Item - 2023.EY8.26

The Etobicoke York Community Council recommends that:

1. City Council amend the paragraph on page 8 of Attachment 2 to the report (October 5, 2023) from the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning, Urban Design, City Planning, titled "Updated Reasons for Inclusion on the City of Toronto's Heritage Register" by deleting the words "an important" so that the last sentence in the paragraph reads as follows:

"In 2005, the Marian Shrine of Gratitude was created in the rear gardens and became a place of spiritual meaning, as well as a space for peaceful reflection and solace in the community."

2. City Council amend the Listing Statement for the property at 3100 Weston Road on the City of Toronto's Heritage Register in accordance with the Listing Statement (Reasons for Inclusion), attached as Attachment 2 to the report (October 5, 2023) from the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning, Urban Design, City Planning, as amended by Recommendation 1 above.

This report recommends that City Council adopt an amended Listing Statement (October 2023) for 3100 Weston Road to inform the property's cultural heritage value and interest with new information that has arisen since the original listing was adopted by City of North York Council in 1997.

Located on the west side of Weston Road at the intersection of Weston Road and Sheppard Avenue West, the property at 3100 Weston Road comprises a Tudor Revival estate home with garage and surrounding landscape, set on a large lot that extends into the Humber River Valley. The subject property straddles the boundary of the Humbermede and Pelmo Park-Humberlea neighbourhoods in Etobicoke York Community Council area. The house on the property was designed for stockbroker Percy Ryerson Gardiner by architect Jocelyn Davidson, and the estate was named, "Rivermede". Overtime the property has evolved to include a red brick, Modernist style former school and chapel building complex built for the Order of Saint Basil the Great, which currently is the location of the Carmine Stefano Community Centre. In 2005, the Marian Shrine of Gratitude was constructed in the rear gardens.      

The property at 3100 Weston Road was included on the North York Inventory of Heritage Properties by North York Council on October 6, 1997. Following revisions to the Ontario Heritage Act in 2005, 3100 Weston Road and many other properties on pre-amalgamation municipal inventories were included on the City of Toronto's Heritage Register as listed properties on September 27, 2006.   

Following the sale of the property in August 2023, Staff have reviewed the Listing Statement (1997) and have determined that the property continues to meet criteria related to design, historical association, and context, as adopted by the former North York Council. Given new information about the site that has arisen since 1997, however, Staff have amended the Listing Statement (October 2023) to reflect the values of the property more comprehensively.

A municipal heritage register may include properties that have not been designated but Council believes to be of "cultural heritage value or interest", and that meet one or more of the provincial criteria for determining whether they are of cultural heritage value or interest. The Ontario Heritage Act (the Act) now also limits listing to a period of two years.

Properties on the Heritage Register will be conserved and maintained in accordance with the Official Plan's Heritage Policies. The listing of non-designated properties on the municipal heritage register also extends interim protection from demolition and provides an opportunity for City Council to determine whether the property warrants conservation through designation under the Act should a development or demolition application be submitted.

On January 1, 2023, amendments to the Act through the More Homes Built Faster Act, 2022 (Bill 23) came into effect. Under the Act, should a property be subject to an Official Plan Amendment, Zoning By-law Amendment and/or Draft Plan of Subdivision Application, properties must be listed on the Heritage Register prior to Part IV designation and before the occurrence of a "Prescribed Event". Heritage Impact Assessments (HIA) are required for development applications that affect listed properties

At its meeting on October 10, 2023 the Toronto Preservation Board considered Item PB10.8 and made recommendations to City Council.

Summary from the report (October 5, 2023) from the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning, Urban Design, City Planning:

This report recommends that City Council adopt an amended Listing Statement (October 2023) for 3100 Weston Road to inform the property's cultural heritage value and interest with new information that has arisen since the original listing was adopted by City of North York Council in 1997.

Located on the west side of Weston Road at the intersection of Weston Road and Sheppard Avenue West, the property at 3100 Weston Road comprises a Tudor Revival estate home with garage and surrounding landscape, set on a large lot that extends into the Humber River Valley. The subject property straddles the boundary of the Humbermede and Pelmo Park-Humberlea neighbourhoods in Etobicoke York Community Council area. The house on the property was designed for stockbroker Percy Ryerson Gardiner by architect Jocelyn Davidson, and the estate was named, "Rivermede". Overtime the property has evolved to include a red brick, Modernist style former school and chapel building complex built for the Order of Saint Basil the Great, which currently is the location of the Carmine Stefano Community Centre. In 2005, the Marian Shrine of Gratitude was constructed in the rear gardens.      

The property at 3100 Weston Road was included on the North York Inventory of Heritage Properties by North York Council on October 6, 1997. Following revisions to the Ontario Heritage Act in 2005, 3100 Weston Road and many other properties on pre-amalgamation municipal inventories were included on the City of Toronto's Heritage Register as listed properties on September 27, 2006.   

Following the sale of the property in August 2023, Staff have reviewed the Listing Statement (1997) and have determined that the property continues to meet criteria related to design, historical association, and context, as adopted by the former North York Council. Given new information about the site that has arisen since 1997, however, Staff have amended the Listing Statement (October 2023) to reflect the values of the property more comprehensively.

A municipal heritage register may include properties that have not been designated but Council believes to be of "cultural heritage value or interest", and that meet one or more of the provincial criteria for determining whether they are of cultural heritage value or interest. The Ontario Heritage Act (the Act) now also limits listing to a period of two years.

Properties on the Heritage Register will be conserved and maintained in accordance with the Official Plan's Heritage Policies. The listing of non-designated properties on the municipal heritage register also extends interim protection from demolition and provides an opportunity for City Council to determine whether the property warrants conservation through designation under the Act should a development or demolition application be submitted.

On January 1, 2023, amendments to the Act through the More Homes Built Faster Act, 2022 (Bill 23) came into effect. Under the Act, should a property be subject to an Official Plan Amendment, Zoning By-law Amendment and/or Draft Plan of Subdivision Application, properties must be listed on the Heritage Register prior to Part IV designation and before the occurrence of a "Prescribed Event". Heritage Impact Assessments (HIA) are required for development applications that affect listed properties