Official Plan Policy:

The Windsor Official Plan Volume 1 includes (9.0) “A community’s identity and civic pride is rooted in physical and cultural links to its past. In order to celebrate Windsor’s rich history, Council is committed to recognizing, conserving and enhancing heritage resources.” Goals include (9.1.1) “The identification, recognition, protection, conservation, enhancement and proper management of heritage resources.” Objectives include (9.2.4) “To increase awareness and appreciation of Windsor’s heritage resources and encourage participation by individuals, organizations and other levels of government in heritage conservation.”

Also, (9.3.2.1) “Council will identify Windsor’s heritage resources by: ... (c) Researching and documenting the history and architectural and contextual merit of potential heritage resources on an individual property basis”. (9.3.3.1) “Council will recognize Windsor’s heritage resources by: ... (a) Designating individual buildings, structures, sites and landscapes as heritage properties under the Ontario Heritage Act;” (9.3.6.1) “Council will manage heritage resources by: … (e) providing support and encouragement to organizations and individuals who undertake the conservation of heritage resources by private means”

Protection of archeological sites is also addressed by “Requiring that development or infrastructure undertakings on lands containing potential archaeological resources avoid the destruction or alteration of these resources; or where this is not possible, requiring the proponent to conserve significant archaeological resources through documentation and removal or mitigation in advance of land disturbances” (9.3.4.1).

Archeological policies of the official plan are implemented in part by “requiring the preparation of an archaeological assessment when development proposals or infrastructure undertakings affect known archaeological resources or areas of archaeological potential” (9.3.7.1).

All of these OP policies would be fulfilled through the recommendations of this report, along with any other archaeological requirements of MTCS.

Risk Analysis:

Heritage designation does not preclude the building from making heritage-sensitive alterations. If designated, modifications or additions that affect any identified heritage attribute will require approval by Council, after consultation with the municipal heritage committee. This ensures future alterations do not negatively impact the attributes listed in the designation by-law. Heritage designation is generally a well-established and well-understood process amongst City staff in Windsor. It ensures that all City staff would be aware of the archaeological artifact (railway turntable), as well as other designated heritage attributes.

If not designated, the archaeological artifact may perhaps not be sufficiently identified, recognized, or protected (by the Conservation Easement alone). Although the Conservation Easement is registered on title, information on property title restrictions is not generally flagged to all City Staff and may not be well-understood. Without the individual heritage designation, in the future, inappropriate changes/removals could be