Dear Paula Kulpa, Thank you…

Dear Paula Kulpa,

Thank you for the opportunity to provide comments to the Ministry of Citizenship and
Multiculturalism on the changes to the Ontario Heritage Act and its regulations proposed through
Bill 23. Cultural heritage is integral to the City of Brampton. True to its namesake as the Flower
City, Brampton recognizes its rich legacy and responsibility to identify, protect, manage and
celebrate the city’s unique history.

The City is concerned with the proposed changes as a result of the challenges it will pose in
heritage conservation moving forward, and the increased workload to meet the prescribed
deadlines set forth. The City has categorized and provided comments on all relevant proposed
changes, identifying opportunities to provide additional time and financial support to enable
municipal staff to ensure the conservation of Brampton’s valuable cultural heritage resources. The
City estimates that it will cost somewhere between $500,000 - $750,000 to complete this work,
placing additional burdens on the tax base that compound the impacts of other changes proposed
through Bill 23. The City agrees with the intent to increase information sharing and is already in
the process of making the Register publicly available and accessible to residents to support
knowledge of Brampton’s cultural heritage.

The City has provided detailed comments through Appendix 1. A few key comments are
summarized below:
 Proposal: Requiring municipalities to remove a property from the heritage register
due to failure to issue notice of intention to designate in a two-year timeframe

City Comment:
 There are currently 385 Listed Properties that are valuable and should be designated.
However, in amongst other requirements through these proposed changes and existing
workloads, the capacity to effectively evaluate and designate all properties requires
additional time and flexibility to avoid a “designate it or lose it” approach to irreplaceable
cultural heritage.
 Requiring a removal of properties from the heritage register because of a withdrawal of
notice, failure to pass a designating by-law or re-appeal through an OLT appeal, focuses on administrative-based criteria rather than protecting the value that such properties hold
for the community.
 Listing a property on the register provides Brampton the time to consider its heritage value
and allow for other means of conserving and interpreting its heritage and history without
going through the formal designation process.

City Recommendation:
 The City recommends maintaining the current regulatory framework for listed properties
and not requiring municipal staff to pursue a notice of intention to designate within a two-year
timeframe. If the Province decides to put forward a requirement for a NOID, the
timeframe should not be limited to two-years.

Proposal: Review the criteria for determining cultural heritage value or interest
prescribed in O. Reg. 9/06 to increase the threshold for designation

City Comment:
 The City is of the opinion that creating a more robust framework is typically a good thing,
however, this may have unintended consequences for equity deserving communities,
particularly if the heritage value only meets one criterion and not two. Ensuring inclusive
cultural heritage planning is critically important across the Province, and especially in
Brampton, to reflect and celebrate the City’s diverse communities.

City Recommendation:
 The City recommends the Province reconsider these changes and engage with equity
deserving communities to ensure locations across the city that hold value to the
community are not lost.

 Proposal: The designation process would “freeze” once a prescribed event occurs.
Municipalities would not be permitted to issue a notice of intention to designate a
property unless the property is already on the register when the current 90 day
requirement for applications is triggered.

City Comment:
 The City is concerned that this places immense administrative burdens on staff. In order
to meet this requirement, the City would have to have a complete list of all buildings of
potential heritage interest already included on the heritage register prior to the revised Act
coming into effect. There is insufficient time to conduct a thorough review of the heritage
register and evaluate candidates for inclusion in order to effectively anticipate properties
that may come up against development pressures but have significant heritage value to
the community.

City Recommendation:
 The City recommends the Province support the municipalities financially or review this
proposal to ensure that no heritage properties are lost as a result of this change.

City Questions:
 The City seeks clarification on what is defined as a “prescribed event”, as this may provide
for a basis for additional comments.
 The City requests clarification regarding property owners who want their property included
on the Register but may not want to go through the process of designation. The City is
concerned that there is still heritage value, but it is at risk of being lost due to a lack of
willingness from an owner to go through the designation process.

The City of Brampton would like to thank the Province for the opportunity to provide feedback and
comments on the proposed changes.

Sincerely,

Steve Ganesh, MCIP, RPP
Commissioner (A)
Planning, Building and Growth Management
City of Brampton