Amherstburg Council approved a Heritage Conservation District that includes 464 properties, amended the Town’s sign by-law and awarded the tender for the 2025 Tar and Chip program at our meeting on Tuesday, June 24. Below are the highlights!
Youth Boxing Champ Recognized
Council recognized Curtis Realba of Fighting Island Boxing Club for recently winning a Canadian championship!
The 14-year-old boxer traveled to Quebec City and took home gold in the U17 48 kg category!
Congratulations, Curtis!
Council Amends Sign By-Law
Council voted to amend its sign by-law to permit businesses to pay a fee to use public property for signage provided they still met the standards set out by the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act.
The amendments will allow A-frame signs on sidewalks so long as AODA compliance is maintained. They will also allow mobile signs to remain up year-round, as opposed to just 200 days, provided businesses pay for permits. But flags and mobile signs, even if they are on private property, will not be allowed to be displayed in the boundaries of the Heritage Conservation District.
I opposed the motion because I felt the geographic restriction against mobile signs – which also applies to the flying of an innocuous “Open” flag at a longstanding business – would hurt local businesses and create an uneven playing field. Businesses on one side of a section of Sandwich Street are allowed to have mobile signs, for example, but businesses on the other side of the street are not.
I had earlier in the meeting supported Councillor Pouget’s motion that would have allowed for signs while eliminating the geographic restriction but that motion was defeated.
Businesses and charitable groups like the Knights of Columbus made thoughtful and impassioned speeches to Council about the importance of signage in attracting customers.
All signs will still to have to comply with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, which stipulates that sidewalks must be at least 1.5 metres wide and free of obstacles.
2025 Tar and Chip Program
Council awarded a $532,860 plus HST tender to lone bidder Shepley Road Maintenance Ltd. for the 2025 Tar and Chip Program.
Works to be completed this year include:
- Lowes Sideroad – Meloche Road to Fryer Street – $175,700
- South Sideroad – Concession 6 South to Concession 7 South – $124,650
- Concession 5 South – County Road 18 to Alma Street – $114,680
- Concession 7 South – County Road 18 to Alma Street – $117,830
Boblo Approved for Golf Cart Pilot Program
Ontario’s Ministry of Transportation has expanded its golf cart pilot program to include Boblo Island. The pilot project runs until 2031 and this year’s riding season runs from April 1 to November 30.
Amherstburg recently put forward Boblo Island and Lake Erie Country Club as potential candidates for the pilot and the Province responded with a letter granting permission for Boblo.
The Town must now pass a by-law to allow for the use of golf carts on Boblo and will be required to submit annual data reports by March 1, including information on any collisions.
“Ontario’s objective is to create a viable framework for all participating municipalities to allow golf cart use. Municipalities are in the best position to determine how to safely integrate these vehicles in their communities,” said the letter. “We encourage your municipality to develop public education materials and signage to ensure all participants are following the pilot rules safely and effectively.”
Council voted Tuesday to ask the Province to consider the community of Lakewood for the pilot project and also gave permission for Lakewood to host a Canada Day golf cart parade.
Council Approves Heritage Conservation District
Council voted 6 to 1 to create a Heritage Conservation District encompassing our historic downtown core and five other defined districts, each with unique characteristics.
Our history is our future when it comes to economic development and I was happy to support this initiative.
I believe it will promote tourism and economic development while also enhancing property values and civic pride. Residents have told Council again and again that heritage is important to them and this HCD will allow the Town to preserve it in the face of provincial indifference.
There are 106 Properties of Interest in the HCD that would not have protection unless they were designated and there is not sufficient time to designate them before the provincial deadline. And there are another 79 properties under consideration to be Properties of Interest. Once they’re gone, like so many toppled buildings before them, they are gone forever so we need to protect them.
“Without a Heritage Conservation District Plan, the Town and the community will have no ability to guide the look of developments in the historic core of Amherstburg,” said a staff report.
Just how rich is the heritage in Amherstburg? The Ontario Heritage Act requires that at least 25 per cent of properties within a proposed HCD must be contributing to the area. In Amherstburg, the number of contributing properties is more than double that, coming in at 63 per cent.
There are 464 properties in all. 291 of them are contributing properties. 173 of them are non-contributing properties.
The HCD is divided up into six sections:
| HDC District | Contributing | Non-Contributing | Total | % of contributing |
| North District | 39 | 5 | 44 | 89% |
| Downtown | 31 | 29 | 60 | 52% |
| South | 62 | 35 | 97 | 64% |
| Sandwich Street | 14 | 34 | 48 | 29% |
| East District | 136 | 60 | 196 | 69% |
| Waterfront | 9 | 10 | 19 | 47% |
| Total | 291 | 173 | 464 | 63% |
More than 141 areas in Ontario have been designated Heritage Conservation Districts since the first one in 1980.
Below are some of the benefits of an HCD:
Community Benefits
- Tourism and economic development – There is a whispering history in our streets that will be preserved through this HCD. If we preserve it, they will come. This means increased commerce, more jobs and an expanded tax base.
- Cultural Identity and Pride – This HCD will help preserve the unique character of our town, reinforcing local pride.
- Sustainable development – It encourages the reuse of existing buildings, reducing demolition waste and environmental impact.
Property Owner Benefits:
- Increased property values.
- Clarity for property owners and a defined and structured planning process.
- Ability to apply for heritage rebates to offset renovation costs,
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