Differing views on how much of Kettleby gets heritage designation
By Bill Rea

Kettleby residents are soon going to be surveyed on whether they want their hamlet to receive a heritage designation, as well as just how much area such a designation should take up.

And some of the more than 30 residents at Thursday's public meeting had negative comments about the process that has been followed on this issue.

The efforts to have the hamlet designated a heritage conservation district have been going for more than year, having started at the local level. But King Township staff have been working on it, although Planning Director Stephen Kitchen repeatedly made the point Thursday night that it will be Township council that makes the final decisions.

Planner Jennifer Best told the audience such designations are covered through the Ontario Heritage Act. She also pointed out that Kettleby has been identified as having a unique character.

A study and draft inventory of the hamlet has been conducted, and council directed staff last year to continue the work. Best added council did not want to finalize the boundaries of the proposed designation until the public had been consulted. That was one of the points of Thursday's meeting, as copies of the consultants' report had been distributed to homes in the area.

Consultant Paul Oberst, who has been working on the project in a joint venture with Phillip H. Carter Architect, told the audience the heritage district plan "is a plan for the future."

"It anticipates change," he added, pointing out it keeps heritage as its theme.

As well, a set of proposed guidelines has been prepared for the implementation of the plan, which he described as a handbook. He added the hope is people will keep the handbook on their coffee tables.

The logic of the plan, Oberst said, is it allows for the protection of what's already there, as well as guiding potential change so it won't impact on the community character that is important to so many.

Permits will be required for various works, but Oberst said they have tried to make sure that process is as simple as possible. In fact, he observed they have suggested no additional fees be charged for any applications under this designation. He stressed they don't want to "harass people."

Some classes of work would be exempt from any review, Oberst said, while others might just require a heritage clearance letter. More complex projects would require permits, and he said there are various levels of them.

He also commented that Township staff would try to make the permit process as streamline as possible. "We're not making new processes," he declared

Architect Phillip Carter told the audience the guidelines are crucial, adding they have been tuned to the type of small-scale development that currently exists in Kettleby.

"You haven't yet had the invasion of the monster homes," he remarked.

Carter also said the guidelines are based on the character of Kettleby. "We see it as a helpful handbook," he remarked.

As well, he said the guidelines contain plenty of helpful information on how to maintain buildings, along with Internet links with other agencies that can assist.

When it comes to the boundaries of the designated area, Carter agreed that's a crucial consideration.

"We're not just looking at the buildings here," he said. "We're looking at the whole landscape that made these buildings."

He added that means they studied such things as the local topography, valleys and streams, and surrounding lands, which he said are very important to the unique feel of the hamlet.

The study area so far has consisted of Lots 27, 28 and 29, between Jane and Dufferin Streets. Kitchen told the audience there have been issues raised about the boundaries. He said four options have been put forward for consideration, ranging from just the core area of the hamlet to the entire study area. He added even these options are subject to some adjustment, pointing out he's heard calls to have just the core area included, plus the Kettleby Cemetery property. He did say the options are considered a starting point for the discussions, and people receiving the survey questionnaires in the mail will be asked to rank these options, or suggest other possibilities. He said status quo could be one of those possibilities.

Each household will have one vote. Kitchen agreed that might pose some problems, with husbands and wives disagreeing, but he quipped there will be more conflict when council starts discussing it.

He added the next steps will be to take the results of a survey and put them into a report to council, and that will be part of another public meeting. Kitchen said the hope is to have everything finalized in the spring.

There were several people who were concerned about possible conflicts between people living in the core and those in the outlying areas. One man said the guidelines seemed to have been prepared with the core in mind, not taking into consideration 25-acres lots.

He added there was no point in commenting on the guidelines until the boundary issues are settled.

Several other people raised that concern.

Kitchen commented the guidelines could be refined once the boundaries are set. He added they thought it would be difficult to ask people where they thought the boundaries should be until they understood what the implications were.

Some people wondered about the public having input on the guidelines. "What I'm hearing is this is being kind of shoved down our throats at this point," one woman complained, adding it's easy for one to make suggestions about a place when one doesn't live there.

Carter agreed they were outsiders, adding one of the reasons they got the job was for their objectivity.

There were also concerns over what might be permitted once the designation is in place. Oberst observed that people love their gardens, and the idea is not to try and tell them what to plant.

One woman was concerned about the costs involved if they have to consult people on the doing home projects that are in keeping with the historic nature of the neighbourhood. Carter said it should be possible to find someone to offer advice. In Port Hope, where he lives and where he sits on the local architectural conservation advisory committee (LACAC), they have access to a number of volunteers who do such work.

Oberst added this is going to involve a learning phase for all concerned, including Township staffers. "It requires a little bit of feeling your way for a year or so," he observed.

He added once the municipality gets the hang of things, it might not be long before another area in King is being considered for a heritage designation.

Carter also pointed out there are a lot more skilled tradespeople specializing in this kind of historical construction work than would have been available 20 years ago.

Elaine Robertson, chair of the King Township Heritage Committee, commented their members are often called upon to offer advice in situations like that.

There had also been talk about grants being possible for the program, although Kitchen said nothing official has been done on that yet.

Local resident Bert Duclos commented it would be possible to take part in a heritage property tax relief program.

One man who lives on Lot 27 (south of the hamlet) was concerned that people living in the core will be able to vote on what done with his property. But one woman living in the core was concerned about people on Lot 27 having a say over her land.

Kitchen reminded everybody that it's council that will make a decision, although his department will be making recommendations.

There were calls to hear what councillors thought before any more meetings, since Mayor Margaret Black and three councillors (Cleve Mortelliti, Jane Underhill and Jack Rupke) were at the meeting. But Black was the only one who spoke, and she stressed her desire to avoid antagonism in the community.

"We're learning and we just want to do the right thing," she declared.