Heritage Conservation Area

Acknowledging the syilx/Okanagan people, whose rich history and cultural significance are deeply embedded in the lands encompassing the Abbott Street and Marshall Street Heritage Conservation Areas (HCA), is essential. Recognized for their heritage value since 1983 and officially established as Heritage Conservation Areas in 1998, these areas contain evidence of past human activity dating back to times before European settlement.

The vision for these historic areas celebrates the elements valued by the Kelowna community: historic homes, mature landscaping, scenic character, a strong sense of community, and a unique sense of time and place. As neighbourhoods that have continuously evolved and densified since their initial settlement, growth will continue through gentle and thoughtful renovations, house conversions, additions, and new properties. Retaining the authentic, historic character of these areas, combined with a careful and customized approach to development, ensures that residents and visitors alike will continue to experience a unique and valued sense of place well into the future.

Map 23.1 Heritage Conservation Area

A Heritage Alteration Permit will not be required for:

• Interior alterations.
• Exterior maintenance and repairs that do not affect the heritage character of the area or heritage value of the property, including repainting in identical colours or routine upkeep.
• Exterior alterations that are not visible from a fronting street.
• Construction or alteration of decks not visible from a fronting street and not the property’s heritage character.
• Regular or emergency City maintenance of municipal infrastructure. 
• Construction that does not require a building permit (landscaping, fencing, small sheds, etc.).

Section 614 of the Local Government Act allows local governments to, for the purposes of heritage conservation, designate Heritage Conservation Areas.

Section 615 of the Local Government Act establishes that if an official community plan designates a Heritage Conservation Area, individuals are prohibited from certain actions unless they possess a Heritage Alteration Permit authorizing the action.

The Abbott Street and Marshall Street HCA - Conservation and Development Guidelines are essential for guiding development and change while preserving the heritage values of the neighbourhoods depicted on Map 23.1. These guidelines provide a framework for property owners and developers to make informed decisions that maintain the areas’ aesthetic and historical continuity. By adhering to these guidelines, new constructions and renovations can integrate with the existing built environment, ensuring that the distinctive qualities of these heritage conservation areas are preserved for future generations.

The HCA - Conservation and Development Guidelines are a resource for designers, architects, developers, builders, and property owners planning new properties, additions and alterations in the Abbott Street and Marshall Street Heritage Conservation Areas (Map 23.1). They also serve as an evaluation tool for City staff and municipal decision-makers reviewing proposals. The guidelines clarify how to meet the broad objectives for the Heritage Conservation Area as described in the OCP. 
Before starting any design work, individuals involved should refer to the guidelines and consider the following questions:

• How closely does the design adhere to the vision and objectives of the guidelines?
• Where does it depart from them and why?
• Is the design informed by an understanding of the heritage value of the property in question?
• Does the design respond to the Statement of Significance and Character Defining Elements for the area?
• Does the proposal adhere to the Standards and Guidelines for Conservation of Historic Places in Canada (Standard 11), ensuring that new properties and additions are compatible with, distinguishable from, and subordinate to existing historic structures.

For proposals that retain the heritage value in existing contributory houses, variances to conservation and development guidelines and development regulations may be considered, see section Chapter 11: Heritage, of Kelowna's OCP.

Heritage Conservation Areas are collections of heritage resources that together form a greater whole. An HCA itself is a heritage resource, composed of individual elements that collectively create a distinct sense of time and place. Properties that contribute to the heritage value of the area are known as "contributing" properties. Identifying these properties illustrates how the area's heritage value is expressed and guides conservation decisions.

The HCA - Conservation and Development Guidelines are designed to prioritize the retention of contributory properties. To incentivize this preservation, the guidelines allow for adjustments to development regulations when the features of a contributory property are retained. These adjustments may include for example modifications to setback requirements, parking standards, use flexibility, and density increases. Each development proposal is evaluated on a site-by-site basis, with the Development Planning Department exercising discretion in making these decisions. This approach encourages the conservation of the character and historical value of the neighbourhood and its contributory features while accommodating new development needs.

