Lower Doon Land Use Study

Lower Doon is a former industrial village now absorbed into the southern edge of the city of Kitchener. Located astride Schneider Creek as it flows into the Grand River, the village was once an important milling centre that supported shops, schools, hotels, churches, and a range of housing. It is also the former home of Canadian artist Homer Watson whose paintings of the Grand River area are considered to be some of the most important depictions of 19th century Ontario landscapes (his studio is now a public gallery in the heart of the village). With the decline of local industries in the early 20th century, Lower Doon evolved into a local resort (on the mill dam) and an artists’ summer school at the same time as it became a bedroom community for the region. Lower Doon is now under increasing pressure for redevelopment as the city expands. The Land Use Study was intended to address this pressure by reviewing local planning tools, analyzing existing patterns of land use, and making recommendations for improvements to the City’s development controls. An essential part of this study was an analysis of the village’s heritage character. Carl Bray was the project heritage consultant responsible for inventorying and evaluating the existing buildings and landscapes within the village core. Using a combination of site analysis, archival research, and interviews with local historians, he created a strategy for conserving and enhancing the remaining cultural heritage resources. He recommended that the City create a Heritage Character Area that included a concentration of significant buildings and landscapes and which could serve as a guide for conservation and redevelopment of that part of the village. These heritage attributes could also form the basis for interpretation of the village’s history. In addition, he identified individual properties with potential cultural heritage significance that could be considered for designation under the Ontario Heritage Act.