St. James' Cathedral Sightlines Protection Act, 2002 Smitherman, George — Bill 173 (37th Parliament, 3rd Session)

Bill 173, 37-3

Ontario — Bills

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Bill 173, St. James' Cathedral Sightlines Protection Act, 2002

Smitherman, George

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[37] Bill 173 Original (PDF)

Bill 173 2002

An Act to preserve

and protect the sightlines

of St. James' Cathedral

Preamble

St. James' Cathedral sits on land set aside for a church in 1797, four

years after the Town of York was founded. Between 1803 and 1807, the first

church in the Town of York was built on this site.

In 1820, a Crown patent was issued for the land on which St. James'

Cathedral now sits, with the patent stating that the land is, "upon trust to

and for the sole use and benefit of the parishioners and inhabitants of the

said Town of York, forever as a Churchyard and Burying Ground for the

inhabitants of the said Town of York and as appurtenant to the church there

build thereon".

The current cathedral was opened in 1849. The copper spire of St. James'

Cathedral is 93 metres tall and is the tallest church spire in Canada and the

second tallest in North America. This delicately designed spire once served

as a navigational aid for ships on Lake Ontario.

In 1958, the City of Toronto expanded St. James' original site by clearing

the neighbouring area to create St. James' Park. The buildings within the

precinct surrounding the Cathedral are generally of a low scale, maintaining

the sightlines of this significant historic site.

Therefore, Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the

Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:

Issuing permit prohibited

(1) The City of Toronto shall

not issue a building permit for the construction of any building within,

bordering or in proximity to the precinct surrounding St. James' Cathedral

for any building whose height would block or would seriously interfere with

the sightlines of the Cathedral.

Conflicts

(2) If there is a conflict between this Act and any legislation

or by-law affected by this Act, this Act prevails.

Definition

(3) In this Act,

"precinct" means the area in the City of Toronto bounded by King St. East,

Adelaide Street, Church Street and Jarvis Street.

Commencement

2. This Act comes into force on the day it receives

Royal Assent.

Short title

3. The

short title of this Act is the St. James'

Cathedral Sightlines Protection Act, 2002 .

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The Bill prohibits the City of Toronto from issuing a building permit for

any building within or bordering the precinct of St. James' Cathedral if the

building would block or interfere with the sightlines of the Cathedral.

Date Bill stage Activity Committee

June 27, 2002

First Reading

Carried

Debates and Progress

First Reading

June

27, 2002

Second Reading

Committee

Third Reading

Royal Assent :

Coming into force :Royal Assent.

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Document details

Collection	Ontario — Bills
Citation	Bill 173, 37-3
Type	bill
Volume / chapter	p37 s3 bill 173 html
Language	en
Format	html
Source	PROVINCIAL
Identifier	0ceaebed6f1fed3b20541f90979d4379357d84db

Source file is stored in the law ingest library (html).