Main Street East HCD
Heritage Conservation District Update
The Town of Grimsby is continuing with the second phase of the Main Street East Heritage Conservation District Project, called the Plan Phase. Please note, no decisions have been made at this time.
The Town encourages all property owners within the proposed boundary to reach out and book a one-on-one meeting with staff, to discuss the HCD. This will be an opportunity for residents to better understand what an HCD is, voice their concerns, and provide input, which is very valuable at this point of the project.
The Main Street East Heritage Conservation District Project began in December of 2020, and started with the Study Phase. More information about the first phase, and HCDs can be found here: https://www.letstalkgrimsby.ca/main-street-east-hcd.
The Study Phase recommended that the properties along Main Street East between Nelles Road and Robinson Street warranted protection as a district under the Ontario Heritage Act. Some properties were also identified for individual designation under the Heritage Act outside of the study area. Following the Study Phase, the HCD process moves to the Plan Phase to consider the preparation of an HCD Plan and Guidelines for the Historic Residential Core Character Sub-Area, to be known as the Main Street East HCD.
The Plan Phase will explore what the district can look like, the goals and potential policies desired for the area. As a first step in this Plan Phase, staff want to talk to the property owners in the area, to answer questions and better understand their thoughts.
No decision has been made as to whether a district plan will be put in place on Main Street East, at this point.
During the months of May, June, and July 2024, staff will meet with property owners in the recommended plan area to further discuss the potential HCD Plan and how it could shape the community.
To book your meeting, please contact Garrett France-Wyllie at: heritage@grimsby.ca, or call 905-945-9634 X.2103, meetings can be done online or in person.
The expectation is that the meeting will last for about one hour. The meeting will be an opportunity for you to voice your concerns, ask questions, and discuss what type of policies, guidelines and protections you would like to see in the area - if any. The preference is for staff to meet with property owners individually to ensure that all stakeholders are consulted with, are given the opportunity to ask questions and voice any concerns, and to take into account the unique considerations of each property. Meetings can be held at Town Hall, or at your property.
Below is a list of potential questions that can be discussed during the one-on-one meetings. Staff encourage residents to raise any additional questions as well. Below this update is a map that highlights the Main Street East area recommended by the consultants to become an HCD.
Thank you in advance for your attention to this matter. Your input in this process will be appreciated, and staff look forward to speaking to about your thoughts on the Plan Phase of the Heritage Conservation District project. Please book your meeting as soon as possible.
Potential Heritage Conservation District Property Owner Prompt Questions:
- What is an HCD, how will it affect my property?
- What will an HCD accomplish, and why is it important?
- What is the value of an HCD?
- Do you have any future plans for your property? Could an HCD accommodate those potential changes?
- Do you see the HCD and designation being positive for you and the neighbourhood?
- What are your fears?
- What is the difference between an HCD and an individual designation?
- Would you prefer a property-specific heritage designation (Part IV), or a district that designates the entire area?
- If an HCD is put in place on Main Street East, what types of policies would you like to see in place - if any?
- Examples of this could be protections to specific attributes on properties, windows, doors, siding, masonry.
- Restrictions on new additions and new construction, should it contrast the current buildings on the street, should there be guidelines controlling what these structures can look like?
- What alterations will require a permit?
Previous Updates:
Since the Town’s previous update, the process to evaluate a Designation under Part V (District) of the Ontario Heritage Act (OHA) has changed, leading to additional study being required.
The More Homes Built Faster Act, 2022 (known as Bill 23) was introduced in October and came into effect January 1, 2023. The bill included a number of amendments. As it relates to the work being completed by Stantec for the Heritage Conservation District (HCD) Study, the bill introduced specific evaluation criteria (Ontario Regulation (O. Reg.) 9/06) for potential HCD areas. The draft HCD Study Report has been updated to reflect these amendments to the OHA, including updates to the evaluation of the HCD Study Area, and it's Character Sub-Areas.
Following the updated evaluation and analysis contained within the HCD Study Report, the findings and recommendations presented at Public Information Centre 2 on September 15, 2022 were further confirmed. The HCD Study Report continues to recommend the preparation of an HCD Plan and Guidelines for the Historic Residential Core Character Sub-Area, to be known as the Main Street East HCD. This recommendation will be presented to Council for their consideration. If Council proceeds with the designation of the area, the second phase of the study will commence. For areas outside of this proposed HCD area, specific policy reviews and Part IV (Individual) designations have been recommended. Next steps include the presentation of the draft HCD Study to the Heritage Grimsby Advisory Committee and Planning Committee.
Update video: Evaluation of Study area, Recommendations and Next Steps
Recommended Boundary for Part V Designation Under the Ontario Heritage Act:
The proposed boundary consists of properties along both sides of Main Street East between Robinson Street and Nelles Road. It also includes 1Strathearn Avenue, which fronts Main Street East.
