Overview

Many municipal policies directly and indirectly bear on the success of Heritage Conservation efforts, often with more effect than overt “heritage” plans and policies. The Town shall conduct a review of existing policies for Land Use, Planning, Economic Development, Taxation and other policies to ensure that they conform with the overall goal of preserving the heritage character of the Downtown Heritage District.

Integration Of The Heritage District Plan With Other Policies And Documents

Land Use

The Official Plan, and its amendments, identifies general use of land in the District, which is further refined and detailed in the Zoning By-law, as amended. Most properties in the District are planned and zoned for residential or commercial uses, of various densities. The exceptions are the churches, which are denominated for Community Facilities, and the Museum and Spit which are denominated for Recreation and Conservation

No change in the land-use designations in the Official Plan or Zoning By-Law are recommended at this time. However, upon approval of the Heritage District Plan should be amended to explicitly incorporate the Heritage District Plan and its provisions, as described in Section 3.6 of the Ministry’s “Ontario’s Heritage Conservation District Guidelines.”

The Town should anticipate the planning and heritage impacts of increased commercial demand that may be generated by the expansion of Blue Mountain Resorts. The following areas are suggested for study:

-- Commercial intensification through the use of the lanes and pathways as frontages.

-- Commercial intensification through the provision of at-grade shops in future multi-level parking structures.

-- Commercial intensification through the creation of a "Heritage Commercial Conversion" provision in the Zoning By-Law, which would allow and regulate heritage-friendly conversion of residences to commercial uses in specific near-downtown areas. An existing example of this kind of use is "Thurso House Bed and Breakfast" in the "Thurso" mansion at 37 Third Street.

Built Form

There may be some provisions in the Zoning By-Law that do not accurately reflect the historical built form in the District, and which would require application for minor variances at the Committee of Adjustment in order to perform work consistent with the District Policies and Design Guidelines. For example, existing three-storey buildings on Hurontario exceed the height limit in the by-law, and an applicant seeking to match the existing cornice height with a new building would require a Variance. Similarly, the 7.5m rear yard setback requirement on Hurontario Street discourages the lane-side retail intensification that the plan promotes.

-- The Zoning By-law should be reviewed for conflicts between its provisions and the Policies and Guidelines of the Heritage District Plan. Zoning conflicts that unduly burden an applicant trying to conform to the District Plan should be eliminated by amendment.

Site Plan Control

All of the land within the Town of Collingwood has been designated as a Site Plan Control Area. This designation allows Council to undertake detailed review of proposals for construction in accordance with Section 41 of the Planning Act.

-- Site Plan Control should continue to apply to all property in the District. The Site Plan Control By-law should be amended to recognize the District Plan.

Severances And Minor Variances

In evaluating an application for severance or minor variances, the Committee of Adjustment addresses matters described in the Planning Act, and consults with appropriate Town departments and agencies to determine if a proposal is a suitable one, considering such matters as compatibility with adjacent use, traffic and access, and the effects of future development.

- Town staff, in reviewing applications for severances and minor variances in the District, should give due consideration to the District Plan. The Town should only support applications that demonstrte compatibility with the Objectives and Policies of the Plan.

Signage Control

The Sign By-Law 98-75, as amended, provides control of signage in the District, and generally protects its heritage character.

-- The Sign By-Law should remain in force in the District.

-- In its next amendment, the Sign By-Law should explicitly recognize the District. Large ground signs should be prohibited from the District, and consideration should be given to stricter regulation of permanent and temporary window signs.

Demolition Control

Demolition of a building requires a permit under Section 5 of the Building Code Act. Section 43 of the Ontario Heritage Act provides the additional requirement of obtaining a Heritage Permit for demolition or removal of a building or structure within a Heritage Conservation District. The Town should develop powers and policies to discourage demolition of heritage buildings whenever at all possible.

-- The Town should seek a Town of Collingwood Act from the Provincial Legislature in order to acquire the power, which other municipalities posses, to deny a demolition permit until a building permit is issued for the replacement building.

-- The Town should develop policies requiring conservation of heritage resources when demolitions do occur. For example, the Town should require extensive documentation, to be provided to LACAC, of the building before and during demolition. It should also require advertisement of the availability of all of or parts of the building for relocation or salvage. The Collingwood Museum should have first right of refusal on salvage items.

Additional Municipal Action

There are additional policy actions the Town should consider that can have a significant effect on encouraging preservation and restoration of the heritage character of the District.

Heritage Easements

A Heritage Easement is an undertaking by an owner of a heritage building to take certain steps to protect the heritage character of his building and to retain insurance on it sufficient to construct a replacement building if it suffers destruction. It can be a useful preservation tool for use in the Site Plan Approval process, particularly when all or part of a heritage building is included in a larger new development.

Tax Measures

Recent Provincial legislation allows municipalities to enact property tax abatement for properties designated under Part IV and Part V of the Heritage Act. The Town should evaluate this legislation to determine if it can be usefully applied to the District.

Grants & Loans

The establishment of a Heritage Fund by the Town merits consideration. In the early period of the Heritage Act, the Province provided matching funds for repairs and restoration to Designated properties. Even though funding was limited to $3,000, the program encouraged a lot of restoration work. A relatively small Town fund might have a significant impact. Such a fund could be made economical by making grants in the form of interest-free loans, repayable to the fund at the time of sale of the property. In the long term, such a fund would renew itself, leaving behind improvements to Collingwood’s heritage resources.

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