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Globe: Islanders want "cultural heritage landscape"
Article
Trying to maintain their serenity
Islanders hope getting their landscape recognized by the city will give them more control over their home turf
VICTOR DWYER
For most Torontonians, winter is a time for hunkering down and scowling at the world. Come summer, they kick back, relax and embrace it.
On the Toronto Islands, in many ways, that seasonal logic gets reversed.
Winter brings island residents a blanket of protection, as the closing of three private yacht clubs, the public marina and Centreville Amusement Park keeps the mainland and its annual million-plus visitors more or less at bay.
But summer? That's when the glowering sets in among many of the 600 or so residents who live on Algonquin and Ward's Islands. And not without reason: With the Wakestock festival drawing 35,000 visitors to the islands in August, and next week's Virgin Festival expected to bring 50,000, islanders are feeling besieged. Now residents are looking at a longer-term strategy that they hope will bring a greater measure of planning -- or, at minimum, more forethought and consultation -- to events that take place on, structures that get built upon, and proposals that could change the character of, the Toronto Islands.
"There's absolutely nothing in place that acts as any kind of a template for proposals," says Pam Mazza, a member of the Toronto Islands heritage committee. "Things just kind of happen."
In their quest to protect their tiny patch of turf, concerned islanders are now preparing to adopt a new strategy: Ms. Mazza's committee is considering seeking a mandate from the residents to request that city council declare the islands Toronto's first "cultural heritage landscape," a term introduced into provincial lingo just last year.
That's when the Ontario Planning Act was amended to state that "significant cultural landscapes shall be conserved." Defining these as "geographical areas of heritage significance" that have been "modified by human activities" and "are valued by a community," the province lists a wide range of possibilities including villages, parks, gardens, main streets and cemeteries. The act leaves it up to municipalities to set criteria and gives no time frame for implementation, noting that "the identification, listing, evaluation and protection of cultural heritage landscapes is an ongoing process."
That flexibility, combined with a respect for local sensibilities, appeals to Ms. Mazza and her fellow committee members, who at one point polled residents about having the islands declared a heritage conservation district, a designation that can rain down restrictions and fine-tooth inspections.
"The committee was getting a lot of opposition to that," Ms. Mazza says. "People were concerned that the individuality that is part of the community, the independence, would be curtailed."
Those feelings were further driven home when the Toronto Island Community Association commissioned E.R.A. Architects to conduct a study of the feasibility of declaring the islands a heritage conservation district, only to have the firm recommend instead, this past spring, that they be recognized as a cultural heritage landscape. The study observed that the islands include not just the unique architecture and ambience of the Ward's and Algonquin neighbourhoods but also extensive public parkland; Centreville, with its kids park, fountains and formal gardens; plus beaches and open spaces that combine to make "one of Canada's most impressive urban parks."
The relative inexactness of the provincial definition may also be why only a handful of municipalities -- Toronto is not yet among them -- have so far moved forward with issuing an official inventory of such landscapes. Mississauga has led the way, listing a total of 65, including what is known as the Pinchin Property, a disused apple farm on the Credit River dating from the 1920s; and the main street of Streetsville, a former small town of its own, now surrounded by suburban development.
Although officially listing such landscapes does not afford what Mississauga heritage co-ordinator Mark Warrack calls the "total protection" that comes with a heritage conservation designation, he is already able to point to at least one case in which the new classification is likely to make a difference: When developers recently put forward a proposal to replace two decrepit residential buildings on Streetsville's picturesque main street with what Mr. Warrack describes as "standard commercial buildings," they were required to include a summary of how the proposal would affect the cultural heritage landscape, as outlined by the city.
In that summary, he says, the developer's consultant "ended up stating that the proposal was not appropriate" to Streetsville's village character and he is now sketching out new guidelines for his client.
As for the property's owner, Mr. Warrack says, "I don't know that I'd use the word 'happy,' but I think they've been educated through the process. They have a better understanding of what we're looking at and why; of how the property fits in with neighbouring properties."
