Report to: Development Services Committee Report Date: January 15, 2008
SUBJECT: RECOMMENDATION
REPORT
SITE
PLAN CONTROL APPLICATION
Proposed New House
Ms. Irina Gordon
179
John Street
Thornhill Heritage
Conservation District
FILE NO. SC 07 131520
PREPARED BY: George
Duncan, Senior Heritage Planner, ext. 2296
RECOMMENDATION:
That in keeping with Council’s
decision to refuse the demolition permit application for the c.1948 house at
179 John Street, Site Plan Control Application SC 07 131520 for the
construction of a new house also be refused;
That the applicant be requested to
work with Town staff and Heritage Markham to
create an appropriate addition to the existing house that will preserve the
significant heritage attributes;
That the applicant be notified of
Council’s decision as per the requirements of the Ontario Heritage
Act;
And that Staff be authorized and
directed to do all things necessary to give effect to this resolution.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
At its meeting of October
16, 2007, Council refused an application to demolish the existing
c.1948 house at 179 John Street. The one and a half storey, frame house is
listed as a “C” class building within the new Thornhill Heritage
Conservation District Plan. According to
the policies of the plan, some C buildings are of value as they are
complementary to the character of the Heritage
Conservation District, therefore, demolition of C Class buildings is considered
on a case-by-case basis. The owner does
not want to retain the existing house, but wishes to replace it with a new, two
storey brick house in the Gothic Revival style.
A Minor Variance Application (A/117/07) to facilitate
development of a new house was refused by the Committee of Adjustment at its
meeting of November 14, 2007,
except for the recognition of a deficient lot frontage. A Site Plan Control application has been
submitted to facilitate the redevelopment of the property.
Heritage Markham and Staff
do not support the demolition of this house based on its contextual value to
the district, and have had on-going meetings with the applicant over the past
year to suggest that an appropriately designed addition to the existing house
would be the preferred option for creating a more spacious residence on the
property. The owner has consistently
opposed this option, and is continuing to pursue the demolition and replacement
of the existing house at 179 John Street.
PURPOSE:
To present information regarding
an application to construct a new residence at 179
John Street within the Thornhill Heritage
Conservation District, which would replace an existing house and garage on the
property, and to recommend that the application be refused on the basis of the
cultural heritage value of the c.1948 house.
BACKGROUND:
Council refused the
demolition application for the c.1948 house at 179 John Street
At the October 16,
2007 meeting of Development Services Committee, Council refused the
demolition application for the c.1948 house at 179
John Street (Council Extract October 16, 2007, Appendix ‘A’). The property is located at the eastern
boundary of the Thornhill Heritage
Conservation District. The existing
house is a modest, clapboarded dwelling dating from the Post World War Two
period of Thornhill’s suburban development.
Its Colonial Revival architectural style, wood siding, one and a half
storey height and small scale make it
compatible with the village-like character of old Thornhill. (A brief
description of the house from the Heritage
District Building Inventory is attached as Appendix “B”).
At a site visit in January 2006, when the property was under
another ownership, Heritage Section staff and
members of Heritage Markham observed that the
house was generally in good condition and that it was of cultural heritage
value or interest as an older building compatible with the character of the
Thornhill Heritage Conservation District.
The house has a “C”
classification in the new Thornhill Heritage
Conservation District Plan
In the 2007 Thornhill Heritage
Conservation District Plan, 179 John Street
is classified as a ‘C’ type building.
Class C buildings are defined in the District Plan as follows:
-
They are buildings/properties primarily post 1939;
-
They include buildings/properties that are sympathetic
to the District by virtue of their scale or design qualities;
-
They include buildings/properties not sympathetic to
the historic character of the District.
According to the policies of the District Plan, the
demolition of Class C buildings will be considered on a case by case
basis. The District Plan also states:
“Some Class
C buildings are also complementary such as the many Cape Cod
cottages
and some of the veteran’s housing, which were inspired by the same
New England precedents
that the United Empire Loyalists brought to Upper
Canada.”
When the initial Thornhill Heritage
Conservation District Plan was approved in 1986, this house was not listed among
the “Significant” (i.e. heritage) buildings.
At that time, most of the significant buildings dated from the 19th
century. Few 20th century
buildings were given recognition as being of heritage value. When the District Plan was under review in
2006-2007, the value of the District’s early 20th century buildings
was considered. The house at 179
John Street is classified as a “C” in the 2007
District Plan due to its c.1948 date of construction. The house is considered to have contextual
significance as its design, scale and materials are highly compatible with the
village-like character of old Thornhill.
Its gross floor area is 147square metres (1,586 square feet).
Minor Variance Application and a Site Plan Control
Application have been submitted for the construction of a new house on the
property
Notwithstanding
Council’s decision to refuse the demolition application for the existing house
at 179
John Street, the owner has submitted Minor Variance and Site Plan Control applications
to facilitate the construction of a new house on the property. This development proposal was reviewed by Heritage Markham at its meeting of July 11,
2007 where Mr.
Victor Guitberg, Architect, appeared on behalf of Ms. Irina Gordon, to present
a proposal for a new 2 storey brick house to be constructed at 179 John Street, to replace the existing 1 ½ storey frame
house. The proposal for a 401 square
metre (4, 316 square foot) brick house is fundamentally the same design seen by
Heritage Markham as a concept plan in July of 2007,
except that the 3 car attached garage has since been reduced to a 2 car
attached garage based on the feedback of the committee (See proposal, Appendix
‘C’).
