At 9/14 Council there is a staff report recommending the addition of 29 properties to the Municipal Heritage Register. They have been identified as meriting  inclusion on the Register as they have cultural heritage value or interest for the important contribution they make to our understanding of the history of a place, an event, or a people. This recommendation is the result of lengthy review of 66 properties in the Nobleton area and consideration of input received from a presentation of the initial Heritage Advisory Committee (HAC) recommendation to the property owners and interested members of public in February 2014.  As a member of the HAC committee I am very aware of the quality discussions about the cultural value of the properties and I feel very comfortable with the recommendations.

Some background:  HAC is comprised of volunteers and 1 Council member (me); and we have the support of our Heritage Planner.  In 2013 Council approved a revised process for engaging property owners in the decision making for listing a property on the Heritage Register.  A change was requested due to feedback from some Council members and some property owners that the latter did not have adequate notice about the recommendations going to Council and hence they didn’t have opportunity to object and present their rationale.  2 features of the new process:  notification of a public meeting where property owners can learn why their property is considered to merit listing and to present information unknown to HAC which might influence the decision to list.  And, notification  by registered mail to the property owners of the recommendation going to Council for approval.

Listed properties are not subject to the same amount of protection as designated properties.  The only protection is that a property owner of a listed property cannot demolish or remove any structures on the property without first giving Council at least 60 days notice of demolition in writing.  The rationale for the 60 days is to give Council adequate time to consider whether the demolition should be permitted or if there should be documentation prior to demolition.  On the same Council agenda there is a report recommending approval of a demolition permit on the listed property of Seneca College.

Here is the Staff report to list 29 properties; by reading it you can see the specific reports recommended to be listed and the rationale for such.