City of Burlington seeks input for downtown heritage study

Ontario Construction News staff writer

The City of Burlington is launching the Downtown Heritage Study and inviting feedback at  getinvolvedburlington.ca/downtownheritage.

The study will run until next fall and focus on eight properties with potential heritage value. Another six groups of properties may qualify as potential “cultural heritage landscapes.”

A heritage consultant will explain the process at a public consultation meeting on Feb. 13, 2023, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Art Gallery of Burlington, Shoreline Room, 1333 Lakeshore Rd.

At the meeting, staff will share information about significant places, stories, buildings and landscape features in the study area. Attendees are asked to submit questions in advance and share their ideas about heritage conservation in Downtown Burlington.

At the end of the study, Burlington city council will receive a staff report and decide if any of the properties or areas assessed in the study have heritage merit and should be protected through a heritage designation.

Other conservation strategies will be explored with property owners and stakeholders during the process and council will consider if the 26 properties added to the heritage register at the July 12, 2022 City Council meeting and the Sept. 20, 2022 Council Meeting should continue to be listed on the heritage register or removed.

More information including project background reports, policy documents, historical resource and videos is available at getinvolvedburlington.ca/downtownheritage.

Heritage consultants have been retained to conduct historical research, inventory sites in the downtown, and host a series of engagement sessions with property owners, stakeholders, and the public. The team will be in the downtown heritage study area to photograph buildings, sites, and streetscapes, or to visit local archives.

“Burlington supports voluntary heritage conservation through incentive programs like our Community Heritage Fund and Tax Rebate Program,” said Brynn Neilly, executive director of community planning, regulation and mobility

“While it is important for residents and stakeholders to understand that the study cannot stop new development or prevent changes to existing buildings, it will explore ways of managing changes to the downtown’s finite heritage resources as it rapidly transforms.”

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