Thank you for the…

ERO number

019-8738

Comment ID

99627

Commenting on behalf of

Individual

Comment status

Comment approved More about comment statuses

Comment

Thank you for the opportunity to comment and what I believed is a flawed amendment which I recommend does not get approved.

Most "Legacy Heritage Watch Lists" have been put together without much thought (i.e. all buildings over 100 year old) and many of the municipalities have not undertaken any action to improve on the validity of the list (even with the current 2025 pending deadline).
I am certain that providing an additional two years will not motivate townships to spend money on this initiative. Creating a new two year window (extension) because the first has lapsed without any action by the municipality / township would not be constructive or the correct response.

I would like to suggest that, before the two year period ending in 2025 that has already been provided (prior to proposed amendment), municipalities / townships must be required to review and update their "Legacy Heritage Watch List" (possibly reduce their lists by a stated % or by two clearly stated heritage features).

Currently, to have a building removed from the "Legacy Heritage Watch List", a property / homeowner needs to spend upwards of $5-10K to have a "Cultural Heritage Impact Assessment"--- competed by a qualified / certified engineer to confirm that there is no "Heritage" aspect to the building before a demolition permit is approved.

A suggestion would be for this requirement and expense be transferred to the municipality / township as they would need to incur anyway if they plan to designate a building as "Heritage" before the current or proposed amended deadline. This would push Municipalities / Townships to take action (or decide not to pursue) on exploring designation of a building on their "Legacy Heritage Watch List" (which is what the extension is designed to provide time for them to do). It would also promote a potentially macro level review at a lower cost to determine if a more intensive assessment may be required.

Hoping that these comments and suggestions reflect common sense and a workable solution that does not reward municipality's / township's (perceived) inaction to date at the expense of the property / homeowner.