Report to: Development Services Committee Report Date: May 18, 2010
SUBJECT: Designated
Heritage Property Grant Applications
- 2010
PREPARED BY: Regan Hutcheson, Manager, Heritage
Planning, ext. 2080
RECOMMENDATION:
1)
That the staff report dated May 18, 2010 entitled
“Designated Heritage Property Grant
Applications -2010”, be received;
2)
That Designated Heritage
Property Grants for 2010 be approved in the amounts noted for the following properties provided that
the applicants comply with eligibility requirements of the program:
- 23
Peter Street - $5,000 for foundation and
brick restoration/repairs subject to obtaining Minor Site Plan Approval
and Building Permit;
- 180 Main St N - $5,000 for restoration and structural
repair of front veranda subject to obtaining Minor Site Plan Approval and
Building Permit including detailed drawings and specifications;
- 1
Kalvinster Drive - $5,000 for foundation
waterproofing and storm windows/door subject to obtaining a Heritage Permit;
- 48
Church St - $1,750 for brick repair and
re-pointing subject to obtaining a Heritage
Permit;
- 32
Church St - $2,500 for replica windows subject to complying
with approved elevations and specifications/conditions of the executed
Site Plan Agreement;
- 26
Albert St - $2,500 for restoration of heritage dwelling
subject to complying with approved elevations, restoration requirements
and specifications/conditions of the Site Plan Agreement;
- 20
Peter St - $2,500 for restoration and replication of
windows subject to obtaining a Heritage
Permit or subject to complying with approved elevations, restoration
requirements and specifications/conditions of a Site Plan Agreement
- 309
Main St N - $3,885 for veranda restoration
and stabilization subject to retaining and repairing the existing concrete
blocks and obtaining a Building Permit;
- 32
Washington St - $1,425 for a cedar roof
subject to obtaining a Heritage
Permit or Building Permit
3)
That owners of properties approved to receive a grant
enter into a Letter of Understanding with the Town;
4)
That the grants be funded through the Designated Heritage Property Grant Reserve Fund;
5)
And that Staff be authorized and directed to do all
things necessary to give effect to this resolution.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
Not applicable
The purpose of this report is to obtain approval of
applications for the Markham Designated Property Grant Program for 2010.
Council approved the new designated heritage property
grant program in January.
On January 19, 2010, Council
approved this new grant program. Staff
advertised the availability of the grant assistance program as the lead article
in the Heritage District Newsletter
that was sent to property owners in all heritage districts in February. Notice was also provided in the local
newspapers on the Town of Markham
page.
The deadline
for grant application submission was April 1, 2010 and there was much interest in the
program. Twenty- two applications were
received.
Markham’s Designated Heritage Property Grant Program
Highlights of the designated heritage property grant
program include:
- Total funding in the amount of $120,000 to be
allocated to the program over a four year period (2010-2013) based on a
targeted allocation of $30,000 per year;
- Assistance to the owner is in the form of a grant
representing 50% of eligible work up to a maximum limit of $5,000 per
property for eligible work;
- Minimum amount of eligible work - $500;
- Properties must be designated under the Ontario Heritage
Act (Part IV or Part V). In the
case of Part V (Heritage
Districts), only properties identified in a district plan as being of
cultural heritage value or interest are eligible;
- Ineligible Projects- Commercial façade projects in
heritage districts as there is a separate program and projects in Markham Heritage Estates (that have been in place less
than 20 years);
- Grants are to be awarded on an annual cycle following
a request for applications with a deadline established;
- Only one grant per calendar year per property;
- Subject property must be in conformity with municipal
by-laws and regulations;
- Eligible work primarily involves the repair,
restoration or re-creation of heritage features or components (cornices,
parapets, doors, windows, masonry, siding, woodwork, verandas, etc.);
- Eligible costs include the cost of materials,
equipment and contracted labour (but not donated labour or
materials). A grant of up to 50%
for architectural/ design/ engineering fees to a maximum of $1,000 (as
part of the maximum permitted grant of $5,000) is available;
- Two separate estimates of work (due to the
specialized nature of the work) are to be provided by a licensed
contractor (other than the owner) for consideration;
- Applications will be reviewed by Town (Heritage Section) staff and recommended
submissions will be forwarded to Council for approval;
- Grant commitments are valid for 1 year and expire if
the work is not completed within that time period (an extension may be
granted);
- Grants are paid upon submission of receipts to the
satisfaction of the Town;
- Qualifying work cannot commence prior to application
approval;
- Approved applicants will be required to enter into a
Letter of Understanding with the Town.
All applications were reviewed by Heritage Section staff and Heritage
Markham
Staff
undertook a comprehensive review of the 22 applications. Each application was
fully examined giving consideration to the type of work proposed, its
eligibility using the program guidelines, the quoted cost of the work, and any
conditions that would need to be attached to an approval. Then each application was assessed using the
following evaluation criteria which were adopted by Council as part of the
program:
o
Preference will be given to applications where the
integrity of the property may be threatened if the proposed work is not
undertaken
o
Preference will be given to applications proposing
work visible to the general public
o
Must comply with heritage conservation guidelines,
principles and policies
o
Scope of the work is to be clear, logical and
demonstrate the maximum retention of historic fabric and heritage attributes
o
Grant is not to reward poor stewardship
o
The addition of new features (re-introduction of
heritage features) needs to be backed up with evidence (physical, documentary
or archival)
Nine applications are recommended for approval
Acknowledging
the $30,000 budget for this program in 2010, staff is recommending nine
applications totaling $29,560 be funded subject to conditions (see Appendix ‘A’
for Grant Summary). The projects in the
Grant Summary are listed in order of priority based on the above criteria. The top four applications all involve
addressing serious structural threats to heritage buildings. The next three applications all involve
heritage building restoration work that is associated with recent site plan
applications. In these cases where the
work would be required to be undertaken as part of the approval, it has been
recommended that the eligible grant amount of $5,000 be reduced by 50% to
$2,500. This action will allow two
additional applications to be funded. A
number of the recommended applications are subject to specific conditions.
Five supportable
applications fell below the budget line and the remaining eight applications
were not eligible for various reasons.
Heritage Markham supports the
recommended applications
On April 14, 2010, Heritage Markham reviewed the recommended
applications and
individual summary sheets for all applications. The Committee supported the recommendations
of staff subject to the specific conditions.
Letter of Understanding is required
Once grant
applications are approved by Council, owners will be required to enter into a
Letter of Understanding with the Town detailing any conditions associated with
the grant assistance. Applicants must
still obtain standard development approval and permits to undertake the work.
Finance Department was authorized in
January 2010 to establish a reserve fund for the Designated Heritage Property Grant Program. Council resolved that the Reserve Fund be
allocated $120,000 in funding for the four year period (2010-2013) from the
following sources:
Not
applicable
This project
aligns with the Growth Management priority by working to preserve resources and
features of cultural heritage value in order to create a better quality of
community.
Reviewed by
Finance Department and the Heritage
Markham
Committee
RECOMMENDED BY:
____________________________ ______________________________
Biju Karumanchery, M.C.I.P., R.P.P. Jim Baird, M.C.I.P., R.P.P.
Senior
Development Manager Commissioner
of Development Services.
Appendix A Grant Application Summary 2010
File path: Q:\Development\Heritage\SUBJECT\Grant
Program Designated Property\2010\DSC May 20 2010.DOC