The HCAs also include properties and properties that are not considered contributory to the heritage value of the area, however, changes to non-contributing properties can still impact the area's heritage value and offer opportunities to enhance its character through thoughtful design. Therefore, the HCA - Conservation and Development Guidelines provides guidelines for all properties, with additional considerations for the "contributing" properties.

Methodology

A multi-step process was used to classify properties in the Abbott Street and Marshall Street HCAs as "contributory". Based on the statements of "significance" and 'future character", each property and landscape element were assigned one of these statuses. This classification, along with the guidelines, directs incentives, energy, and sensitivity towards conservation. It allows for development, density, and change while discouraging demolition or significant transformation of character. If essential character defining elements of a contributory property, such as the property, the trees or even the siting, undergoes significant transformation or demolition, it shall no longer retain its classification as a contributory property, and in this, lose its access to potential incentives and development variances.

The Contributory Properties Schedule was created based on the criteria below:

1. Listed on the 1983 Heritage Resources Inventory or the Heritage Register (including properties protected by a Heritage Designation Bylaw or a Heritage Revitalization Agreement).
2. Identified as having heritage significance - aesthetic, historic, scientific, cultural, social, spiritual or contextual, sometimes with a plaque out front.
3. Constructed during the most prolific decades of development, beginning in the 1900s and ending in 1959, which gave the neighbourhood its valued character, as noted in the Statement of Significance.
4. Exhibit character-contributing built form with elements such as 1-2.5 storey height with traditional roof forms (gable, hip, gambrel, flat etc.) prominent or end-wall chimneys, bay and picture windows, wood and/or stucco cladding, traditional porches, entries and doors, and rich, contrasting paint schemes.
5. Exhibit character-contributing siting and landscaping such as lining up approximately with the neighbouring houses siting, yard featuring mature or traditional landscaping, curved pathways, openly visible from the street.

In contrast, all other properties can be redeveloped in a transformative manner, allowing for new designs that are compatible with, distinguishable from, and subordinate to their neighbouring properties. See Map 23.2: Contributory Properties in the Abbott Street and Marshall Street Heritage Conservation Areas.

Requests to be added or removed from the Contributory Properties Schedule can be submitted to the City to be reviewed by a heritage registered professional.

When assessing applications for infill housing developments in the Abbott Street and Marshall Street Heritage Conservation Areas (HCAs), a clear hierarchy of priorities must guide decision. The top priority is the retention of contributory houses, which are crucial to preserving the character and heritage value of the area. Following closely is the retention of mature trees, as they significantly enhance the environmental and aesthetic quality of the HCAs.

Although housing is critically important, the siting and design of infill developments must integrate thoughtfully with the existing context, with a strong emphasis on preserving mature trees whenever possible.

If a mature tree is located in an area intended for an infill unit, alternatives like relocation or in-kind replacement should be considered. However, if a tree is affected by lower-priority features such as parking spaces, garages, or driveways, priority should be giving to tree retention. Staff level delegated variance authority could be used to accommodate tree preservation. In such cases, site planning, parking plans or requirements may need to be adjusted to ensure that development aligns with both housing needs and the preservation of the area's historical and environmental uniqueness and integrity.

Purpose of A Statement of Significance
A Statement of Significance (SOS) is a summary of the historical, cultural, aesthetic, scientific, social, spiritual, and environmental values of an historic place, whether it is an individual property or an area. It contains a description of the historic place and its key features, a summary of the area's heritage values, and a list of character defining elements. Character defining elements are the aspects of an historic area that contribute to its heritage value and that should be retained to preserve this value. The guidelines in the Conservation and Development Guidelines section should be interpreted with reference to the character defining elements in the SOS. It is important to note that the SOS is written through a colonial lens, reflecting the heritage values and priorities of colonial development. Recognizing and integrating Indigenous values and perspectives is a crucial step for a more comprehensive and inclusive understanding of these areas.

