About Us
Why an HCD?
The Ontario Heritage Act, first enacted on March 5, 1975, allows municipalities and the provincial government to designate individual properties, streets and districts as being of cultural heritage value or interest in the Province of Ontario.
• HCDs serve to ensure that historically significant neighbourhoods and areas are protected and reflect Toronto as a place/people through their cultural heritage values and characteristics.
• HCDs are maintained so that every Torontonian, present and future, can appreciate and take pride in the City’s rich cultural heritage.
• HCDs ensure that the significance and character of areas with cultural heritage value are protected and conserved in the long term by managing change to the resources within it.
What an HCD is not
It’s not a set of rules that say you can’t paint your front door red – or yellow, or blue, or purple. Or that you can’t install energy-efficient windows, heating and air conditioning systems. Or put an addition on the back of your home.
We are all in favour – including the City of Toronto – of keeping our city green, clean, and as energy-efficient as possible. It doesn’t limit you from making changes to your home and property; rather, it asks that you consider the heritage quality of buildings, streets and open spaces and help preserve those characteristics, which the residents will actually help define during the study.
HCD Evaluation Criteria
To define the significance of a potential Heritage Conservation District, the City has established cultural heritage value and integrity criteria based on Ontario Regulation 9/06. For a district to communicate its historic sense of time and place, it must have cultural heritage values that identify it as a significant heritage area, and it must possess sufficient integrity to communicate those values.
The district has design value or physical value because it:
has a rare, unique, representative or early collection of a style, type, expression, material or construction method
has a rare, unique, or representative layout, plan, landscape, or spatial organization
displays a consistently high degree of overall craftsmanship, or artistic merit.
The district has historical value or associative value because it:
has direct associations with a theme, event, person, activity, organization or institution that is significant to a community
yields, or has the potential to yield, information that contributes to an understanding of the history of a community or area
demonstrates/reflects the work/ideas of a planner, architect, landscape architect, artist, builder, designer or theorist significant to a community.
The district has contextual value because it:
possesses a character that defines, maintains or supports the area’s history and sense of time and place
contains resources that are interrelated by design, history, use and/or setting, is defined by, planned around, or is a landmark.
FAQs
Q: Is this going to affect the value of my property?
A: In fact, property values generally rise in HCDs more consistently than in surrounding districts. A study was done in 2009 by the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario entitled Heritage Districts Work! HCD designation offers a neighbourhood a significant level of protection against development that might alter its character and protects home owner investment. Think about the reasons you chose to live in Baby Point; you’ll know right away what we mean. It’s a unique place!
Q: Will I be subject to additional paperwork and red tape as a result of the need for review by Heritage Preservation Services?
A: Usually not. Heritage Preservation Services will review your building permit request and building plans at the same time as the City’s other departments. If your proposal conforms to the heritage guidelines for the neighbourhood, the approval process should take no longer than normal. Property owners also have a right to appeal an unfavourable decision.
Q: How does a Heritage Conservation District designation get established anyway?
A: When a neighbourhood is selected for consideration, the Ontario Heritage Act requires that a study be carried out to provide background to the historical, architectural and character-defining features that make the area special. Based on this work, design guidelines are developed. A key part of this work involves consultation with the community. The City’s Heritage Preservation Services Department is also involved. When the study is completed, City Council will be asked to pass a bylaw to establish the HCD and implement the District Plan. See this URL for more information: https://www.toronto.ca/city-government/planning-development/planning-studies-initiatives/baby-point-heritage-conservation-district-study/information-reports-baby-point-heritage-conservation-district-study/
Q: But what if I do want to make changes to the exterior of my home that are visible from the street?
A: If you request a building permit related to exterior changes that are visible from the street, the City’s Heritage Preservation Services section will be notified to ensure that the planned changes are in keeping with the Character of the Neighbourhood Guidelines established by the community during the HCD Study. If you don’t require a building permit (eg, new windows), there is no involvement on the part of the City. Consultation with Preservation Services will help ensure that the change fits with the character of the neighbourhood and is recommended.
Q: Will HCD affect my property insurance premium?
A: Designation doesn’t place any additional requirements on your insurer and therefore should not affect premiums.
Q: Will I have to restore my house to its original appearance?
A: No, you aren’t required to make any changes to the appearance of your house, not even to regular maintenance (eg, painting)
Q: There are houses in Baby Point which are not part of the original development. Will they be treated differently than the older homes?
A: The background study will evaluate the different components of the neighbourhood and may well recommend different approaches or level of protection for some of the homes which were not part of the original development.
Q: How is a Heritage Conservation District Application funded?
A: City Council does not fund projects whose purpose is to obtain designation of a specific region of the city as a Heritage Conservation District. Essential to the process is the study or plan for the area. The community is encouraged to participate in the process and arrange funds for the study to be done by Heritage Preservation Services.
The Baby Point Peninsula
117 metres above sea level.
The Baby Point peninsula is a 30 metre high promontory on the east bank of the Humber River, overlooking what is called an ‘oxbow’ in the river. The Humber is a designated Canadian Heritage River.
The peninsula is composed of layers of shale, limestone and sandstone with a layer of sand at the top. Initially part of the early seabed, brachiopod and other fossils can be found. The peninsula has been part of the Carrying Place Trail/Pathway, the site of at least one First Nations village (Teiaiaigon), and a French trading Fort. It has been designated an Ontario Archaeological Heritage Site because of First Nations artifacts discovered here.
At the time of the last Ice Age, it was a sunken island in Lake Iroquois near the river delta, the source of the massive surface sand deposit. According to the Canadian Geological Survey publications, these are known as the Lambton and Parkdale sands.
This deep sandy surface with underlying springs is what enabled the growth of the Black Oak Savannah approximately 5000-8000 years ago.
Trees native to the Point include Oak – Black, Red and White – and Black Walnut and Beech. Many of the stately Elms fell victim to Dutch Elm Disease.
Many of the trees found on the Point today are remnant boreal forest. One of these is a 250-year-old Black Oak, a Heritage Tree of Provincial Significance designated by the Ontario Urban Forestry Council
The northern ravine forest borders wetlands, which have been designated as the Magwood Sanctuary by York Township.
Board of Directors
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Mary Anne Demonte-Whelan
President
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Rosemary Carbonara
Treasurer
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Anthony Silva
Secretary
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Danica Loncar
Communications
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Matt Simpson
Board Member
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Jennifer Harrington
Board Member
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Katherine Stevens
Board member
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Liz Howson
Community Consultation