Firehall on the Verge of Being Sold
Posted by John Malloy on 06/21/2009
BY CHRIS FELL -
The Municipality of Meaford is on the verge of selling the old fire hall to the Stanley Knight Heritage Society.
Meaford council held a public meeting concerning an Official Plan Amendment and a zoning bylaw amendment for the fire hall property at its planning meeting held on Monday night.
Both amendments were passed by council after no opposition to the proposal emerged at the public meeting. The Official Plan Amendment classes the property as Downtown Core Commercial Designation. The zoning amendment zones the property as Institutional with a site-specific exception allowing a residential apartment on the upper floor.
The Municipality of Meaford has been wrestling with what to do with the fire hall for a number of years. The Meaford Fire Department moved out of the cramped facility after the renovation of Meaford Hall began.
Since that time the debate has focused about what to do with the building. Its unique architecture and historical background made it difficult for council to simply sell off the property.
The proposal before council on Monday night appears to be a solution that is the best of both worlds.
The Stanley Knight Heritage Society intends to utilize the first floor of the building as a historic archive. The primary use will be storing general historic materials. The Society will also utilize the first floor for its general meetings. On occasion, the Society will host a tour of the facility during ‘open door’ events. During those events the building will be accessible to the public to view the general historic artifacts.
www.meafordexpress.com
Posted by
John Malloy
on 06/21/2009. Filed under
Meaford.
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