A local property owner has raised several concerns about his house being in the Heritage Conservation District study and also has concerns with the amount of communication shared with him.
Ryan D’Alimonte appeared before town council at their most recent meeting and said he is in favour of the town adopting a heritage conservation district (HCD) and is “in no way against it.” He said his concern is the fact he started dealing with the town’s planning department in April with respect to a property he and his family own in the downtown core and is not identified as a property of interest.
“I have received minor variance approvals from the town’s committee of adjustment. My plans have been reviewed by the heritage committee at their June meeting with no feedback or concern given back to me from that committee. My building and demolition application are currently in the town’s building department immediately after my minor variances were granted and is pending approval,” said D’Alimonte.
D’Alimonte said his family has sold their current home and the deal is closing within a few weeks.
“We have arranged a few months of alternative arrangements in a rental property while our new home is being built. We have changed our kids’ school busing districts for the new school year in September. We have legally evicted the tenant of our property downtown so we can start the teardown and building process at the end of this month,” said D’Alimonte. “Now after I’ve done all this and everything the town’s departments have asked of me, I would be put on hold while the town and heritage department develop new bylaws and rules and regulations which could take months, if not years, to develop and implement causing my family a tremendous amount of personal and financial hardship.”
D’Alimonte called for a “common sense” approach where if an application process has been started, it should remain under the same rules that were in place at the beginning of the process. “In no way am I asking for special treatment, and only that a common sense, logical approach be taken when it comes to applications that have already been in the works for months so people’s families and livelihoods aren’t affected by whatever council decides tonight,” said D’Alimonte.
Councillor Diane Pouget noted D’Alimonte’s statement regarding no feedback since the June meeting of the town’s heritage committee. Heritage planner Adam Coates said because of recent changes to the province’s Bill 23, this property was brought for information only to the committee.
Clerk Kevin Fox noted the home, which is at 94 Gore St., was subject of a motion from the committee that recommended “that council direct administration to provide options to protect the properties within the heritage conservation district boundaries.”
D’Alimonte told town council there was “zero communication was made to me regarding that meeting” with the minor variance application going to the building and planning committee after that. He said he was told there were zero issues with the latter application.
Councillor Linden Crain noted D’Alimonte has already spent a “considerable amount of time and money” already in the process and asked if they can still move the process forward “through other means” such as appearing before the heritage committee and town council.
“Is there some mechanism where they’re not completely frozen?” asked Crain.
Deputy CAO/director of development services Melissa Osborne said D’Alimonte would be able to work with Coates to get to the heritage committee with a design that is “sympathetic” to the area. It would then go to town council for consideration after that.
“Yes, the process can proceed,” said Osborne.
Councillor Don McArthur asked if a new project would have to wait until the HCD is completed or if that same avenue is available to them. Osborne said the same avenue would be available to them as well.
According to Osborne, there have been designs proposed that are more sympathetic with what was before the heritage committee in June as she believed those were “not quite” in line with what the town is looking for. There are opportunities to present something more sympathetic to the committee in early August.
Pouget wanted to know if town council could grandfather D’Alimonte’s request. Osborne said many conversations have been held with the proponent but they still haven’t gotten a design that is sympathetic to the area. She said they believe there is a path forward but noted if council were to make a motion to waive the bylaw for this particular property, that would be a decision of council.
Councillor Peter Courtney wanted to know how “one-offs” and people in the queue were dealt with in other municipalities with HCD’s. Coates said “unfortunately there is always going to be a timing issue with heritage conservation districts where a development or two may be coming forward at the same time that council is making decisions about the heritage conservation districts and bylaws.”
“I’m leery on grandfathering unless I know what the parameters are on it. I don’t want to open a can of worms but I totally empathize with Mr. D’Alimonte’s situation,” said Courtney.
Councillor Molly Allaire also wanted to know how many others would be in the queue. Osborne said while the property is in the study area, even though it’s not a property of interest, it “sets it a little bit differently.” Osborne said the issue is the exterior design and if changes are made, the town could support it and that would allow the project to proceed.
D’Alimonte said “anything’s possible” with regards to getting a new design before the Aug. 6 heritage committee. He underscored the issue of communication, telling council “this is the absolute first time I’m hearing any feedback that my design was not acceptable to the heritage department.” He added that he met with Coates and has had not had any e-mail communication about his design.
