded to the Panel for an e-vote.