Statement of Significance

Description of the Historic Place
The Abbott & Marshall Streets Heritage Conservation Areas (HCAs) are located in the Core Area of the City of Kelowna, British Columbia. It is a residential area dominated by single detached houses comprised of over 360 properties in approximately 36 hectares. Their boundaries are between Mill Creek in the north, Strathcona Avenue in the south, and Okanagan lake in the west. The Abbott Street HCA eastern boundary starts along Water Street, continues along the lane between Knox Crescent and Pandosy Street and ends along Pandosy Street. The Marshall Street HCA spans the entire Marshall Street and includes the first two properties on the north side of Rowcliffe Avenue and the first two on the south side of Buckland Avenue to the east (see Map 23.1: Abbott Street and Marshall Street Heritage Conservation Areas.)

Aerial view of Kelowna and the Okanagan Lake Floating Bridge in the 1960s - Kelowna Public Archives #9761

Heritage Values
The Abbott & Marshall Streets Heritage Conservation Areas are located on the traditional territory of the syilx/Okanagan people on the eastern shore of kɬúsx̌nítkʷ (Okanagan Lake), an important and sacred syilx place, invaluable resource and traditional transportation route since time immermorial.

The historic settler residential neighbourhood that was established here between Pandosy Street and Okanagan Lake, south of Mill Creek and north of the hospital in the early 1900s, has been recognized as a historic place for its evident built and scenic character since the Kelowna Heritage Inventory of 1983. Two Heritage Conservation Areas were established within this neighbourhood in 1998, each named after the dominant roadways - Abbott Street and Marshall Street - that traverse them. 
 

The neighbourhood is historically associated with the introduction of modern transportation services in the area (a rail branch line completed between the CPR mainline at Sicamous and Okanagan Landing in 1892 as well as paddlewheeler service connecting various points on the lake) which gave Kelowna ‘townsite’ its important boost to expand towards incorporation as a city and for the local agricultural industry to be established in earnest. First subdivided for farming homesteads in 1904, but adjusted to urban residential lots by 1906, this residential area is valued as a representation of the early and evolving character of Kelowna’s settler inhabitancy pattern along the shores of Okanagan Lake. Its house styles offer a diverse variety of residential architecture dating from the early 1900s right up until today, with various recognizable development booms and architectural trends, often constructed in pleasantly consistent groupings.
 

The curved or diagonal alignments of certain streets and lanes in the neighbourhood, such as Abbott, Knox, Pandosy and Riverside, were laid out this way due to the proximity and natural shapes of Mill Creek and Lake Okanagan, a unique characteristic of this neighbourhood. The natural, scenic aspects of the area, along with views of the lake along the east-west streets and between some of the houses, have given the neighbourhood an identity as a recreational and tourist destination for visitors and residents alike. It has been called a ‘sanctuary’ by many and is cherished as a green, shady, authentically historic place that is walkable, bikeable, centrally situated, and that offers interesting, educational and pleasant experiences to all - comparable to a public park. 
 

The neighbourhood is valued for the way it conveys a unique sense of time and place and for its strong sense of community. Containing the highest concentration of heritage properties in Kelowna, some listed on the Kelowna Heritage Register, others on the earlier 1983 Heritage Resources Inventory, as well as home to dozens of heritage trees and groupings identified on the 1992 Heritage Trees of Kelowna report, the area’s legacy attributes establish a strong heritage character in the neighbourhood. This sense of an established, older neighbourhood comes from the collective presence of extensive, mature landscaping on many properties and along the streets, as well as from the abundance of traditional house styles and property configurations prioritizing pedestrian entrances facing the street, front porches, and inviting, open front yards. 

With few exceptions, the residences in this neighbourhood are modest in size and detailing. This is a characteristic that remained even when house styles changed from early 1900 cottages to interwar revival homes to post-war bungalows and onto suburban ranchers. Only in the last two decades, since the establishment of the Heritage Conservation Area bylaw in 1998, have very large homes with multiple car garages become an apparent phenomenon, with the majority of this typology located along the lakeside of Abbott Street, although recently they are appearing in more areas of the HCA. This is a reflection of the changes in housing styles and forms as vehicles became more popular and predominant over time and homes had to be designed to accommodate them.