Recommended Boundary
Next Steps:
July 11th - Heritage Committee Meeting - Consultant Presentaiton & Staff Recommendation Report
July 19th - Planning Committee Meeting - Consultant Presentaiton & Staff Recommendation Report
August 1st - Council Meeting - Recommendations from Heritage Committee & Planning Committee
Recommendation Report: Stantec Recommendation Report Note: The required Legislative reassessment is in purple.
More Information:
Anyone seeking additional information can contact the Town’s Planning Department:
Town of Grimsby, Planning Department
P.O. Box 159, 160 Livingston Avenue Grimsby, ON L3M 0J5
Telephone: (905) 945-9634
Email: planning@grimsby.ca
About the Study
Planning staff would like to announce that the Main Street East Heritage Conservation District (HCD) Study has commenced. Stantec Consulting Ltd. (Stantec) will be leading the HCD Study, working closely with the Town and community to understand the history of the Main Street East and its cultural significant as well as its context within the Town of Grimsby.
An HCD Study for Main Street East is an important step in establishing the best way to recognize, maintain, and nurture Grimsby's distinctive quality and character. The HCD Study is the first phase of a two phase process. The purpose of the study phase is to identify and evaluate heritage resources including buildings, landscapes, and streetscapes in the Study Area in order to determine if the area holds cultural heritage value or interest as a cohesive district. The HCD Study report will recommend whether the study area, or parts of it, should be considered by Council for designation as an HCD under Part V of the Ontario Heritage Act.
The HCD Study will examine the Study Area depicted below surrounding Main Street East as identified by the Town and depicted by the red boundary. The historic Main Street corridor was identified as a significant Cultural Heritage Landscape (CHL) in 2015. This was based on the presence of 19th and early 20th century commercial architecture that speaks to the prosperity of the tender fruit farming industry and the fertility of the land. Given this recognition at the west end of downtown, the study area was expanded east to capture the core of Main Street’s historical properties. The preliminary character areas depicted on the below Project Location map were determined by Stantec following the property inventory and PIC 1. As Stantec works through the draft study report, the analysis section (ie. building dates, architectural styles, building heights, building materials, setbacks) will be used to refine the character areas.
Working with Stantec, the Town is looking forward to engaging with the community to identify and understand places that hold heritage value for the community in order to provide the best tool to manage change into the future.
Main Street East Heritage Conservation District - Study Area Map
Main Street East Heritage Conservation District - Character Areas
Archived Updates
Heritage Conservation District Update
The Heritage Conservation District along Main Street East was nearing the final stages within the study phase, when the province brought forward substantial legislative changes to the process of designation under Part V of the Ontario Heritage Act, through Bill 23. The study was placed on hold, awaiting potential changes to the legislation and proclamation of the legislation. These legislative changes received proclamation on January 4th, 2023, with the Province retroactively proclaiming January 1st, 2023 as their proclamation date.
The consultant’s recommendation report and recommendations will now need to be brought into conformity with the new legislation. More information to come.
Community Engagment:
We Want To Hear From You!
The Heritage Conservation District Study for Main Street East is well underway.
The current study phase is used to determine if the area, or part of the area, merits consideration as a Heritage Conservation District or if other planning tools should be considered. As part of the study, the consultant team is investigating the tangible and intangible heritage resources that exist in the Study Area. These types of resources can be built heritage resources (tangible), cultural heritage landscapes, important views, landmarks, gateways, pathways, oral history and traditions (intangible).
The data collected by the consultant teams will be used to determine and define the cultural heritage value or interest of the Main Street East Study Area, if any.
The best way to collect this type of data is through cultural mapping exercises and community engagement surveys.
We encourage members of the community to complete the following exercises between January 27th – February 28th!
1. Cultural Mapping
Cultural mapping asking residents to draw out known areas of cultural heritage interest such as local landmarks, notable heritage resources, important community gathering spaces, stories about the area and the people who lived there . The key prompting question often asked to residents during the mapping exercise is ‘What does this area mean to you?’.
The data collected from this survey will highlight areas of cultural heritage importance within the Study Area. This type of data provides insight into a resident’s perspective of their community and provides information to the consultant teams as they continue to evaluate the Study Area.
Please participate in the cultural mapping exercise using the following mapping tool: Grimsby HCD Public Consultation (arcgis.com)
The link will bring you to a map of the Study Area, where you will be prompted to “Accept the terms and conditions”. We welcome you to add pins to the map using the orange bullseye, all you need to do is click on the bullseye on the right side of your screen and then click the map where you would like to leave a comment, with your contact information. Please note the Study Area map is in draft form.
2. Community Survey
The following survey will ask questions about how you identify yourself in the community. You will be invited to highlight features that are significant to you, unique qualities to the area, and provide input into the study area.
We invite you to complete the following survey about the Main Street East - Heritage Conservation District Study.
The online survey can be completed by following this link, the questions will pop up immediately: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/9HG8RNM
Alternatively, the survey can be emailed to you or a copy can be picked up at town hall, please contact planning@grimsby.ca to request an alternative format.