Local residents are interested to see if Walkerville will be designated a Heritage Conservation District.
Dozens of people attended a public engagement event at Willistead Manor on Monday evening for an update on the Walkerville Heritage Conservation District Study, with results of the research completed as part of the process.
This draft study has evaluated the background and historical research of the area, considers the boundary of where the district could be, and also considers information gathered from the city's first event held for the public at the end of 2023.
Based on the findings, it shows that the Walkerville area does qualify and meet the criteria to become a Heritage Conservation District.
Marcus Letourneau, President of M.R. Letourneau and Associates, who is the consultant of the study, says they have recommended to shrink the proposed district area from the proposed 1,200 homes.
"And we're down to about 700, so it's about 60 per cent of what we started with, but within that area one of the reasons we've recommended shrinking the value is where you have the existing designated properties, the existing properties with the Heritage Register. So, within our area, nearly 40 per cent of the properties were already identified by the City of Windsor in some way."
Letourneau says the next phase - if city council decides to move forward - would look at regulations and guidelines within the district.
"In our experience when we create the plan and guideline phases it often comes down to that community engagement. So, you could have very general guidelines, you could have very specific. But that's really what the next phase does is it really gets into do we want to regulate windows and doors? Do we want to regulate colour? Or, are we satisfied with what are the materials?"
Tracy Tang, Acting Heritage Planner with the City of Windsor, says the properties are evaluated across nine total criteria items, broken down into three main categories.
"Those three larger categories can be simplified as architectural, or design, or physical value. The second grouping of categories could be summarized as historical, or associative values. And then the final category is contextual values."
Residents are encouraged to fill out a short survey online with their thoughts about the findings and recommendations for Walkerville.
Results from the public engagement session, and from the survey, will be added into the draft study and presented to the Development and Heritage Standing Committee in early 2025 before making its way to city council for next steps.
A Heritage Conservation District is a geographically defined area within a municipality that is noted for its distinct heritage character.
Walkerville was founded in 1890 by Hiram Walker, owner and producer of Canadian Club Whisky. The neighbourhood is characterized by large brick homes, wide streets, and plenty of trees.