Councillor D. Chapman has given notice to introduce the following motion for consideration this date:
“WHEREAS The More Homes Built Faster Act, 2022 (Bill 23) received Royal Assent on November 28, 2022. As part of this omnibus Bill, several changes were implemented to various pieces of legislation, including but not limited to, The Planning Act, The Development Charges Act, The Conservation Authorities Act, and The Ontario Heritage Act; and,
WHEREAS subsection 27(16) of the Ontario Heritage Act stipulates that any non-designated heritage property listed on the municipal heritage register of properties as of December 31, 2022 shall be removed from the municipal register on or before January 1, 2025, if the council of the municipality does not give a notice of intention to designate the property under subsection 29(1) of the Ontario Heritage Act on or before January 1, 2025; and,
WHEREAS since January 1, 2023, municipal heritage planning staff and members of the municipal heritage committee (Heritage Kitchener) in this municipality have been diligently working to: review the municipal heritage register; research the heritage value and interest of listed (non-designated) properties; review and research the heritage value and interest of non-designated properties; contact owners of such properties; determine which properties should potentially be designated in accordance with the provisions of Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act; and take all required steps to designate such properties; and,
WHEREAS the above-noted work involving approximately 228 properties listed properties in this municipality is extremely time-consuming and cannot be completed by December 31, 2024 with the current resources available given other competing interests including reviewing and supporting new housing development proposals; and,
WHEREAS given the volume of work required, on February 7, 2023 the Kitchener Heritage Committee Work Plan 2022-2014 was endorsed with an objective of reviewing and designating only 80 properties by January 1, 2025 given the time constraint imposed; and,
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the City of Kitchener call on the Province to amend Subsection 27(16) of the Ontario Heritage Act to extend the above-noted deadline for five years from January 1, 2025 to January 1, 2030, and that a copy of this resolution be circulated to the Honourable Doug Ford, Premier of Ontario, the Honourable Michael Ford, Minister of Citizenship and Multiculturalism, the Honorable Peter Bethlenfalvy, Minister of Finance; and John Ecker, Chair, Ontario Heritage Trust. That is also be circulated to the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, Provincial MPPs, Municipal councils across the province, the Architectural Conservatory of Ontario (ACO), as well as the Waterloo Region branch of the ACO.”