SAINT JOHN HERITAGE DEVELOPMENT BOARD AGENDA APRIL 12, 2017 CONSEIL D AMÉNAGEMENT DU PATRIMOINE DE SAINT JOHN ORDRE DU JOUR LE 12 AVRIL, 2017
The City of Saint John Heritage Development Board AGENDA Wednesday 12 April, 2017 Le 12 avril, 2017 5:30 P.M. - 10 th floor Board Room à 530 h dans la salle de conférence, au 10 e étage 1.0 Approval of Agenda/Adoption de l ordre du jour 2.0 Approval of Minutes/Approbation du procès-verbal de la dernière réunion 2.1 Meeting Minutes March 23, 2017 2.2 Meeting Minutes March 29, 2017 3.0 Business Arising/Revue de la dernière réunion 4.0 Introduction of Applicants/Guests/Présentation des requérants et des invités 5.0 Applications for Certificates of Appropriateness 5.2 Anne Drouet, 118 Wentworth Street... 17-13 a) Application for Heritage Permit *to be circulated 6.0 Reports/ Rapports 6.1 Report to the Heritage Development Board: Heritage Permit Application Procedures 7.0 Other Business/Autre affaires 8.0 Next Meeting/Prochaine reunion 9.0 Adjournment/Clôture de la réunion
REPORT TO THE HERITAGE DEVELOPMENT BOARD HERITAGE PERMIT APPLICATION PROCEDURES Date: April 10, 2017 To: From: Prepared by: Approved by: Heritage Development Board Growth and Community Development Services Alice C. Fudge Heritage Officer Amy Poffenroth, P.Eng, MBA Deputy Commissioner SUBJECT Report to describe the procedure for the issuance of Heritage Permits by the Heritage Officer on behalf of the Heritage Development Board [HDB]. BACKGROUND On April 3, 2017, Common Council passed 3 rd reading of the proposed amendments to the Heritage By-law which improves on clarity, customer-service and various housekeeping changes. The Heritage By-law now enables the HDB to designate the Heritage Officer to issue Heritage Permits (formerly named Certificate of Appropriateness) for certain applications. The authority for the Saint John Heritage Conservation Areas By-law comes from the Heritage Conservation Act, SNB 2009, c H-4.05. The Act provides for the appointment of a Heritage Officer: 54 For the purpose of assisting a heritage board in carrying out its duties, the council may appoint a heritage officer who shall carry out the duties assigned to him or her under this Act or the by-laws under this Act. Page 1 of 5
Application Procedure April 11, 2017 Section 65 of the Act continues that the HDB may designate a Heritage Officer to issue municipal heritage permits. The Heritage Officer cannot refuse an application but must refer it to the HDB; the Heritage Officer cannot deny an application, however he/she may recommend denial for a proposal to the HDB: 65(2) A heritage board may designate a heritage officer to issue municipal heritage permits. 65(3) A heritage officer shall issue a municipal heritage permit if he or she is satisfied that the application for the permit complies with the standards and guidelines established or adopted under paragraphs 53(3)(e) and; 55(5)(a) if the officer is not so satisfied, he or she shall refer the application to the heritage board. The limitations described in section 65(3) are as follows: 53(3) A heritage board may (e) subject to the approval of the council adopt design and planning guidelines for the purpose of the issuance of municipal heritage permits by a heritage officer. 55(5) A municipal heritage conservation area by-law may include provisions: (a) establishing or adopting standards and guidelines for design, conservation and development, including technical and planning standards and guidelines; The guidelines described in 53(3)(e) and 55(5)(a) are in two forms. In the Heritage By-law, Council has adopted The Standards & Guidelines for the Conservation of Historic Places in Canada as guidelines for the purpose of evaluating applications and the issuance of Heritage Permits. The HDB has also established a set of Practical Conservation Guidelines which are design guidelines for heritage development in Saint John. Both of these guideline documents are adopted by the Board. Now that the authority is in place for the Heritage Officer to issue Heritage Permits, the HDB and staff must be clear on the application procedure and the categorization of applications where the nature of the proposed work is within the range of authority of the Heritage Officer to approve. DISCUSSION Staff and the Heritage Development Board members have discussed the upcoming changes and improvements to the Heritage Service with particular regard for the new process of reviewing Page 2 of 5
