Two Sisters Resorts Corp. wants to demolish the old Parliament Oak school to make way for a hotel and the town’s heritage committee wants the developer to first protect some of the site’s heritage features.

The former school is on the town’s register of heritage properties but it does not have heritage designation and is not protected by the Ontario Heritage Act.

“We are amenable to a number of the recommendations provided by staff,” said Christian Giansante, a Stantec heritage planner working with Two Sisters.

The intent to demolish was submitted by Two Sisters on Feb. 10 and was brought to the municipal heritage committee April 5. 

Staff recommended in a report signed by heritage planner Denise Horne that the heritage committee acknowledge the notice with two additions.

The first was to “assesses development alternatives or mitigative measures for the direct impacts to the 1948 school building” and the second was that Two Sisters develop a commemoration plan to go with the demolition permit. 

“The documentation and salvage plan will identify materials that are from the site that could be reused in the proposed development or in the community elsewhere,” Giansante told the committee.

He identified several objects of heritage interest that the team from Two Sisters was interested in preserving.

These included two flat sculptures on the south side of the school, a flat stone sculpture depicting an oak tree on the east side of the gym, a stone oak tree marker from 1915 and a statue on King Street commemorating the Underground Railroad. 

Peter Lesdow, the architect of the hotel, told the committee the “downtown heritage character” of Niagara-on-the-Lake was “the main criteria” for the development of the hotel.

“Trees around the perimeter of the site are to be maintained,” he said.

Much of the asphalt parking that currently exists at the site will be removed, Lesdow said.

The new hotel will have more greenspace than the existing school because most of the parking will be underground, he said.

Committee member David Snelgrove said there was a time capsule in the school and he felt its contents needed to be “preserved in some way and respected.”

His second concern was that the plaques with the school’s name located over the school’s doors had not been listed for preservation in the plan presented by Two Sisters. 

Lashia Jones, a heritage specialist with Stantec, assured Snelgrove the capsule and the plaques would be included in the heritage conservation plan.

Snelgrove asked if the developer would agrees to a heritage easement with the town to help preserve the building’s history.

The Ontario Heritage Trust defines an easement as a “voluntary legal agreement” that helps to preserve heritage features on sensitive properties.

Snelgrove said the easement could “clarify the preservation of artifacts, could clarify what happens if there’s a sale.”

Sara Premi, a lawyer employed by Two Sisters, said she could not comment on Snelgrove’s suggestion until consulting with her client. 

She told the committee that many of the heritage features can be protected under the commemoration plan and heritage impact assessment prepared by the Two Sisters team.

Coun. Gary Burroughs wanted to know if heritage features identified by previous owners had been included in the commemoration plan.

And Coun. Tim Balasiuk pointed out there were foundations from the old home of Josiah Plumb under the school. 

Horne said this has been discussed with the applicant and said if anything is found deep underground during construction, “all work would cease.”

“Will there be an archeologist on site, or are we at the mercy of the construction workers doing the digging?” said committee member Amanda Demers.

“It’s not typical for an archeologist to be out on site,” Horne said.

Demers also pointed out the school is one of NOTL’s few pieces of post-war architecture and asked for a “more in-depth report” examining those features. 

Architect and committee member Brian Marshall argued the architecture of the old school is “quite unremarkable.”

“It’s standard sort of 1950s mid-century institutional architecture,” he said. 

Horne pointed out that the town would have 60 days to bring any additional reports back to the heritage committee after requesting them. 

After that, a demolition permit can be issued without conditions. 

The committee acknowledged the permit request and asked Two Sisters to return within 60 days with a waste management plan for the demolition.