Submitted on behalf of the…

Submitted on behalf of the City of Hamilton, Cultural Heritage Planning Team by Alissa Golden, Program Lead, below are the responses to the questions identified in the ERO posting. Also attached is the report prepared by Heritage staff for the information of the City of Hamilton's Heritage Committee.

1. Is 30 days a sufficient time for municipalities to process applications and determine if they are complete?

Staff Comment - A 60-day review timeline would be more reasonable and would also be consistent with the timelines for reviewing other Heritage Permit applications under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act, as per Sections 33(7) and 34(4.3), which would cause less administrative confusion for municipalities and applicants.

2. Are there any further conditions that should be applied to these types of applications?

Staff Comment - It is unclear whether educational and outreach practices would fall under “religious practices”, as proposed by the legislative amendments. It would be helpful to distinguish or clarify if these types of practices are covered by the amendments and, if not, this should be outlined in the applied conditions to ensure that accessory structures or buildings, like Sunday schools, are still subject to the standard alteration approval requirements under Section 33.

3. Is the list of information and materials required as part of complete application sufficient? Are there any materials or information that is missing or should be removed?

Staff Comment - The list of information and materials is consistent with much of the basic information that would be expected to accompany a Heritage Permit application. However, staff recommend that the application requirements also include photographs of the existing condition of heritage attributes to be impacted, as well as any plans or drawings that have been prepared that depict the proposed changes, to assist staff with interpreting the description of the proposed alterations that would be required. If staff or Heritage Committee analysis are not required to advise if the application should be consented to, then no supporting studies or reports would be required.

4. Are the types of buildings listed considered by religious organizations to be reflective of what are commonly thought of, or referred to as a place of worship? Do Indigenous communities and organizations consider the definition as reflective of buildings where their religious and spiritual Indigenous practices might take place? Are there modifications or additions to the definition that religious organizations, Indigenous communities or Indigenous organizations would suggest?

Staff Comment - No comments at this time.

5. How many applications do you receive each year from municipally designated heritage properties that are primarily used for religious practices or Indigenous spiritual or religious practices requesting an alteration to identified heritage attributes connected to those practices?

Staff Comment - Based on a review of Heritage Permit applications processed over the last 5 years, since 2018, the City of Hamilton has received 18 applications to alter designated properties with buildings used primarily for religious practices. This includes 11 applications for individually designated properties under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act and 7 applications for district designated properties under Part V of the Act.

Of the 11 applications under Part IV (Section 33) of the Act, none of the alterations appear to be directly related to religious practices or Indigenous spiritual or religious practices. Types of applications include: repairs to heritage features, including windows, porches, ceilings, and roofs; the introduction of new entrances; and accessibility upgrades (e.g. elevator). One permit dealt with alterations to the Sunday school building on the property, an identified heritage attribute, but it is unclear if the reasons for the alterations were directly related to religious practices, as proposed in the amendments.

6. How long does it typically take to review such an application (in hours)? How long do you believe it would take under the revised process and requirements?

Staff Comment - The time required to review and process a Heritage Permit application to alter a Part IV designated property varies depending on the complexity of the application, supporting documentation and reports, discussions with the owner/applicant and whether approval can be issued by staff through the delegated authority of Council, or whether a report to Heritage Committee, Planning Committee and a decision of Council is required. A conservative estimated range of time would be between 5 hours for a simple application to 40 hours for a complex one.

Under the proposed revised process, since there would be no documentation to review or analysis to preform, it would take approximately 5 hours to process.

7. What level of employee in your organization typically undertakes this work (e.g., administrative staff, management)?

Staff Comment - The processing of Heritage Permit applications requires administrative support by the Assistant Cultural Heritage Planner, review and processing time by Cultural Heritage Planning staff, and supervisory and upper management review and approval time, including the Cultural Heritage Program Lead, Director of Heritage and Urban Design and Director of Planning and Chief Planner.