3100 Weston Road - Amending Listing Statement

The subject property straddles the boundary of the Humbermede and Pelmo Park-Humberlea neighbourhoods in Etobicoke York Community Council area. The house on the property was designed for stockbroker Percy Ryerson Gardiner by architect Jocelyn Davidson, and the estate was named, "Rivermede". Overtime the property has evolved to include a red brick, Modernist style former school and chapel building complex built for the Order of Saint Basil the Great, which currently is the location of the Carmine Stefano Community Centre. In 2005, the Marian Shrine of Gratitude was constructed in the rear gardens. The property at 3100 Weston Road was included on the North York Inventory of Heritage Properties by North York Council on October 6, 1997. Following revisions to the Ontario Heritage Act in 2005, 3100 Weston Road and many other properties on pre-amalgamation municipal inventories were included on the City of Toronto's Heritage Register as listed properties on September 27, 2006. Following the sale of the property in August 2023, Staff have reviewed the Listing Statement (1997) and have determined that the property continues to meet criteria related to design, historical association, and context, as adopted by the former North York Council. Given new information about the site that has arisen since 1997, however, Staff have amended the Listing Statement (October 2023) to reflect the values of the property more comprehensively. A municipal heritage register may include properties that have not been designated but Council believes to be of "cultural heritage value or interest", and that meet one or more of the provincial criteria for determining whether they are of cultural heritage value or interest. The Ontario Heritage Act (the Act) now also limits listing to a period of two years. Properties on the Heritage Register will be conserved and maintained in accordance with the Official Plan's Heritage Policies. The listing of non-designated properties on the municipal heritage register also extends interim protection from demolition and provides an opportunity for City Council to determine whether the property warrants conservation through designation under the Act should a development or demolition application be submitted. On January 1, 2023, amendments to the Act through the More Homes Built Faster Act, 2022 (Bill 23) came into effect. Under the Act, should a property be subject to an Official Plan Amendment, Zoning By-law Amendment and/or Draft Plan of Subdivision Application, properties must be listed on the Heritage Register prior to Part IV designation and before the occurrence of a "Prescribed Event". Heritage Impact Assessments (HIA) are required for development applications that affect listed properties