ELORA – Centre Wellington has hired Archaeological Services Inc. to complete a Cultural Heritage Landscape Study.
“It’s the overarching study that would identify themes, significant themes and areas of interest and then would make some recommendations on prioritizing those and those could eventually become heritage district studies,” senior planner Mariana Iglesias said at the March 25 council meeting.
The study objectives include:
– identifying, evaluating, documenting inventory and mapping significant cultural heritage landscapes within the township;
– providing recommendations on priorities for conservation; and
– facilitating an exchange of information and promoting awareness between members of the public and the township about the existence and importance of cultural heritage landscapes in the township.
Iglesias explained that the municipal heritage register, which includes rural properties, would continue.
Mayor Kelly Linton clarified that the municipal heritage register, run by Heritage Centre Wellington, would also be linked to the broader Cultural Heritage Landscape Study.
“Yes, there likely would be a crossover and a linkage because a lot of our rural properties that we’re looking at now through a subcommittee of the Heritage Committee would actually be broader cultural heritage landscapes that could be identified,” Iglesias said.
She said the Heritage Committee has already identified a base map and areas of interest throughout the township that should be looked at.
“So those will be given to consultants as a preliminary list and then they will be developing themes and criteria for adding other properties to this and coming up with their own list of additions,” Iglesias said.
Councillor Stephen Kitras voiced concern about the lone heritage houses, that don’t fit into a heritage landscape area, if a developer chooses to develop the property and split it into different lots.
“We have identified those that have an age criteria, architectural significance and some contextual value as a preliminary list,” Iglesias explained. Those were added already to the register and those are the ones that we would be looking at.
“If a development application comes in, for example, for one of those we would evaluate, determine whether that property needs to be preserved and the buildings on it and then work with the new owner or developer … to find a way to maintain that rather than allowing it to be demolished.”
Iglesias said the Heritage Committee has spent the last four years going through every property in the township, outside of the rural areas and identified culturally significant houses.
She said about 1,000 properties were evaluated in that way.
Now the focus is on rural properties to identify the houses based on age and landscape value.
Archaeological Services Inc. was successful in the township’s request for proposal with a total upset limit of $43,640, exclusive of HST, for the Cultural Heritage Landscape Study.
This limit is within the $50,000 budgeted amount from 2018.
It will be funded by $26,500 from the heritage reserve; $1,000 from general capital reserve and $22,500 from development charges.
While the request for proposals were picked up by 16 registered plan takers, only five responses were received.
The unsuccessful applications were from:
– AECOM Canada Ltd.;
– Archaeological Research Associates Ltd.;
– MHBC Planning; and
– Timmins Martelle Heritage Consultants Inc.