In Caledon -- which is in the process of recognizing its first cultural heritage landscape with Rockside, an area settled by Scots in the 1820s and home to a fine collection of handcrafted mortar-free stone walls -- heritage resource officer Sally Drummond sees the designation as "one more layer of control, and of regard for things in a particular area."
Adds Ms. Drummond, "So far, most heritage conservation districts have been urban, so when we apply this idea to rural areas, well, those ones may take a while for everybody to get their heads around, including the public."
And also including, it seems, the urban planners at City Hall -- although they are definitely warming up to the concept. In an interview, Denise Gendron, manager of heritage preservation services, said that "the city will be looking into a study of cultural heritage landscapes, and we hope to commence that work in early 2007," starting with fine-tuning "what the criteria would be."
As well, she predicts that the Toronto Islands "would be one of the first projects we would do."
That kind of openness could be good news for sites across the city, says Michael McClelland, who wrote the E.R.A. study of the islands. As an example of a site that would have benefited from such a designation, he points to Exhibition Place, where "the last time they had a really good overall plan was at the time of the Princes' Gates," which were unveiled in 1927, and where creating "massive amounts of parking" has taken precedence over establishing an "interconnectedness" between the buildings. "It's a dog's breakfast," Mr. McClelland says. "There's just a tremendous lack of coherence."
Similarly, Ms. Mazza says that simply getting city hall to think about the Toronto Islands as a coherent -- if admittedly eclectic -- landscape has always been half the battle. Along with such events as Wakestock and the Virgin Festival, politicians and private interests have proposed all kinds of unusual structural additions over the years. She remembers, in particular, the time the chair of the Toronto Zoo visited, with a proposal to build a bird sanctuary.
"We said, 'That whole wilderness area over there is a bird sanctuary,' " Ms. Mazza recalls. "And he said, 'No, I'm thinking of a tropical bird sanctuary.'
"We all kind of looked at each other and realized we weren't even on the same page."
With the province behind them now, and city hall looking as if it's also ready to get on board, there may finally be some hope that pages like that can be turned for good.
Article
Trying to maintain their serenity
Islanders hope getting their landscape recognized by the city will give them more control over their home turf
VICTOR DWYER
For most Torontonians, winter is a time for hunkering down and scowling at the world. Come summer, they kick back, relax and embrace it.
On the Toronto Islands, in many ways, that seasonal logic gets reversed.
Winter brings island residents a blanket of protection, as the closing of three private yacht clubs, the public marina and Centreville Amusement Park keeps the mainland and its annual million-plus visitors more or less at bay.
But summer? That's when the glowering sets in among many of the 600 or so residents who live on Algonquin and Ward's Islands. And not without reason: With the Wakestock festival drawing 35,000 visitors to the islands in August, and next week's Virgin Festival expected to bring 50,000, islanders are feeling besieged. Now residents are looking at a longer-term strategy that they hope will bring a greater measure of planning -- or, at minimum, more forethought and consultation -- to events that take place on, structures that get built upon, and proposals that could change the character of, the Toronto Islands.
"There's absolutely nothing in place that acts as any kind of a template for proposals," says Pam Mazza, a member of the Toronto Islands heritage committee. "Things just kind of happen."
In their quest to protect their tiny patch of turf, concerned islanders are now preparing to adopt a new strategy: Ms. Mazza's committee is considering seeking a mandate from the residents to request that city council declare the islands Toronto's first "cultural heritage landscape," a term introduced into provincial lingo just last year.
That's when the Ontario Planning Act was amended to state that "significant cultural landscapes shall be conserved." Defining these as "geographical areas of heritage significance" that have been "modified by human activities" and "are valued by a community," the province lists a wide range of possibilities including villages, parks, gardens, main streets and cemeteries. The act leaves it up to municipalities to set criteria and gives no time frame for implementation, noting that "the identification, listing, evaluation and protection of cultural heritage landscapes is an ongoing process."
That flexibility, combined with a respect for local sensibilities, appeals to Ms. Mazza and her fellow committee members, who at one point polled residents about having the islands declared a heritage conservation district, a designation that can rain down restrictions and fine-tooth inspections.
