Register could save hidden historic gems, but homeowners argue it makes selling home harder
Just four years ago, Ottawa heritage consultant David Flemming walked down Bruyère Street in Lowertown and was treated to a scene typical of the street for the last 140 years.
People sat out on the stoops of historic brick row houses smoking, chatting with neighbours and watching their kids play. It was a tableau from another time.
Today those old homes — including the oldest house in Lowertown at the time — have since been replaced by a five-storey luxury condominium building.
They were just a small example of some of the city's historic gems that have been lost, said Flemming, who served as past president of Heritage Ottawa.
"There are lots of places we don't even know about," said Flemming.
That's why history conservationists were so dismayed last week when councillors put off a decision that could potentially save dozens of hidden heritage homes from the wrecking ball.
The city's planning committee delayed the addition of 350 homes to the heritage register, a list of historically significant homes that are not officially designated.
Councillors seemed confused about why the register exists and what impact it has on property owners, and that makes both homeowners and heritage advocates nervous.
Mark Audcent's Old Ottawa south home has been flagged as a potential candidate for the heritage register. He told councillors he's worried the designation will wreak havoc on his property values.
"Inclusion in the register is the first step in the process designed to allow the city, at a later date, to prevent the demolition of the property," he said.
Audcent is correct, but only if his home qualifies for full-fledged designation. The uncertainty would make it more difficult to sell his home, he said.
Audcent told committee his house on Concord Street would likely be torn down if he sold it. He fears the resale value of his house would drop drastically if a potential buyer couldn't be sure if they'll be allowed to demolish the home and build infill in its place.
But the price of uncertainty is something property owners may have to pay to protect buildings with historic significance, according to Peter Coffman, architecture historian at Carleton University.
"If you're opposed to this it seems to me what you're really saying is 'I don't think heritage considerations should ever have any impact on any planning decision or any demolition decision," Peter Coffman said.
"And I really have a lot of trouble with that position."
How it works
Homes with heritage designation are relatively safe against the threat of demolition. But without official designation, the city doesn't get so much as a heads up if an owner decides to take down their historic home. The register acts a safety net designed to catch the few homes that would have previously slipped through the cracks.
Coffman said the city needs a way to save those buildings on those rare occasions.
There are already hundreds of properties on the register, 237 of which were approved just last April.
Sally Coutts, senior heritage planner, said the city has tried to make it clear that just because a property is on the register, it doesn't mean it will become protected with heritage designation.
So far the city's heritage planners haven't saved any buildings on the list.
In the last year and a half, owners of three properties on the register applied for demolition. None of the homes qualified for heritage designation.
Councillors get final say
If city staff do want to intervene in a demolition, they would have to scramble. They would have only 60 days to make their case to city council.
"It might be tight," said Sally Coutts, senior heritage planner for the city. "But that [timeframe] is what the Ontario Heritage Act prescribes."
Coun. Tobi Nussbaum said it's important for concerned homeowners to remember that city council has the final say over demolitions.
Nussbaum said there was confusion among speakers, and councillors on the planning committee, over whether staff could "slap on a designation and somehow immediately freeze the development potential."
"That's not the case," he said.
Council has made it a priority to add all historically significant properties to the list before the next municipal election.
The debate will again go before the city's planning committee on Sept. 12, after councillors have had a chance to review the project, Nussbaum said.
Update: Hear Peter Coffman discuss the Heritage Register on CBC Ottawa Morning | September 5, 2017
Related Reading:
Coffman: Who's Afraid of Heritage? Does the Past Have a Future in Ottawa? | August 25, 2017
Carleton University "Mystified" at City's Heritage Registry Recommendations | August 22, 2017