Item - 2023.PB8.1

The Toronto Preservation Board recommends that:

1. City Council state its intention to designate the property at 409 Huron Street under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act in accordance with the Statement of Significance: 409 Huron Street (Reasons for Designation) attached as Attachment 3, to the report (July 5, 2023) from the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning, Urban Design, City Planning.

2. If there are no objections to the designation, City Council authorize the City Solicitor to introduce the Bill in Council designating the property under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act.

Tatum Taylor, Planner, Heritage Preservation, Urban Design, City Planning gave a presentation on 409 Huron Street - Notice of Intention to Designate a Property under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act.

This report recommends that City Council state its intention to designate the property at 409 Huron Street under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act for its cultural heritage value.

Located on the east side of Huron Street, south of Bloor Street, the property comprises a Queen Anne Revival-style detached house that was constructed in 1903. The building was designed by Frederick Henry Herbert, an accomplished architect who practiced in Toronto in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The building forms part of a Victorian streetscape on Huron Street within the Huron-Sussex neighbourhood. It is across the street from 371 Bloor Street West (University of Toronto Schools) and is adjacent to the house at 407 Huron Street, which are respectively listed and designated on the Heritage Register. 

The subject property was identified for its cultural heritage value in the Heritage Inventory of the University of Toronto St. George Campus Secondary Plan, which was adopted by Council on July 23, 2018. The property was recently listed on the City's Heritage Register in May 2023.

Staff have completed the Research and Evaluation Report for the property at 409 Huron Street and determined that the property meets Ontario Regulation 9/06, the criteria prescribed for municipal designation under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act on the basis of its design / physical, historical / associative, and contextual values.

In March 2023, the City received an Official Plan Amendment (OPA) application in support of a 2019 rezoning application; both are currently under review. The application proposes the construction of a new 90-unit rental building geared towards students which incorporates the house-form building into the new development.

A Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) is required for all development applications that affect listed and designated properties and will be considered when determining how a heritage property is to be conserved. Designation also enables City Council to review proposed alterations or demolitions to the property and enforce heritage property standards and maintenance. An Heritage Impact Assessment on the subject property was prepared by ERA Architects and submitted in March 2023.

In June 2019, the More Homes, More Choice Act, 2019 (Bill 108) received Royal Assent. Schedule 11 of this Act included amendments to the Ontario Heritage Act. The Bill 108 Amendments to the Ontario Heritage Act came into force on July 1, 2021, which included a shift in Part IV designations related to Planning Act applications that would trigger a Prescribed Event. Section 29 (1.2) of the Ontario Heritage Act now restricts City Council's ability to give notice of its intention to designate a property under the Act to within 90 days after the City Clerk gives notice of a complete application.

A "Prescribed Event" is a point of time when the application for an Official Plan Amendment, Zoning By-law Amendment and / or Draft Plan of Subdivision Application has been deemed complete and the City Clerk provides notice of that complete application to the public in accordance with the Planning Act. 

At the date of this report, City Clerk's has not issued a notice to trigger a Prescribed Event.

On November 28, 2022, the More Homes Built Faster Act, 2022 (Bill 23) received Royal Assent. Schedule 6 of the More Homes Built Faster Act which amended the Ontario Heritage Act and came into effect on January 1, 2023.  As of January 1, 2023, Section 29 (1.2) of the Ontario Heritage Act now restricts City Council's ability to give notice of its intention to designate a property under the Act unless the property is listed on the heritage register prior to the Prescribed Event.

The Part IV designation must be in compliance with the Province's amended O. Reg. 9/06 under the Ontario Heritage Act, which is in effect as of January 1, 2023. The revised regulation establishes nine provincial criteria for determining whether a property is of cultural heritage value or interest. A property may be designated under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act, if it meets two or more of the nine criteria. The subject property meets three criteria.