The day after Thanksgiving you might be thankful that you get a second helping of Heritage Guelph for the month of October. By now, we’ve tackled the Ontario Reformatory Lands Heritage Conservation District and the Downtown Guelph Heritage Conservation District, so now we’re going to take a crack at the Ward West Heritage Conservation District. What feedback for the plan does the committee have in store?
NOTE #1: If you would like to access an alternative meeting format, get in touch with Craig Vallesi, Policy Planning Clerk, by email at craig.vallesi [at] guelph.ca or by calling 519-837-5616, extension 3913. There will be no delegations for this meeting because it’s a workshop.
NOTE #2: This meeting will take place virtually on Microsoft Teams. You can find the link on the agenda page for this meeting on the City’s website.
NOTE #3: This is the second meeting of Heritage Guelph for this month.
Ward West Heritage Conservation District Workshop #1 – No formal report was included with the initial release of the agenda, but this will likely follow the pattern of previous heritage conservation district study workshops with Heritage Guelph where they’re ask to talk about the historical, design and contextual value of the study area they want to see included, and to help solidify the potential district borders.
To recap, the Ward West Heritage Conservation District was identified in the Cultural Heritage Action Plan as a “high priority”, but council opted to put it on the back burner. That was until provincial legislation in 2022 changed the Heritage Act to delist all heritage properties not designated and the project then took on a greater priority. Council approved funding for the study in the 2023 and we are currently in the midst of phase one of two. The completed phase one will come to council for approval sometime in the first quarter of next year.
What is “Ward West”? From the City of Guelph’s webpage about it: “The ‘Ward West’ was used in the Cultural Heritage Action Plan to differentiate this area from the other cultural heritage landscapes in the Ward. The study area covers the historical core of what has been known at various times as East Ward, St. Patrick’s Ward, Ward One, or simply The Ward. The study phase will engage the public to determine what a heritage district in this area should be called.”
Guelph Politico 