Business Plan: Heritage

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1 Business Plan: Heritage How does this service contribute to the results identified in the City of London Strategic Plan? A Strong Economy A Vibrant and Diverse Community Our ability to attract a talented labour force relies upon the quality of life in our City. Many of those who have choices for where they wish to live look for cities that offer culturally rich, interesting, and quality living environments. A municipality s ability to offer quality heritage neighbourhoods, in urban environments, such as those in London, have an advantage over other cities that can t offer this choice. In this way, heritage preservation adds to London s attraction as a great place to live and invest. The City administers the heritage planning program to conserve the most valuable heritage resources in the City under the Ontario Heritage Act. In addition, the City owns 13 heritage buildings and is the steward of their maintenance and long-term conservation. London s heritage resources contribute significantly to our local identity and in doing so contribute to a vibrant and diverse community. Conserving and maintaining our heritage buildings give us a tie to our past, our history and our culture. Name the main activities done to provide this service: Name The Activities Done To Provide This Service 1. Strategic planning/budget administration for 13 municipally owned heritage properties How Much Did We Do? (optional) Administer annual budget of $472,000 of capital maintenance projects for the City s municipalowned heritage properties Is The City Mandated To Provide This Service? No 2. Heritage land use planning Yes (1) Yes (designation/demolitions/heritage alterations) 3. Heritage Advisory Committee support Yes (2) Yes Notes: (1) Conservation of significant built heritage resources and significant cultural heritage landscapes is identified in Provincial Policy Statement. (2) If a municipality exercises any authority under the Ontario Heritage Act. Can The Level Of Service Be Changed? Yes 1

2 What is the current state of this service? Heritage Planning administers the City s heritage programs and develops polices to ensure the long-term protection of our cultural heritage resources. The City is the steward of 13 municipally-owned heritage properties, and this service administers the capital budgets for their ongoing maintenance and conservation. This service provides professional advice to Council and its Heritage Advisory Committee, and serves as a public resource on heritage matters to the owners of more than 6,000 privately-owned heritage properties in the City. With the adoption of the Blackfriars/Petersville Heritage Conservation District in June of 2014, the City now has six Heritage Conservation Districts (HCDs) consisting of approximately 6,000 properties. A seventh HCD, Wortley Village-Old South is to be adopted in late 2014, through which another 1,000 new properties could be added. Council recently directed (August 2014) that staff report back on a plan for completing studies for potential HCDs. This project, for up to five additional HCDs, could compress 10 years work into a potential two to three year window. This would require outside consulting resources, and additional budget. With the adoption of each individually designated property, as well as all properties in an HCD, comes the requirement that the Heritage Planners and London Advisory Committee on Heritage (LACH) review and recommend approval of Heritage Alteration Permits to make alterations to any property designated under the Ontario Heritage Act. The public places a high value on the retention of London s cultural heritage resources. Increased local interest in heritage conservation has resulted in the increased use of Heritage Impact Assessments as a tool in reviewing the Official Plan and zoning by-law amendment applications. The increased number of designated heritage properties increases the instances when review of Heritage Alteration Permits is required for proposed alterations. Council, in 2014, approved the addition of 1 additional full-time Heritage Planner position in recognition of the trends pointing to increasing demands on this service. The position was filled in August 2014 and will represent the first staff addition to this service in approximately 25 years. 2

3 What has been done to manage the budget? The service area has been actively managing its budget by implementing management led initiatives aimed at creating efficiencies, avoiding costs and generating revenue. These include the following: Efficiencies / Costs Avoided Previous 3 Years Prioritized and deferred required life-cycle maintenance work on municipally-owned heritage buildings which helped to reduce costs in the short-term, but may lead to increased overall maintenance costs in the long-term. Leased a number of municipally-owned heritage buildings to Heritage London Foundation who occupy these buildings, lease them for various activities and events, and utilize the funds to do daily upkeep and maintenance. Have avoided taking on several heritage buildings as municipally-owned, recognizing financial constraints. Had continued to take on additional workloads with a single Heritage Planner (for over 25 years) this was no longer sustainable. Revenue Generation / User Fee Increases A new service agreement was entered into with Heritage London Foundation in 2013, continuing the arrangement which helps to manage the costs of regular ongoing maintenance and operational costs associated with these heritage buildings. What is the future direction of this service? What future initiatives can be contained within the maintain existing service level budget? 2015 Budget Addition of Heritage Planner in 2014 will avoid need to outsource day-to-day work and will address backlog of work that has been put on hold due to resource constraints (eg. Archaeological Master Plan). The Wortley Village-Old South HCD Plan is to be presented for adoption in September, Any potential appeals would likely be dealt with in One additional HCD study identified in Heritage Places can be accommodated within the existing service level budget. 3

4 The City s Register of Cultural Heritage Resources will be revised and updated as necessary to include recently designated heritage properties. A monitoring program for key performance indicators will be developed for Heritage Planning. A Delegated Authority By-law for Heritage Alteration Permit approvals will be developed Forecast Council direction to complete studies for more HCDs identified in Heritage Places will continue to put pressure on this service. The amount of staff involvement in the administration of the approved HCDs has increased substantially over time. Undertake studies for potential HCDs identified in Heritage Places. Continue staff support for the Heritage Advisory Committee (LACH). Continue staff support for owners of designated heritage properties. The Archaeological Master Plan was completed in Legislative changes since then require the updating of the City s Archaeological Master Plan to ensure that archaeological resources are protected during the process of change. What service adjustments do you plan to make? 2015 Budget Update the Archaeological Master Plan This requires consulting services in the amount of $75,000. Based on Council direction, conduct two concurrent Heritage Conservation District studies and plans in 2015 and 2016 (budget is in place to allow for this); also based on Council direction, prepare a business case to consider engaging consulting services for an additional two HCD studies and plans Forecast Additional consulting services may be required in 2016 and 2017 if Council wishes to accelerate the long-term strategy for establishing new heritage conservation district plans based on the HCD studies. 4

5 Key Performance Indicators How Much? Description of measure Number of additional properties designated under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act 2. Number of Heritage Alteration Permits processed Number of HCD plans completed Is Anyone Better Off? Description of measure Number of protected heritage buildings 5,000 7,000 7,500 heritage designated 5