A new parking lot is on its way to council for approval, and at least one councillor is unhappy with what was lost in its place.
The lot is located at 124 Ontario and 174 St. Paul Street, and will provide additional parking for those using the services in the adjacent building (Georgian Centre) on Ontario Street.
Recently, a house on the St. Paul Street side was torn down, after an appeal process took the town and the owners before the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal.
Councillor Deb Doherty said she was upset to see a building in the heritage district torn down to make way for the parking lot.
“Our current heritage bylaw does not address demolition of buildings in the heritage district and specifically what can replace them,” said Doherty. “To be replaced by a parking lot, in my view, is a travesty.”
She requested staff look into the heritage bylaw to “close that loophole.”
Currently, any building owner seeking a demolition permit for any building that’s within the town of Collingwood heritage district must go through the heritage standing committee with their demolition permit application.
In this case, the heritage committee denied the request for 174 St. Paul Street, but could not find any records indicating the historical significance of the building.
Council also denied the request for a demolition permit.
Once at the appeal tribunal, an expert witness testified the building was structurally not sound and its demolition did not have a negative impact on the heritage district or surrounding heritage sites.
Particularly, the report delivered by the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT) stated the town’s heritage district bylaw did not include a listing of heritage buildings, only a description of what makes a building heritage or non-heritage. It was the expert witness’ opinion the building met the description of a non-heritage building.
You can read more about the LPAT report here.
While the rest of the development and operations services committee voted on June 17 in favour of Doherty’s motion to have staff revisit the town’s heritage district bylaws, they also voted in favour of approving the site plan application for the parking lot. Doherty voted against the site plan for the lot.
Both matters will now go to full council on June 24 for another vote.
