Risk Analysis:
As a condition of Site Plan Approval, the owner was required to conduct a Stage 1 Archaeological Assessment for the property and fulfill all recommendations of the said Assessment and any subsequent required assessments, to the satisfaction of the MTCS. While the licensed archaeologist of the proponent has recommended a number of measures including short term monitoring during construction and long termprotection of the turntable feature, MTCS has also communicated with City Staff that the preferred long term protection tools would be to register the turntable as an archaeological site, create a conservation easement and heritage designation for the turn table. If the conservation easement is not entered into, MTCS may require alternative protections to be put in place which could potentially complicate development of the site. The Owner is agreeable to the Conservation Easement of the railroad turntable, which will afford some protections to the archaeological artifact as the restrictions and protections would be registered on title of the property in perpetuity. As the archaeological assessment are still being undertaken, there may be potential for more deeply buried archaeology on site. The Ontario Heritage Act tool of using a Conservation Easement will allow the archaeological resource(s) to be conserved. Without the Conservation Easement, there may not be a method to legally indicate the presence of the archaeological resources on title, and could result in irreversible destruction and loss of this cultural heritage resource in the future.
Financial Matters:
N/A
Consultations:
City staff have communicated with the property owner and representatives, and consulted with MTCS staff, and the property owner's licensed archaeologist, concerning archaeological management. Many other City staff were consulted for this development project including and not limited to Site Plan Control, Building Department, Legal, and Real Estate Services.
Conclusion:
The recommendations in this report are as a result of the railway turntable archaeological feature, which is required by the Ministry of Tourism, Culture, and Sport (MTCS) to be protected through long-term protective measures. The recommendation is to have the owner enter into a Heritage Conservation Easement for the railway turntable feature, and any other archaeological resources as required by MTCS, under Section 37 of the Ontario Heritage Act.