On 2/25 Council agenda there is a report recommending that Council give notice to designate a property at 446 Kettleby Road in Kettleby.  The report is lengthy which is appropriate given the importance of the issue.  As reviewed the Heritage Advisory Committee (HAC) of which I am a member has recommended designation.  This recommendation is in essence a response to the fact that the property owner has applied to demolish the property; upon consideration, including assessments by heritage professionals HAC determined that the property has cultural heritage value and meets the criteria of the Ontario Heritage Act for designation.  Here is the staff report and here are the numerous attachments to the report.

Its a very serious choice for Council.  As reviewed HAC is of the opinion that the property merits designation because of its contextual value, its historical value and its architectural design.  Per the Act designation requires only that one of these three criteria need to met; 446 Kettleby has value in all 3 categories to some degree.  Page 80 of 94 in the attachments elaborates on this but briefly:  i) The property is  important in defining and maintaining the character of the the historic hamlet.  ii) It was built in 1868. iii) It was occupied by one of the craftsmen in that early village, namely a carpenter.  As was typical of the time he lived and worked on his property but to clarify his workshop is no longer there. iv) Its vernacular architecture  is still very evident.

I do believe that each each generation has responsibility for what we leave the next generations.  Artefacts of the past contribute to achieving a unique character, to providing a sense of place.  I believe that as our environment  evolves we should be celebrating our history.  I believe what Kettleby gives us in terms of a historic hamlet will be damaged by this demolition.

As the report reviews designation does not mean that the house cannot be modified, expanded; it needs to be done with consideration of its impact on the street.

Finally, as the report indicates HAC has recommended that if Council is not willing to designate the re-development should be placed under site plan control including the condition that drawings will be prepared by an architect with heritage conservation design expertise.