Heritage calendars featuring photos of buildings and streetscapes within Weston are on sale to raise funds to help protect the unique and historic character of the local neighbourhood.
"They show the beauty of what we're trying to preserve," said Cherri Hurst, board president of the Weston Heritage Conservation District.
Phase 1 of the local heritage conservation district is now complete, protecting about 150 homes built along Little Avenue, King Street Crescent, Fern Avenue and Cross, George and Church streets, from developers with no regard for Weston's heritage, she said.
The group of concerned residents, who saw Phase 1 to completion after two years of work, is moving on to Phase 2, covering about 220 homes along Rosemount Avenue, Springmount Avenue and additional houses on Church Street.
Hurst explained that each home has a "unique" look because a lot of the houses were built one at a time, some as early as the 1800s.
"So you don't get the subdivision look," she said. "We have a great deal of variety in architecture."
Money from the calendar sales will go toward the research that's required into the respective houses to receive the heritage designation and approved by city council.
The biggest expense, however, will be the hiring of a consultant to help put everything together, said Hurst, noting it cost $20,000 for the first phase.
Ward 11 Councillor Frances Nunziata (York South-Weston) supported the Weston Heritage Conservation District since the group formed in 2004 when residents took a developer, who wanted to demolish a nearly century-old house on Fern Avenue, to the Ontario Municipal Board - and won.
"A lot of this is going to be happening in the future," said Nunziata, noting in the past six months there has been three applications from developers to tear down old homes on large properties and build smaller semi-detached houses for a quick profit. "That's what we don't want and that's what we're fighting. We want to start Phase 2 and get people involved with it."
In addition to selling the calendars to raise funds for the next phase, Nunziata said city council passed an amendment to the city's official plan last month, which now allows some of the money that builders pay for development to go toward funding heritage conservation district studies.
The calendars are available at Squibb's Stationers, 1974 Weston Rd., for $12 or call 416-241-9322.