• Stouffville is advancing its Downtown Heritage Conservation District (HCD) alongside major transit-oriented growth planning.
  • An HCD plan will aim to preserve historic character while accommodating and informing significant MTSA-driven intensification.
  • Plans for three previously approved districts were finalized in 2024, while the Main Street district was delayed due to budget constraints.
  • Staff say the project may be among the first in Ontario to balance HCD planning within an MTSA under new Provincial growth policies.
  • A public open house on April 7 will provide residents an early opportunity to learn about and shape the plan.

 

Stouffville is moving ahead with plans to establish a Heritage Conservation District (HCD) for its Downtown core, aiming to preserve historic character as the area prepares for significant growth tied to transit-oriented development.

HCDs are used by municipalities to protect areas of architectural, cultural, and historical significance. Designated through a by-law and heritage conservation plan, they allow for greater oversight of alterations, redevelopment, and overall neighbourhood evolution.

Council first endorsed four potential HCDs in May 2022. Three district plans covering historic residential areas around Church, Second, and Burkholder streets were completed and enacted in June 2024. However, budget limitations delayed work on a Main Street-focused district.

That effort is now underway. The proposed heritage conservation area along Main Street extends from Albert to Stouffer Street and includes a southern portion of Edward. These lands were among the earliest developed in the community, the project website notes, following David Gibson’s 1826 survey of Abraham Stouffer’s lands into village lots.

Provided a total project budget of $75,000 in 2025, development of the Downtown HCD plan was contracted in December.

The contract award followed Council direction in October to initiate a block plan for the Stouffville GO Major Transit Station Area (MTSA), where substantial intensification is expected due to its proximity to higher-order transit.

Both the block plan and the HCD plan will move forward concurrently. According to Staff, the block plan will “establish a framework to guide and facilitate future redevelopment based on transit-supportive and transit-oriented design principles that promote more intensive mixed-use development to foster a complete, connected, and vibrant downtown area.”

However, Staff have recognized the added complexity in attempting to align intensification goals with heritage protection.

“The density targets of the MTSA encouraging more dense forms of development…may conflict with the goals of protecting the contributing heritage properties,” they noted, adding the HCD will need to “balance the demands of the projected/forecasted density in the MTSA while protecting the character of the HCD.”

That tension places Stouffville in largely uncharted territory. Staff indicate the proposed Downtown HCD is likely among the first in Ontario to advance within an MTSA under the Province’s updated growth framework and intensification permissions, requiring consideration of policy dynamics not previously encountered in heritage planning.

As a result, Staff believe the initiative could serve as a model for other Ontario municipalities navigating similar pressures, demonstrating how heritage conservation and intensification objectives can be integrated.

To qualify for designation, at least 25 percent of properties within a proposed HCD must meet two or more heritage significance criteria determined by the Province. Staff estimate roughly 60 percent of properties in the proposed district will meet at least one criterion, with most expected to satisfy two following further evaluation.

Property assessments will continue into the summer and could lead to adjustments to the proposed district boundaries.

Residents will have an early opportunity to weigh in at a public open house scheduled for April 7 at 19 on the Park. Running from 6 to 8 p.m., the drop-in session will include Town Staff and project consultants, offering information on the HCD process and an opportunity for community input before formal policy work begins.