Montreal's plan to save Chinatown must go further to protect intangible heritage, report says

The city of Montreal's plan to protect its Chinatown district'sbuilt heritage is a good one, but officials must go further to preserve the historic neighbourhood's intangible heritage andensure its vitalityas a living environment, according to the city's public consultation office.

In January, the Office de consultation publique de Montral(OCPM) was mandated to hold a consultation on a proposedbylaw, which aimed to modify the city of Montreal'surban plan to protect Chinatown againstunbridled development.

The neighbourhood has seen its footprint shrink in Montreal for decades, and many fearthat without urgent action, the encroaching city could soon swallow the historic community.More than 700 people took part in theconsultations.

TheOCPMreleased its70-page report Thursday outliningnine recommendations for the revitalization ofthe neighbourhood.

The first is to adopt the city's bylaw,which would expand the sector considered to be of "exceptional heritage value," and reducethe maximum allowable heights and densities of new buildings. The new western boundaryof the neighbourhood would beJeanne-Mance Street instead of de Bleury Street and the eastern boundary would become St-lisabeth Street, notSt-Dominique Street.

The new regulations provide for maximum heights between 25 metres(about six storeys) and 35 metres, and up to 65 metres in the western part of the district. The report recommends the city consider further decreasing this proposed height as many participants in the consultationsaid they didn'twant new construction to top the current buildings in the neighbourhood, which are approximately three to fourstoreys.

May Chiu, co-ordinator of the Chinatown Roundtable and former member of the Chinatown Working Group, said her group is very happy with the report. She said she was pleased to see the commissioners take into account a large scope of the community's needs while also ensuring the survival of the historical buildings.

"We saw that Chinatown was being destroyed physically and so we thought that once we lost the physical aspects of Chinatown, we wouldn't even have a space around which to assemble and do our activities and foster community life," said Chiu.

"The fact that now, you know, it seems like we're able to have a physical place around which the community can congregate, now we can also put our energies into developing Chinatown from a holistic point of view."

The report also recommends adding specific design criteriafor any new construction or renovation to preserve the Chinese visual elements of the neighbourhood.

'Not just the buildings'

Further to the city's original plans, the OCPM report says city officials mustimplement other protective measures in Chinatown in order to preserve its intangibleheritage.

The report says this heritage is not sufficiently known or recognized, and it therefore recommends that the citycarry out a study of it.

"We really are trying to focus on not just the buildings and the builtenvironment that make Chinatown special, but also the activities inside these buildings," said Jessica Chen, co-founder of the Jia Foundationand a city planning professional.

She said activities and cultural practices, such as lion dances, occur in these old heritage buildings, as well as congregations of Chinatown's family associations.

"Once we know why we are protecting them and how, then you need to start putting resources to really actually promote them," said Chen.

On the subject of the neighbourhood's living environment and economic vitality, the report recommends the city invest in necessary resources in order to protect "the soul of the district."

The report says the city would do well to increase the stock of social and affordable housing, create green spacesin order to counter heat islands in the neighbourhood and promote thedevelopment of sport, community and cultural infrastructures.

WATCH| Advocates reflect on Chinatown's unique history:

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Advocates warn that the historic neighbourhood is nearing a tipping point, where it may not be able to persevere in the face of encroaching development and looming gentrification.

The report also recommendsthat inventory of the district's buildings and their conditions be carried outin order to identify those most at risk and to provide a framework for intervention.

"We are advocating for the type of revitalization that is centred around the existing community, existing heritage assets that are alreadythere," said Chen.

"To me,Chinatown is the type of future neighbourhood that [is] rooted in its past."

The two groups say they're hopeful the city will implement these recommendationsand that they'll be followed up with money.

At a news conference Thursday, Montreal Mayor Valrie Plantesaidshe had been anxiously awaiting the report and was looking forward to reading it.