Built Heritage News – Issue No. 206, Jan. 22, 2013

The Built Heritage Newsletter for Jan. 22, 2013 can be found here.

Among the many interesting items is this one:

3. Toronto: City-Wide Tall Building Design Guidelines include Heritage 
Geoff Kettel Chair North York Community Preservation Panel

The city is close to finalizing draft updated City-Wide Tall Building Design Guidelines. The updated Guidelines will be used to inform the design and review of all new tall building developments in all of Toronto, not just downtown. Understanding when and how the Guidelines apply is very important. They are in effect a secondary document that apply once it is decided (through the Official Plan and zoning bylaws) that a tall building is appropriate in that location and if it is determined that a tall building is supportable, and represents good planning, these Guidelines should then apply (draft Guidelines, page 12,v.). And as guidelines they do not have the force of legislation.

The document defines tall buildings as buildings with height that is greater than the width of the adjacent street right of way (ROW) or the width of two streets if located at an intersection. Since street ROW widths vary across the city, typically between 20 and 36 metres, with the suburbs at the higher end of the scale, it appears that tall buildings in the suburbs may potentially be higher before they are considered as subject to the tall building guidelines.

The updated Design Guidelines include several references to Heritage Conservation. One of the principal guidelines statements, 1.6, Heritage Properties, is Locate and design tall buildings to respect and complement the scale, character, form and setting of on-site and adjacent heritage properties. This appears to be consistent with language being proposed in the draft Heritage Policy under the Official Plan Review, also underway currently.

At the well attended January 15, 2013 information session held at Northern District Library, 40 Orchard View Blvd. (Yonge & Eglinton) there was a surprising amount of support for the tower in the park (or more frequently tower in the parking lot), a stock of tallish buildings which likely represent the largest legacy of Modernist architecture in the city. Lynda Moon, President of the North Toronto Historical Society, was present and managed to get concurrence from staff that the Heritage sections were important.

Final draft guidelines are expected to go to Planning and Growth Management Committee on February 28 and to Council for approval.

You can learn more here.

Among topics in newsletter (accessible at link at top of page):

Feature Stories A Call to Action to Save The Gore Park Streetwall Architectural Conservancy of Ontario calls upon Province to protect Gore Park EMC Smiths Falls: Main Streets -Rural Heritage Symposium Globe and Mail: Saving a signature Hockey Arena TAC Looking for Office Space for Rosedale Project Materials News Action A Call to Action to Save The Gore Park Streetwall Architectural Conservancy of Ontario calls upon Province to protect Gore Park Toronto: City-Wide Tall Building Design Guidelines include Heritage Bala Falls CRB Hearing Links Globe and Mail: To treasure or tear down Hamilton’s Victorian storefronts? The debate rages Toronto Star: War of 1812 Names Confuse instead of Celebrate Toronto Star: Brampton Cultural Heritage Landscape Preserved yorkregion.com: Heritage wins out over resale at meeting CBC Hamilton: No hope for cultural heritage planning in Hamilton, says councillor CBC Hamilton: Here’s the school they’re not tearing down RaiseTheHammer: I Want to Believe Quinte Broadcasting / quintenews.com: Hotel Quinte ablaze Guelph Mercury: Avoid architectural vandalism at historic Elora church EMC Smiths Falls: Main Streets -Rural Heritage Symposium Winnipeg Free Press: Winnipeg’s Paddlewheel Restaurant to close in the bay Downtown Winnipeg Free Press: Winnipeg’s St. Charles Hotel ultimatum CTV News: Saskatoon’s Patricia Hotel closes its doors Global News: Sask. home of former Prime Minister John Diefenbaker needs repairs Globe and Mail: Saving a signature Hockey Arena metronews.ca: Winnipeg’s St. Boniface Cathedral receives highest level of historic designation Ottawa Citizen: Heritage designation recommended for Briarcliffe therecord.com: Restoration of historic farm house runs into difficulties Vancouver’s Waldorf Hotel runs out of time BuffaloNews.com: Grand old buildings have a story to tell latimes.com: Group using 3-D scans to digitally preserve California’s missions New York Times: A Fight Over Historic Preservation Brews in Art Deco Country New York Times: Death of Ada Louise Huxtable New York Times: Grand Central Station turns 100 telegraph.co.uk: York Minster to be coated in fat to keep out rain Does Anybody Know? Broxstowe House in Oakville Context of Eric Arthur Founding ACO TAC Looking for Office Space for Rosedale Project Materials