Special character

Wellington’s core could become Heritage Conservation District

Apresentation on Wellington’s heritage was made by Dr. Carl Bray, of Bray Heritage in Kingston, and Lindsay Reid of Branch Architecture based in Prince Edward County, to council at Thursday’s committee of the whole meeting. Following interest from the Wellington District Business Association related to heritage assets of the Village, the Prince Edward Heritage Advisory Committee undertook an inventory project to survey attributes of the original settled area of Wellington. This inventory identified and prioritized potential properties for Ontario Heritage Act listing. Cristal Laanstra, a Planning Coordinator with the County, explained that the project began in the summer 2019 to assess the merits of a heritage district in the village. “We are hoping this could build off the successes that we’ve seen in the Picton Heritage Conservation District. We had some work that was being done through our Heritage Advisory Committee that related to the village of Wellington and it looked at some of the different properties that could be worth designation,” said Laanstra. She went on to note that part of the work was looking at how new development could balance with the existing character and charm of the village.

The study seeks to section the village into six neighbourhoods—moving east to west—Lower Town, Transition Zone, Institutional Hub, Commercial Area, Consecon Street and the Western Suburbs. Dr. Bray noted that Wellington meets most of the Provincial criteria for designation as a Heritage Conservation District and is an excellent and rare example of a linear village. “One of the aspects of Wellington is that it’s very related to the water. It’s grown up alongside the shore, alongside of nature and has its back to the farmland. That kind of basic character is something that most of the people we talked to brought forward in our discussions,” said Bray, who also noted that requirements of the Ontario Heritage Act have been met in determining whether the district warrants designation. Bray also explained that the district boundary is slightly different to what was found in the Request for Proposal. “We feel it is one that more directly captures what’s available in the core of the village,” said Bray. A Heritage Conservation District is an area of special character, combining older buildings and their settings that, together, make up a district that has an identifiably distinct sense of place. The cultural heritage resources within a district can include buildings, structures, cultural landscapes, and areas of archaeological potential. Bray noted that contrary to the public’s belief, it isn’t just about buildings. “Rather than it being an architectural beauty contest, as some have described it, it’s much more about the holistic understanding of a place,” he said. The study included an inventory and evaluation of what can be seen, but also what local people feel about the area and how Wellington developed over time. “The more we looked at the way the village had developed over time, and what was there on the ground now, we felt that it should not only include properties that flank Main Street, but include a little bit of Belleville Street and a chunk of Consecon Street, which we felt were continuations really of what we were finding along Main Street proper,” added Bray.

Councillor Stewart Bailey asked if the guidelines for alterations and new constructions were actually just guidelines or if they could be come prescriptive. Bray told council that the guidelines would certainly not be cast in stone. “As the word guideline implies, it’s giving advice. By having guidelines, often with illustrations attached, it allows a good conversation between the property owner and municipal staff. It allows the property owner to go away and think of different ways of changing their property, and certainly with new construction, it gives some ideas about the type of new construction that would fit in best,” he said.

Councillor Ernie Margetson asked how long the development of the plan would take. “Will it be done within this term of council?” he asked. Bray said it would not be something that happens instantly. “It’s difficult to predict exactly and particularly with the pandemic it makes things a little awkward, but from my experience, nine months is about the minimum you would need. Probably closer to 12. The question usually is how much public consultation can take place and how quickly that can take place,” said Bray.

Margetson also brought up a concern about a rural section of Consecon Street that has been designated as a collector road within the Secondary Plan, and will feed future development to the north. Bray noted that it will be a task to facilitate development of northern lands in such a way that it doesn’t have a bad impact on the qualities of the village itself. “You can imagine the development of the properties north of the Millennium Trail are going to be very important. And Consecon and any of the north-south streets are going to become important conduits not just for traffic but for services,” said Bray. “That can become a real concern in terms of how it affects the streetscape and everything associated with it. So the district plan is going to have to make reference to that in terms of the heritage attributes.”

Lindsay Reid added that the streetscape improvements on Picton Main Street happened after the Heritage Conservation District was adopted. “I just wanted to remind everyone that Heritage Conservation Districts are not meant to stop development or freeze a place in time, but they do provide guidance on how things can evolve or change over time through careful consideration,” she added.

Councillor Bill Roberts noted that he had read about economic and tourist impacts that Heritage Conservation Districts attract. “There is a rough consensus that overall Heritage Conservation Districts promoted a healthy increase in tourism and also brought several hundreds of thousands of dollars to the local economy. Would those benefits or challenges be applicable here?” he asked.

Bray acknowledged that the economic multiplier can be significant, as in the eighties, for every dollar a local person invested in their property, $14 came back. “Heritage Conservation District designation has shown really two things. First it stabilizes local property values, or enhances them. Secondly, it certainly is part of municipal branding and will attract cultural tourism. And cultural tourism is the fastest growing component of worldwide tourism. But you want to make sure you don’t kill the goose that laid the golden egg,” said Bray.

Reid added that it should not exclude the lovely neighbourhood and community that Wellington already has. “There needs to be that balance between economic development and allowing for a place for local people to live and go and buy milk at the corner store.”

Bray then told council it can be a slippery slope. “You do not want to become Niagara-on-the-Lake. You can’t buy milk downtown. You can’t buy a screwdriver. All of the people that used to live in Niagara in the Lake now live in St. Catharines or Pelham and commute in. So you have a beautiful shell, but it’s a hollow one, except for the very wealthy. I would hate Wellington to go that way,” he said.

The study will proceed to council to be ratified, which would allow staff and the consultants to proceed with preparation of a heritage conservation district plan. Bray noted there would be opportunities for further public consultation.