Heritage Markham
does not support redevelopment based on the demolition of the existing house at
179 John Street.
Since first
receiving inquiries concerning the potential for redevelopment of this property
involving the demolition of the existing house in early 2006, when the property
was under its previous ownership, Heritage Markham has maintained its position that the
c.1948 house is of cultural heritage value to the Thornhill Heritage Conservation District and should not be
demolished and replaced with a new house.
Heritage Markham has consistently indicated to the applicant
that an appropriately designed addition to the existing house would be
supported. Based on this position, and
Council’s refusal of the demolition permit, Heritage Markham had no comment on either the Minor
Variance or Site Plan Control applications.
OPTIONS/ DISCUSSION:
A “C” classification does not ensure that demolition will be supported
According to the policies of the
new Thornhill Heritage Conservation District
Plan, the demolition of Class C buildings will be considered on a case by case
basis. Many of the C buildings have
cultural heritage value or contextual value.
According to the provisions of the Ontario Heritage
Act, a property can possess contextual value if it is “important in
defining, maintaining or supporting the character of an area”. The loss of a building of contextual value,
such as the house at 179 John Street,
would be detrimental to the preservation of the character of old Thornhill.
The house can be preserved and enlarged with an appropriately designed
new addition.
The preservation of the existing
house on the property would not prevent the construction of an addition. The recommended approach would be to retain
the essential character of the 1948 house, and expand it at the rear with a
complementary addition according to the guidelines and policies of the
Thornhill Heritage Conservation District
Plan. The demolition of the garage, not
considered to have heritage value, is supported to allow the applicant greater
flexibility to accommodate an addition.
The owner/applicant does not want to retain and expand the existing
house
The owner/applicant has made it
clear that she does not want to retain and expand the existing house. She had a professional evaluation of the
condition of the house undertaken, and this evaluation provided costs to bring the
house up to the owner’s desired standards.
This evaluation was done to support the application for demolition. The owner has stated that she is not
interested in investing in the current dwelling.
The owner/applicant has submitted plans for a new 2 storey brick house
The owner/applicant has submitted a
Site Plan Control Application for a new house on the property, and previously
submitted a Minor Variance Application based on this design. The proposed new house, a 2 storey brick
dwelling rendered in the Gothic Revival style, is consistent with the design
guidelines of the Thornhill Heritage
Conservation District, based on a review by Heritage
Section staff. The house would be 401
square metres (4,316 square feet) and would have an attached, 2 car garage set
back on the east side wall. The minor
variances required to implement the development include minimum lot frontage
(to recognize an existing deficient frontage), maximum building depth, and
maximum building height. As stated
earlier, the Minor Variance was essentially refused, except for the recognition
of the deficient lot frontage, which is not necessarily tied to the
specification of the development proposal currently before the Town.
The Site Plan was circulated to Town Departments and the TRCA
Notwithstanding Council’s decision
to refuse the demolition permit application for the existing house, the Site
Plan application was circulated to Town Departments and to the TRCA and Heritage
Markham. The circulation process
identified non-compliance with the zone standards with respect to building
height and building depth, both of which were the subject of Minor Variance
Application A117/07 and refused by the Committee of Adjustment at its November
14, 2007 meeting. The Minor Variances
requested to implement the development proposal as submitted included: a
building height of 13.33m whereas the By-law permits a maximum height of 9.8m
and a maximum building depth of 20.1m whereas the By-law permits a maximum
building depth of 16.8m.
The Site Plan Control Application should be refused
Based on Council’s decision to
refuse the demolition permit application, it is recommended that the Site Plan
Control Application be refused. Heritage
Markham and Heritage Section staff are of the
opinion that the house at 179 John Street
is of cultural heritage value due to its contextual value (“maintaining &
supporting the character of the area”), and should not be demolished. A more spacious residence can be achieved on
the property with a well-designed addition to the existing house.
The applicant has the right of appeal to the Ontario Municipal Board
If Council refuses the Site Plan
Control application (i.e. an application to alter a designated property),
within 30 days of receiving notice of Council’s decision, the applicant may
file an appeal to the Ontario Municipal Board.
If a hearing is held and the Board does not support Council’s decision
to refuse the application, the Board has the power, under Section 42 of the new
Ontario Heritage Act, to
direct that the permit be issued with or without terms and conditions.
FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS
AND TEMPLATE: (external link)
Not applicable.
ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS:
The preservation of a building,
rather than its demolition, will diminish the amount of demolition debris going
into landfill sites and is a sustainable approach that will recycle an existing
structure for continued use.
ACCESSIBILITY CONSIDERATIONS:
Not applicable.
ENGAGE 21ST
CONSIDERATIONS:
The preservation of buildings of
cultural heritage value helps achieve a quality community by supporting the
character of the Heritage Conservation
District.
BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED
AND AFFECTED:
Not applicable.
RECOMMENDED BY:
_______________________________ _______________________________
Valerie
Shuttleworth, M.C.I.P., R.P.P.
James Baird, M.C.I.P., R.P.P.
Director
of Planning and Urban Design Commissioner of Development Service
ATTACHMENTS:
Figure 1: Location Map
Appendix “A”: Council Extract October 16, 2007
Appendix “B”: Heritage
Conservation District
Building Inventory Page
Appendix “C”: Proposal for New House
FILE PATH:
Q:\Development\Heritage\PROPERTY\JOHN\179\DCSJan1507.doc
FIGURE 1
Owner/Applicant:
Ms. Irina Gordon Tel.
(416) 831-8956
179 John Street Fax.
(416) 321-0045
Thornhill ON
L3T 1Y8
Location Map: