| Barbara da Silva, Tom Galloway, Jean Haalboom, Jason Hammond, Leszek Jankowski, Geoff Lorentz, Kristen Porritt, Derek Satnik, Martin Schell, Jim Wideman |
| What do you see as the value to the community of preservation of heritage properties? |
| BdS: Heritage itself should be preserved for future generation and buildings as an integral part of our history |
| TG: You cannot understand your future without understanding your past. Heritage properties assist us in this. There are also economic development and tourism benefits to heritage properties. It adds to the overall quality of life in our community and the bohemian factor that Richard Florida speaks about. |
| JeanH: The preservation of heritage properties provides continuity with past, present and future |
| JasonH: |
| LJ: |
| GL: |
| KP |
| DS: Heritage is a non-tangible asset. It takes embodied form in tangible heritage buildings, but the heritage itself is cultural, and is not as simple as a building. Preserving heritage buildings is often just the first step in preserving true heritage, and as such, forms the foundation upon which other steps may be added. The Region of Waterloo has several unique cultural sites that our residents have known and loved. In Kitchener, the downtown is a fantastic example. As the city grows and changes, each of our heritage sites will undoubtedly come under pressure to change and make room for “progress” and “development”. I am a huge fan of repurposing old buildings: turning derelict factories into eclectic new residential lofts, creative working environments, and creative social spaces. As a green building consultant, I have seen a number of examples of this flavour of project be very successful, and I look forward to seeing more during my term. |
| MS: |
| JW: I believe the value to the community of our heritage properties is that it links us to the past and connects us to our future. |
| What have you done to save built heritage in your municipality? |
| BdS: Sadly other than complain about the loss I have not been involved with this area. |
| TG: I have been on Kitchener LACAC when on Kitchener Council and for the past 10 years have been a Director of the Waterloo Region Heritage Foundation |
JeanH: Chair -Waterloo Regional Heritage Foundation(WRHF) 1984-1988; also, member
Chair - Heritage Planning Advisory Committee(HPAC) for Region - 1994 to present- policies for preserving Historic Scenic Roads, Regional Cultural Landscapes, Building Preservation, Heritage Bridge Structures,and ‘Stable Neighbourhoods’ are included in the Regional Official Plan which guides the Official Plan Policies for the local municipalities
-work with HPAC members and WRHF members to provide workshops on heritage building maintenance and conservation
- survey for identification of heritage structures, historic roads and bridges
Chair - Friends of the Governor’s House & GAOL - preservation and adaptive re-use of the Waterloo County GAOL & Governor’s House, today the POA Court Facility; championed the Waterloo County GAOL garden as a Millenium project
Chair - Society for the Preservation of Upper Doon, today, the area is Heritage Conservation of Upper Doon, the first Heritage District in the City of Kitchener(1988)
Speaker and Tour Guide for Heritage Resources in the Region
Doors Open Waterloo Region - guide at the Waterloo County GAOL & Governor’s House
Heritage Showcase - participate at booths for HPAC, SPUD, and Friends of the Governor’s House & GAOL
Budget Items at the Region - support allocation for financial incentives for historical properties in brownfield locations.
Preservation of my own heritage properties
Please note that the remaining questions pertain to local municipalities; however, in certain situations the heritage resources may be of Regional Significance
|
| JasonH: |
| LJ: |
| GL: |
| KP: |
| DS: To date, the majority of my efforts have been at the provincial and/or national level. As an author of the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program, I have helped that heritage buildings and heritage sites are respected in LEED (especially LEED for Neighbourhood Developments), and that points are awarded for preserving heritage buildings and sites. LEED also awards developers who re-use and repurpose existing buildings, and this too is a passion of mine. I look forward to bringing my experience home to the Region of Waterloo and City of Kitchener: both have made commitments to ensure that all new buildings are LEED certified, and I am pleased to support these efforts. Similarly, from an overall city planning perspective, I am a big believer in fixing what we have before building new buildings, and am eager to see policies put in place that will enable all the region’s older housing (eg: heritage housing) to be retrofitted: preserving buildings from the past and upgrading them to be as energy efficient as they need to be in the future. I have helped design several national programs that focus on retrofitting homes and buildings to be more energy efficient, and I look forward to helping our local Region move forward into an increasingly conservation focussed future, while preserving and enhancing the cherished buildings of our past. |
| MS: |
| JW: I have supported the preservation of three significant heritage bridges in the Region. |
| How will you balance development pressures against the need to preserve archeological and heritage structures and neighbourhoods? |
| BdS: I believe there is a place for both without having to sacrifice our heritage. |
| TG: Use the Heritage Act to its fullest extent and encourage property inventories that require certain screening criteria. Encourage integration of heritage properties into developments such as in Eby Estates. |
| JeanH: Ensure heritage policies and zoning policies are in Municipal Official Plans to identify properties of heritage significance and outline how these properties or neighbourhoods will be protected and preserved so that a land developer knows before he/she purchases or attempts to rezone the property what obligations he/she is required to follow. An important consideration, before heritage buildings become a crisis - Encourage local historians and ACO members to heighten the public’s awareness of historical properties by providing monthly walking tours and writing articles about significant heritage resources; in this manner, local residents gain interest in the preservation cause and support property tax dollars as incentives for built heritage; members could use ‘Adopt a Building’ technique. |