Recognizing and establishing the heritage value and unique character of this neighbourhood was an effort spearheaded by some Kelowna residents, and this ongoing, preservation-focused advocacy is part of its social and historical narrative. Although initiated decades earlier, heritage recognition of this area was first formalized as part of the Kelowna Heritage Resource Inventory project in 1983 which was supported by staff at the Kelowna Centennial Museum, volunteer members of the City of Kelowna Heritage Advisory Committee, the Central Okanagan Heritage Society, the Okanagan Historical Society, and residents of the neighbourhood (many of whom were/are members of the above-mentioned organizations). It was residents of this neighbourhood who helped to form the Kelowna South-Central Association of Neighbourhoods (KSAN) in 1993, the Friends and Residents of the Abbott Street Heritage Conservation Area Society (FRAHCAS) in 1998, and the Kelowna Tree Protectors in 2016 - community groups that continue to advocate for heritage conservation in this area and beyond. 

Character Defining Elements

• Residential form and character as expressed by the one to two-and-a-half storey wood-frame homes, with the majority modestly scaled, and featuring one-and-a-half storey height. 
• Typical property siting and scale of residences that allows for clear views between and through properties 
• A prominence of traditional house styles, with unique designs, but still featuring common elements such as front porches or stoops, central front doors visible from the fronting street, traditional roof forms (gable, hip, gambrel, flat etc.) prominent or end-wall chimneys, bay and picture windows, wood or stucco cladding and rich, contrasting paint schemes. 
• Several precincts that express unique characteristics including Maple Street, Marshall Street and two precincts of early pre-World War I homes.
• Residential front yards often featuring mature landscaping and curved pathways, openly visible from the street. 
• Openly visible properties with minimal to no hedges or fencing, allowing a view of the property and the house. 
• Car garages are predominated by traditional set back garages. 
• An abundance of large, mature trees, both on private and public property, that create a substantial tree canopy in the 
  neighbourhood.
• The natural contours, views and habitat of Mill Creek which delineates the northern border of the neighbourhood.
• Two Mill Creek bridges just south of Harvey Avenue at Abbott and at Water Streets, and the pedestrian/bike access from the neighbourhood to City Park via a tunnel located at the western edge of Lake Avenue - which act as the northern gateways to the neighbourhood and contribute to its accessibility and walkability. 
• Public access to Okanagan Lake via seven beach access points in the neighbourhood. Views of the Okanagan Lake from and between properties, especially along Abbott Street. 
• Abbott Street Recreation Corridor with its treed boulevard, boulevard gardens, its two-way bike path, separate sidewalk and heritage-style streetlamps. 
• The view of lakeside home frontages from the Okanagan Lake beach.
• The view of the home frontages from Mill Creek.
• The country-lane character of some of the neighbourhood due to lack of sidewalks, such as Maple Street, the north side of Lake Avenue, Knox Crescent, the south side of Park Avenue, Vimy Avenue, McDougall Avenue, Long Street. 
• The walkability of the neighbourhood with its wayfinding signage, the pedestrian-friendly paths, traffic-controlled streets and access points to the beach, hospital, downtown and City Park. 
• The citizen-initiated and funded, weather-proof interpretive plaques outside many of the character homes and significant trees, angled towards the street for the benefit of passers-by.

The Abbott Street footbridge over Mill Creek with a view towards what would become Kelowna's City Park in two years. Photo circa 1907. Credit: Old Kelowna Facebook Group

Purpose of A Statement of Desired Future Character
A Statement of Desired Future Character serves as a roadmap for managing change in a way that respects and enhances the unique historical and cultural significance of the heritage area. The guidelines in the Conservation and Development Guidelines section should be interpreted with reference to the Statement of Desired Future Character. It is important to note that the Statement of Desired Future Character is written through a colonial lens, reflecting the heritage values and priorities of colonial development. Recognizing and integrating Indigenous values and perspectives is crucial next step for a more comprehensive and inclusive understanding of these areas.

