Item - 2024.PB25.7

The Toronto Preservation Board recommends that:

1.  City Council, in accordance with Section 41 of the Ontario Heritage Act, designate by by-law the area shown on Attachment 1 to the report (November 13, 2024) from the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning, Urban Design, City Planning, as the West Queen West Heritage Conservation District.

2.  City Council adopt by by-law the West Queen West Heritage Conservation District Plan as the District Plan for the West Queen West Heritage Conservation District, attached as Attachments 5 and 6 to the report (November 13, 2024) from the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning, Urban Design, City Planning.

3. City Council authorize the City Solicitor to make such stylistic and technical changes to the West Queen West Heritage Conservation District Plan, attached as Attachments 5 and 6 to the report (November 13, 2024) from the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning, Urban Design, City Planning, as deemed necessary by and at the sole discretion of the City Solicitor in consultation with the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning and the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning and to ensure that such stylistic and technical changes are reflected within the West Queen West Heritage Conservation District Plan’s policies, guidelines, schedules, appendices, and maps.

4.  If there are any appeals to the by-law under Section 41 of the Ontario Heritage Act, City Council direct the City Solicitor, together with the City's outside counsel and any other appropriate City staff and/or outside consultants to appear before the Ontario Land Tribunal to defend the by-law.    

The Toronto Preservation Board:

1. Requested the Senior Manager, Heritage Planning, Urban Design, City Planning to consider the following when reviewing the West Queen West Heritage Conservation District:

a. consider how the Plan can encourage daylighting and interpretation of the Garrison Creek and other lost natural features such as the Dufferin Street swamp within the Plan area.

b. consider reference to the American Elm tree at 1056 Queen Street West as a significant tree that should be studied with the assistance of Urban Forestry prior to the issuance of and permits to injure or remove.

Pourya Nazemi, Senior Heritage Planner, Policy and Research, Urban Design, City Planning gave a presentation on Designation of the West Queen West Heritage Conservation District Plan under Part V of the Ontario Heritage Act.

This report recommends that City Council designate the area referred to as West Queen West as a Heritage Conservation District ("HCD"), identified on the map in Attachment 1 to this report, and adopt the West Queen West (the "District") Heritage Conservation District Plan by by-law under Part V of the Ontario Heritage Act (the "OHA"). The designation of West Queen West as a Heritage Conservation District and adoption of the Heritage Conservation District Plan will manage change within the District to conserve and maintain the area's cultural heritage value through the implementation of contextual, placed-based policies and guidelines.

The study of West Queen West for designation as a Heritage Conservation District was led by Heritage Planning staff and was initiated in 2015 on Council direction. The West Queen West Heritage Conservation District Study process and the Heritage Conservation District Plan have been prepared in accordance with provincial legislation and Heritage Conservation Districts in Toronto: Procedures, Policies and Terms of Reference.

The proposed West Queen West Heritage Conservation District reflects the early development and western expansion of Toronto. The portion of Queen Street within the District was originally an extension of the historic Lot Street, the base concession line dividing the military Garrison Reserve to the south and Park Lots to the north. As an early example of main street commercial development in Toronto, the District conveys a defined sense of place, with most of its buildings constructed from the 1880s to the 1920s. The District boasts a high concentration of late-19th and early-20th century commercial buildings, showcasing a variety of architectural styles of the period. The District also has a rich tradition of community and civic activity, anchored by landmarks buildings.

The District encompasses 330 properties. For all Heritage Conservation Districts adopted following January 1, 2023, as per Regulation 569/22 of the Ontario Heritage Act, at least 25 percent of the properties within the defined area must meet two or more of the nine criteria for determining cultural heritage value or interest. In the proposed West Queen West Heritage Conservation District, at least 72 percent of the properties satisfy two or more of the criteria.