Town of Georgina
Related Links
Georgina Heritage Committee a Local Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee (LACAC)
General Information
What is a LACAC?
When is a LACAC established?
What is the jurisdiction of a LACAC?
What is the role of municipal council in heritage conservation?
What does a LACAC do?
Who can you contact for further information?
What is a LACAC?
Our inheritance of architecture, cultural landscapes, and material culture is an irreplaceable asset and resource. In Ontario, the task of conserving our inheritance of historically and architecturally significant properties is primarily a municipal matter.
The Ontario Heritage Act provides a framework within which municipalities can act to ensure the conservation of properties of historical and/or architectural significance. It also encourages citizen participation in heritage conservation locally. Under section 28 of the Act, the council of a municipality is authorized to establish, by by-law, a Local Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee (LACAC), a local advisory committee made up of five or more people. The function of the committee is to advise council on local heritage matters and to assist the council in carrying out its heritage conservation program.
Though the organization and function of heritage advisory committees may be defined by
the Act , municipalities are not required to establish a LACAC. The initiative to
start the process of forming a LACAC can come from many sources. A heritage home owner, a
community group or organization may initiate the process. However, it is the municipal
council which finally establishes the committee, determines its terms of reference, and
appoints its members.
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When is a LACAC established?
A local architectural conservation advisory committee or LACAC is established by municipal by-law, and its members (as residents and/or ratepayers) are appointed by municipal council in accordance with the provisions of the Ontario Heritage Act . This can be done at any time. In the Town of Georgina the LACAC is known as the Georgina Heritage Committee.
While it is advisable to have a LACAC in place at the time they deal with designation questions, municipalities can designate individual properties and areas without one. In establishing a LACAC, council recognizes the need for an active heritage conservation program.
Once council indicates its intentions to implement such a program, there are many tasks in the community which LACAC can facilitate. Such tasks may include carrying out research, conducting a survey and inventory of local properties of historical and architectural significance, developing a community responsibility for its heritage resources through education programming, drafting a heritage policy for the Official Plan of the municipality, and formulating other policies and practices.
Successful heritage conservation at the community level is about involving people in the
conservation of community heritage resources. What better way for council to begin the
establishment of a heritage conservation program in the community?
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What is the jurisdiction of a LACAC?
Municipal heritage advisory committees or LACACs can be established by one or more municipalities. "Municipality", under the Ontario Heritage Act , is defined as "a city, town, village, township or improvement district and includes a band under the Indian Act (Canada) that is permitted to control, manage and expend its revenue moneys under section 68 of that Act ".
If a lower-tier municipal council chooses, it can delegate its authority to establish
a LACAC to an upper-tier municipality of which it is a part. The Ontario Heritage Act
provides that the council of a municipality that forms part of a county, a metropolitan,
regional, or district municipality may delegate its power to establish a LACAC to the
council of such county, metropolitan, regional, or district municipality of which it
forms a part (s. 36(3)).
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What is the role of municipal council in heritage conservation?
To understand the relationship between a municipal council and a LACAC, we should first examine the role of council in heritage conservation under the Ontario Heritage Act.
Because municipal council's role under the Act is to designate individual property and districts, it has an inherent responsibility to formulate heritage policies and principles, and where possible to initiate a heritage conservation program.
Council is empowered under the Act to:
- establish a local architectural conservation advisory committee (LACAC) (s.28)
- designate individual property under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act and designate districts or areas under Part V of the Act (s. 29, s. 41);
- issue or refuse permits to alter or demolish a designated property under Parts IV and V of the Act (s. 33, 34, s. 42, 43, 44)
- repeal designation by-laws (s. 31, 32);
- purchase or lease individually designated property (s. 36(1));
- expropriate designated property (s. 36(2));
- provide grants and loans to designated property owners (s. 39);
- enter into easements and covenants with property owners (s. 37(1)).
These statutory powers give rise to the following responsibilities of a municipal council:
- setting the municipal budget to be used for heritage conservation;
- carrying out heritage conservation policies in the Official Plan and its amendments;
- receiving recommendations and consulting with the LACAC, where one is established and having due regard for the committee's advice on designation, alterations to designated property, demolition, repeal of designation by-laws, and other matters relating to heritage conservation in the municipality.
Council's role and involvement is critical in the implementation of a successful heritage conservation program in the community. Council should be informed at all times of its LACAC's operations and recommendations through the committee's minutes, reports to council, annual reports, and involvement in committee activities.
LACAC's reporting relationship to council is important. While some committees may report through planning advisory or community development committees or other standing committees, or even through the municipal chief administrative offficer, it is important to stress that the more direct the access or reporting relationship the better.
Most councils and LACACs have found that having one or two municipal council members on the advisory committee maintains lines of communication between the two parties. For instance, the council member can bring the committee's work to the attention of the council, introduce by-laws at the appropriate time, and inform the committee of the council's expectations and requirements.
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What does a LACAC do?
When a LACAC is established, it becomes a standing committee of council and an integral part of the municipal structure. The committee functions under the council and normally reports directly to council or through another standing committee. In the Town of Georgina the LACAC is known as the Gerogina Heritage Committee.
The roles and responsibilities include:
- examining all the properties and areas that may deserve protection now or in the future;
- facilitating the community's interest and involvement in heritage conservation through a recognized forum;
- promoting heritage conservation within the community;
- advising property owners on appropriate conservation and maintaining practices;
- determining the value of heritage resources for protection through designation;
- providing council with reliable advice to assist them in making decisions on complex issues;
- administering designated property grant programs;
- educating the community to encourage a conservation ethic and a climate of responsible stewardship of the community's heritage assets.
Links
Contact Us
For committee information, please contact Michele Vandentillaart, Committee Secretary at (905)476-4301, (905)722-6516 or (705)437-2210 Ext. 248 or via email mvandentillaart@georgina.ca