MEETING PREVIEW: Heritage Guelph Meeting for January 15, 2024

Welcome to 2024, which is the last year for some properties in Guelph that are presently listed for their heritage value, but are not yet designated. This year of heritage will begin with, of all things, the making of a Top 10 list, and then we will move on to one property proposed for designation and another property that’s ready for designation. Get ready for a big heritage year!

NOTE #1: If you would like to delegate to one of the items at the meeting, get in touch with the committee liaison before Friday January 12 at noon at jack.mallon [at] guelph.ca or by calling (519) 837-5616, ext. 3872.

NOTE #2: This meeting will take place virtually on Cisco Webex. You can find the link on the agenda page for this meeting on the City’s website.

Election of Heritage Guelph Chair and Vice Chair – First things first, it’s the start of the new year so that means a new chair and a new vice-chair have to be selected for the committee. Sarah Epp and Kim Carroll currently fill those positions respectively.

2024 Part IV Designation Priorities – Picking up where we left off in December, members of the committee will be asked to narrow down the dozens of potential heritage properties to research and designate this year to a Top 10 list. Reminder: Anything listed, but not designated, as a heritage resource will be deleted at the end of the year and they will not be able to be re-listed for five years. Also, expect the Top 10 list to not include any property that are part of the Ward West and Downtown Guelph Heritage Conservation District studies.

408 Willow Road: Cultural Heritage Evaluation Report – This property sits along Willow Road between Marksam and the Hanlon; you may pass by it on a regular basis and not even realise that this is a heritage property. Part of 100 acres sold to George Hood just 10 years after Guelph was founded, three generations of the Hood family ended up living there and it remains a prime example of this city’s agricultural history. According to heritage staff, the property meets six of the nine prescribed criteria for determining cultural heritage value or interest, according to Ontario Regulation 569/22, but they’re going to ask for further direction from the committee before making a formal recommendation to designate.

28 Norfolk Street (St Agnes School): Heritage Attributes and Designation Recommendation – Heritage staff brought a report on the old St. Agnes school on Catholic Hill back in November, and they described that it met seven out of nine criteria under Ontario Regulation 569/22. Staff are now ready for the committee to send the property to city council for the formal designation announcement.