53 Strachan Avenue - Inclusion on the Heritage Register

A location map and current photograph of the heritage property are found in Attachment 1. The subject property contains a three-storey, late-nineteenth century, brick factory/warehouse type building that extends one full block along Wellington Street West, east of Strachan Avenue. Constructed between 1888 and 1901, the property was the site of John B. Smith and Sons, which was considered one of the largest lumber planing mills in nineteenth century Canada. The company operated at the property for almost 80 years, until 1967. The city-owned property was identified in 2014 as having potential heritage value as part of a heritage survey conducted through the South Niagara Planning Strategy. Another nearby former industrial site, the National Casket Company Factories at 89-109 Niagara Street, is designated under the Ontario Heritage Act. The property recommended for inclusion on the City's Heritage Register has been researched and evaluated by staff using the criteria prescribed in Ontario Regulation 9/06 and meets one or more of the provincial criteria for determining cultural heritage value or interest and is believed to be of cultural heritage value or interest. On January 1, 2023, amendments to the Ontario Heritage Act (the Act) through the More Homes Built Faster Act, 2022 (Bill 23) came into effect. Under the Act, as amended, 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 Act now also limits listing to a period of two years. As of January 1, 2023, 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. A prescribed event is a point of time when the application for an Official Plan Amendment, Zoning By-law Amendment and/or Draft Plan of Subdivision Application has been deemed complete and the City Clerk provides notice of that complete application to the public in accordance with the Planning Act. The listing of non-designated properties on the municipal heritage register under the Act 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. Properties on the Heritage Register will be conserved and maintained in accordance with the Official Plan Heritage Policies. Heritage Impact Assessments (HIA) are required for development applications that affect listed properties.