Dr. Carl Bray

The appellant appealed the County of Prince Edward's by-law adopting the Wellington Heritage Conservation District Plan.

Following Tribunal-led mediation, the parties reached a settlement modifying site-specific policies and guidelines to better differentiate between newer and older commercial areas.

Based on uncontested expert heritage and planning evidence, the Tribunal found the modifications satisfied the Ontario Heritage Act, the Planning Act, and the Provincial Policy Statement.

The appeal was allowed in part to amend the by-law in accordance with the settlement.

The Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake issued Notices of Intention to Designate three adjacent properties under the Ontario Heritage Act.

The objector argued that the properties did not constitute a 'nested cultural heritage landscape' (CHL) and that their deep setbacks were not heritage attributes.

The Conservation Review Board found that while the properties could be considered a nested CHL for planning purposes under the Provincial Policy Statement, they could not be designated as such under the Act without improperly creating a de facto heritage conservation district.

However, the Board agreed with the Town that the deep setbacks, historically driven by a now-extinct watercourse and changing cultural norms, were valid heritage attributes that contributed to the properties' cultural heritage value.

The Board recommended designation with the nested CHL concept removed from the attributes.