“This could have been addressed in June prior to the minor variance meeting and we still could have kept the timelines. Now, we’re delaying whatever the case may be,” said D’Alimonte.
McArthur said he appreciates this is an unfortunate situation because D’Alimonte has already started the process, but noted there is still an opportunity to complete the process with the heritage planner prior to the Aug. 6 heritage committee meeting.
“Over and above this specific case, council has voted unanimously that we believe in a heritage conservation district downtown, actually in a broader swath of Amherstburg than just downtown, but centred downtown,” said McArthur. “We believe our heritage matters, our history matters and it is a key to economic development.”
Courtney supported the motion but indicated he would like to assist applicants to get the process moving quicker.
The issue of communication became a sticking point during the meeting and after the meeting.
Mayor Michael Prue read an e-mail into the record from May 14 from Coates to D’Alimonte and his contractor about the June heritage committee meeting and design elements. He said information was sent “and I just read it out.”
“This was sent to Mr. D’Alimonte on May 14. Whether he got it or not I can’t say but it was sent and here it is,” said Prue.
Allaire asked if there was any correspondence after the June 6 meeting, with Prue saying the committee received it for information purposes only.
Osborne said a meeting was held May 8 with the applicant and told council a sketch was provided by Coates about suggested design elements. E-mails were sent May 14-15 back-and-forth on designs and what would be sympathetic.
Allaire said she would support the motion and it can still go to the heritage committee.
“Hopefully we have good correspondence in the future,” said Allaire.
Prue said the issue has to move forward. He said when he moved 15 years ago, there were plans for an HCD then.
“Since 15 years ago, we’ve gone through five councils and nothing has happened for a variety of reasons,” said Prue. “Now, it’s happening. The reason it’s happening is because the Province of Ontario put the gun to our head. They said if we don’t do this, all of the properties can be developed without us having any say whatsoever.”
Prue thanked the province for extending a deadline for heritage designation by two years. He said the current council has put “everything in place” to make an HCD a reality. Prue added what is happening is council is putting an “H zone,” meaning holding zone.
“I do not want to throw any roadblocks in the way. I’m sorry Mr. D’Alimonte has been caught in it. He appears to be the only person but it’s been a long process and will be resolved in as fast an order as the staff and council is prepared to do it,” the mayor said.
In an e-mail sent the following day to Prue, members of administration and council, that was also copied to the River Town Times, D’Alimonte said he found comments made by Prue about him were “absolutely appalling” and believed his integrity and character were called into question by the mayor.
D’Alimonte wrote that Prue read one excerpt from an e-mail chain and claimed that it made him look unprofessional and misleading to the town.
“This is 100 per cent unethical and not the true facts,” D’Alimonte said in his e-mail. “I reiterate again, there was zero communication given to me or my contractor following the June heritage meeting, where I was under the impression that my plans were brought to the Heritage committee for review and no feedback or concerns were provided.”
D’Alimonte attached a PDF of an e-mail chain with e-mails from May 14-24 regarding the issue, reiterating that no communication was sent out since May 24.
“Again, whether you agree or disagree with my situation is not the issue, that is something I can live with going forward as you’re entitled to your opinions and views, but when you call my character and reputation into question for everyone to hear, that is something I have a very serious issue with,” D’Alimonte said.
Prue told the RTT “I was responding to three councillors” when he read the e-mail.
“My response was not to (D’Alimonte),” he said. “My response was to (the councillors).”
In an e-mail response to D’Alimonte, obtained by the RTT, Prue said his comments came “long after” D’Alimonte’s deputation and were not directed at him, but to the councillors. He denied claims that he questioned D’Alimonte’s character.
“My statement for the record was directed at Council – not you. In fact, the record shows my address to the Councillors, ‘What was said is not correct. This was all sent to Mr. D’Alimonte’,” said Prue. “Never once did I state that you were misleading or lying, nor did I ascribe any blame to you. My duty is to make sure that council is aware of all the facts.”
Prue attached his own list of dates where meetings and phone calls he says took place between the proponent and town officials, though noted those weren’t before council.
The mayor added council “did its job hearing your concerns” and noted the motion didn’t reference 94 Gore St.
“Please rest assured, that the town will deal with your application in a timely and legal manner, respecting and befitting our new Heritage District,” Prue wrote.
Heritage designation sparks concern from property owner in footprint
By Ron Giofu
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