"The committee was getting a lot of opposition to that," Ms. Mazza says. "People were concerned that the individuality that is part of the community, the independence, would be curtailed."
Those feelings were further driven home when the Toronto Island Community Association commissioned E.R.A. Architects to conduct a study of the feasibility of declaring the islands a heritage conservation district, only to have the firm recommend instead, this past spring, that they be recognized as a cultural heritage landscape. The study observed that the islands include not just the unique architecture and ambience of the Ward's and Algonquin neighbourhoods but also extensive public parkland; Centreville, with its kids park, fountains and formal gardens; plus beaches and open spaces that combine to make "one of Canada's most impressive urban parks."
The relative inexactness of the provincial definition may also be why only a handful of municipalities -- Toronto is not yet among them -- have so far moved forward with issuing an official inventory of such landscapes. Mississauga has led the way, listing a total of 65, including what is known as the Pinchin Property, a disused apple farm on the Credit River dating from the 1920s; and the main street of Streetsville, a former small town of its own, now surrounded by suburban development.
Although officially listing such landscapes does not afford what Mississauga heritage co-ordinator Mark Warrack calls the "total protection" that comes with a heritage conservation designation, he is already able to point to at least one case in which the new classification is likely to make a difference: When developers recently put forward a proposal to replace two decrepit residential buildings on Streetsville's picturesque main street with what Mr. Warrack describes as "standard commercial buildings," they were required to include a summary of how the proposal would affect the cultural heritage landscape, as outlined by the city.
In that summary, he says, the developer's consultant "ended up stating that the proposal was not appropriate" to Streetsville's village character and he is now sketching out new guidelines for his client.
As for the property's owner, Mr. Warrack says, "I don't know that I'd use the word 'happy,' but I think they've been educated through the process. They have a better understanding of what we're looking at and why; of how the property fits in with neighbouring properties."
In Caledon -- which is in the process of recognizing its first cultural heritage landscape with Rockside, an area settled by Scots in the 1820s and home to a fine collection of handcrafted mortar-free stone walls -- heritage resource officer Sally Drummond sees the designation as "one more layer of control, and of regard for things in a particular area."
Adds Ms. Drummond, "So far, most heritage conservation districts have been urban, so when we apply this idea to rural areas, well, those ones may take a while for everybody to get their heads around, including the public."
And also including, it seems, the urban planners at City Hall -- although they are definitely warming up to the concept. In an interview, Denise Gendron, manager of heritage preservation services, said that "the city will be looking into a study of cultural heritage landscapes, and we hope to commence that work in early 2007," starting with fine-tuning "what the criteria would be."
As well, she predicts that the Toronto Islands "would be one of the first projects we would do."
That kind of openness could be good news for sites across the city, says Michael McClelland, who wrote the E.R.A. study of the islands. As an example of a site that would have benefited from such a designation, he points to Exhibition Place, where "the last time they had a really good overall plan was at the time of the Princes' Gates," which were unveiled in 1927, and where creating "massive amounts of parking" has taken precedence over establishing an "interconnectedness" between the buildings. "It's a dog's breakfast," Mr. McClelland says. "There's just a tremendous lack of coherence."
Similarly, Ms. Mazza says that simply getting city hall to think about the Toronto Islands as a coherent -- if admittedly eclectic -- landscape has always been half the battle. Along with such events as Wakestock and the Virgin Festival, politicians and private interests have proposed all kinds of unusual structural additions over the years. She remembers, in particular, the time the chair of the Toronto Zoo visited, with a proposal to build a bird sanctuary.
"We said, 'That whole wilderness area over there is a bird sanctuary,' " Ms. Mazza recalls. "And he said, 'No, I'm thinking of a tropical bird sanctuary.'
"We all kind of looked at each other and realized we weren't even on the same page."
With the province behind them now, and city hall looking as if it's also ready to get on board, there may finally be some hope that pages like that can be turned for good.
