engineered/fabricated. Based on recent information about pricing, the owner has further indicated that their strong preference would be for the aluminum railing system.

The Ironex aluminum railing system is a regular railing system which would be very visible due to the width of each baluster (5/8”) at standard height (42”), and Code requirements for the balusters to be no more than 4” apart, with top guard of 1.5”. Approximately 12” of the balcony vertical guard would be hidden behind the parapet.

The Durarail glass railing, while inevitably would introduce a modern look to the property and reflection from the glass, but could be considered more discreet due to its transparency, therefore more recommended than the aluminum railing system. The posts for the glass railing system however are 2.5” by 2.5” (not reflected to scale on the drawings), which would be visible from the street. The number of posts required between glass panels are also not reflected to scale on the drawings. A topless glass railing system was also sought but the owner informed that discussion with the railing supplier indicated that a topless glass railing system was not suitable for the subject property due to wind concerns.

The owner is accepting of railings with a dark bronze colour or a colour closely matching the main stucco walls. While it may be recommended that the colour of the railing system be matching with the new colour for the main stucco wall in order to be camouflaged to some extent, it will have to be confirmed through samples to be finalized on site.

Although the options provided are not the most preferred ones, at the time of designation this building had a form of balcony which was not original to the building, and not up to Building Code safety standards. The proposal now could be considered a replacement of the former non-original balcony. (The formerly white coloured thin metal balcony was removed in recent months.) This new work would be done to meet the Ontario Building Code.

The proposed new work, if removed in the future, should still allow the heritage attributes of the property to stay in-tact.

Official Plan Policy:

The Windsor Official Plan includes protection of heritage resources (9.3.4.1). “Council will protect heritage resources by: (b) Requiring any person who proposes to demolish or alter a designated heritage property to submit plans to Council for approval under the Ontario Heritage Act; (c) Requiring that, prior to approval of any alteration, partial demolition, removal or change in use of a designated heritage property, the applicant demonstrate that the proposal will not adversely impact the heritage significance of the property (d) Requiring that, prior to approval of any alteration, partial demolition, removal or change in use of a designated heritage property, the applicant prepare, to the satisfaction of the Municipality, an archival record for submission to the municipal archives;”.

Risk Analysis:

The owner is awaiting the approvals of the Heritage Alteration Permit to reinstate some of the removed heritage attributes (sculpted parapet edge on the front enclosed porch).