Application Procedure April 11, 2017 and issuing Heritage Permits. It has been established that some applications will be able to be approved at the staff level, and some more complex applications will be heard by the HDB. With this change, the regular meeting schedule of the HDB has been reduced to monthly meetings, reflected in the updated Rules of Procedure. In addition, staff will provide a summary to the HDB of Heritage Permits issued by the Heritage Officer. The authority of the Heritage Officer to issue Heritage Permits will be limited to applications where the primary treatment is Preservation or Restoration and the proposed work meets the guidelines for conservation projects found in the national Standards & Guidelines for the Conservation of Historic Places in Canada. As clarification: Preservation means the action or process of protecting, maintaining and/or stabilizing the existing materials, forms and integrity of a historic place, or of an individual component, while protecting its heritage value. Restoration means the action or process of accurately revealing, recovering or representing the state of a historic place, or an individual component as it appeared at a particular period in its history, while protecting its heritage value. Rehabilitation means the action or process of making possible a continuing or compatible new use for a historic place, or of an individual component, through repair, alterations, removal, and/or additions, while protecting its heritage value. An application for proposed work that is considered Rehabilitation may be approved by the Heritage Officer if it is a minor level of design change or it is clearly in accordance with the HDB approval precedent. The HDB has established various examples of approval precedent over the years and this practice will continue to evolve as the Board considers new proposals for work in the heritage areas. The Board s decision-making is largely consistent and based on the adopted standards; however, as the Heritage Program advances and responds to unique circumstances and alternative materials, the Board is likely to continue to set new precedents. For example, the HDB has established that the replacement of heritage windows with new wood or aluminium-clad windows which are compatible with the original unit has been commonly accepted. The following outlines the categorization of different heritage application types. As the dialogue surrounding governing and encouraging conservation work as well as new developments in the heritage areas evolves, staff and the HDB will continue to develop the finer details of this structure: Page 3 of 5
Application Procedure April 11, 2017 Types of applications/proposals that will be heard by the Heritage Officer: Applications for work that is consistent with the Standards & Guidelines for the Conservation of Historic Places in Canada; Applications for work that is considered Preservation; Applications for work that is considered Restoration; Some applications for work that is considered Rehabilitation where a minor change in design is proposed, or is clearly in accordance with HDB approval precedent; Types of applications/proposals that will be heard by the Heritage Development Board: All applications for New (infill) Development, under Section 9, shall be reviewed by the Heritage Development Board; If the proposed work of an application is Rehabilitation in nature, such as new developments, removal of elements, or significant alteration of a building; If an application does not meet all Standards and Guidelines; If the Heritage Officer recommends denial of an application; or If the Heritage Officer recommends that the proposed work should be heard by the Heritage Development Board. *see table on page 5 RECOMMENDATION That the Heritage Development Board endorse the approach for the issuance of Heritage Permits by the Heritage Officer. Page 4 of 5
Application Procedure April 11, 2017 Categorization of Applications: Table describing various examples of applications and the associated review process: Heritage Officer Approval Heritage Development Board Review New paint colours Brick/stone repointing and repair Wood siding repair/replacement Wood trim/components repair or replacement Repair/replacement of wood windows Replacement of mansard/gable roofing Masonry replacement (major repair/alteration) Siding replacement with non-traditional material Wood components replaced with nontraditional material Repair of doors Replacement/alteration of doors Replacement/alteration of windows with nontraditional material, function or design Repair or replicate metalwork Remove or replace metalwork Repair of porch or deck Construction of new deck, stairs, porch Alteration of sign, awnings New signage or awnings New construction of building addition New construction - infill building Page 5 of 5