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2007-09-10_Supplemental Agenda--Dossier de l'ordre du jour supplémentaire City of Saint John Common Council Meeting Monday, September 10, 2007 Supplemental Agenda Re 9.1 Heritage By-law Amendment City of Saint John Seance du conseil communal Le lundi 10 septembre 2007 l'ordre du jour supplementaire Alim~a 9.1 Arrete No HC-11es Aires de Conservation Du Patrimoine de Saint John Heritage Bylaw Amendment (Heritage Development Board) Preservation Review Board 10 September, 2007 Good Evening Your Worship and Councillors It is a pleasure to speak in favour of the proposed amendment on behalf of the Preservation Review Board. 1 Introduction Malcolm Boyd Member of the Preservation Review Board & Heritage By-Law Review Committee My name is Malcolm Boyd. I live at 76 Park Lawn Court. I had the pleasure to be a member of the Heritage By Law Review Committee and continue to be a member of the Preservation Review Board. 2 Acknowledgements Members of the The Preservation Review Board & Heritage Areas Bylaw Review Committee Before I begin I would like to recognize the presence of Ray Gorman - Chair Heritage By-Law Review Committee Members of that committee: Damian Bone; Pat Darrah; Jonathan Franklin; Danny Jardine and Christopher Waldschutz; as well as members of the Preservation Review Board Chair Michelle Hooton Vice Chairs Bob McVicar and Michael Gillis Members: Diana Alexander; Hazel Braithwaite; Grant Heckman; Leona Laracey and Greg Paterson 3 Members of the Preservation Review Board are fond of saying that in Saint John we: Build On Our Past To Develop for Our Future We believe that the proposed amendment introduces important new tools to facilitate conservation of existing buildings as well as provide opportunities for new development. 4 A lot of effort and attention to detail, has gone into the proposed amendment which reflect the concerns raised by the community during meetings held by the Heritage By-Law Review Committee. The proposed amendment is enthusiastically endorsed by the Preservation Review Board. 5 The amendment reflects a change from the focus of the current by-law on RESTORATION to a pre- 1915 appearance, to permit the use of either of 3 conservation approaches: 6 The 1 st conservation approach as noted on the left, is PRESERVATION The 2nd conservation approach, is REHABILITATION And the 3rd conservation approach as noted on the right is RESTORATION These pages are from the Standards and guidelines for the Conservation of Historic Places in Canada. You will note the extensive use of Saint John buildings in this national document. 7 We are recommending as part of this amendment. . .. . .., that we build on the effort of nationally recognized heritage conservation experts who got together to produce this document, by incorporating the standards for conservation as a new section 8 in our By-Law. Our own Heritage Development Officer was very involved in this process. 8 The proposed amendment incorporates the change in name of the By-Law to: Heritage Development By-Law and the name of the Board to the Heritage Development Board. 9 The standards currently in Section 9 remain and will be used exclusively for construction of contemporary new buildings or structures, yet are sensitive to their historic neighbourhood. 10 The amendment includes the process for making development decisions from the national Standards & Guidelines specifically UNDERSTANDING (research, historic photos); PLANNING (preparation of conservation plan); USING (the building in a manner that has minimal impact on the Character Defining Elements; and then INTERVENING by making changes that respect the heritage values of the building. 11 The Heritage By Law Review Committee recommended that there be no change in the 800/0/1200/0 calculation for determining building height at the street line. However, additional upper stories could be built provided that they were set back from the street fac;ade and that they had minimal impact on the streetscape or on adjoining properties. 12 Here is an example in San Francisco where a similar planning principle has been used. This is a new building, but as you see it fits well into its streetsca pe. 13 When looking up at the building from immediately across the street you can barely see that there are additional stories because they are stepped back from the front fac;ade. 14 This slide shows how this balance between new development and sensitivity to context and streetscape has been achieved. 15 This is the Hardy Arcade development on Sparks Street in Ottawa where the same approach has been used . You see here the streetscape.... 16 Here the front fac;ade when looking straight on...... 17 ... .And here you get a glimpse of the new development above, but again done in a manner with minimal impact upon the streetscape. 18 This drawing of that same Hardy Arcade Development in Ottawa, shows the original building and how the new development is located below a line so that it is not seen when looking up from the street in front of the building. 19 Preferred Height Treatment All unita aboIIIl grade Maximum builOmg heigh110.7 m Some prolMlon of lhe heighl en'llllope acc9plable on comer sUes Four1h storey maintains required selback to reduce i apparent heigh! along !he Slrllel~ =::" Intothlroof ! BuIlding moved eIow to !he lronl properly line I 6.1m~ Required , I ltonl yar<1 IlltlICk This is what that planning principal looks like when it is shown on a diagram, in this case from Vancouver, British Columbia. 20 140% Diagram #1 __n 120 % ------------- 100 ~ ------------- 80~ ] 5 feet (1 S m) The proposed amendment will allow additional development, over and above the current standard of 800/0/1200/0. The Board could approve up to 1400/0 for height, provided it is setback so it is not visible from the opposite side of the street. This diagram forms part of the proposed amendment. 21 In addition as recommended by the By law Review Committee all buildings on the same side of the street and not just those buildings built before 1915, as is now the case, are proposed to be used in the calculation to determine the allowable height. 22 The By Law Review Committee recommended expanding heritage designations to new areas such as the Lower West Side, Torryburn and King Street East. 23 The proposed amendment includes designation of King Street East as Schedule "F" of the By-Law. This slide shows some of the buildings on the south side of the street; 24 This slide shows some of the buildings on the north side of King Street East. 25 A block on King Street West is proposed to be designated as Schedule "G"; 26 Two buildings in Torryburn as Schedule "H", and 27 A block on Princess Street as Schedule "I"; as requested by property owners in each of these respective areas. 28 Members of the Heritage Development Board are confident that the proposed amendment successfully finds a balance between respect for heritage and opportunities for development. We feel that not only can the two co-exist but that there is an opportunity in Saint John that does not exist in any other city in Canada..... For heritage and development to be one and the same. We are in favour of the proposed amendment and we are confident that it will enable us...... 29 To Build on Our Past Heritage and at the same time..... Develop a prosperous Future for Saint John. Thank You 30