Heritage
The Heritage Committee entertains heritage concerns from the Glebe community and draws heritage issues to the attention of the GCA. The Heritage Committee also represents the GCA on heritage issues with other organizations.
In October 2009 the Heritage Committee began meeting the first Wednesday of the month at the Glebe Community Centre. Through monthly meetings the Committee hopes to identify and mitigate threats to heritage as well as engage the community in these issues.
This past year was a busy one for the committee on all fronts. The proposed redevelopment at Lansdowne Park posed significant threats to the site and the Glebe’s heritage. Lansdowne Park contains the municipally designated Horticulture Building (which the City has proposed moving to make way for retail development) and the Aberdeen Pavilion, a National Historic Site. Arguably the site could qualify as a cultural landscape under the Ontario Heritage Act with its long and rich history as a public exhibition space and sporting venue. In order to bring these threats to the attention of residents in the Glebe and to the broader heritage community, the Committee nominated Lansdowne Park for Heritage Canada Foundation’s annual Endangered Places list on behalf of the GCA.
The Committee has also been responding to the rebirth of the proposed Heritage Conservation District designation around the eastern portion of Central Park. The district was first proposed in 2003 with a first public meeting held in 2004. A study of the proposed area was to be completed in 2005, but with limited resources City staff were unable to complete the draft study until February of this year. The City hosted a public consultation on the draft plan and guidelines for the proposed district in March. Because the initiative lay fallow for so many years, some residents in the proposed district voiced concerns about how a designation will affect them as homeowners. Since the March meeting, the Committee has worked to further inform residents about the proposed designation and to facilitate communication between the residents and City staff. Recently the Committee hosted a special meeting to gain feedback on the study and the plan from residents.
In the upcoming year the committee would like to look at how different planning tools may mitigate threats to heritage. We also hope to further engage the community through increased communication.
More information about the Heritage Committee’s activities can be found on the GCA’s website. If you are interested in joining the committee, please email heritage@glebeca.ca