I am the First Vice…

The following is submitted on behalf of Community Heritage Ontario (CHO), the province-wide, non-profit umbrella organization of municipally appointed heritage committees (MHC). There are currently over 150 MHCs in the Province comprised of more than one thousand volunteers responsible for providing advice and recommendations to Councils on local heritage matters.

An attachment has been provided with CHO's comments on the proposed changes to the Planning Act (Schedule 9 of Bill 23) as they impact the conservation of cultural heritage resource in Ontario. In the same document are CHO's comments on the Ontario Heritage Act (which will also be submitted).

The specific reasons related to our concerns are detailed in the attached document, but can be summarized as concern regarding:

• Removal of Site Plan Control for developments with less than 10 residential units as this development review process is used in heritage conservation districts (HCD)as well as in other municipal projects were a cultural heritage resource is being conserved.
• Limiting site plan control by removing the ability for municipalities to regulate exterior architectural details and landscape design- This component of Site Plan Control Approval is utilized in HCDs along with heritage policies to ensure compatible development, and is also used outside of protected areas when a cultural heritage resources is being incorporated into a new development and a municipality wants to ensure that the new development appropriately complements and respects the heritage resource from a design perspective.
• No longer requiring public meetings for plans of subdivision - When a cultural heritage resource is within a proposed plan of subdivision, the statutory public meeting provides an opportunity to receive feedback on retention of the heritage resource and to understand how it is being incorporated.

Thank you for considering our comments regarding the proposed changes to the Planning Act and how they could negatively impact the conservation of cultural heritage resources.