| JasonH: |
| LJ: |
| GL: |
| KP: |
| DS: I believe I’ve commented on this already in my answers above, but again, I’m a big believer in repurposing old buildings to serve new needs. Cities and communities do grow and change over time. Especially in our region, that’s easy to see. Speaking as a green building consultant, it is not difficult to use large portions of old buildings, at least the structure, and often the full exterior and interior, as the building blocks for new projects. It is more than possible, it is often very architecturally attractive, and from an environmental point of view, I would much prefer to keep the building materials in the building, not in the landfill. Kitchener and the Region have a number of heritage buildings in downtown areas that have become icons to the local culture, and I would make every effort to see those buildings protected and preserved into the future. |
| MS: |
| JW: This is a difficult question and one that can usually only be answered in the context of a particular case. Archaeological artefacts should always be preserved there are times when heritage structures can not always be preserved because they have deteriorated beyond preservation. |
| Would you encourage the adaptive reuse of your community’s built heritage when its traditional uses are no longer feasible? |
| BdS: Yes, but only if we can do this without losing the history of the building. |
| TG: Yes, good examples are Victoria School, Detweiller Meeting Place, Rummelhardt School, Steckle Homestead |
| JeanH: yes |
| JasonH: |
| LJ: |
| GL: |
| KP: |
| DS: Absolutely. |
| MS: |
| JW: Yes absolutely, I love the adaptive reuse that has already occurred in our Region and I will continue to promote that. |
Under the Ontario Heritage Act, listing and protecting heritage properties is a municipal responsibility, not a private responsibility. A heritage property may be designated by the municipality over an owner’s objection, and the owner may appeal the designation to the Conservation Review Board (for individual property designations) or the Ontario Municipal Board (for heritage district designations).>>
Do you agree that a municipal council should act if necessary to designate heritage property even where the owner disagrees?
|
| BdS: I feel it is an important part of ensuring that the municipal history is preserved. |
| TG: Yes and have supported such designations when on Kitchener Council. |
| JeanH: The Region has no jurisdiction over heritage property designation; it is the responsibility of the local municipality |
| JasonH: |
| LJ: |
| GL: |
| KP: |
| DS: Yes. Although this obviously needs to be handled with care and respect for the persons affected, the broader interests of the community are important in this discussion too. |
| MS: |
| JW: I believe that in all cases there should be consultation and a mutual agreement should be reached. If a council designates without the owners consent then an appropriate compensation package should be attached. |
| Given the large amount of public support for heritage preservation, will you support funding, laws, policy, and appointments that encourage it? Please list any specific initiatives that you would propose. |
| BdS: I would like to see more effort to help our seniors preserve their heritage designated homes. They are often disqualified from grants because of retirement income not employment income. |
TG: Yes
Would encourage property tax incentives for certain preservation criteria.
Do support planning policies associated with preservation/restoration
|
JeanH: yes…
Specific initiatives --‘brownfield’ incentives to encourage adaptive re-use of old factories; work with federal and provincial Ministries and local groups to develop employment programs for youth to learn skills in historic trades for restoration; ensure historic preservation policies are in local Municipal Official Plans; continue to work with Heritage Canada Foundation to lobby the Federal Government for tax incentives for re-use of heritage resources
-gather members of the heritage community, municipal staff and land owners together to discuss the challenges and opportunities of conserving heritage resources and how to go about improving the appeal for conservation
-promote the theme Liveable Waterloo Region = presence of shining heritage buildings
-develop use of heritage buildings by the members of the TECH community for their TECH incubator activities - theme - “Old buildings give rise to new ideas.”
-promote the theme 'your greenest building' is your heritage building!
|
| JasonH: |
| LJ: |
| GL: |
| KP: |
| DS: I would support this in the general sense. Specifically, this discussion happens on at least two levels: (1) high-level planning priorities, and (2) at the project level, which is handled project by project. In the former, I am quite comfortable personally using tools like LEED to measurably respect the inclusion of heritage buildings and sites in future planning efforts. In the later, building projects are case specific, and public building projects, heritage or otherwise, always include project management teams: it is a simple and appropriate thing to ensure that heritage related building project always include a heritage focussed person on the project management team. |
| MS: |
| JW: As stated funding needs to be apart of any designation, individual owners should not be asked to carry this cost on their own. It is not possible for me to say that I would support laws and policy and appointments without knowing what those are as that would be very irresponsible on my part. |
| Will you support financial assistance and advice to those who seek to conserve and restore their heritage properties? |
| BdS: Absolutely. |
| TG: Do support such measures and have supported numerous grants for private or public heritage property restoration from the Waterloo Region Heritage Foundation |
| JeanH: yes…it is imperative to have funds available for owners who wish to conserve their property; also, a readily available contact with knowledge about building maintenance , renovation, and restoration can alleviate owner’s frustration with not knowing how to achieve the conservation of his or her property to ensure accuracy and affordability. |
| JasonH: |
| LJ: |
| GL: |
| KP: |
| DS: Wherever possible, yes. |
| MS: |
| JW: As I have stated funding needs to be a part of any conservation designation. |