Statement of Desired Future Character

The character of the Abbott & Marshall Streets Heritage Conservation Areas is made up of the relatively consistent built form and siting of single detached housing and duplex residences of modest size and detailing, constructed in a diversity of styles from the early 1900s until today. The character is augmented by the abundance of mature trees on both public and private properties, and the many traditional front and side gardens maintained by the residents themselves. The neighbourhood has a non-generic, authentic vibe to it which stems both from the physical aspects of the built and natural elements in it, but also from the unique sense-of-place it offers and for its strong sense of community.

As a neighbourhood which has evolved from the moment it was settled, including several significant development booms that saw the construction of new houses boasting the architectural trends of their time, the subdivision of larger properties into smaller urban lots, the conversion of large dwellings into multi-unit dwellings, and the infilling of developed properties with carriage houses, second dwellings, and additions for secondary suites - this area will continue to gently and thoughtfully densify. This could occur through renovations, house conversions, additions, infill properties, multi-unit properties, Heritage Revitalization Agreements, and further subdivisions where appropriate. New contemporary designs and additions will reflect their era of construction as guided by the Standards and Guidelines for the Conservation of Historic Places in Canada, in keeping with the range of existing properties in the neighbourhood that are easily identifiable and associated with their own decade-specific architectural expression. The retained authentic, historic character of the HCAs, along with a careful, customized approach to development, will continue to provide residents and visitors alike with a unique and valued sense of place into the future while recognizing the OCP’s directions that focus on increased densification and complete communities.

The preservation of the following elements is a priority: 

• Contributory houses of all eras and styles (Map 23.2)
• Mature trees on private properties and in the public domain.
• The small-scale, single detached housing form and footprint of the street-fronting properties, whether contributory or not.
• The open visibility of the properties through low, or the absence of property fences.
• The traditional design prioritization of pedestrian use and entrances on the front and side elevations of homes, with car garages or carports at the back or accessed from the lane.
• The inviting, accessible, recreational uses in the neighbourhood such as the bike and walking paths, the interpretive plaques, the beach access points, the views of the lake and the shaded sanctuary of the mature trees.

Intent

To preserve, celebrate and maintain the heritage values and sense-of-place of the HCAs through the incentivization of the conservation of contributory properties and streetscapes, while ensuring new development is thoughtful, compatible and subordinate.

To achieve the objectives of HCA - Conservation and Development Guidelines, all development must be informed by the unique historic context and/or distinct precinct it is in, and:

A  Maintain the character defining streetscapes by preserving the original form, scale, massing, and finishes of contributory houses.

B  Maintain the historic, consistent and/or average siting of street-fronting properties on a given block.

C  Retain the single-dwelling form, footprint and (up to 2 storey) height for street-fronting properties, both for existing and new construction, even if they contain multiple units.

D  Ensure all alterations, additions, and new properties are visually compatible with, subordinate to and distinguishable from the existing context and the historical design of adjacent properties. Additions and infill properties (up to 3 storeys) should ideally be sited behind contributory houses. Avoid directly mimicking contributory houses to maintain clarity between historical and contemporary elements.

E  Preserve the established tree canopy to maintain the neighbourhood’s heritage values, natural beauty and environmental benefits.

F  Prioritize pedestrian-oriented design with all vehicle access taken from the lane if available. Ensure the portion of any building facing the street facilitates easy access for pedestrians to front entrances from the street. Avoid blank walls at street level to create a more engaging and welcoming streetscape. Property walls, solid gates and hedges above 1.2 meters are not permitted.

G  Ensure onsite landscaping and the off-site frontages contribute to the urban livability and historical design of the neighbourhoods by promoting the conservation or introduction of mature yard plantings, curved pathways and traditional landscaping approaches that enhance the public visibility of properties.