Open for business planning…

Open for business planning by-laws could pose serious risks to our heritage buildings and other cultural heritage resources. By exempting land use proposals from cultural heritage policies in the PPS and Official Plans they would effectively eliminate requirements for heritage impact assessments, archaeological assessments and other measures designed to ensure that heritage is considered in planning decisions. Even designated heritage properties could be more vulnerable since a municipality that passes such a by-law for a property may be more likely to approve any demolition request from the owner.

As someone who has voluntarily attended many meetings to do with updating our local Official Plan, I would be very upset to see this well-thought out document by-passed by new provincial legislation. I believe the protection of heritage is essential, and I fail to see the logic of ignoring an Official Plan which was created with the input of interested local residents.