Weston to play key role in shaping downtown Whitby
Weston Consulting is playing an integral role in a comprehensive heritage study that will have an important impact on the evolution of Whitby’s downtown core. The team mandated to prepare the Downtown Whitby Heritage Conservation District Study and Plan is being led by Chris Borgal of Goldsmith Borgal & Company Ltd. and includes Weston representative David Capper, Owen Scott of Landplan, and heritage consultant and planner Paul Dilse.
The project aims to preserve Whitby’s historically significant sites, guiding and managing future change in Downtown Whitby. The team proposes the creation of a Heritage Conservation District Plan which contains three districts and outlines specific policies and guidelines to conserve, protect, and enhance the character of these three important areas.
An important financial and manufacturing centre in the mid-1800s, Whitby is known for a downtown distinguished by many fine examples of heritage architecture including Regency, Victorian, Gothic Revival and Neo-Classic.
Phase one of the project, which began in February, 2012, examines the heritage significance of properties across the Study Area. To date, the team has held two public consultation meetings and will be proceeding to Council within the near future.
Weston Consulting’s planners will be responsible for preparing Official Plan Policies and Zoning Regulations to implement the study’s findings and recommendations.
Vaughan's fast-growing population is projected to reach half a million by 2051.
Change generates appeals
in Vaughan
Weston Consulting is helping facilitate a large number of appeals to the City of Vaughan's new Official Plan.
Adopted in 2010 and modified in 2011 and 2012, the City’s new Official Plan seeks to harmonize the series of disparate policies currently in place for different areas of Vaughan, including its urban and rural centres. At present, the policies are provided under separate Official Plan Amendments. The new Plan represents a solid step forward for Vaughan as it readies itself for further growth, both in the City centre and surrounding areas.
City staff are working to address appeals via a string of mediations and consultations. In the meantime, the Plan awaits approval from the Ontario Municipal Board before it can fully come into effect.
Provincial and Regional forecasts project that Vaughan will reach a population of approximately 420,000 by 2031 and approximately 500,000 by 2051. With such anticipated growth, it comes as no surprise that development in Vaughan is continuing at a high rate. A number of applications have been submitted for the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre near the subway station currently under construction. With a growing number of new businesses making Vaughan their home, it appears that the new Official Plan, with its more modernized, progressive, and environmentally conscious policies, is overdue. That said, change inevitably generates appeals.
As a leader in land use planning in Vaughan, Weston Consulting is representing several landowners in a variety of appeals to the Plan.
Looking good: Weston's new boardroom
Strategic planning meetings get a new setting.
